Christmas in a mason jar

Christmas is just around the corner... seriously. I'm totally unprepared. This happens to me every year. One minute the sun is shining and I'm working on my tan, then... BOOM! Christmas is knocking on my door. Snow, carols, cookies, hot cocoa, and of course PRESENTS!

This year is a bit of a challenge for me. With my wedding less than a year away, any extra money I have is put aside for that. So I am on an extreme budget with any other aspect of my life. I know when giving gifts it's all about the thought that counts, but still. I wanna give rockin Christmas gifts, ya know?!

So what do you do when you have a lot of people to buy for and a minimal amount of funds to work with? You make your own gifts! YES! Homemade Christmas gifts are the absolute BEST!!!!! I love getting gifts that people that put thought into, and I have always been one for making my own cards and gifts. I love it even if I'm not the craftiest person. These days we have a total advantage... pinterest! If you have not jumped on this bandwagon yet you are missing out! I've planned most of my wedding using this little gem. No joke. But that's another topic all together.

So while I was browsing DIY gift ideas I noticed another wonderful thing... mason jars. Genius. You can create so many amazing gifts for every person in your family using a mason jar.

This is my absolute fave! I am a nut for nail polish and painting my nails so this is ideal. My best friend is the same way so naturally this is definitely a must. A manicure kit in a mason jar! (Check out tidbitsandtwine.com full details!) Honestly you could do all kinds of stuff off this one idea. Tweak it a little to personalize it. I can't get enough of this. It will help check off a few people on my list!!




Next is this fun idea>>>>>>
Hand scrub! The great thing about this is that you can use smaller sized mason jars too. There are also many different 'recipes' for hand scrubs, some more simplified than others. Here is the recipe for this particular one...

Peppermint Scrub

2 cups sugar

1 cup salt

1 cup sunflower oil

(this varies, so feel free to add a little more if needed)

12 drops of peppermint essential oil

I also found another one that was even easier...!! Check out the details here.

The possibilities for gifts in a mason jar are endless...

-You can put the ingredients to a favorite treat in the jar and include the instructions for how to prepare on a little tag.

-Fill the jar with candy... I mean, who doesn't love candy?! 

-Snow globes.

-Candle/ candle holder

All you have to do is look and you could find something for everyone on your list! All the while maintaining a low cost. Homemade gifts give off the impression that you put a little more thought and time into it. It's from the heart and those are always the best. 

What sort of homemade gift ideas do you have? Share them with me because I would love to get some more inspiration! 

Happy holidays!

I'm Back!!!

While sitting on the couch the other day, completely bored out of my mind, I decided that I needed to find something to occupy my free time. I work a lot and when I am not at work I am usually spending time with my mom and granny; out and about with my fiance', Michael; playing with my puggle, Dexter; working on planning my wedding; or just enjoying other miscellaneous nonsense. When I am not doing any of these things I am sitting on the couch, surfing through countless channels of nothingness on the tv... BORED OUT OF MY MIND!!! So I decided it was time to start blogging again!

When I first started blogging, it was more or less for my English class. But lately I've been thinking... I love to write, and I have a lot to say, so why not put it out there for someone to see! You may hate it or you may love it... either way I'll still be doing something I love and possibly having an effect on someones day to day life! So why not?! I love feedback to so please comment away on my posts... tell me your thoughts, agree or disagree! Everyone has an opinion so please share yours with me! It's always enlightening to hear another side!

I haven't really decided on what exactly I'd like to blog about. I remember one of my professors saying that it's good to have a specific, focused topic. But honestly... there's so much that I want to talk about I can't decide. So maybe that's it... I'll blog about EVERYTHING!!! Overall, I'm hoping to be an interesting read for someone so if I accomplish that then who cares what it's about. Right?

With that being said... you'll probably read a lot about all the insanity that is my life. You'll hear about my fiance', my puggle, my job, my family, and all the things I love about life.

So thanks for following and happy reading!!!!