Easy Co-worker Present Ideas

It is that time again Christmas present season.  It is always hard trying to figure out what to make or get for your co-workers to say hey I like working with you but not breaking the bank.  This year I made two different things for co-workers.  

The quick and easy gift was cute little pumpkin bread!  

I found these neat single use baking pans with a lid!  They were at my local Target for about $4.  (I am not affiliated with or being paid/given anything by the companies listed in this post.  I just am trying to make it easier for you to find the products I am talking about.  I like the items in this post and am passing it along to you.  All opinions in this article are my own.)  I just used one Pillsbury Pumpkin Quick Bread mix and it filled up all the pans.  

It was super quick and easy.  All I had to do was reduce the cooking time by a few minutes and Bam Christmas presents!

The next gift was a bit more involved still cheap because I had all the ingredients. However it was more time consuming as I made the cookies from scratch.  

I made these little boxes of cookies but this year I only iced the top ones and then added icing dipping cups!  This is the best idea I have had in awhile.  It cut down on the icing or decorating time and I could add more than one layer of cookies without them sticking together. 

One little thing I did was use my Mug Cookie Cutter from World Market.  Because I chilled the dough overnight they really seemed hold their shape while baking.  Definitely a cookie cutter to use again.

 

Christmas sign

Hello!  I wanted to share my first Christmas project of the season with you today. 

I have been looking at the projects on Pinterest and ran across a cute Christmas sign.  One of the things I love the most about Pinterest is it allows you to find things that are older and would otherwise be hidden. Check out the cute sign from The Winthrop Chronicles from 2012.

How to make a close enough copy!

(Side note: I picked up the majority of these items from Hobby Lobby.  I am in no way affiliated with any of the companies, brands or stores listed.  I just happen to shop there or like their products!)

First I gathered all my supplies:

Board -- foundation of sign

Christmas lights -- these are battery pack operated

Chip board word

Glitter -- extra fine

White acrylic paint

Mod Podge

Paint brush -- for paint and Mod Podge

Things I found out I needed

Double stick tape --  to attach word

Something to contain the glitter

Q-tips -- to paint the inside of the word

Paper plate -- to put paint on

Upholstery Nails -- To hook my lights on

First I painted my word white on the front and sides.  The back got a bit of paint but only when I was smoothing things down.

After the paint dried and my brush had been cleaned out and dried I applied Mod Podge to the top of the letter and poured glitter on it.  It worked wonderfully well.  I just lightly tapped it to knock off the excess but the majority of the glitter stuck!

Here is the finished word after it dried.

Then I realized I would need to attach everything to the board.  This is when I picked up some double stick removable poster tape and upholstery nails.  I decided to use the tape because I am hoping it will give me the option to change the word later to make it a year round sign.

I taped the word on cutting the tape to the right size to fit behind the letters without being seen.  The nails I just held up my lights to determine where they would go.  Then I nailed them in to hang the lights on and to wrap the cord around to hold the battery pack.  I ended up taping the battery pack to the board as well.

Here is the finished sign unlit.  I love the cute star lights!

Here is one where the lights are on.  The picture does not show how awesome it looks!  I only had my camera phone for pictures.

And here it is hanging in its new home in my crafting/studio space!

This was a super simple project that took about an hour to put together.  

What Christmas crafts are you working on?