Gifts Under $5 Archives | Heavenly Homemakers

Make Easy Christmas Potpourri Gifts

November 25, 2020 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Need an easy homemade gift that is unique and inexpensive? These Easy Christmas Potpourri pouches are fun and simple!

I began making these a few years ago and love how fun and easy they are. The combination of ingredients is perfect for the holidays, and you can make several at once which is very inexpensive and perfect for gifting teachers, neighbors, church members – whoever you want!

Easy Christmas Potpourri Gifts

Make Easy Christmas Potpourri Gifts

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Author: Laura

Ingredients

½ cup cranberries
1 small orange
3 Cinnamon Sticks (use the code “HOME” for a 15% discount!)
1 Tablespoon Mulling Spice (use the code “HOME” for a 15% discount!)
2 Tablespoons Star Anise

Instructions

Place all ingredients in a bag. (I use bags like these.)
Tie up with a ribbon and a gift tag, which can be downloaded and printed below.

Download FREE Christmas Potpourri Pouch Gift Tags Here.

Christmas Potpourri Gift Tags

I get most of my ingredients for these at Olive Nation (free shipping if you spend $50 or more; 15% off any size order when you use the code: home).

Other fun things to make with cinnamon sticks

If you’re going to take advantage of that 15% discount I mentioned and grab cinnamon sticks from Olive Nation (I buy them in large quantity this time of year!), here are some other great ways to use them:

Make Cinnamon Extract. Get the details and directions here.

Buy a fun holiday candle and glue cinnamon sticks onto the jar for a fun and festive look! Get the details and directions here.

Make Cinnamon Pancake and Waffle Syrup. Get the details and directions here.

Purchase a small plant and glue cinnamon sticks around the pot. The example shown below is one I made in the summertime. But for a holiday gift, purchase a small poinsettia or another wintery plant. Tie with a red ribbon and you have a lovely gift! Get the details and directions here.

Make Crockpot Cranberry Apple Cider. This is always a hit with guests and so very easy to make!

Need another homemade gift idea?

Try making Homemade Vanilla Extract. EVERYONE loves receiving this gift!

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Fun (and EASY) Christmas Crafts to Make with Peppermints

November 20, 2018 by Laura 4 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

I originally shared this in 2015. Why am I sharing again? Because Thanksgiving break is my favorite time to make Christmas crafts. Just in case you’d like to play along, here are some fun and VERY EASY Christmas crafts to make with peppermints!

Easy Peppermint Candy Crafts

You may have seen the DIY Peppermint Candy Bowl tutorial floating around online. Usually, I see videos like that and I’m like, “How nice for you. You like to take twenty-seven steps to make a recipe or a craft. You turn out amazing-looking dishes/crafts. Your videos make it look easy for everyone (but me). I must now go back to making kiddie crafts and stirring together 5-ingredient recipes because I can’t handle more than 2 steps while making anything.”

But the Peppermint Candy Bowls were different. This craft idea is as easy as opening a bag of candy, melting it for a short time in the oven, and…hmmm. That’s it. That’s all you do. It’s really that easy.

This is why I purchased a bulk amount of round peppermint candies before Thanksgiving. I would have peppermint bowls – I would. People would be impressed. My house would look festive. I could do this!

peppermint bowls

And then I cheated. I turned the job over to a college girl who was staying at our house during Thanksgiving week. She made all the adorable Peppermint Candy Bowls and I cheered for her. In the meantime, I ironed tea bags and she cheered for me. (Not really, because my craft didn’t look like much at the time so nothing motivated her to say, “Wow, Laura, you sure can iron.”)

Nonetheless, while our friend made Peppermint Bowls, I turned out these Lavender Oatmeal Bath Teabags – the gift tags of which made us both cheer. Also, we watched a cheesy Hallmark Christmas movie while she was visiting because #sappymovies #girlstuff #absolutelynecessary

The boys got home from basketball practice before the movie was over. They immediately began making fun of every line and every situation and all the fake snow falling at just the right time. Just whatever, boys. I cater to you and watch your blow-up movies all the time and don’t make fun of your fake explosions and people with unrealistic abilities to climb buildings or throw large machines. #whyineedgirltime

lavender tea bags11

So girlie stuff. Since the peppermint bowls were such a success, we talked about making more peppermint crafts. We bought more peppermint candies and put all the boys to work opening all of them and putting them into a bowl. (Why did I not get a picture of this?) It was our friend’s idea to fill an entire cookie sheet with peppermints and melt them down to make a tray. We never got around to it before the dorm opened up again, so lookie what I made all by myself!!!

peppermint trays

If you look real close (please don’t) – you’ll see that I got distracted and let my peppermints stay in the oven about one minute too long which resulted in a few pepperminty bubbles. The trays are still adorable and now my house is filled with fun, festive decorations!

