Personal – DIY Christmas Gifts

I am a freak-o for Pinterest and I must say I got really….REALLY inspired to make some of my Christmas gifts for family and friends after I got some great ideas.  One idea for canvas art turned into wooden, ModPodge coasters to personalized composition books.  My!  It was so much fun!  Eric didn’t get involved but I didn’t mind.  He was impressed with every finished product I showed him, which made me feel kinda good.  🙂  So, now that we are almost a month past I thought I best show you what goodies I created.  🙂

Wooden ModPodged Coasters – We gave these to Eric’s parents for their new camper.  I found the wooden pieces at Hobby Lobby in the wood craft section.  I then took scrapbook paper with a neat background and printed their initial of ‘N’ on it.  Once I got the paper trimmed, I ModPodged it on the coasters that I painted black.  I coated it several times to be on the safe side.

Chalkboard Door Signs – I painted door signs (found in the wood craft section at Hobby Lobby) with chalkboard paint for my sisters-in-law, Somer and Kendall.  I attached some chalk with each one.  This was a very, VERY simple project!

Wooden ModPodged Ornaments – The below ornaments were my very first project that I attempted so they are a little rough but still turned out so cute.  I found the wooden letters, again, in the wood craft section of Hobby Lobby and the scrapbook paper is from the vast collection of paper that I have.  I traced the letters out while the paint dried on each letter.  I then ModPodged each one and even added in some glitter.  😉  Love sparkles!  Eric drilled holes for me so that I could attached ribbon.  Well, I guess Eric did get involved.  Hehe!  I gave the ornaments to my nieces Avery “Gracie”, Riley, BB and Trusslynn.

ModPodged Word Art – The below words were made from chip board letters I purchased at HL.  I painted each set in a different color and then ModPodged scrapbook paper onto it after I traced each letter.  These were given to my Mom and my sisters-in-law, Somer and Kendall.

 Composition Books – I use composition books all the time and I thought it would be cute to give my nieces and Mom one.  I dressed theirs up just a smidge more than mine.  I used scrapbook paper, ModPodged it and then attached a design that I created in Adobe Illustrator to personalize it.  This was a hit!  All my nieces love to color and draw so I needed to help with their creativity.  The books are a place to dream and create.  🙂

Coloring Book – This was one of my favorite things that I did and I have to say several people cried when they saw them.  So, that must mean this was a winner, right?  🙂  I took pictures from my immediate family and transformed their images into a coloring book type sketch and gave them to my four nieces.  Everyone got a kick out of seeing themselves all sketched out.  🙂

Framed Art – The below design was created for Eric’s cousin, Jenni and her husband, Adam.  It is an 8×10 print designed in Adobe Illustrator.

 Canvas Wall Art – I designed each of the below items in Adobe Illustrator and then had them printed into posters (*except the first image which is printed onto cardstock).  I purchased 11×14, 16×20 and 8×10 canvases from Hobby Lobby in the art department.  I painted each canvas so that the color coordinated with each poster then ModPodged the posters and adhered them to the canvases.  The first image has an added initial that stood out from the canvas.  These were totally awesome and everyone (My Mom, Somer, Kendall and Kara) loved them!!