Last Minute Gift Ideas {That Keep on Giving!}

 I don't know about you, but the holidays have crept up so suddenly, I'm still trying to keep up! In fact, just when I *think* I'm done shopping, I remember one more person to shop for or one more gift I need! Does that sound familiar? And, let's face it, braving the stores this weekend is not at the top of a busy mom's list!

So here are some, hopefully easy, gift solutions for ANYONE on your list that are
1. Easy to get/give last minute
and
2. Will keep you out of the stores!!

What are these amazing ideas?

1. Coffee or Tea of the Month Club
If you have a tea or coffee lover in the family, how about a "Tea of the Month" club? Most subscriptions aren't too pricey and it gives the opportunity for your friend or family member to try out new flavors risk - free! I recently bought one from this shop that seemed to have a lot of choices for any tea lover on your list!

 Adagio Teas

2. Magazine Subscription
The possibilities are endless on this one! There are magazines for almost any interest and Magazine.com has hundreds (maybe thousands) of choices and a lot of great deals! I just got my son a Popular Mechanics subscription for only $6.99! Woot!

3. Cooking Classes
Hopefully your friend won't take this as a hint. lol Hey, they have classes for two, which would make a great date night, maybe someone would be inspired by a cake decorating or sushi class - and they even have culinary classes for kids for the budding chef in your family! Again - lots of possibilities! Sur La Table has classes all over the United States but check your area for your local cooking schools. Sometimes your local bakery may even have a monthly baking/lesson night! The best part is -- you usually get to eat what you make! Yum!

4. Give them the gift of Adventure!!
One year I got the gift to go zip lining!! It was SO much fun! I'm a firm believer that experiences are more powerful than tangible gifts sometimes. If you have an adventurous friend or family member this is the gift for them! Maybe zip lining isn't their thing - maybe it's bungee jumping, canoeing, rafting, sky diving {eek!}, stand up paddle boarding or simply anything that they've never done but always wanted to try. That's what zip lining was for me. The experience only lasted one day - but the memories will last forever!!

5. Donate to a Charity in their name
If your friend has a charity you know they support, this is the perfect opportunity to support your friend and their cause!! This is also the perfect gift for the 'person who has everything.' There are lots of charities to choose from, and if you're not sure what to choose, here are two of my favorites:

SAFE AFRICA
Supporting the education, teacher training, early childhood development and charitable needs of Malawi, Africa. (Yes, that's me in the pic from a trip there a few years ago.) :o)

Amor Ministries
Amor builds houses in rural areas of Mexico. They always welcome support too!!

If you still like your recipient to unwrap something - you could give the tea of the month club with a tin of tea, or the magazine subscription with the first issue of the magazine, or wrap a rolling pin for the cooking class!!

What do you think? Was this list helpful? Are you done with your Christmas shopping yet?

Happy Holidays!!!

Linking up here: Tatertots and Jello

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Chalkboard Sign Makeover {Let it Snow}

Let it Snow! .... Or not.... ;-)

 I"m a Southern California girl and I like to talk about snow, but let's face it, I'd be a big baby if I ever had to live in it! {Do you live in snow? I admire you!}

I recently saw one of the best winter sayings I have seen this year and I just HAD to make a sign out of it:

 
Ha! "Let it Snow -- somewhere else" still makes me laugh. :o)

To make this sign happen, I converted this old flower patterned chalkboard sign (cute, but I have boys!)

 into a festive holiday chalkboard sign by simply adhering wrapping paper to cover the flowers!

 

I knew I just wanted something quick and temporary for the season,and wrapping paper was perfect! Plus, the colors match my new "Frozen" inspired wreath. Here's my little sign sitting above my kitchen cabinets:

 

After Christmas, I would like to redo this little sign and cover the flower pattern with something more permanent. Maybe fabric? Burlap? What would you use? 

 

For more inspiration and conversation, follow me on: Facebook/Instagram/Twitter

Frozen Inspired Christmas Wreath

My family and I recently saw the movie Frozen. I thought it was a lot of fun, and the music -- WOW! {I'm a huge Idina Menzel fan though!} I also loved all the icy color tones and cool blues. It inspired me to make this Christmas wreath:

 I love the brightness of the wreath and how it can be a Christmas wreath and hang out on my door all winter long!

Making this wreath was actually very simple. I always try to reuse resources when I craft and found this old Spring wreath in my craft cupboard:

 

The pastels in this wreath seemed outdated for my decor so I gave it a new life with some white spray paint! As a final "Frozen" touch I added some small glittery ornament balls and the blue bow:

 

I'm working on my whole entryway now - I added a glittery nose to my reindeer and am looking for an Olaf snowman to sit next to him. For now, this little snowman can sit in:

I'm inspired to make the rest of my house as frosty as this wreath! What do you think?

 Have you seen the movie Frozen yet? What colors do you like to decorate with for the holidays? 

