I couldn’t resist sharing the tutorial for this DIY Christmas shirt, even if it is only 2 days before Christmas! It’s not too late to make one if you can run out to a craft store and get all the supplies. It is super cute and festive. Better yet, you’ll be the only one who has one because you made it yourself!

This tutorial uses a Cricut Explore Air to make the design. Using Iron on Vinyl, you can make so many cute projects. I also used the same method to personalize our stockings this year.

If you want to use the exact same design that I made, you can download it by clicking here. But I also encourage everyone to make your own projects and put your own personal spin onto it! There are so many cute festive words or designs you can use to make a DIY Christmas Shirt once you know how. And they make great gifts! You can make each shirt something you know the giftee will love. The materials for this project cost less than $10!

All right, if you’re ready for the tutorial, keep scrolling!

Supplies:

• Tshirt
• Iron
• Iron on Vinyl
• Cricut Explore Air
• 12×12 Cricut Mat
• Weeding Tool

Step One: Design Shirt

First, you’ll need to design your shirt in Cricut design space. I used the font bombshell. I wanted my shirt to say “fa la la la la” which is one of my favorite festive phrases.

You can design your design to be spaced exactly how you will want it in the final product. I chose to cut each “la” separately to try and use as little vinyl as possible.

When you’re using iron on vinyl, you need to print it as a mirror image. After you press “make it” in Cricut design space, below where you designate the mat size, you can choose “mirror image,” as you can see in the picture below.

Step Two: Prepare Vinyl and Cut

With iron on vinyl, you want to place the vinyl on your mat with the front facing down. With glittery vinyl, this is super easy to tell, because the front is glittery and the back is dull looking. You can see that in the picture below. You only  need to place vinyl on the mat where your design will be cut. So for my design, that was about 9.5″x6.5″.

Once your mat is ready, load your mat into the Cricut. Be sure that the setting is set to “iron on vinyl.” Then press go and let the Cricut do the cutting!

Step Three: Weed Vinyl

The next thing you want to do is called weeding the vinyl. First, you peel off any of the vinyl that isn’t part of your final design. So pretty much all the negative space will be removed. Iron on vinyl has two layers- the vinyl itself, and a plastic layer on top of that (or underneath it when it’s upside down on the mat). You peel away the extra vinyl from the plastic layer. This should be easy to do, leaving your final design there. If any of your design starts to come up, you can just press it back onto the plastic and it should stick.

Once you peel off the excess, you will still have to remove the holes from inside the letters. This design happens to have holes in every single letter. I use the Cricut weeding tool to remove the middle of the letters. I pretty much just poke it until it starts to come up and then peel it back.

Step Four: Place Design and Iron

Since I wanted to be able to manipulate the letter placement and use as little vinyl as possible, I didn’t print my design how I wanted it to look on the final shirt. So I had to cut each piece and place it on the shirt where I wanted it. The plastic front is sticky, but not too sticky, so it’s easy to lift and adjust each section until you have it where you want.

Once your design is where you want it to be, it’s time to iron. You can place a piece of cardboard inside the shirt to make ironing easier. I used a file folder. Make sure not to use any steam when you iron, and set the iron to cotton. Go over the design until it is fully adhered, and then peel the plastic off the top. If you peel to early and the design starts to come up, no big deal, just press it back down and iron again. It took me about 1-2 minutes of ironing for this design, and that was probably more than necessary.

Once you peel the plastic off the letters, your shirt is ready!

And then you’re done!

Now you’ve got a snazzy new Christmas shirt that no one else will have. One of a kind!

Mine turned out super adorable! The red and gold is very festive. I am always impressed with the quality of Cricut’s iron on vinyl. The glitter does not come off of the design or rub off the shirt, even after multiple washings. If you love your shirt you can wear it time and time again. It will last longer if you wash it inside out, but I sometimes forget to do that and my shirts are still great!

These make a great gift too! You could easily add someone’s name to it, or do different color shirts and vinyls for different people.

This shirt is so happy and festive, what’s not to love?