What you need to know about Christmas Crafts to make with Peppermints

1. Get all the detailed instructions here. But in short, you put peppermint candies on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper (we found that a Silicone Baking Mat worked much better.) Bake in a 300° oven for 7-8 minutes.

2. Watch carefully the last few minutes of baking so as not to over-melt the peppermints. You want them just barely melted. Once they become shiny and runny, they become a peppermint disaster and you’ll have to throw out your oven and then you might as well move to another state. (I’ve obviously been watching an over-dramatic girlie movie.)

3. To make a peppermint bowl, turn the melted peppermints out over the bottom of a small glass or plastic bowl for easy shaping. We found it was best to wait about 30 seconds after the mints came out of the oven before shaping.

4. We found that it was best to make just one bowl at a time. These are a little bit time sensitive.

5. You need 19 peppermints for one bowl; 149 for a large tray (I did 6 rows of 14 alternated with 5 rows of 13); 17 peppermints for the tiny tray.

6. These are breakable. Do not bang these on a table or play soccer with them in the living room.

7. These are only barely sticky once completed. This makes them great for decorations or gifts. You probably don’t want to use the bowls for cereal and milk, though. I mean, you make the call.

Warning: These crafts are so much fun you’ll consider buying a warehouse full of peppermints so you can make an entire house of melted candy. You’ll want to experiment with other shapes and household items. You will become addicted to watching peppermints melt and become cute. The men in your life will wonder if you’ve lost your mind (again) as they dutifully take thousands of wrappers off peppermint candies as you have directed them to do.

Have you ever tried crafts like this? Have any fun ideas for shapes?

P.S. Check out Cantina’s adorable Ribbon Tree Ornament!

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Summer Family Fun ~ Less Than $1.00

May 25, 2016 by Laura Leave a Comment

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Today’s “less than $1.00” theme includes ideas for fun you can have with your family during the summertime. I am so excited to be soaking up the sunshine (free) enjoying food off the grill (yum) and taking a break from formal school work with the kids (summer break rocks). Here are a few ideas for ya:

Free kids activity book

Many of you have this eBook already, but for those who don’t – you can get it free. It contains 101 fun pre-school project ideas – and many of them are great for summertime fun! These ideas all came from you, my readers. We put it together several years ago and it’s a fun one! Since this book is FREE, and many of the activities listed inside are inexpensive to do, this definitely qualifies for our “less than $1.00” theme!

101 Preschool Projects Free Download

Grab this FREE 101 Pre-School Projects book when you sign up to be a part of our Heavenly Homemaker’s Learning Zone!

Homemade Bubble Bath

This Homemade Bubble Bath idea has been on my site since my 14-year old turned 6. Needless to say, this 5’11” teenager with a deep voice doesn’t take bubble baths anymore. But he sure did enjoy this when I made it for him for his birthday 9 years ago. (I wish his birthday gifts were still this inexpensive!)

Homemade Bubble Bath for Pennies

Cook with your kids

Summer can be a great time to teach your kids more cooking skills. Here are a couple of Malachi’s favorite recipes: Homemade Real Food Tootsie Rolls and Easy Crustless Pizza Pie. You can also sign up for a free video series (open through June 6 only) that teaches your kids some basic skills, including how to use knives safely.

Homemade Real Food Tootsie Roll Candy

DIY Bracelets

These Easy Fabric Bracelets are really fun to make (even I can do it!). They cost about 8¢ each. If you have girls in your life, making these bracelets might be fun to craft some hot afternoon.

Quick and Easy Fabric Bracelets

Summer Blessings Printable Cards

You can grab the download for these printable cards here, then print them off to use this summer as you need them.

Summer Blessings Printables

See our other “less than $1.00” ideas that have been shared this week here, here, and here.

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Bread, Recipe Card Craft, Service Ideas, and More – All Less Than $1.00

May 24, 2016 by Laura 2 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

I’ve got more “make it for less than $1.00” ideas for you today! If you missed yesterday’s list of ideas, go check them out. It’s fun sharing all these super inexpensive ideas with you this week!