For more inspiration and conversation, follow me on: Facebook/Instagram/Twitter 

Linking up at tatertots & jello and here: 

Christmas Recap!

Dear friends,
 Thank you so much for following along with Shaped by Grace and my family this year! Blogging has been such a blessing and encouragement in our lives! Thank you!
 This past couple weeks I haven’t spent much time writing posts, but I HAVE spent much time with my boys. What have we been up to? Well, I’m so glad you asked! ;o)
 First we got our photos taken by a good friend that is also a freelance photographer! I haven’t had real family photos taken of us in a couple years and I’m so glad we did them this year! The photographer was David from David Vevia Photography – he did a wonderful job!! Below are just a few fun shots from our day!






All these photos ended up on our Christmas card (which I posted on Facebook.)
We also enjoyed Christmas parties, looking at Christmas lights around our neighborhood and even a snow play area at our church! (A fun treat for this southern CA family!)



And then - it was Christmas!! (With school break starting on December 22nd – it seems like Christmas came REALLY  fast this year! Did it seem that way to you?)

We had a very relaxing and fun day, as can be seen by my sweet boys’ smiles. xo


We have a few traditions we look forward to as well – including reading the Christmas story, opening ONE gift on Christmas Eve and then watching a Christmas movie! (Usually it’s “A Christmas Carol” but this year it was “The Holiday.” Maybe that’s because after the kids were in bed it was just us girls watching the movie!)
Christmas morning, one of the coolest gifts was this vintage viewfinder! Do you remember those toys when you were a kid? This one had words for my boys to read on the little cards and then it lit up on the inside to view the pictures! It was pretty cool – and in addition to entertaining them for quite a while, it was a very special gift from their grandpa.


And every year, the ‘best’ or most special gift to my boys comes in this box:



The gift is always something for them to share. The first year this box held a puppy! It’s hard to top a puppy, but over the years it has held a variety of special gifts and this year – it contained a coveted video game. (My how times have changed!) I wonder what it will hide next year… How about you – do you have any special traditions like this for Christmas?

Thanks so much for reading! I hope your family enjoyed the holiday as much as we did! God bless!

{Printable from Nest of Posies}

Mason Jar Candy Dispenser

Have you ever had one of those projects that you really wanted to try, that once you started was more of a challenge than you thought and you weren’t sure you could pull it off? Well, that’s what this project was for me!
I hope that when you DID try it and it WORKED you just jumped for joy and did a happy dance around your house – because that’s also what I did!! This whole week I have had wood parts, mason jars, a craft saw and sandpaper all over my house and my boys kept asking – WHAT was I making? I kept it a surprise until I finished it {and got it to work} before I finally revealed to them that it was a candy dispenser! And here she is:



The story behind this project:

I went to a friend’s house and saw this super cool candy dispenser made from a mason jar. You pulled the knob and candy slid down the ramp from the mason jar! She said it was her roommates and she didn’t know where she got it. It looked homemade. I took one look at it and said ‘I HAVE TO MAKE THIS!’ and then took about a bazillion pictures. I thought it would be such a fun gift to make for my boys and would be something cool and unique to have around my house. After one day, I can tell you- it already is! I'm so glad I took the time to make it!
The directions to make this project are somewhat extensive, so I’ll share them in a future post. For now, I thought you’d like to get a glimpse of how it works:







My boys are already enjoying the benefits of this project! {hee hee}



The jar and dispenser is perfect for m&m’s, skittles and other such small treats. Holiday candy will never be in an open dish in our house again! What do you think? What candy would YOU put in your mason jar candy dispenser?

I'm sharing this project at some of my favorite places!

S’mores Fudge

Happy Holidays!
THREE exciting things are happening RIGHT NOW!
1. The winner of the Thankful for YOU giveaway is announced – read to the end of this post to find out if it’s you! {Yay!}
2. There’s still time to enter the giveaway going on at Delightful Deets with TONS of awesome prize packages! and
3. Remember yesterday how I shared my White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge? Well we saved the best fudge for last!! I promised to share my boys’ favorite fudge recipe – and this is IT!


To make S’mores Fudge you will need:

• one bag of chocolate chips
• 10 oz. container of chocolate frosting
• Enough graham crackers to line the bottom of your fudge pan. Between 4-8 {I wanted really thick fudge, so I used a 6x9 inch – approx.- pan and about 3 whole graham crackers.}
• Marshmallows on top – to taste

1. First, line the bottom of your pan with foil or butter. {mostly on the sides, since the graham crackers won’t stick to the bottom of your pan!}

2. Then, pour the fudge mix on top of the graham crackers. For the full recipe on how to make the fudge click here. Remember to substitute chocolate chips and chocolate frosting!
3. Top with lots of marshmallows!! The more the merrier!

4. Then place in the refrigerator for about an hour until the fudge is set.

~Another option is to mix the marshmallows in with the fudge

and even crumble graham crackers in the mix! Yum! ~

Either way, you’re sure to have success! Get ready to wrap this tasty treat up as gifts and share with family or friends! Although, I know it’s pretty tempting to want to eat it all yourself {cough not that I would know anything about that} so I highly recommend making TWO batches!! Enjoy!

