Soda Pop Sampler, Christmas D.I.Y. Day Fourteen

So if you are paying attention you will notice there was no day twelve.  Somehow I thought I posted this but it didn't happen, Christmas brain I guess.  This is a great last minute gift that you can put together with not a lot of cash and just a little effort.  Here's how I did it.  I went to World Market and bought two of their retro soda sampler packs which have 12 sodas for 9.99, they had two different kinds of samplers so I got both to have a better selection and I was doing two of these.  You only need twelve to do one and World Market also sells the soda individually.  I also bought two packs of wood shavings, they were 1.99 each.  Then I went across the parking lot to Joann's and bought two wooden CD crates, they were 6.99 each but if you have a 40% or 50% off coupon it makes them a lot cheaper.  I then came home put twelve sodas in a crate with some wood shavings to cushion them.  Last but not least I tied a sweet little gift tag from Itwasmadewithluv , done.  You could also do this with beer, which I did or even an all root beer sampler.  This makes a great gift for teenagers, dads or grandpas and there is still time to throw it together if you need a last minute gift.

This is our last post till after Christmas, so Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays all you DIY'ers.

-Kim

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Sunergos Coffee, Christmas D.I.Y. Day Thirteen

Chai Latte

I don't know if you can tell, but here at D.I.Y. Louisville we kind of have a crush.  We really can't get enough of the great coffee and equally great service at Sunergos Coffee. We typically visit their newest location on Woodlawn in Beechmont.  You can find us there usually a few times a week.  It's a great place to meet up with some friends, just have some quiet reading time for yourself or even take the kids.  They have a really nice environment at this shop full of vintage (swoon) tables, chairs and our favorite giant couch.  The menu has something for everyone, my personal favorites being the Cafe Miele, which is coffee with honey and cinnamon and the Chai Latte.  My husband prefers his coffee black and we buy the Sunergos Blend to brew at home.  The kids love their hot chocolate and caramel apple cider which they will make lukewarm for the kiddos.  I also love their selection of teas.  Oh, and who could forget the scones, oh, the scones are amazing.  I like chocolate chip, but Julee prefers the blueberry.  They have been unbelievably nice to us at this shop and are always super helpful if you have any questions about the coffee or tea selections.  So while you are out and about this week finishing up your shopping or visiting friends and family, stop by and treat yourself to one of Sunergos amazing drinks, I promise you will be happy you did.

I'm so jealous of all of these awesome vintage tables and chairs. You can also kind of see some of the artwork on the walls.  Sunergos has a rotating exhibit of local artists works up.

I'll take one of each, please.  Sunergos has lots of different varieties of coffee to choose from and they will grind it for you also.

-Kim

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Handmade Ornament Swap, Christmas D.I.Y. Day Eleven

This past Tuesday, D.I.Y. Louisville held our first ever handmade ornament swap.  Everyone was invited to be a part, all you had to do was make an ornament and show up to exchange it.  The exchange took place at our regular meet up.  We had some great ornaments, there were sewn ornaments, felted ornaments and quilled and beaded ornaments.  It was a lot of fun to see what everyone would come up with and even better getting to take home a new handmade ornament for my tree.  So take a look at some of the pictures from Tuesday's event and maybe you will get some ideas of your own or better yet maybe you will decide to join us for our next meet up!

Some of the ornaments before opening.

Some crafting being done, paper quilling.

Crafter Katie sewing a felt ornament.

Julee, practicing her paper quilling.

More crafting.

and a little more crafting.

And some of the haul.  As you can see we had some beautiful and very different Christmas ornaments.  I love them all and wish I could have one of each for my tree.

Kim

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For The Boys, Christmas D.I.Y. Day Ten

In the crafty world the guys sometimes get neglected.  There is always so much cute, fun stuff for us ladies, but the guys like crafty homemade stuff too.  It may be getting down to the wire, but here are some of the best handmade items for guys from local artists.  I've also noted if they are available in local shops for last minute shopping!

Pocket bottle opener from parsnipandpear.

Pretty awesome peacock cuff links from tomatomade.

Love this!  Grow a Beard print from poppyandpinecone

Weirdy Beardy from onlyembry.  Available at Cherry Bomb and Hey Tiger.

Amazing ring from naturalezanica  Available at Amazing Green Planet, Edenside Gallery and Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft

Beautiful pottery pilsner cup, so he can drink his beer in style.  From gottuso

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Beaded Ornament Hooks Tutorial D.I.Y.Christmas Day Nine

You know what’s better than making a handmade ornament?  Making a handmade ornament with a beaded ornament hook, that’s what.  Here’s a little tutorial on how you can snazz up your ornaments.