Now that I’m writing this post and wearing my shirt, I’m never going to stop singing Christmas carols. Tis the season to be jolly…..

And the song may be stuck in my head forever. And now yours too probably. Sorry!

I’m so excited to wear my shirt this Christmas!

Let me know how making your own DIY Christmas Shirt goes for you! You can click the thumbnail below to download the file to make this same design.

supplies in this post

The post Diy Christmas Shirt appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

If you’re looking for a fun easy way to make DIY personalized stockings, you’ve come to the right place! This tutorial is super adaptable, so you can really express your personal style. You can use any font or design you want to personalize your stockings, that way you can know exactly who each Christmas stocking belongs to. I absolutely love the results, and can’t get enough of our super cute stockings!

This tutorial uses a Cricut explore air machine to cut iron on vinyl letters. Once you get familiar with the Cricut, you’ll find that it is super easy to use. And it makes such awesome results!

I love decorations that you DIY. They are so much more personal and can really express your style. This year, I decided to go all out for Christmas crafts. So I made these adorable personalized stockings for my family, and I made some really fun pom pom garlands for the tree. I also made a festive shirt that I haven’t posted about yet, but I’ll link to it once I have.

Cricut projects are especially fun because you can make so much with it. I could never have cut out cute iron on vinyl letters myself. Sure, I’m crafty, but I’m not quite that precise. Even better, the iron on vinyl is washable!

Well, if you’re ready to learn how to make these DIY personalized stockings, keep scrolling!

Supplies:

• Stockings
• Cricut Explore Air
• Iron on Vinyl
• Iron

Step One: Design stockings

The first thing you want to do choose how you want to customize your stockings. I’m lucky that my family has different initials, so I used just the first initial for each person. I used Cricut design space to make and resize the letters. Instead of making them all the same font size or same height, I adjusted them until they were as big as I thought looked good together. I used the font Georgia.

I set each of the letters to cut. Don’t forget to measure your stockings so that you don’t make the letters too big or too small.

Iron on vinyl needs to be cut as a mirror image. If you cut it normally, you’ll get backwards letters on your stockings. . Simply select “mirror” before you go to cut, as you can see in the image below. On the preview screen the selection is right below material size.

Step Two: Cut Vinyl on Cricut

Next you want to put your vinyl on your cutting mat. I used a regular strength mat. With iron on vinyl, you want to load it on the mat with the front facing down. With glittery vinyl this is easy to tell, because the front is much shinier and the back is somewhat dull. So you want the dull side up.

You only need to put vinyl on the areas that will actually cut. So for this project, I cut a piece of vinyl to approximately 3″x10″. You can tell what size you need on the preview screen.

Once your vinyl is ready on the mat, Load your mat into the cricut. Then make sure your cricut is set to “iron on vinyl” then press go! Let the cricut do its thing and cut the vinyl letters.

Step three: Weed vinyl

The next step is to weed the vinyl, which means removing any excess vinyl that isn’t part of the final design. You can usually just start pulling up a corner, and the cut parts will stay attached to the clear layer that makes up the front of the vinyl. I love the cricut weeder tool and use it all the time to help weeding out small areas, like the inside of the e.

Then, once the vinyl is all weeded and only your final design remains, you can cut the letters apart from each other to get them ready to go. You want each section of the design that is going on its own stocking to be separate.

Step Four: Iron

Next you’ll want to iron your vinyl onto the stockings. First, place the letter where you want it to go, with the plastic layer on top. The letter should be facing forward and placed where you want it in the final design.

I cut a piece of a file folder to use inside my stocking to make it slightly stiffer so that ironing was easier. This is optional based on what kind of stocking you use.

You will want to set the iron to a setting for cotton, and then start ironing on top of the plastic over the letter. I ironed each letter for about one minute total, but it would probably have been fine with less.

Once the letter is fully adhered, peel back the plastic layer. If any part of the letter starts to come up, just let the plastic fall back down and iron until the letter is fully adhered. Once the plastic is off, you’re done! You’ve got your awesome DIY personalized stockings.

Step Five: Display!

