Christmas Gifts {May's "Treat of the Month"}

Ok, I must admit, I was just squealing when I put this gift together for Kim!

I had seen a cookies made by a cookie friend that I've mentioned before, Tami, from here or you can check out her facebook page  right here. She does AWESOME work!

Well, in February, she had posted some awesome chocolate covered strawberry cookies and some cookies that looked like chocolates...you know the kind you get in a box...different shapes and sizes. They were so cute!!

But, when I saw the strawberries, I knew that is what I was going to make for Kim for her May treat.
I had a blast making them!! I did some in my favorite vanilla sugar cookie recipe, and some in a favorite chocolate sugar cookie cut out recipe. You can find the chocolate cookie recipe over here. I just LOVE it! She's another cookier that I admire...she does great work and her recipes ROCK!

I had saved a Driscoll's Strawberry box and, like I mentioned before, I squealed when I put this gift together!

Now, it gets sad....

The USPS lost the box....

Ok,  they didn't really "lose" the box...it just got misplaced...for about 2 weeks!!!

I was sooooooo excited for Kim to open this treat that month and to hear back from her...and I heard nothing....I waited, and nothing...waited some more....nothing....

Knowing this wasn't like her at all, I jumped online to see when they got delivered and to my horror saw that they were "out for delivery" like 3 days earlier....so I contacted her to see if she got them, and she had not. We traced them to a sorting facility 30 minutes from her home...and there they sat for the next 10 days all the time saying "out for delivery"

The clerks at my local post office were in contact with the clerks there and "no one" knew what happened!

Well, Kim did receive these and she thought I had sent out another box because they were still ok to eat!!

....and she did love them...just like I knew she would!

I know, accidents happen, things get lost, people make mistakes....I have found that the best way to "live life today" is to forgive others quickly, forget other's mistakes and realize we are all human...

...it really is a good way to live....

Until next time....forgive someone today, forget someone's mistake that caused you stress...and hug a human!! You'll feel so good....

Christmas Gifts {March's "Treat of the Month}

The last two Monday's I've shared with you my gifts for my bestie in Virginia this year. I gave her a "Treat of the Month" from "Tracie's Sweet Boutique" aka, my kitchen.

Today, I'm sharing with you what I sent her in March:

Easter happened to be in March this year, so Easter cookies were on the menu.  I found the cute little box at Walmart and it was all the inspiration I needed. Are those carrots cute or what??

I am part of a cookie group on Facebook and one of the cookie artist that I hang out with "virtually" is Tami from Tami Rena's Cookies. Check out her facebook page right here and her blog over here. She is a great cookie artist and I am inspired often by her works of art!

You'll see more cookies in a couple of weeks that were also inspired by Tami.

Oh, since we're sharing pages here, feel free to check out my other cookie creations over on "Tracie's Sweet Boutique's" facebook page....right over here

Until then, life is happening all around you...seize it and live it fully!

Christmas Gifts {February's "Treat of the Month"}

Well, last Monday, I shared with you my Christmas gift I did for a bestie of mine this past year.
My gift to her was a "Treat of the Month" from "Tracie's Sweet Boutique" aka, my kitchen...

For February I put together this package:

Isn't that jar cutter just the cutest thing ever?? I just love it. It was actually a gift from a friend for doing some cookies for her daughter's bridal shower. Here is a picture of the same cutter used as a different cookie:

I had a blast making these for her daughter's bridal shower...
This cutter was purchased here
I've seen them offered by other vendors too, so you could google "jar cutter" for more options.

I want to make a "bug" jar for my grandson Micah...fill up this jar w/little fireflies....

Up next Monday is March's gift...

Until then, live your life as if today is all you have....oh, wait...it is....

Christmas in July: {Christmas Potpourri Jars}

It's July.

Way back many many years ago when I was teaching in the school system, I would spend my July getting ready for Christmas.

I loved my summers off as a teacher and took advantage of the extra time I had to organize my home, do fun things with my kids....and knock out my Christmas list.

I took "Christmas in July" literally and took it upon myself to organize my Christmas gift list.

One of the reasons I did this is because I loved making Christmas gifts to give away.

Another reason I did this was because we lived on a tight budget and this was one way I could give gifts to many without it costing me a fortune. I love to give gifts....family, friends, neighbors, postman, Sunday School teachers, co-workers, the gal who cut my hair, my doctor, my dentist....you get the picture.

You can imagine my excitement when I discovered Pinterest! Oh my...the glorious-ness of pinning all these awesome gift giving ideas! Pinterest is a great tool for just that. And I must say, I do actually try quite a few of the things I pin....That is where much inspiration comes from today for most of my projects.

One gift I made for a friend {or two} last year were some potpourri jars. I started out with a clean spaghetti sauce jar. The lid on this brand was actually already black and had no writing on it, so it was good to go as is. You can always spray paint the lids to cover up writing. 
I actually love to look at the different jars when I'm shopping to see what ones I can re-purpose into these.

I put the following in my jars. I don't measure or anything, just kind of fill them up w/ a mixture of:
**sliced oranges
**sliced limes
**sliced lemons
** bay leaves
**cinnamon sticks
**whole cloves {use at least 2T}

After you have placed the above things in the jars, you just fill with water.
Put the lid on and they are ready to give away as is, or you can add ribbons, labels etc...


Which is what I did:

I had found this red bowl and napkin at a local goodwill store and knew it would be perfect for this gift. I added a ribbon to match and then a sticker that had the instructions for use. {which is basically : simmer on stove}

I added a ribbon to match and then sticker that had the instructions for use: {which was basically: "simmer on stove" adding water when necessary} 

I then finished it off with cellophane wrap and a big bow in a coordinating color....ready to give....ready to enjoy!


Using re-purposed jars, goodwill finds, and not so expensive ingredients, these are great gifts that you can make a lot of for a small amount of money.




Here is another one I made. I just packaged it differently.

This one is the same recipe in a smaller jar that I nestled into an antique bowl I found. My friend collects them and this was a perfect find for her.
These jars are just perfect to tuck into things or to just give by themselves.

If you look close enough, you'll see I did another technique on the lid. I used this tutorial right here to mod podge a cupcake liner onto this lid. Can you imagine the possibilities??

So, if you, like me, take Christmas in July literally, why not make up a few of these jars to tuck into gift baskets or give as a stand alone gift this year. Recipients love to use these to bring the holiday smells into their homes.

....and making them this summer will allow you to enjoy your holidays completely this December....

Christmas Gifts {January's "Treat of the Month"}

I gave a bestie of mine a special gift for Christmas this year.

You know those fruit of the month clubs? Well, I did something like that, but not fruit...I made up a gift card that told my friend that she was going to get a "Treat of the Month" from "Tracie's Sweet Boutique"....aka, my kitchen!

Well, it's July and it's been a blast coming up with a new treat of the month...so I thought I'd share them with you through out this year....Perhaps you will want to bless a friend with a "Treat a Month" from your home this year...

So, for January, I put together this little package:

I made up some homemade hot cocoa and put them in those tall bags made for chocolate covered pretzels.
I included some chocolate dipped marshmallows. I just poked a sucker stick in a large marshmallow and then dipped one end of that in melted chocolate and then rolled them in crushed candy canes.
Kim also got some of my hand decorated snowflake sugar cookies.
I just loved making these for her...she loves snowflakes so I knew these would make her smile.

Finding the blue mug just rounded out the gift and finished it off.

Stay tuned...I'll share with you next what she got in February!

Until then, live your life on purpose today....it's all you have....