Homemade Christmas Gifts...

For the holidays I needed to do three things - come up with Christmas gifts for 34 people (we have a lot of family), do so within our budget (we've been saving throughout the year), and complete this all while initially on bed rest (as much as possible).

I think I did well.

I really wanted to make personal gifts this year. You can buy anyone a sweater, but what about making them bath salts or personalized drink ware?  So I set my sights on every homemade gift site I could find worth viewing.  In the end, I made some goodies I felt accomplished what I wanted - they were personal, made with love, and affordable.

Here are a few of the personalized beer mugs with beer that I shrink wrapped.

Etched design using my Cricut Expression, Gypsy, Vinyl and Etching Cream.

I made a pair of these "K" mugs for a couple we know.
Each mug got it's own beer and were placed together in a basket the shrink wrapped.

This necklace was made for my mom to give her friend.
Mom chose the beads and design, I simply put it together.

Beautiful silk-satin ribbon and amethyst necklace for a special girl.

Her sister gets the red beads with black silk-satin tie closure.

I also made those bath salts and put them in personalized air-tight jars.  I'll try to post a photo later if I remember.

Another simple project I did in a matter of minutes (40mins maybe) were the party favors for our annual Christmas party. I purchased candles, wrapped them in Christmas-themed paper, bagged and tagged them.  Here's a few photos:

(Ladies & Gents who use color, took home Redkin's Color Extender too)

So how did your holiday shopping & crafting treat you?  Are you finished with your odds and ends yet?
If not, good luck - the countdown already began... 8 more days to go!