Now all you have to do is hang your stockings and fill them with presents!

I’m so happy with how our DIY personalized stockings turned out. I think they’re super cute. Some of my family thinks capital letters would have looked better, but I just have a thing for lowercase. I almost always like the look of lowercase letters better.

I love having stockings in non-traditional colors as well. It’s easy to find red and green stockings but other colors are more difficult to come by.

Seriously, how cute do they look on the mantle? I just love them. If you can’t already tell, because I only took about 1 zillion pictures that I couldn’t help but share. I hope you enjoy looking at them!

And if you really can’t get enough, check out my Christmas living room tour.

Let me know how making your own DIY personalized stockings goes for you! I would love to see some pictures.

supplies used in this post

The post DIY Personalized Christmas Stockings appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

This year I finally feel like our Christmas decorations look great and express my taste. So I just had to show them off to you!

Even though I’m Jewish, my husband is Christian. I have always LOVED Christmas lights and decorations, so after we got married I started going all out with Christmas decor. Honestly, my husband is just my excuse to decorate, because he wouldn’t even notice if we didn’t have Christmas decorations at all. I really do it because I just love the spirit of Christmas.

Snow, hot chocolate, twinkling lights…. I love it all. I love how happy most people are around the holiday season, despite the crazy competitiveness people get over parking spots. I love how people are grateful for the things they have during the holidays. I love the spirit of giving and picking out gifts for the people I care about. And I love how charitable people are around Christmas. I just had to express all that spirit here!

So here’s a little glimpse of the decorations we have for the holidays! If you want to find some of the decorations we used, sources are at the bottom of the post.

Most of our Christmas decor is around the tree and the fireplace. I sit on our couch all the time facing the tree and fireplace, and the view just makes me so happy!

One of the things I love most about Christmas is holiday cards! Lars can attest that every time we check the mail in December, all I look for are holiday cards and I’m practically giddy about getting them. I love to display them in our living room.

This year I got this adorable Christmas card display from Crate and Barrel. It’s already full (we’ve gotten even more cards since I took these pictures) so I think I need to get another!

If you look closely in the pictures, you can see our family holiday picture hanging up behind them. It’s the picture we used on our holiday card this year.

I mean, seriously, look at all those cute faces! We have the most adorable friends and family. Shoutout to the people who send cards the earliest because you get to be displayed forever on the blog :)

Most of my first Christmas decorations were gifts from others. My mother in law gave us these adorable moose stocking holders. My husband and his family grew up using these holders in Alaska, and I love how they’re such a big part of family tradition.

The little hedgehog holder is from target, we just couldn’t resist.

I also love this cute chalkboard that says happy holidays. We got the chalkboard for a baby shower I cohosted in August, but I’ve kept using it around the house for decor. It fits perfectly here for Christmas!

On our coffee table I set out these antler bowls full of ornaments. My mom got me the bowls several years ago, and I’ve always used them to hold cute ornaments.

Plus how cute is that little wood penguin? I love him! Even though my dog does knock him over regularly with his crazy happy tail.

I have a hard time finding holiday pillows I love, so we just went with these buffalo check covers this year. I’m always on the lookout for more festive pillow covers that are also soft and the right size!

But the best part of our living room at Christmas is when the tree lights up (every day at 4:30). Those lights always make me smile.

And if you are wondering where I got our garlands, I made them! You can read how to make your own pom pom garland here.

Well, I hope you’ve enjoyed this little glimpse into our holiday living room! I certainly love these pictures.

I hope you and your family have an absolutely wonderful holiday season, whatever you celebrate!

Fa la la la la la la…..

Sources:

Tree: craigslist, similar on amazon • Garlands: DIY project • Topper: Crate and Barrel • Stockings: Amazon and amazon • Pillows: amazon • Card Holder: Crate and Barrel (no longer available) • Stocking holders: Target (no longer available) • Tree Skirt: Target • Silver Ornaments: Target

Some of our Christmas Decor

The post Christmas Living Room Tour appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

If you’re looking for a fun, easy, and adorable Christmas craft, look no further. This pom pom garland is so easy to make, and it looks great on the tree. It is the perfect festive Christmas craft. It makes my tree look so happy and unique! And it really couldn’t be any easier to make. So much cuteness from so little effort!

