Holiday DIYs

This time of the year is the best because I get to combine two of my favorite things: crafting and Christmas! I could probably do Christmas crafts every day of my life, but I think Justin would have me committed -- he already gave me the side eye when I pulled out the Christmas decorations last week.

Today, I bring for your reading entertainment my two most recent Christmas DIYs. Both of these DIYs are pretty simple, easy to do, and you're able to make them your own. If you have any favorite holiday DIYs, share them in the comments below. I'm always looking for fun, new things to work on!

DIY Christmas Stockings

Ever since Justin and I got married, I have wanted to buy personalized linen stockings for Christmas. I found the perfect ones on Etsy, but they were not cheap, and being newlywed, we didn't really have extra funds to drop on something like seasonal decorations. Now that we have Avery, and really don't have extra money for frivolous things (hello medical bills!) I decided it was a great excuse for stocking. The things we tell ourselves to justify an outrageous purchase! I was showing Justin the stockings I was going to purchase when he said, "Pshh, you could make those!" So of course, I felt like I had something to prove, so I decided I was going to tackle these bad boys. Maybe he was just trying to manipulate me into not spending our weeks grocery money on Christmas stocking. Either way, it worked. 

Fast forward to when I had all my materials and sat down to start my project when I realized I didn't own a sewing machine and would have to hand stitch these stocking. I may or may not have shot Justin a death glare. But the good news is, I survived and I am happy with the results, even if it did take me three days to finish them. (I'm sure if you don't have a four month old child needing constant attention, it wouldn't take you as long!) Follow the directions below to create your own!

Materials

Fabric of your choice (I used about 1.5 yards for three stockings)

Fabric Sheers

Sewing Machine (or if you're like me and you don't own one, a needle and thread and four extra days)

Decorative Ornaments and Name Tags (optional)

Directions

1. Find a stocking pattern that you want to use. There are a ton of different options on Pinterest for different shaped stockings. I used the pattern from this tutorial.

2. Trace the pattern on the backside of your fabric. Even though solid fabrics don't have a visible frontside or backside, they typically have a side that looks better. Whatever side you want to be visible, trace on the opposite side. Flip the pattern over and trace again so that you have two pieces.

3. Using fabric sheers, cut out your pattern, leaving about 1/4 of an inch border. You will be sewing on the line you traced so you want to leave a border!

4. Finish the top edge of both pieces by folding the top edge along the line you created with the line on the inside of the seam. Sew straight across the top. 

5. Pin the two patterns together with the lines face outward. The lines you traced may not perfectly line up and that's okay! As long as the top seams are lined up, you're good to go! 

6. Get to sewing! Sew along the pattern traced on one side until complete. Turn the stocking inside out and, voila! You have a stocking.

7. To create a loop to hang your stocking with, take a strip of fabric about 6 inches long and two inches wide (it doesn't need to be precise). Fold the fabric onto itself long-ways and sew together. Create a loop and sew into the inside of the stocking along the seam.

8. Add any decorative ornaments or name tags that you want! I found these glitter snowflake ornaments at Target in a two-pack for two dollars. I also have these personalized birch wood name tags on their way to me as we speak. I can't wait to hang them on our stockings!

DIY Newspaper Ornament

I saw a picture once on Pinterest of an ornament covered in the pages of a book, so of course, I wanted to recreate it. I bought clear ornaments and had every intention to buy an old book at the used bookstore in town, buttttt Christmas came and went and I never did it. I decided this year was the year, but I had a better idea. I was given an old Detroit newspaper from the first moon landing in 1969 that belonged to my grandparents. It had just been sitting in a box, getting ripped up, so I thought I would use it to create some ornaments that would actually display a pretty cool piece of history. The pages of the newspaper have yellowed really nicely and I'm really happy with the way they look against the gold, silver, and white theme I have going on in our tree. I have found this DIY, while super easy, is a bit time consuming, so I recommend doing it while watching a cheesetastic Hallmark Christmas movie and sipping some wine.

Materials

Some type of printed material of your choice

Mod Podge

Sponge Paintbrush

Clear Ornaments

Glitter (optional)

A place to hang your ornaments to dry over night

Directions

1. Cut strips of whatever printed material you choose into 1/2 inch pieces or less.

2. Using the sponge paintbrush, spread mod podge onto your clear ornament, lay down a strip of the paper, and cover with a layer of mod podge to seal it in. Continue this process, laying the strips of papers down in different directions, until the entire ornament is covered. 