$1.00 or Less Recipes, Crafts, Gift Ideas, and more!

First, the simplest craft idea ever:

Remember when I posted about how to make these cute Recipe Card Holders? These are incredibly fun and cute and EASY. The cost for each is about 20¢. Read the details here, and read other ideas for how to use these. (They’re not just great for holding recipes!)

recipe card holder6

Want to teach your kids to cook this summer?

The Kids Cook Real Food eCourse will be open next week. But for this week? Sign them up for the go check them out Malachi (our youngest) learned so much from these (and the entire course). Seeing as $FREE$ is much less than even $1.00, go check them out.

Homemade 100% Whole Grain Bread for a Buck

You can’t buy a loaf of 100% Whole Grain bread for $1.00 – or at least I sure can’t. You also can’t beat homemade bread. This Stir-and-Pour Bread recipe is just about as easy as it gets because you don’t even have to knead it. You can make this so quickly!

stir and pour bread loaf 5

Bread Mix in a Jar – Make it for a Gift!

You can either bake some of the Stir-and-Pour Bread to share with someone, or you can follow these directions to make the mix-in-a-jar to give as a gift. Either way, what a fun way to love on someone! You can also use the free printable gift tags (found on this page) to go with your jar.

Stir-and-Pour Bread Mix Gift Jar with Free Printable Gift Tags

More fun bread variations – all for $1.00

Use the basic Stir-and-Pour Bread recipe to make these too:

Watch for more “less than $1.00” ideas coming up tomorrow!

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Free Printable Game “Kiss-Tac-Toe” (The Chocolate Kind!)

December 17, 2015 by Laura 8 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

kiss tac toe1

Malachi and I came up with this fun game idea. It’s Tic-Tac-Toe – only with chocolate kisses instead of X’s and O’s. This, of course, turns the game into Kiss-Tac-Toe.

I think this is incredibly clever. But then I realized that I have teenagers and overemphasizing the word “kiss” or suggesting that they give these fun gifts to their friends and Bible class teachers is probably weird and embarrassing. I’m not entirely above embarrassing my children on purpose, but I suppose this time I will refrain from insisting that my 13-year old give Kiss-Tac-Toe gift packs to his peers at church and on the basketball team.

What is my plan then? Well, first of all, Malachi and I have had a pretty good time playing 47 rounds of Kiss-Tac-Toe with a variety of Christmasy game boards. It’s almost torture for him to avoid actually eating the game pieces, but just like embarrassment, I’m not above torture in the name of winning a game. Competitive? Me? Oh no. Not much. (Sometime I should tell you about our family’s Kiss-Tac-Tournament.)

My ultimate plan with these game packets is to put them together with a few other fun items for some of my retired lady friends who share an apartment complex in town. They meet in their community room daily and play games together for hours. I think they will get a big kick out of these Christmas-time game boards and game pieces. I’ll package them up with fuzzy socks, pretty soap, a mini-calendar, and some baked goodies.

Merry Christmas Kiss-Tac-Toe

How to Put Together Kiss-Tac-Toe Gift Packs

1. Print the game boards, gift tags, and instruction card. (Access instructions below). I recommend printing the game boards on heavy white cardstock.

2. Cut them apart and put one game board and an instruction card into a sandwich-sized zip-lock bag.

3. Put 10 chocolate kisses into each bag – 5 each of 2 different colors.

4. Seal the bags. Fold the gift tag over the top and attach with ribbon or a stapler.

Merry Christmas Kiss-Tac-Toe Free Printable Game

Even if you don’t package these up to give away, you might have fun leaving game boards and chocolate kisses around on tables in your house for people to play during Christmastime. It’s just silly fun, you know? I like silly fun. (As opposed to non-silly fun? Whatever.)

You know what I’m thinking now? I should make Christmas Bingo Boards. We could play it with M&Ms. I can’t believe all the candy talk going on here right now.

Are you having a fun Christmas season?

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So Many Fun Peppermint Candy Crafts!

December 14, 2015 by Laura 5 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

peppermint bowls

lavender tea bags11

peppermint trays

Easy Peppermint Candy Crafts

What you need to know about making Easy Peppermint Candy Crafts

4. We found that it was best to make just one bowl at a time. These are a little bit time sensitive.

5. You need 19 peppermints for one bowl; 149 for a large tray (I did 6 rows of 14 alternated with 5 rows of 13); 17 peppermints for the tiny tray.