Beaded Ornament Hook Tutorial

Supplies:

5-1/2 inches of bendable wire (I used 20 gauge)

Wire cutting & bending tools (shown here is a 3-in-1 tool)

Beads

Step 1 – Use your wire bender and make a little hook at the bottom of your wire, like so:

Step 2 – Using your wire bender/wrapper, make a small loop about 1-inch up from your hook.  The measurement isn’t precise, I totally just eyeball it.

Step 3 – Add your beads from the top.  Glass beads look really pretty, but these are just plastic ones I swiped from one of my daughter’s jewelry kits.  Still pretty.

Step 4 – Make your hook at the top.  I use my finger as a guide, wrapping the wire over my index finger.  I totally have old lady hands in this picture.  Ignore that.

Step 5 – Make a little hook up at the end of your wire.  I don’t know how to explain it, but it looks like this:

Now go and hang your handmade ornament from your handmade hook and brag to all of your friends how cool you are because you did it yourself, you rockin’ DIY’er!


Alternately, if you just want to jazz up some pre-made hooks, you can do that, too.

Here are a couple more I made.  One with wood beads, which I have a particular fondness for, and the other made with the only glass beads I could find in my entire crafty stash, pathetically.

Happy Holidays, DIY’ers!
~julee~

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Treasure Ball Ornament Tutorial Christmas D.I.Y. Day Eight

I made these treasure ball ornaments for my daughter to give as party favors at our recent little elf holiday party.  They are fun to make, and fun for kids to unwrap. 
To make them you need:
Rolls of crepe paper streamers
Trinkets to hide inside the ball
Ribbon
Tape
Gift Tag (optional)
Ornament Hanger (optional)
Step 1 – Gather little trinkets to hide inside your ball.  We were having a little elf party, so I picked mini sized trinkets.  Since the purpose is to hide everything within the ball, you want a good mix of only 1 or 2 larger items and then a bunch of smaller items.  For this treasure ball I used mini play-doh, mini nail polish, mini body glitter, mini activity book, ring, silly bands, eraser, nail stickers, and a tattoo.  Obviously, I was making these for little girls, but the possibilities of trinkets are endless.  A tip – to cut down on the cost, look for packs of multiple items that can be split.

Step 2 – Begin wrapping the first item with the crepe paper.  My strips were approximately 3 feet long, but there is no exact science to this and mostly I just winged it because that’s how I craft. 
I used the biggest item for the center to give me a good foundation for the ball shape.

Pull the streamer fairly snug around each item.  Manipulate the paper so that it wraps on all sides of the item.

Step 3 – Continue adding items, alternating the direction of your wrapper.  Ideally, you’ll want one streamer wrapped per item, but some items might take 2 streamers to get good coverage,especially if it’s a heavy item like the nail polish I used.  Roll with how you think it’ll work best.  Not one to skip over the obvious, but wrap in a ball shape.

Step 4 – Now that you’ve wrapped all of your items inside nice and tight, take one or two additional streamers and wrap the outside of the ball.  When you get to the end, add a little piece of tape to secure it.
Step 5 – Add a ribbon for cuteness.  Also a nametag if you want.  You’re done and now you have a super cute party favor that can be tailored to any kind of celebration.

Step 6 (optional) – Add an ornament hook, and hang from the tree.  This would be fun to hide in the tree for your kid to find.  Or your wife if there is diamond jewelry inside *ahem*.

Step 7 – Make the kids take them home to unwrap, otherwise you’ll have quite a mess to pick up.

Happy Holidays DIY’ers!
~julee~

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Cookie Truffles Tutorial, Christmas D.I.Y. Day Seven

This is a quick and easy recipe/tutorial for cookie truffles. They are so easy to make and really yummy.  You can customize the flavors by using different sandwich cookie flavors, I have seen the normal ones, peanut butter, strawberry and mint.

Ingredients
1 block room temperature cream cheese
1 package of sandwich cookies (oreos)
dipping chocolate (I used white)
sprinkles for decoration

Beat the cream cheese until smooth.

In a food processor crush up all of your cookies, they should be like very small crumbs.  Add it to the cream cheese and beat until combined.

Line some cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Scoop out small balls of the cookie/cream cheese mixture and place on tray.  Stick them in the freezer for 10 minutes to chill.

Dip them in your melted chocolate or candy coating.

Then to make them look pretty, I put some melted chocolate in a squeeze bottle and drizzle it over the candies and add sprinkles.  you could also use a spoon or fork to drizzle the chocolate.  Store these in an airtight container in the fridge, they will last for a few weeks.

-Kim

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