On the 4th Day of Christmas, My true Love Gave To me - Candied Peanuts in a Mason Jar

 

Ingredients:

1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
2 cups Salted Peanuts
1/2 tsp Vanilla

1 Mason Jar

Gift Tag

1. Cover a Cookie Sheet with Foil and spray  with nonstick cooking spray

2. Combine the water and sugar over high heat in a Med Size Sauce Pan and Stir until the sugar dissolves.

3 . Bring the mixture to a boil.

4.  Add the Peanuts and reduce the heat to medium. 

5.  Stir until the sugar crystallizes around the peanuts around 5 minutes

6.  The mixture will be stiff, but continue to stir and eventually the sugar will  re-melt. 

7. The mixture will turn golden brown and cover the peanuts.

8. Once the mixture is completely liquified, pour the peanuts on the cookie sheet and use a fork to separate.

9. Let sit for 1/2 hour.

Once the nuts harden, you can break them apart.

Place in a Mason Jar and add a Hand Made Gift Tag. 

 --- you can use walnuts, pecans or almonds too!

On the 3rd Day of Christmas, my True Love gave to me-- Handmade Fleece Tie Scarves

 

I love the feel of the soft fleece against my face, It is so cozy warm.

Depending on the fleece,the average price to make these are $3. 

Luckily, I picked up this Fleece at a yard sale, new for $1.

1)Cut 2 Rectangles of Fleece Fabric. About 1 yard in Length and 6 Inches wide.
2)Sew a straight stitch down the middle. 
3)Cut strips on each side, leaving at least 3 inches uncut.
4)Tie the top strip to the bottom strip twice to form a knot. 
5)Continue until you are finished. 

The picture above is the scarf I finished, I am also selling these for $7 each.

Christmas Gift #2 -- Mini Crystal Server

Look at this adorable Mini Server!!

If your looking for an easy gift, this one is for you!!!

Luckily, I had each of these Items laying around the house, 

so I did not spend any money out of pocket. 

I am guessing you would spend .25-.50 on Candle Stick Holder 

and $1 on the dish.

You will need:

  1 Glass Candle Stick

1 Vintage Candy Dish

Gorilla Glue 

Glass Paint

Directions:

1)Spread glue on rim of Candle Stick Holder

2) Evenly sit glass dish on top of Holder

3) Move to safe location and let dry.

4) Paint center with glass paint if need be to conceal gorilla glue

5) Once glue has fully dried,

bake according to directions on paint bottle

*Sometimes less is better with Gorilla Glue, because It expands as it drys.

Christmas Gift idea #1 - Tea Cup Candles

As Christmas approaches, I have been working on some Handmade Christmas Gift ideas as well as finding great Frugal Store Bought Gifts. We have a large family so every dollar counts.
I saw the tea cup idea on http://thehappyhousewife.com

I made each of these for around .35-1.35.

Here are my directions:
You will need 2-3 Taper Candles Per small cup.
1)Gently break the tapers into sections, being careful to leave them attached to the long wick.
2)Carefully Pull the taper off the wick.
3)Place the chunks of 2 broken tapers into the tin can and place it into a saucepan that is 1/3 full of water.
4)Reduce heat to low and carefully watch the can to make sure water does not boil out- been there done that!
5)Take the wick and measure how long you will need it plus one inch.
6)Tie the wick to a stick. Lay stick over top of cup, positioning the wick in the middle.
7)Pour in the wax and let sit till hard.
8) Cut the wick and your done!!




TIPS!!!
-I was messy with the first teacup so I sat the teacup in the boiling water and it remelted the wax , leaving it looking even.
--- Dont Dont let the water boil out of the pan or you will be cleaning wax from your pan for at least an hour.
--- Once you place the can in the water, turn the heat down. A lot of Wax is made from petroleum and it needs to be cooked on low.