6. These are breakable. Do not bang these on a table or play soccer with them in the living room.

7. These are only barely sticky once completed. This makes them great for decorations or gifts. You probably don’t want to use the bowls for cereal and milk, though. I mean, you make the call.

Have you ever tried crafts like this? Have any fun ideas for shapes?

P.S. Check out Cantina’s adorable Ribbon Tree Ornament!

Heavenly Homemaker's Club Members: Access your homepage and all your fantastic resources here! Not a member yet? Please join us!

15 Homemade Gifts for Less Than $5

December 8, 2015 by Laura 3 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Last year I ran a series here sharing Homemade Gift Ideas for Less Than $5. I wanted to remind you of these ideas just in case any of them will help you out with your gift giving this Christmas!

Homemade Gifts for Less Than $5

Many of these ideas came from you last year. It was so much fun to hear from you and learn from your skills and creativity. If you are working on anything this year, take some pictures, write down instructions, and send them my way. If I feel your idea will benefit my readers, I’d love to post it! If your gift idea costs less than $5, that’s an added bonus we’ll all appreciate. Saving money is always a plus. If your craft is Laura friendly (can be made by a five-year old), all the better. But seeing as most of you are better at crafting than I, we’ll accept even the ideas with instructions that make me pucker up my forehead. (Decoupage? What’s decoupage?)

Below you’ll find links for 15 homemade gift ideas. They all cost less than $5, and some are much less than that! Some are gifts of food, some require a little more skill, all are fun to make and receive!

15 Homemade Gifts for Less Than $5

Instant Oatmeal in a Jar

Snowman Pails

Snowman Pails - Less Than $5

Sensory Bottles for Infants and Toddlers

Non-Toxic Bubble Bath

Wrapped Candy Bars

Christmas Candy Bar Gifts

Message Board

No-Sew Rice Heating Pads

Geoboards

Pinecone Holiday Decor

Homemade Seasoned Salt with Recipe Cards

Easy Fabric Bracelets

And a reminder of our latest ideas shared this year:

Stir-and-Pour Bread Mix in a Jar

Lavender Oatmeal Bath Bags

Christmas Potpourri Pouch

Chai Tea Kit

Do you make a lot of homemade gifts? I’d love to hear more about gifts you make! If it works for you, take some pictures of your projects and send them to me along with instructions for how to put them together. They will be fun to feature here!

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12 Days of Christmas ~ Seeking Jesus Countdown Printable (How My Family Will Be Celebrating Jesus this Christmas)

December 3, 2015 by Laura 26 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

12 days of Christmas3

Christmastime brings out the “kid” in my kids. I guess in some ways it brings out the kid in all of us. I get overwhelmingly giddy about all the Christmas fun, and I’m…not a kid.

This year, my boys suggested that I should make them some sort of advent calendar – you know – the kind that included 25 days worth of candy or presents or money? No biggie. On second thought, knowing how busy I am, my boys were thoughtful enough to suggest that I could just buy one. They are so considerate of my needs. (Just don’t forget the candy, Mom.)

I knew they were (mostly) kidding, but still the idea of creating some sort of special Christmas countdown for them sounded like a lot of fun. I especially wanted to do it because after we had our conversation, they pretty much thought I would forget about it and not do anything. Ha! I’ll show them. It’s fun to be rebellious toward my teenagers.

Fast-forward to later that day when I saw my sister-in-law’s Facebook post asking people to share what Advent meant to each one. One of her friends mentioned the story “of Simeon and Anna as they wait on the promise of seeing Christ, who would take away the sorrows of Israel…both old, filled with the Holy Spirit…and now ready to die because they had seen the salvation of the Lord.” (Luke 2:25-32)

After I read this, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I mostly focus on the birth of Jesus during the Christmas season. How lovely to think about how Simeon and Anna eagerly sought to meet Jesus on earth after his birth! I opened my Bible and searched for more instances where people sought after Jesus. So many people from so many different situations recognized their need for Jesus. Their stories are beautiful – so filled with faith.

THIS is why Jesus came!! To heal! To cleanse! To bring salvation. To be truth. To meet the needs of each one who seeks Him. To bring peace. To be joy.

During my study that day, an idea for a Christmas count-down began to form. In my excitement, I could think of little else. I wrote down 12 situations in the Bible where people saw their need for Jesus, sought Him out, and encountered His fullness. I decided that our family could read one each day for 12 days, beginning December 13 – counting down the days until Christmas.