3. Apply one last final coat of mod podge over entire ornament to seal everything in place. Sprinkle with glitter if you choose to do so.

4. Hang in a safe place overnight to let dry. I used a clothes hanging rack.

5. Hang on your Christmas tree!

I love this DIY because, depending on the printed material you choose, you could have an interesting talking point with guests! 

If you guys recreate any of these DIYs, I want to see your results! I love seeing how different people recreate projects to match their personal style! Now, time to figure out what my next project will be!

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

I love to bake.

Now that I have an almost 3 month old, baking is a whole lot harder. It's like she knows I'm trying to get something done and it is those moments she decides she wants to be held. She's lucky that I love holding her!

The other day while at the grocery store, I picked up a can of pumpkin puree to make these pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.

If you're a pumpkin lover like I am, you need to try this muffin recipe. The result is perfectly fluffy muffins! The pumpkin flavor isn't overwhelming, just perfection!

But back to real reason for this post. I had leftover pumpkin puree since the muffin recipe only calls for half a can. I'm always looking for a reason to pull out my KitchenAid mixer. Since we live in an apartment and our kitchen is big enough for a mouse, my poor KitchenAid mixer lives a sad, lonely life on the floor on the pantry. One day, I will have a kitchen big enough to proudly display it on the countertop!

What goes hand-in-hand with a KitchenAid mixer? Cookies, duh! I thought that the pumpkin puree would pair perfectly with the cinnamon sugar goodness of a snickerdoodle, so I took to my trusty sidekick, Pinterest, to search for some recipe inspiration. I came across a few different recipes and took a little bit of them all to create, in my opinion, the perfect pumpkin snickerdoodle cookie.

First, let's address the elephant in the room. This cookie looks a bit...deformed. But that's okay, who doesn't love some character? The real reason this cookie isn't very aesthetically pleasing is because it was the very last cookie. Justin and I may have devoured the rest before I remembered to take pictures. But the bottom line is, you really won't care what these cookies look like once you bite into it.

This pumpkin snickerdoodle recipe makes the softest, fluffiest cookies ever! The recipe yields 36 regular sized cookies, but I believe that bigger is better, so I made about 24 large cookies. Let's take a moment to think about the fact that Justin and I ate 24 cookies in about five day. I'm slightly ashamed, not really, but now realizing I should probably go on a diet. 

Try out the recipe and see for yourself. You won't be able to keep your hands off these!

Side note, you need this Market Roast candle from Target!

Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies

Ingredients

3 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

3 1/2 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 cup softened unsalted butter

1 egg yolk

1/2 can pumpkin puree

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp lemon juice*

Cinnamon Sugar Coating

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a KitchenAid mixer (or large bowl) cream together softened butter, granulated sugar and dark brown sugar until barely combined. You don't want to over-mix this step! Mix in egg yolk then pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. 

With the mixer on low, slowly add in your flour mixture until completely combined. Once, combined, cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour. This is very important! If you don't refrigerate your dough, it will make the next step very difficult!

Once your dough is chilled, mix together your cinnamon sugar coating. Scoop two heaping tablespoons of the batter out, roll into a ball, roll ball into the cinnamon sugar mixture until completely coated and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Continue with remaining batter.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 12-14 minutes. I baked mine for exactly 12 minutes and got cookies that were still slightly undercooked in the very center, exactly how I like my cookies! Allow cookies to cool on the baking sheet for five minutes, then remove onto a wire rack, or straight into your mouth. Whatever floats your boat. 

*Traditional snickerdoodle recipes call for cream of tartar, an acid, that is generally used in combination with baking soda to make baked goods rise. Many people say there isn't a good substitute for cream of tartar, but my high school home economics teacher was a boss and once recommended just using lemon juice. The acid in lemon juice will have the same effect as cream of tartar, and in my opinion, makes the snickerdoodles much more fluffy. If you have a recipe that calls for cream of tartar and you don't have any, simply use twice as much lemon juice as baking soda. For example, this recipe calls for 1 tsp of baking soda, so I used 2 tsp of lemon juice. Easy peasy!

If you try out this recipe, let me know what you think!

Enjoy!