spreading joy

Ok...so here is my top secret Christmas DIY this year.

Only one friend who I know reads this should not be reading it yet...
You know who you are dear sweet Kimberle...so please don't read on.

I wanted to share that I discovered these adorable cheese spreaders a good couple of months ago on etsy.

Thought they were adorable!!!

But the $45-$54 dollar price tag per set was a bit high.

I thought they'd make such adorable hostess and Christmas gifts.

And I kept thinking of different people I'd love to give them to.

But truly the first person who inspired my wanting to get them is my sweet husband.

You see he and I both have a weakness for cheese.

Particularly brie and blue.  He is the one who got me to like blue cheese.  It's an acquired taste.

Back after we had Jackson, when we realized going out on a date night couldn't always happen.

We'd make our own little wine and cheese parties right at home.

So the cheese spreaders seemed perfect for him.

I'm very into gifts that are meaningful and when they're handmade, even better.

I asked a friend if I could borrow her metal stamp set.

She informed me that they're really not that expensive and gave me links to a couple of resources.

I did some research and actually wound up buying from this shop on etsy.  She was super helpful.

Oh and where to find the knives?

Ebay of course.

I'm like a giddy school girl when I win an auction on ebay.

Of course my husband always reminds me, "You're BUYING...not winning."

But still when it's a great deal...it means giddiness for me.

And aren't all those different designs just gorgeous!

I scored a lot of thirteen vintage butter knives awhile back.

I should confess I was totally nervous when it came down to actually hitting the hammer to the
metal.  I didn't buy anything to practice with so my husband's set was my 'test' set.  I did make some errors.  Like that p that slipped there.

But it's ok.  By the second and third set I was figuring out what pressure worked best and how to align them better.

This set went to my sister and her sweet family.

And this as a hostess gift to my friend who was hosting the fabulous scarf exchange party on Saturday.

I know I'm digressing, but here are some pictures of the food and decorations.

So sweet & yummy!

Now back to the spreaders...
I took a free downloadable gift tag design (it's killing me I can't find the source at the moment...for all I know it could have been from tatertots and jello, when I do find it, I'll add a link here).  I altered the design a bit, had to make it bigger to fit my 5x7 bags, changed to my latest favorite font and added the dotted border.   The fact that the basic design was already done was perfect!

And now I'm hooked.

I just need to do some more hunting on ebay.

I love the idea of spreading a little more peace, love, and joy to friends and family.

I'm linking to tatertots and jello handmade gift party ... head over there for more DIY inspiration!


266. stamping success
267. giving gifts
268. stoves purchased for families in haiti...check out the adventure project - it's awesome!
269. a sickie at home which means laying low
270. making old school paper chains for the holidays
        with aforementioned sickie at home.
271. 6 1/2 days of school left before Christmas break
272. a visit from our new nephew/cousin
273. tears of sadness from my sensitive 6 year old seeing him leave
274. an afternoon out by myself
275. christmas shows this week and next