One idea led to another as I thought of ways to make this more memorable and meaningful for our family. I turned the scriptures into decorative cards. I attached the cards to 12 lunch-sized sacks. Beginning December 13, we will open one sack each day after we read and discuss the scripture. Inside each sack, I have included an item that relates to the day’s reading. Some will be treats for us to enjoy, some will be something we can share with others, some will simply be symbolic. I’ve written the details below in case you’d like to do something similar with your family.

Ready to download the ~12 Days of Christmas ~ Seeking Jesus Countdown Cards?

Click here to join our Learning Zone.

All members of our Learning Zone will get continual FREE access to these cards and many more seasonal family learning resources!

I keep getting choked up and teary eyed as I anticipate sharing this with my family. I have such a desire to make Jesus a bigger part of our Christmas celebrations, and I can’t think of a better way than to celebrate with 12 Biblical examples of people who came eagerly seeking Him during his time on earth. May we also be inspired to eagerly seek Jesus daily for our comfort, healing, peace, and joy!

Here are the scriptures I chose, as well as details about what I included in each sack.

12 Days of Christmas ~ Seeking Jesus

1. Luke 2:25-35

The story of Simeon seeking Jesus in the temple. I added a Christmas-y candle to the bag. We’ll light it as a reminder that Jesus is “a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”

2. Luke 2:36-40

The story of Anna seeking Jesus in the temple. The bag contains a 2016 mini-calendar. This will represent how Anna worshiped in the Temple night and day for years and years. It will remind us that our daily lives are also to be worship.

3. Luke 2:41-52

The story of Jesus’ parents looking for Jesus and finding him in the temple. This sack is empty! Once the boys discover this, they will have to do a search through the living room to find a treat I’ve hidden. This represents Jesus’ parents searching for him on their journey.

4. Luke 5:12-16

The story of Jesus healing a leper. This bag contains a new snowman soap dispenser. This represents “cleansing” as described in the story. Other ideas include fun bars of soap or cute washrags.

5. Luke 5:17-26

The story of Jesus healing the paralyzed man on the mat. I found a fun Christmas place-mat and folded it up (carefully!) into the sack. I also included a small treat we can eat after we put the new mat on our table.

6. Luke 7:1-10

The story of the Centurion seeking Jesus to heal his servant. Because Jesus healed the man’s servant, I’ve included a service opportunity in this sack. I put two muffin mixes along with some Christmas paper liners for the boys to make and deliver to someone.

7. Luke 7:36-50

The story of the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with her tears and poured perfume on them. I put two bottles of essential oils in the sack for us to use in our diffuser. All day the smell of the oils will remind of us of this story of forgiveness.

8. Luke 8:40-56

The story of Jairus seeking Jesus to heal his 12-year old daughter, and Jesus healing the woman who had been sick for 12 years. I added 12 chocolate candies in the sack to share as the number 12 is a significant number in this reading. Plus, there was much to celebrate with these two healings! Chocolate seemed appropriate.

9. Luke 9:37-43

The story of Jesus healing the demon possessed boy. This one is a little bit silly, but my big boys appreciate being silly quite frequently. Picturing the joy of the boy who was healed by Jesus, I put some goofy toys in the sack for our boys. Straws with mustaches? Why not?

10. Luke 19:1-10

The story of Zacchaeus climbing a tree to see Jesus. Since Zacchaeus was a tax collector who turned his life around, I put some cash in the sack. Our family will decide together how we would like to donate this money.

11. John 3:1-21

The story of Nicodemus coming to Jesus at night to learn from him. I got a new string of Christmas lights for our boys to hang in their room as a reminder of Jesus words, “But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” Other ideas include glow lights or bracelets.

12. Matthew 2:1-12

The story of the Magi following the star to find Jesus. I found a new star-shaped ornament for our tree. This will be the final bag we open on December 24!

12 days of Christmas4

Christmas Countdown Notes

~ Reading chronologically is nice, but I’m actually mixing up the scriptures and stories and doing them with our family in a different order than listed above.

~ In deciding the order, be sure to start with 12 and work your way down to 1. I know that is obvious in a Christmas Countdown, but my brain had to think through that more than once as I was organizing the best order for our scripture cards and sacks. :)

~ I purchased almost all of these items at our dollar store or used what I already had on hand. I wanted to make this special while keeping the cost down. Win-win.