I wanted my Christmas tree this year to be green and white. Last year I did more traditional with a red ribbon, but it wasn’t really my style. I wanted to do a garland this year that would be a little less traditional and a lot more fun! So I figured a pom pom garland would be the perfect way to do that. And I love it!

It does take a lot of pom poms to make the garland, but it is so worth it! This is the kind of craft that is easy and meditative. You can easily do it while watching tv or listening to music and just get into a flow. Bonus points if you listen to Christmas music while you make it. It probably took me a total of 3 hours of stringing to make 70′ of garland for my tree, but it felt like 20 minutes.

And there is no reason to sit there for 3 hours straight working on the garland. I made this over a few days, in between other tasks when I had time. Crafting is such an enjoyable break. So if you love crafting, keep reading for the full tutorial.

Supplies:

• Thin string (Twine is great, this is the one I used)
• Craft needles
• Pompoms (1.5″ (what I used) or 1″)

I wanted my pom poms to be pretty big, so I used the 1.5″ ones. The 1″ pom poms are much more cost effective. I ended up using more than 70 feet of pom pom garland on my tree, so I needed tons of them! I used 35 packs, or 525 pom poms total. If I had known I would need so many, I would go back and use the 1″ ones. I had to keep ordering more!

I definitely underestimated how long the garlands would need to be, but I’m a sucker for the cascading way they are hung. If you hang them without the cascading, you’ll need much less length.

Step One: Cut String and Thread Needle

I cut my strings into approx 5′ long segments because that was about as long as I could manage without tangling the string. The first thing you want to do is cut your string segment, then thread the needle and tightly knot the string. You also want to put a knot at the end of the string so that the pom poms don’t fall off, leaving a little room on the end in case you need to tie any garlands together.

Step Two: String Pom Poms

Next step is to just go ahead stringing the pom poms! You want to pierce the pom poms slightly off of the middle. They should slip on easily. If you feel resistance, go ahead and re-align them on the needle or you will have trouble moving them down the string.

Once you get them on, move them all the way along the string until the end. Space them out so theres about 1/4″ in between each pom. It is much easier to do this as you go along than to try to space them out later.

Step Three: Tie and Hang

Once you’ve gotten all the pom poms on the string, untie the string from the needle and tie off the end. Then hang them on the tree!

I ended up hanging the pom pom garlands and then figuring out the length needed to finish that string around the tree and tying them together to get the correct size. They aren’t hung perfectly, but I really love the effect they make.

This is by far my favorite christmas tree yet! The pom poms remind me of snowballs and marshmallows and they definitely show my whimsical style. I’m a sucker for the combination of white and green.

Plus I love our tree topper that we got from Crate and Barrel. The moravian star shape is super unique.

Here’s a close up of the garland on the tree:

Seriously, how cute are they?! It still makes me so happy to look at, and I see this tree about a bazillion times a day.

Every time I see the tree it makes me smile. I haven’t decorated that many Christmas trees, but this is the first one I really feel like is “my style.” And it’s super festive.

To be honest, I think all Christmas trees are beautiful if they are lit up! And I love how the pom pom garland looks lit up.

This is by far my favorite Christmas decoration. Maybe next year I’ll add even more ;)

So go ahead and make your own pom pom garland, and let me know how it goes for you!

Supplies and Decor in This Post:

The post DIY Christmas Pom Pom Garland appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

This post is going to be more personal than usual, so if that isn’t your thing, feel free to click away and read some tutorials. I’ll even link to some of my favorites to make it easier for you:

• DIY Green Tea Scrub
• Homemade Glass Cleaner
• Kitchen Organization
• DIY Halloween Boo Shirt (it may be December, but I wore it just the other day)

All right- if you’re sticking with me, here goes.

I miss you! It’s been a long time since I’ve been posting regularly on the blog.

