Handmade Gifts Part Two

I've posted about handmade gifts in the past, hence the "Part Two" tag of this post. In this post, I linked some fantastic DIY gift ideas that are great when you're in a pinch.

 We were hit with an insane ice storm this weekend. I mean parking lots turned into ice skating rinks and every square inch was covered with at least 3 inches of ice. I have never seen anything like it. Being that Texans are completely ill-prepared to handle the ice, my weekend turned into a 5 day hiatus. Basically a stay-in-your-house-because-you-can't-even-get-out-of-your-driveway event. I'll admit I was going a bit stir-crazy. One afternoon, a friend who lives close and I ventured out for a quick trip to Walmart for some much-needed supplies. All was well until we met the highway bridge. Our lives may or may not have flashed before our lives as we creeped along the bridge losing traction every few seconds. Thankfully we made it through and I was able to get the supplies for my 5th consecutive Chocolate Covered Pretzel-a-thon! Every year I roll up my sleeves, break out the baking supplies, and painstakingly dip pretzels into chocolate one at a time. By the end of it my back is aching and I'm covered in chocolate with my hair thrown back in a messy bun, but I have saved myself a ton of trouble/money in buying gifts for people. This week's unexpected interruption provided the perfect time to take on this feat. 

After letting my pretzels spend the night setting, I set up a gift station. My jars were purchased in groups of 4 at Walmart, and I kept the decoration pretty minimalist with a kraft paper label and some yarned turned into "poufs". 

Using this tutorial, I created a dozen yarn pom poms ready to be tied on for adornment. 

I tied the yarn in a simple bow so that my recipients might choose to reuse the yarn on their own gifts. 

A hand-written note attached with glue dots, and I had one gift complete! 

Pretty soon, I had one for each person on my list.

When I ran out of pretzels I opted to fill the last couple of jars with Hershey's Kisses. 

I loved how this one turned out. The blue jar with the red bow is such a pretty combination. 

Oh what? You want to see what Louie looks like in his grandpa sweater? Here you go, my friend. (: 

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