Christmas Mug Gift Basket

Who doesn't love a hot cup of coffee or hot chocolate during this time of year!  Collect 4 clear glass mugs and start painting!  Be creative using an acrylic paint made for glass.  Once you've painted your designs whether it be stripes, polka dots, or snowflakes allow the mugs to dry and remember to hand wash. Place in a fun container with lots of tissue paper and fill with hot chocolate or flavored coffee.  You just may make a set for yourself or give as a gift this holiday season!   

Supplies:

- Clear glass mugs

- Acrylic glass paint

- Container with tissue paper

- Hot chocolate/ flavored coffee

Christmas Candle Gifts

Tis' the season for giving gifts!  Creating your own candles will not only be a fun project, but will also be a giving one too!  All you need are a few supplies:  containers of your choice (we used blue glass containers), soy wax, wicks, and fragrant oil (we used cinnamon)!  That's it!  Everything can be found at a local craft store.  Using a double boiler technique, fill a Pyrex measuring cup with the soy wax.  Once heated, allow to melt, add fragrant oil, and stir.  Place your candle wick at the bottom of the container and fill with with the melted wax.  You may need to tie the wick around a wooden pick or straw and lay across the top of the container to stay in place.  Allow candle wax to harden overnight prior to lighting.  Add a bow, a gift tag, and you've just made some fantastic gifts!

Supplies:

- Containers

- Soy wax

- Wicks

- Fragrant oil

- Ribbon and gift tags

Perfect Stocking Stuffers

Lotion Bars:

It's that time of year for the Christmas festivities to begin!  We've got the perfect hostess gift for you this season, homemade lotion bars.  You will need just 4 ingredients:  beeswax, olive oil, coconut oil, and essential oil.  A soap mold will be used to create the bars.  If your mold holds 4 bars, then fill one of the bars with equal parts of the above ingredients.  Using a double boiler, melt the beeswax first.  Once it has melted which may take a bit, add the olive oil, coconut oil, and several drops of the essential oil of your choice; we used honey almond.  Once all ingredients have melted and have been stirred together, pour into the soap molds.  Allow to set and pop them out once they're ready.  Packaging can be just as nice as the gift.  First, we wrapped the individual lotion bars in waxed paper.  Next, we added crinkle paper into a clear cellophane bag.  Add the lotion bar and close with colored wire.  Continue adding wire and wrap each piece around a pencil to create a curled effect.  This is a fun way to add a pop of color instead of the usual ribbon.  Add wired Christmas balls or Christmas sprigs for a nice touch.  For a gift tag, take fun scrapbook paper and cut out shapes.  Hole punch the tag and add it to the wire.  Now you have a fun and useful hostess gift to take to your next Christmas party!

Supplies:

- Beeswax

- Olive oil

- Coconut oil

- Essential oil

- Soap mold

- Cellophane bag

- Crinkle paper

- Colored wire

- Scrapbook paper/ hole punch

Bath Salt:

Pamper yourself and the hostess of your next Christmas party by creating bath salts!  All you need is sea salt, essential oil of your choice, and a pretty glass container with lid.  Simply scoop the sea salt into the glass container.  Add a few drops of the essential oil, secure the lid, shake, and enjoy!  That's it!  Add Christmas ribbon or fresh greenery for a nice compliment to the bath salts.  

Supplies:

- Sea salt

- Essential oil

- Pretty glass container with lid

- Christmas ribbon/ fresh greenery

Scat Cat

If you have cats digging around in your garden and using your flowerbeds and pots as a litter box then no worries.  There are several things you can do!  Start by removing all the droppings-cats go where their noses tell them cats have gone before.  Follow up with a commercial cat repellent, to cover any smells left behind.  Don't expect the repellent to perform like Hercules;  you really do have to start by cleaning up.

One the odor problem is solved, make it hard for cats to dig by covering any open soil with landscape cloth or a very loose mulch such as pebbles or bark nuggets.  This leaves newly planted soil as the only vulnerable area.  Cover it with chicken wire until the new plants have achieved fair size and can be further protected with mulch, and you should have the little dears thoroughly thwarted.

Add a little "bling bling" to your holiday decorations!

Bling Bling Christmas Stockings:

It's a special time of the year for giving, so why not create a "Bling Bling Christmas Stocking!"  This stocking makes the perfect gift or can be the gift wrap to hold a bottle of wine or plant!  Simply take a stocking of your choice and embellish it!  We chose traditional red and white stockings and added a crystal snowflake ornament which also serves as an extra gift.  Next, add crystal like snowflakes that are actually stickers all over the stocking.  For more of a traditional look, simply take Poinsettia dimensional stickers from the scrapbook section and embellish away!  Add red and green ribbon as a special touch!  These simple yet fun stockings will make your gift giving extra special this holiday season!