I usually try to stick to my main topics on the blog (green cleaning, natural beauty, crafts, and organization), but for some reason I’ve been having trouble finding inspiration within those categories. I still love and am passionate about them, and I’ve been doing lots of projects in the interim, but I haven’t been posting about them. And so I’ve been contemplating why that is.

For bloggers, there’s a lot of difficulty in separating your personal life from your professional life. The lines can get really blurry. I’ve had a hard time trying to find where the line should go. I could post all the time about every detail in my life, but then when would I actually live it?

At the same time, there is a desire to present a curated picture. You want to show off only the best parts of your life. So you find yourself living your life like it’s a performance. Sure, my blog is about me, but it’s about the version of me that I show to you. I feel like in trying to create the best me to present on the blog I’ve lost the inspiration that I have to write. I’ve been lost between the desire to live my life fully without stepping back to take pictures all the time and wanting to show off the best of me and my family, and it’s left me feeling like nothing I write is right.

And there’s also another reason that I haven’t been posting often on the blog, and that is my health. You’ve probably noticed that I write about living with a chronic illness from time to time, and that’s because it’s a very big part of my life. I live with an illness called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, or POTS. Basically my autonomic nervous system has a mind of it’s own and likes to do silly things like make my heart beat way too fast or make me feel like I’ve run a marathon when I walk to the kitchen. In addition I also get migraines, which can really knock me out.

Living with a chronic illness can be very unpredictable, and I go through good and bad phases. And I’ve been having a rough go of it for a while now. We’ve had crazy weather this year, which definitely exacerbates my symptoms, but sometimes I just have times when for whatever reason my symptoms are worse than usual. Some days I can wake up and feel relatively like a normal functioning human being, but some days I wake up and can barely get out of bed. And lately I’ve been having more of the bad days than good. I seem to be on the upswing now, but it hasn’t been a great time.

I’ve made my peace with my illness but I’ve never gotten good at talking about it. Writing about it on the blog definitely helps with me learning to communicate about my illness, but I try not to talk about it unless I have to.

Sometimes I feel like two people- one who is optimistic and energetic and loves going out and doing things, and one who just wants to stay home and take a nap. And honestly, I think that is something that most people can relate to, whether or not they have a chronic illness. We all try to present our best selves to the world, but we’re not our best selves all the time.

Lots of bloggers will tell you that there is a lot of pressure to present your best self on the blog. The less I feel like my best self, the less I feel like I can share my projects with people.

So, enough of that. I’m me, and I’m not always my best. I’m going to be getting back into blogging, and I’m going to share the things that inspire me.

I hope that you’ll like what I decide to write about now, and I’m going to try to be even more true to myself and my passions. And I’m excited!

Lots of love from your fellow procrastinator,

Susie

The post Maybe You’ve Missed Me appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

It’s always fun to make an easy project that the kiddos can help out with. This awesome homemade sidewalk chalk is fun, nontoxic, and it even uses an upcycled container to make it less messy to draw with. You can customize the colors however you like. It’s a cute crafty project that keeps being fun even once you’re finished!

You have to love a project that takes only 5 minutes of hands on time. And the result will give you hours of drawing fun. As a kid I used to spend forever in the driveway coloring away with sidewalk chalk. I only wish I had been able to make the chalk myself, because it would have made my creations twice as personal. That’s why I knew this would be a perfect kid-friendly craft.

I’m a huge proponent of going green- I write about green cleaning all the time. I love having an opportunity to reuse containers I have finished with, because I’m always trying to reduce waste. That’s why I couldn’t be more excited to be partnering with Tom’s of Maine during Earth Month to bring this awesome upcycling project to you as part of the #LessWasteChallenge!

I’ve been a fan of Tom’s of Maine for a long time. I love their natural personal care products. I’ve even written about their awesome deodorants before. All Tom’s of Maine products are made without artificial colors, flavors, fragrances or preservatives. Even better, they’re not tested on animals. These are all things I look for when I’m shopping for personal care products.

You can get Tom’s of Maine Products at Target. They even have some awesome Target exclusives, like the fragrance free bar soap for sensitive skin that I got.