~ The free download includes number cards if you’d like to use them too. I simply folded over the sacks and stapled on the number card along with a little curly ribbon.

I’d love to hear about any special advent traditions your family has! At this point, our countdown sacks are under our tree, just waiting for December 13 so we can begin. The sacks look pretty intriguing, so I think we need a special countdown for our countdown. :)

Join our Learning Zone here for free access to these countdown cards and many more family resources!

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Stir-and-Pour Bread Mix ~ a Great $1.00 Gift Idea

December 2, 2015 by Laura 24 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

stir and pour bread loaf 4 Wow, Laura. You sure do talk about Stir-and-Pour Bread a lot.

Does this surprise you? Did I or did I not warn you that the Stir-and-Pour Bread would change your life? I did. There’s no way I will ever go back to the “old way” of making bread when this recipe makes a bread just as good with such a tiny amount of effort. I can’t stop talking about it!!!!!

We could talk about the weather if you want. Brr. It’s cold. I could really go for some warm homemade bread.

Well, I tried.

So guess what? All of the dry ingredients for Stir-and-Pour Bread fit in a one-quart jar! This means that you can fill jars with bread mix, tie them up with pretty ribbons, and give the gift that will change people’s lives!

I mean, Jesus is really what changes people’s lives. But Jesus is the Bread of Life, so there is a very deep connection here that we should discuss at length. Perhaps while the bread is in the oven baking???

Stir-and-Pour Bread Mix Gift Jar with Free Printable Gift Tags

This gift idea costs about $1.00 per jar. For a more elaborate gift that is still on the frugal side, how about gifting this jar of bread mix with a new ceramic bread dish? Who wouldn’t love that?? You could include a jar of homemade jelly. Maybe a jug of honey. A stick of butter? Well, that might be taking things too far.

Stir-and-Pour Bread Mix in a Jar

Stir-and-Pour Bread Mix ~ a Great $1.00 Gift Idea

Save Print

Author: Laura

Serves: 1 loaf

Ingredients

4 cups flour (I use freshly ground hard white wheat)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 Tablespoons sucanat or sugar

Instructions

Stir ingredients and funnel into a quart-sized jar.
Add gift tag with instructions to add water and bake!

I created a printable with instructions on how to stir together the bread and bake it. Print them, cut them, and tie them onto your gift jar!

Download FREE Stir-and-Pour Bread Tags

Stir and Pour Bread Mix Gift Tags Check out the other recent low cost gift ideas I shared earlier this week. Tis the season to turn food into gifts, right? Right.

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Simple {Practical} Homemade Gift Ideas for Teachers, Co-Workers, Ministry Staff, Neighbors, and Friends (For Less Than $2 Each)

November 29, 2015 by Laura 9 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Simple and practical homemade gifts…the only kind I can handle!

lavender tea bags11

My mom was a super crafter. She had entire “craft room” with big shelves of totes filled with fabric, plus two of every craft supply found at Hobby Lobby. I loved looking through all her supplies, and I loved admiring all the detailed crafts she was making for people. She made everything from hand-pieced quilts to elaborate counted cross-stitch. Everything she made was gorgeous.

You’d think I would have the same crafty genes as my talented mother. You’d think.

Laura only got the cooking genes. These are also good genes to have, but they don’t have the patience or the skill to turn out beautiful crafts. I’ve come to terms with it. I will forever admire the handiwork of others while I set out plates of homemade muffins. It’s a win-win.

Still. Every single Thanksgiving I get an intense hankering to craft something. I absolutely know that this hankering comes from the tradition ingrained in me from all my Thanksgivings with my mom when I was younger. We’d make it through the holiday feast, then she’d pull out the latest craft she had in mind for us to make for Christmas. She did all the tedious parts. I did all the no-brainer parts. (Laura: Place pine-cones in a basket. Mom: Make the pine-cone basket look like it came out of a magazine.)

Once again, this year I found myself needing to make crafts during Thanksgiving break. I even thought ahead and ordered supplies. The ideas I’m about to share truly are “if I can do it, anyone can” crafts. They are so easy, I actually had fun and didn’t want to scream, pout, or throw something while I was making them. (I might have crafting-anger issues. It stems from trying to follow counted cross-stitch patterns. I can’t talk about it.)

So my friends, here are three of the easiest crafts on the planet. As an added bonus, these crafts make great gifts, they all cost less than $2, and they are all practical and fun. Sorry. I just can’t not be practical. (I mean fun. I can’t not be fun. I am always so much fun. Except for when I’m following a counted cross-stitch pattern. Please, let’s not talk about it.)

