Tea Bag Gift Bags

The past year I have officially become a tea snob. I just can’t drink tea from a bag anymore. Buying all that loose-leaf tea means I have lots of empty tea bags. I empty the bags into tins that keep the tea much fresher longer. And all those bags get stored in my craft closet hoping to someday get used for something…

I made these sweet little gifts for my sisters’ birthdays and needed a non-Christmas gift bag to put them in. (I’ll post the gifts after the party.)

Then I remembered my stash of empty tea bags.

Since I wrote the names of the teas on the bags, I couldn’t just stamp directly on them. But I stamped some birthday stuff on white paper, added some extra fun papers and I ended up with two sweet little gift bags all ready to go!

Sometimes holding on to stuff is a good thing… ;o) 

Lawn Dice

I saw a set of six yard dice on Pinterest. I knew they would be a fantastic gift for my hubby for Father’s Day. They were $50! Then they were no longer a fantastic gift for my hubby…

Thankfully, I am fairly clever and handy with a saw. All I needed was a 4x4 post, a saw, a sander, and some outdoor paint. Easy peasy!

First cut your post into six 3 1/2” pieces. Then sand the rough sides and edges.

Then trace your dots onto the cubes using a real dice as your guide. I traced a large button with a pencil.

Then paint in each dot with outdoor craft paint. I used all black but you could use any color. I am making a set for my niece and I’m painting each dice with different colored dots.

To seal them and make them more weather/moisture/grass stain resistant, spray them with a few coats of clear spray paint.

In order for them to be easily taken to the park, backyard, beach or wherever you’d like to play, I made a nice heavy-duty bag with a drawstring top.

I also made a chalkboard game board for both Yahtzee and Farkle. You could also just throw a couple of game pads into the bag.

Some chalk and a cloth for erasing and we were ready to play!

Lawn dice are great for all ages and are tons of fun!

Puffy Jar Lids

We got several jars of applesauce for Christmas from my husband’s aunt. Her lids were so nice, with just the perfect amount of “puff” to them.

I finally opened a jar on Sunday and discovered how she did it…

Round cotton cosmetic puffs. They are just the right size to sit on top of a wide-mouth canning jar lid!

Then cut out a 4-inch circle of fabric and lay it on top of the pads…

Screw on the band and you’re done! Super easy!!! Thanks for the great idea, Cyndi! 

Bacon Pop Cans

No this isn’t bacon flavored soda, it’s make your own bacon popcorn in a can!

First you need to follow directions for my Pop Open Gift Can.

Then you need to make little packets of Bacon Salt. Cut up very large straws (Bubble tea straws work great!) into 1-2” pieces.

Glue one end shut with a glue gun.

Pour bacon salt into straw sections using a funnel.

Seal the other end with glue.

Place 2 brown paper lunch bags, 2/3 cup popcorn and 2 bacon salt straws in each can.

Make a label with the directions on how to make the popcorn. You can find the directions HERE.

  Attach the tags and give as a gift. The best part about Bacon Salt is that is completely kosher and vegetarian! So everyone can enjoy the taste of bacon!!!

Pop Open Gift Cans

I got one of those nifty safety can openers for Christmas! I have wanted one for forever, but our 20 year old model still worked and I couldn’t justify getting a new one. But someone must have taken note of my often drooling over them in the kitchen gadget section because there was one waiting for me under the Christmas tree.

It works like a dream! But the best part is that once you’ve removed the completely now harmless lid, it just pops right back on top of the can. Now I thought about it for a while and wondered how could that little feature be used to my advantage. Then I realized what it was… Gifts!

Fun, tricky, makes people wonder how you did it kind of gifts!

Here’s how you do it…

First you have to buy a fancy new can opener or subtlety convince someone else to buy one for you. :o)

Then buy some canned food that has a pop-off top and a normal can bottom. Not like the bottoms of some of those new soup cans! Those don’t come off with a can opener. I find myself looking through cans of food with pop tops and buying them even if I don’t need them simply because I like the size of the can… I know. I know. ;o)

When it is time to eat the food from the can, open the BOTTOM of the can with your can opener.

  Eat the food from the can!

Then peel off the lid and wash the can and the bottom “lid”. Don’t worry, it’s not sharp! LOL

  After the can is completely dry, cover it with whatever paper you like. This is the part where you can be as creative as you want to be!

Now remember, your gift can has no bottom but still has that nifty pop-off top! :o)

Flip your can over and fill it with whatever you’d like. Mine is filled with some homemade candies. Yum!

Keep in mind that whatever is on the top when you fill it will be on the bottom when it is right-side up… My marshmallows are under those caramels.

Now pop the “lid”/bottom back onto the can. You can glue it on if you’d like but I thought it stayed on pretty well just the way it was.

And there you have it! The recipient will be totally baffled as to how you did it! Unless you cave in and tell them… ;o)