It's a very Pinterest Christmas!

I have always been a bit crafty but my discovery of Pinterest definitely has inspired me to start making more things and exploring my creative side. I decided to make this Christmas a "Pinterest Christmas" and make everyone's presents instead of buying them. The fun thing was that my sisters-in-law had the same idea so everyone exchanged homemade, thoughtful gifts. The kids got homemade blankets and toys, the girls received jewelry and scarves. It was great!

For the girls I made homemade vanilla extract. Vanilla is really simple, you just take vanilla beans and soak them in vodka for a few months and voila! The cheapest route was to buy vanilla beans in bulk off of Amazon. So I ended up with about 140 beans! Therefore, I made vanilla for ALL of my girlfriends. I found a label online and then just Photoshopped it to make it more my own. Here is my finished product!

The funny thing is, Malee had the same idea and made vanilla for all of us as well! She also made us homemade earings/pins that she found on Pinterest so we got those instead which were pretty cool. 

One of my vanilla bottles broke during it's travels to Fort Worth. It was very sad. Since Malee already has her own homemade vanilla, I made her something else at the last minute. I made her a scented rice bag. It is pretty simple, just a cloth bag, filled with rice and essential oil (I made this one with tea tree and lavender) You heat it up in the microwave then put it around your neck or in your bed and it is nice and cozy. 

Tim and dad got homemade aftershave and shaving balm. I found the idea on Pinterest, it was actually pinned from The Art of Manliness which is a website that Tim is into. He loves all things "old man" so he wears a robe and smokes a pipe and shaves with a straight razor so I thought this gift was appropriate. I improvised the recipe a bit because I couldn't find all of the ingredients. But it ended up smelling pretty nice. Like the vanilla, I made the labels on Photoshop. They look nice and vintage which was the goal - success!

Tony is not into aftershave at all so he got a couple of crocheted beanies. He wears hats all the time so they were perfect!

Malee pinned these little amigurumi monsters on Pinterest and they looked easy enough and super cute so this is what Isla got from me:

I made Ashton these adorable "Pocket Pixies" which were a hit. We have already played with them a few times. 

So, those were all the things that I made, check out these great customized coasters that Jenn made me. They have random funny quotes on them that I have pinned on Pinterest at some point or another.

And the cutest ever... this hat that my mom made Isla. Oh, and you can see the blanket that Jenn made here as well. 

Yay for our very Pinterest Christmas! I love the idea of homemade presents and hope to do more of that going forward. It makes the gift giving more meaningful and fun! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! I definitely did and plan on enjoying my last few days in Texas with my family.