3 Simple and Practical Homemade Gifts

3 Easy Homemade Gifts for $1.75 or Less

First I made the most adorable Lavender Oatmeal Bath Tea Bags (adapted from The Humbled Homemaker). This craft consists of mixing three simple ingredients, funneling the mixture into tea bags, ironing the tea bags closed, and then tying a ribbon around a few bags for a gift.

Do not the let ironing step throw you off!! This is actually the step I loved the most, and I hate ironing. It’s just that ironing the tea bag closed made me feel like an actual crafter. Plus it was fun to see that the little flap on the tea bag sealed when ironed for 8 seconds. I am now a professional tea bag ironer! I want to make more of these just so I can iron tea bags.

Lavender Oatmeal Bath

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup Lavender
1/2 cup Epsom salts (purchased at Wal-Mart)

Pulse ingredients together in a blender until they are well combined and in small pieces. Use a funnel to transfer 1- 1 1/2 Tablespoon mixture to small tea bags. Fold down tea-bag flap and press to seal with a hot iron (like a boss). Tie a few tea bags together along with the free printable gift tag below.

This recipe makes about 20 Lavender Oatmeal Bath Bags, which is enough for 5 groups of 4 tea bags. I realize you could have done the math on that yourself, but it is holiday time. We all have enough to think about right now. Today I shall make crafts and do short division. I am on fire!

Make Lavender Oatmeal Bath Gift Packs for Less Than $1.00 Per Gift

Download FREE Lavender Oatmeal Bath Tags Here.

lavender gift tags

After my bath pouches were complete, I spent about five minutes pretending that putting cranberries and oranges into cellophane bags is actually a craft. The “star anise” in this recipe is optional (for those who think anise smells like a jelly bean gone wrong). But if you ask me, the anise stars triple the cuteness value of these pouches.

Christmas Potpourri Pouch

1/2 cup cranberries
1 small orange
3 Cinnamon Sticks (use the code “HOME” for a 15% discount!)
1 Tablespoon Mulling Spice (use the code “HOME” for a 15% discount!)
2 Tablespoons Star Anise

Place all ingredients in a bag. (I used these Clear Cellophane Bags.) Tie up with a ribbon and a free printable gift tag below.

Download FREE Christmas Potpourri Pouch Gift Tags Here.

Christmas Potpourri Gift Tags

Finally, I found a way to iron more tea bags (be very happy for me). I had a lovely pack of Chai Tea from Olive Nation. I researched how to make the awesome Chai Tea Drink people rave about, then put together some Chai Tea Kits. Total cost per gift set: 98¢. Getting to once again experience the ironing of the tea bags: Priceless.

Chai Tea Kit

Funnel 1 -1 1/2 Tablespoons Chai Tea into a tea bag. Iron flap down to seal(!!!). Place a few prepared tea bags along with 3-4 Cinnamon Sticks into a small gift bag. Tie with a ribbon and a free printable gift tag below.

Make Chai Tea Gift Kits for Less Than $1.00

Download FREE Chai Tea Kit Gift Tags Here.

Supplies List for these Gifts

I had plenty of ribbon on hand, as well as a big bag of Epsom Salt from Walmart. I got most of the remaining (really cool) supplies for these crafts through Amazon or Olive Nation.

From Amazon:

From Olive Nation:

Cinnamon Sticks
Star Anise
Mulling Spice
Chai Tea Spice Mix
Culinary Lavender (1 ounce = about 1 cup)

As an extra special treat, Olive Nation is giving us all 10% off any size order! Use the code CINNAMONGIFTS for the discount. Plus, if your order reaches $50, you’ll receive free shipping. AND!!! Your order of $50 or more entitles you to a free gift at check-out!! You can choose from any that they offer, but you should know that for this special promotion, they put together an extra big package of free cinnamon sticks – just for us! (It’s a pack of 10!) For all the fun gift-making purposes mentioned in this post, I’d pick that freebie if I were you.

I shall now continue to find more excuses to iron tea bags. I got Oolong Orange Blossom Tea in my Olive Nation order last week, so I’ll probably need to play with that. Beyond tea and tea bags, I made homemade Apple Cider in the Crock Pot last week with my cinnamon sticks and will be sharing the recipe soon. This time of year smells so good!!!

Are you making gifts this year? Are you a crafter?

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