And what’s super exciting is that Tom’s of Maine is working even harder to make their products environmentally friendly and sustainable. Tom’s of Maine is committed to reducing waste caused by their products. All their packaging is recyclable through TerraCycle- a company that recycles things that aren’t usually recycled. Visit Toms of Maine’s website for more information.

I’m taking the #LessWasteChallenge to reduce 1 pound of waste a week- and you should too! That’s why I made this awesome upcycling project to help me reuse old containers instead of throwing them away. What will you do for your #LessWasteChallenge? Make sure to share your creative ideas using the hashtag so everyone can be inspired by your awesome ideas!

Here’s my awesome project that I came up with to reuse old containers and reduce waste:

homemade sidewalk chalk Ingredients and supplies:

• Tom’s of Maine Deodorant Container
• 2-3 teaspoons tempera paint
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup Plaster of Paris
• Spatula
• Mixing bowl

Step One: Clean out deodorant container

The first thing to do is clean out any remaining deodorant from your deodorant container. If you twist the container up all the way, you can remove the plastic deodorant holder and scrape and wash all the leftover deodorant out of there. I was able to do this using a small knife and a scrub brush and dish soap.

You’ll want to leave the deodorant “residue” in the rest of the container to keep the sides slick.

Then just replace the now-empty plastic deodorant holder, and twist it down to the bottom of the container.

Step Two: Mix ingredients

Now it’s time to actually make the chalk! You’ll want to mix 2-3 teaspoons of tempera paint with 1/4 cup of water. Then stir in 1/2 cup of plaster of paris.

The amount of paint you use will depend on how dark you want your chalk colors to be. Lighter chalk is great for writing on dark surfaces like a black chalkboard, and darker colors are great for lighter sidewalks. I mixed blue and red paint to make a darker purple color. Stir until all the ingredients are well combined.

I told you it was easy!

Step Three: Add to container

Once your homemade sidewalk chalk ingredients are mixed, use your spatula to add the mixture to the deodorant container. You can push down as you add it to make sure you don’t leave too many air holes in the container.

Step Four: Let dry and draw!

All you have left to do now is set your chalk aside to dry. You’ll want to leave it for at least 12 hours to be completely dry before use.

And then go ahead and start drawing!

As your chalk runs out, simply twist some more up in your deodorant container for fun and less messy drawing. If your chalk is being a little resistant to twisting, you can use a butter knife around the edges to loosen it up a little.

I love that I was able to reuse my old deodorant container this way. I never know what to do with finished personal care product packaging (try saying that 5 times fast). I hate throwing them out. So lucky my DIY-ing made it easy to upcycle and repurpose this deodorant container.

It’s so fun to draw with too!

It was so much fun to mix my own chalk colors. I find that most sidewalk chalk is lighter, but I don’t have a dark driveway, just light concrete sidewalks. So the darker color of the chalk really pops on the concrete. Plus I’m just a sucker for purple.

Who would have thought that this homemade sidewalk chalk was in a reused deodorant container?

I can’t wait to see what other upcycling projects I come up with as part of the #LessWasteChallenge. My mind is already churning and thinking of ideas.

Good luck making your own homemade sidewalk chalk, and have fun creating less waste!

Don’t forget to check out the Cartwheel offer on Tom’s of Maine products at Target.

The post Homemade Sidewalk Chalk appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

I love making things- be it a cute DIY project, natural beauty recipes, a cleaning product, or even a decorative printable. And I know there are lots of other DIY-ers out there who agree with me! So this holiday season, I thought I would share some awesome homemade gifts that people ACTUALLY want.

I’ve given out almost every single thing on the list as a gift, and with great responses to all! In fact I have yet to give #1 to a person and NOT have them ask me to make them more.

So, here are my favorite 15 awesome gifts you can make:

1. Aloe Vera Moisturizer

This is one of my favorite homemade gifts. Regardless of gender, everyone needs a good quality moisturizer in the winter. This aloe vera moisturizer is so gentle, and yet so moisturizing, that it works with most skin types.