Supplies: 

- Christmas stockings of your choice

- Crystal Christmas ornament

- Crystal snowflake stickers

- Ribbon

- Christmas scrapbook embellishments

- Tacky glue

Sequined Christmas Ornaments:

There's something special about "sparkly" Christmas ornaments adorning a tree!  Creating sequined ornaments is a true treat and will make your Christmas tree dazzle!  Take clear plastic ornaments found at your local craft store and hot glue strands of sequin trim.  Beginning at the top of the ornament, hot glue the sequin trim and glue around the ornament until it's completed covered.  Add a complimentary ribbon to the top of the ornament!  It's that simple to add a bit of sparkle to your tree this year!

Supplies:

- Clear plastic ornaments

- Sequin trim

- Hot glue gun/ hot glue

- Ribbon

Great time decorating KTHV Channel 11

Bulb Planting in Late Fall

It's difficult to say just when late becomes too late.  But although spring bulbs are best planted early, as long as the soil is still workable, you can continue planting right through November and even into early December.

Dig a hole two or three times as deep as the bulb's diameter, and position the bulb root-end down.  Cover with soil and water well.  It is always great to put in the hole a slow release fertilizer plus bone meal.

Burlap Balls

Burlap Balls:

Creating burlap balls and suspending them from your chandelier will add a nice touch of Christmas to your dining space!  You will need small Styrofoam balls, burlap ribbon, sprigs of Christmas greenery or berries, and ribbon, and double pronged pins.  Simply cut 3-4 inch strips of burlap ribbon and hot glue the ends together.  Using the double pronged pins, pin the looped burlap ribbon into the Styrofoam ball.  Repeat this step until the ball is completely covered.  Next, add the Christmas greenery and berries inside the burlap loops.  Cut ribbon at varied lengths, fold ends together, and attach using the double pronged pin.  Suspend the burlap balls from your chandelier and enjoy!

You can even accessorize with the burlap balls by mixing them with other ornaments in a bowl.  Add a poinsettia or two to the display and holiday cheer will abound.

Supplies:

- Small Styrofoam balls

- Burlap ribbon

- Christmas greenery and berries

- Ribbon

- Double pronged pins

- Hot glue gun/ hot glue

Christmas on the Outside

Gumdrop Candy Jar:

Creating a gumdrop candy jar will be the perfect project to house your Christmas candy!  You'll need a clear glass candy jar (any size) and several bags of colorful gumdrops.  Simply hot glue each gumdrop in a circular pattern starting at the top of the jar.  Repeat this step until the jar is completely covered in gumdrops.  Leaving the lid to the candy jar alone will allow you to see the fun Christmas candy inside!

Supplies:

- Clear glass candy jar

- Several bags of gumdrops

- Hot glue gun/ hot glue

Christmas Hurricane Vases:

Let's decorate the dining table with a pair of hurricane vases covered in glitter balls!  At your local craft store, you will find hurricane clear glass vases as well as bags of small to medium glittered Styrofoam balls.  Begin at the top of the hurricane vase and hot glue the glittered balls until the hurricane vase is completely covered.  Once this project is complete, you will have a pair of gorgeous vases to place on the dining table.  Fill with flowers, branches, or candles!

Supplies: 

- 2 hurricane vases

- Bags of Styrofoam glitter balls

- Hot glue gun/ hot glue

Easy and Personal Christmas Ornaments

Glitter Christmas Ornaments:

Christmas is around the corner, and it's time to deck the halls and decorate the Christmas tree!  Why not create glitter Christmas ornaments using three simple items:  clear glass ornaments, glitter, and Murphy's Oil Soap.  That's right, Murphy's Oil Soap!  Remove the silver top from the clear glass ornament.  Pour Murphy's Oil Soap inside the ornament, just enough to cover the inside completely.  Pour the excess out into the bottle by resting the clear glass ornament upside down on the top of the bottle.  Once the oil has emptied, pour any color glitter inside the ornament and move it around until the inside is completely covered.  That's it!  You now have stunning ornaments to hang on the tree, string as a garland, or compile inside a decorative bowl!

Supplies:

- clear glass ornaments

- glitter

- Murphy's Oil Soap

Paper Mache Christmas Ornaments:

Christmas is a special time of year to make memories!  So let's create some simple yet memorable Christmas ornaments that will last a lifetime.  Mix one part water to one part Modge Podge.  Next, tear strips of newspaper into 1/4 inch strips.  It's easier to tear from the top to the bottom of the newspaper.  Soak the strips of newspaper in the Modge Podge mixture.  Apply the strips onto the ornament until the ornament is completely covered.  Continue this process until there is a noticeable difference in the texture and thickness.  Hang to dry overnight.  Once dry, paint a solid base color and then it's time to be creative.  Paint snowflakes, polka dots, stripes, etc.  Allow to dry and hang with ribbon, raffia, or even wire.  

Supplies:

- clear glass ornaments

- newspaper

- Modge Podge/ water

- acrylic paint

- ribbon, raffia, wire