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Yes, yes, Christmas beat me to the finish line. Pleeeeease don't rub it in, I'm actually quite sad about it. I had about 5 additional DIY Christmas posts queued up to share, but I ran out of time! Oh, woe is me! BUT! Let this be a lesson to learn from, and now I'm more determined than ever to take on the new year, to better plan, time manage, and prioritize for my blog and for my readers.
Today I'm going to share with you the DIY projects that didn't make it to the blog before Christmas…
1. Chalkboard Paint & Glitter Gift Tags
I made these chalkboard paint gift tags out of wooden shapes from Michael's. My favorite are the rectangle ones! The process was simple, first I drilled holes in each piece, then sprayed 3 coats of chalkboard spray paint on each side, then I outlined them with school glue and German glass glitter, and last I adorned them on each gift with some twine. Everyone loved them, except for my brothers, I had to dig their tags out of the trash!
2. Monogram Mugs
I made these monogram coffee mugs using the same stencil technique I used when I etched beer flutes. I think next time I'm going to use carbon paper, I've come too close for comfort with my X-acto knife! I originally thought to use porcelain paint pens, but the regular porcelain paint came in a wide variety of colors so I opted for that.
3. Handmade wood cutting boards
I fell in love with Centsational Girl's wood cutting boards. I wanted to make one myself, and more to give away as Christmas gifts. I went to a local lumbar yard called EarthSource, one of the most respected and environmentally friendly lumbar yards in the area. I bought a couple 10' panels of exotic and domestic woods and successfully snuck them into our garage without anyone noticing! I then spent 6 hours cutting and sanding wood until my right hand went numb.
I applied a decent coat of food safe wood oil to each board then hung them to dry. I couldn't find the oil CG used, so I used the standard from Home Depot, which brought out some strange orange hues from the wood. I wasn't a fan, so I applied a super-duper-light coat of stain to each board, which I immediately wiped off with a cloth. I've read pro's and con's regarding staining cutting boards, so I made sure to clean them thoroughly with a lemon, soap, sponge, and re-applied the food safe oil. I am not recommending using stain, some people suggest to find wood naturally in the color you desire for your board. I, on the other hand, envisioned these boards to be hung for display, or used occasionally for slicing bread or serving salami, so I am not too concerned with the super light coat of stain I used.
4. Mercury Glass Ornaments Tutorial & Comparison
Everyone has tried the DIY mercury glass trick, using a spray bottle of water and Krylon's looking glass spray paint. This was my take on the project, comparing metallic paint and the looking glass spray paint to Pottery Barn's 2011 mercury glass ornaments. I plan to host a tutorial on DIY mercury glass, so I'll refrain from sharing my secrets. As you can see, the gold ornament on the bottom right was made from the standard gold metallic spray paint. I think my DIY mercury glass ornaments turned out quite well, in comparison to Pottery Barn's!
Like I said, lesson learned! In all honesty, I really can't be too bummed. This Christmas was quite a success, I managed to put a smile on everyone's face with each personalized gift, and my family and friends recognized the effort I put into making each gift unique and special to each person. And now we're off, putting the final touches on 2011 and welcoming 2012 with open arms.
Love all the gift you made. I am a friend of your Grandma Mary. Judy MCDonald here.
Oh, i love those mugs! Where do you get your supplies for that? I’d love to do that.
The white ceramic mugs I bought from the Crate & Barrel outlet for ~$4 ea, which I know you can also buy at the regular Crate & Barrel store. The porcelain paint is from Michael’s! They also sell porcelain paint pens, which I’ve yet to use but I hear they’re super easy & fun.