Have you made fudge this season? Which combination is your favorite?

And of course – our lucky winner of a Jute Growth Chart AND $10 iTunes gift card is… 

{drum roll please}…

 

CHELSEA THOM


Congrats Chelsea! I’ve sent you an email with all the details!! Woo hoo! Happy Holidays!

I'm sharing this recipe at Tip Junkie and some of my favorite places!

White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge

Christmas season is officially under way and one of my favorite things to do over the holidays is bake! I love seeing all YOUR creative recipes, re-making family favorites and trying new recipes for family and friends. This year I have been experimenting with fudge!

I used a new version of an old recipe and the result was this White Chocolate Peppermint Fudge! {Just the title had me drooling!}

This recipe is so easy I know you’ll want to make every possible version! And to make it EVEN easier to save, I made this recipe card: just right click on the image, save and print! 

What also makes this recipe so cool is it's endless variations:

You can use ANY can of cake frosting flavor you like and ANY flavor of chocolate chips! One of our family favorites: chocolate frosting with peanut butter chips! YUM! (PS: I’ve heard that using caramel chips don’t set/harden the fudge, but I’ve never tried that version myself.) This year we finally branched out and tried white chips and cream cheese frosting! I'm so glad I had some friends willing to taste test for me,{tough job, I know} and so far this fudge has been a big hit!

Oh – and if you need something to cross off your Christmas list, these wrap up into perfect little gifts. (I got the treat bags at Target!)

I’ll be packing up fudge this year for co-workers, neighbors, friends and family! 

All of the fudge versions are delicious, but there is something about the white chocolate peppermint fudge that is so festive! I hope you get a chance to make it!

Tomorrow, come back to see the fudge recipe my kids deem as THEIR absolute favorite! Are you trying new recipes this year or sticking to tried and true family favorites?

CranApple Crunch

I love baking and one of my favorite desserts growing up was a cherry crunch my mom used to make. Over the years the recipe has morphed and changed into a variety of flavors depending on the season and my mood, {but really, nothing beats the recipe my mom used to make!!} Maybe it’s because she poured so much love into it.

Well, here is my seasonal take on mama’s recipe – and yes, I added extra love just for you:



You will need:

• 1 box of your favorite yellow cake mix
• 1 10 oz. can of whole cranberries in sauce (or make your own with fresh cranberries)
• 1 14oz. can of apple pie filling.
• 1 – 1 1/2 sticks of butter

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pour the apples in the bottom of a 9x13 pan and spread evenly
2. Pour the cranberries on top on the apples and carefully spread evenly
3. Pour the yellow cake mix evenly (do you see a trend here?) on top of the cranapple mixture. Don’t press too hard, just gently spread across the top!
4. Pour the butter evenly on top of the yellow cake mix. I used one stick but wished I used two.
5. Spread the butter (you guessed it – EVENLY) over the yellow cake mix.
6. (OPTIONAL: pour cake mix into a bowl, then add butter and mix to a crumble, then pour on top of your fruit.) Believe it or not, both methods work!

BAKE at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes depending on your oven until the top is a golden brown:





Let cool and enjoy!!

Do you have a favorite family recipe you make over the holidays? Let me know in the comments! Happy Thanksgiving!

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway for your chance to win a jute growth chart 

and a $10 iTunes gift card!! Enter here!

I’m sharing this recipe here and at the Get Your Chef On Link party with Four Marrs and One Venus and White Lights on Wednesday!

Thankful for YOU Giveaway!

Hello friends! I’m so glad you’re here!

Exciting things have been happening here at Shaped by Grace lately – I went to a blog social,




we had a fun Halloween,




we battled being sick. (That was NOT the fun part. Thankful for veggies and chicken noodle soup!)




and somewhere in all that, I ran a half marathon!!




Times have been good! And I’m thankful to all of you who have been along for the ride or are new here and just joining this journey. In September my blog Facebook page turned one!! And very close to that time we celebrated 800 readers!! Wow!! I am truly amazed and blessed to have each one of you here!


As Shaped by Grace continues to grow I thought it only appropriate that I celebrate YOU my readers with a growth chart giveaway!  You may remember the jute growth chart I made for my little nephew. Well, I loved it so much I made one for my boys AND I made another one for YOU!









Your growth chart will be 6 1/2 feet long and will come ready to hang! {Pins and tags included!}
This growth chart would be perfect if you have little ones OR would make a great Christmas gift!!


BUT WAIT…..

THERE’S MORE!!!!


I have one extra little treat for you! Since Christmas IS coming up – here’s your chance to load up your iTunes with holiday music and win a $10 iTunes gift card!!


I’m so excited to offer these wonderful gifts for you!! Good luck to all of you who enter and thank you so much for being here!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway