Last Minute DIY Ideas for Mom

Hey all! With Mother's Day fast approaching, I know some of you may be at a loss of what to get or make for mom (or maybe you need some ideas of what the kids can make for mom/grandma, etc). Here is a list of some super easy last minute gifts to bring a smile to any mom's face. Happy Mother's Day!

Make mom a long lasting bouquet of paper flowers. There are so many varieties to choose from, and you can use any colored or patterned paper you like! Tailor make some polka dotted daisies or striped roses in mom's favorite colors :)

Make a cute geometric heart card or framed wall art with this tutorial from Ludorn (In German and English).

Make some gem shaped shrink plastic earrings (or charm bracelet, or necklace) with this awesome tutorial from Minted Strawberry.

Whether mom has a green thumb or not, these succulents in painted ball jars will be a great fit! The gals at Lolly Jane even have printable gift tags for you to use!

Have a lot of mom's in your life? You can whip up a huge batch of these bath salts and put them in cute containers to gift to everyone! Bonus points if you scrub the bathroom for mom before gifting these to her!

Happy Mother's Day!

Awesome Handmade Ornaments of 2013

I am always awed by the great handmade ornament tutorials that come out each year, so this year I decided to share some of my favorites from various blogs. All of these would make a great embellishment on a gift in place of a bow, or would make a great small gift themselves (I'm thinking of making some for gifts to go along with cards at the office this year)! Feel free to share links to some of your favorite handmade ornaments in the comments area below as well :)

I love this terrarium ornament from Farm Fresh Therapy. A great use for small succulents in the Winter months!

I'm obsessed with these cute (and super easy!) felt ribbon candy ornaments over at The Purl Bee. They are so bright and fun (did I mention easy?).

Speaking of easy, these Confetti ornaments from In a Creative Bubble fit the bill! You can change them up with about any confetti filling you like!

Our Nerd Home is one of my new favorite blogs, check out these nifty 8 bit ornaments they made this holiday season!

My ornament contribution this year is this adorable fox. Click over to get the full tutorial and download the pattern!

Have you made any ornaments you are especially proud of this year?

Gift Bow Roundup

The holidays are fast approaching, and there is no better time to start making a batch of your very own handmade gift bows! I found the awesome sweater patterned paper above in a photorealistic package of papers and had to make some snuggly bows of my own. Below you will find a big list of options to choose from (and many can be completed by using fabric, felt or Ribbon instead of cutting paper). Settle down with a great holiday movie and some paper and whip up a stack of ribbons this week!

Paper Bows from How About Orange

Accordion Fold(Snowflake)Bows

Small Gift Bows

Jumbo Gift Bows

If flowers are more your style, you can check out these paper flowers or some easy tissue paper flowers. Happy Wrapping!

Mocha Roasted Almonds

It's rainy and chilly here today in Portland and I'm loving it! I decided a yummy smelling snack needed to be made in my oven today and these Mocha flavored Roasted Almonds fit the bill! They only take a few ingredients and about 40 minutes of your time (they also make a great Holiday gift. You know, if you're thinking about that already.).

To make you own Mocha Roasted Almonds you will need:

2 1/2 cups Raw Almonds
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
1 egg white

Preheat your oven to 325 (F). In a small bowl (3 cups or more by volume) beat your egg white until it is just frothy and beginning to lighten. Add in your almonds and mix them around until evenly coated with egg white.

In a zip sealed bag, mix together your sugar, cocoa and espresso powder. Shake until evenly combined. Add in your egg white coated almonds and shake to coat. Pour onto a sheet pan lined with parchment or a silpat mat.

Bake in oven for 30 minutes at 325 degrees, stirring every 10 minutes or so (this will clump together a bit if not stirred often- you can break it apart after it has cooled if necessary). Make sure you line your pan, as the mixture will stick to the pan if you do not (melting sugar just does that, you know).

Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before packaging. Eat these as a snack on their own, or put them on ice cream, cupcakes, etc. as a delicious topping!

If giving this as gifts, an easy way to package this is to put it into clear bags and stick that into one of these little boxes as shown below. You can find them at most craft and hobby stores (paper mache boxes would also work well.). Just tie it with a piece of colored ribbon and you have an easy yet cute treat box that is reusable!

Have you made any extra yummy snacks lately?


Don't forget to follow The Craftinomicon on your favorite social media site so you don't miss any upcoming food and gift ideas!

Hot Cocoa Sugar Scrub

This is a great last minute gift to whip up (and it literally takes only about a minute!). Great as a hostess gift or stocking stuffer, you probably have almost everything in your cupboards right now!

To make this sugar scrub you will need:

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 cup oil of choice (a very light oil with little odor is important I recommend Sunflower of Safflower oils, Grapeseed oil also works well)
1/2 teaspoon Vitamin E Oil (optional-helps preserve freshness of product, recommended to increase shelf life)

You can also get extra festive and add in some peppermint essential oil if you want to make Peppermint Hot Cocoa scrub(about 3 drops should do)!


Mix all of the ingredients together well and put into container of your choice. I recommend plastic containers with air tight lids (you can find lots of pretty containers online or in craft stores) as plastic will not break should it be dropped in a bathroom or kitchen and risk causing injury. This is an especially yummy Winter scrub and I love it for my super dry hands and elbows this time of year! Simply wet hands, rub on the scrub and rinse thoroughly.


This product will stay fresh about 2 weeks without the addition of vitamin E, with the vitamin E oil it has a shelf life of 4-6 weeks (you can also elongate the shelf life of your product by storing in the refrigerator).


The link above is a Google affiliate Ad, any purchases made from the above link will result in a commission to myself, this is not a paid post.

Give Handmade

It's Holiday time, and while I will be posting a few easy crafts that can be done at the last minute, I fully acknowledge that we can't make all the gifts for everyone ourselves. That is when it's great to have sites like Etsy, that can provide lots of great handmade gifts for the awesome people in your life! Here are a few shops with super cute items that I found while perusing gifts the other day, I hope you enjoy them :)

Pictured at the top of the post are some earrings from Adriana Soto. I really love her jewelry and plan on "hinting" at my husband that several items here would be a great addition to the loot in my stocking. There are several great statement pieces, as well as some more understated things that would cater to almost anyone's taste and budget.

I found some great cards and stationery from Sweet Bella Stationery. I originally found their Etsy shop, but they have this great website you can check out. Not only are the Holiday cards cute, but don't forget Thank You notes for all the gifts you receive!

When doing a handmade post, I can't ignore all the great talent that comes from right here in Portland, OR. Nell & Mary is a great shop with various home textiles and they are great! They use eco friendly materials and hand print the designs in their small Portland studio. Why get your friends and family members the same old pillows, dishtowels, etc that everyone else has? Get a gift that is unique and handmade in the U.S.!

Finally, if you are looking for a super cute stocking stuffer, look no further than these great coin purses from oktak. They have bright fabrics and cute embroidery details! I, of course, am partial to this one with little rain clouds :)

One of the greatest things about Etsy shops is that a brief convo with the owner can often get you one of a kind, personalized items, and this time of year bargaining for gift wrap to get your item shipped to the recipient on time isn't hard either!

Gift Wrapping 101

I know, I know, I was going to post a bunch of gift wrapping tutorials. As usual, life got in the way. Plus, I was half way done editing some photos of a basic gift wrapping tutorial when I came across this totally pro gift wrapping tutorial and thought "I'm pretty much better at accessorizing my gifts, maybe I should forego all of these gift wrapping steps and move straight on to the good stuff!" So, if you are looking for a great way to wrap your gifts, check out that tutorial from The Mother Huddle, and break out some double sided tape to have some fantastic looking gifts!

There will still be more in the gift wrapping realm coming up from yours truly, so go ahead and wrap up some gifts and then check back for ways to make them extra special! One tip I'll give for presents that are to be embellished later on: I love using brown kraft paper. It removes all of the clutter of having 30 rolls of wrapping paper in your closet, and the bows and trimmings really stand out!

Also, if you have lots of gift cards on your list, don't forget my gift card envelope tutorial, pictured above.

Candy Cane Sugar Scrub

This is an incredibly easy sugar scrub recipe that makes a great gift (if you are already Holiday minded it is an excellent stocking stuffer!). The best part is you probably have the main ingredients on hand already! I like to make a small batch for myself and keep it in my 4 oz. mason jars, as pictured. However, if you want to make a large batch and separate it into smaller jars it is very easy to just use the ratio of 2 parts sugar to one part oil and make as large or small a batch as you like.

To make my Peppermint Candy Cane Sugar Scrub you will need:

4 Tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon flax seed oil
3-4 drops peppermint essential oil

container for storage (I keep mine in a small glass mason jar, you may want to opt for a plastic container, especially if little ones are around, to prevent breakage)

Just add all of the ingredients together, stir well and you have a great exfoliating facial scrub! You can make it unscented as well, or choose a different essential oil as well. The peppermint is very refreshing, as is tea tree oil. For something calming I would recommend a lavender essential oil.

*The sugar does tend to settle at the bottom, so be sure to stir or shake before using.

If giving as a gift, I might recommend making several small containers of varying scents! Also, you may substitute in brown sugar for the white granulated sugar in equal amounts. I like to use a little flax seed oil, as I have mild psoriasis and it seems to help calm my skin better than just olive oil, but you may use entirely olive oil, or experiment with other natural oils to see what you like best. :)




This post was featured on Wildcrafting Wednesday.

Friday Food Craft: Vanilla Extract

With Holidays fast approaching, I decided now was a great time to introduce you to a simple recipe for your very own real Vanilla Extract! This is not only great to use in your own holiday baking (or baking year round), it also makes a great gift for the baker's in your life! Also, it's super easy. Who doesn't love that? If you have a Penzey's Spices near you, I would recommend going there for your vanilla beans. My local grocery stores sell one bean for a whopping 12 bucks, but Penzey's (a national chain) sells 3 for 7 dollars (or more for a smaller per bean price if you are making a lot as gifts). You can also search online to find places that sell vanilla beans in bulk if you are planning on making a large quantity.

To make your own vanilla extract at home you will need:

Glass bottles with caps that seal on tightly
Vanilla beans
Alcohol of choice (I used Vodka as it has very little flavor of its own, but you may use Rum or Bourbon as well)

I always use a ratio of 1 cup alcohol to 3 vanilla beans, and was lucky enough to find bottles that hold exactly 1 cup. Make sure to measure how much liquid your bottles hold.


Start by sterilizing your bottles. Wash bottles in hot suds and rinse in scalding water. Put bottles and lids in a kettle and cover completely with hot water. Bring water to a boil, covered, and boil bottles 10 minutes from the time that steam emerges from kettle. Turn off heat and let jars stand in hot water. Just before they are to be filled, invert bottles onto a kitchen towel to dry. (Bottles should be filled while still hot.)

I split my beans in half lengthwise, then cut the beans down to pieces that will fit in my bottles (for these bottles cutting in half once lengthwise and once by height was enough). Place 3 beans into each jar and then fill with alcohol. Seal and place on a shelf in a cool dry place (I also keep mine out of direct sunlight). The extract is best if it sits for AT LEAST 30 days before using. If you plan on giving it as gifts, you will want to make sure you leave plenty of time so it may be used immediately.


Here is a link to some printable tags you can use to label your extract. Enjoy!