As I mentioned above, every SINGLE person I have given this to as a gift has asked me for more. So I thought it makes sense to start the list with my favorite. I always have plenty of aloe on hand to make this in the winter!

supplies you’ll need

2. Peppermint Body Butter

This peppermint body butter makes a perfect Christmas gift. It’s festive, cute, all natural, and amazingly moisturizing. The pink stripe is actually made without any food dye and the recipe is without any artificial additives. It’s so natural you could eat it and be fine- but I wouldn’t recommend it, even if it smells amazing.

supplies you’ll need

3. Gingerbread Candles

Nothing says Christmas more than gingerbread! I love the smell so much, I knew I had to replicate it for an awesome holiday candle. Candle making may sound intimidating, but trust me, it’s easy! The custom blend of scents smells like freshly baked gingerbread, and is sure to get anyone in the holiday mood.

supplies you’ll need

4. Custom Sign

I love making custom signs! This DIY may be a little more difficult if you aren’t a crafty person, but it is definitely doable. These make such a great gift because they are completely customized. Plus once you figure out this method you can use it to make all kinds of homemade decor for yourself and others.

supplies you’ll need

5. Mint Chocolate M&M’s Fudge

I made this awesome mint chocolate fudge recipe and it is SUPER delicious. It makes a great gift that you can make in bulk for friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers. Lars became the hero of his office when he brought this fudge in last year. The mint chocolate flavor is perfect for Christmas, and the fudge is actually cute to boot.

supplies you’ll need

6. Laundry Detergent Tabs

These laundry detergent tabs are awesome! They are completely green and natural, and they’re easy and inexpensive to make. They make a great gift for someone you know loves to live a natural lifestyle. Who doesn’t love clean clothes, right?

supplies you’ll need

7. Cocoa Butter Body Lotion

Can you tell how much I love giving natural beauty products for gifts? They always get an amazing response. This cocoa butter body lotion is so deeply moisturizing. It feels so luxurious and expensive. It will make your giftees feel like a million bucks while only costing you a few!

supplies you’ll need

8. Homemade Lip Balm

Everyone uses lip balm, right? This homemade lip balm makes a perfect gift. I gave someone a tube once, and they told me it was “better than Bert’s.” So that’s a pretty great endorsement! It’s an easy gift to make for stocking stuffers, or as part of a gift basket, or when you just want to give someone something small.

supplies you’ll need

9. DIY No Sew Reuseable Duster

Everyone has to dust. But who likes buying disposable duster heads? They’re so costly and wasteful. This DIY washable duster head requires no sewing, and works like a charm. Since they are so easy and inexpensive to make, they make a really great gift.

supplies you’ll need

10. Green Tea Scrub

Green tea is amazing for your skin. This awesome green tea scrub is so healthy, and it smells amazing. Anyone would love to get it as a gift. This one has been highly requested by friends and family. It makes your skin feel fresh and moisturized.

supplies you’ll need

11. Etched Soap Dispenser

A cute dish soap dispenser next to the sink really makes it look better. You would never notice how big a difference it makes until you replace a plastic bottle with this adorable etched soap dispenser. That’s why it makes such a great gift- everyone uses dish soap, or hand soap.

supplies you’ll need

12. Aloe Vera Face Wash

This aloe vera face wash makes a great gift alone or with my aloe vera moisturizer. It’s one of the more popular posts on my site, and people really seem to love it! I used it exclusively for over 2 years, but I’ve since added a few more products to my rotation. It’s a great gift for the natural beauty maven you know!

supplies you’ll need

13. Peanut Butter Cookies

Everyone loves cookies. These peanut butter cookies are so easy to make with only 3 ingredients, and they are gluten free! They are a great gift that you can make in bulk to give to lots of people, or for just one person. Or for yourself. Because you might not want to share these awesome cookies!

supplies you’ll need

14. Essential Oil Kit

Essential oils are awesome because they can be used in so many ways. If you make a kit by putting together a few classic oils, and maybe even a diffuser, it makes a great gift. You could even do seasonal ones, like a christmas themed kit with cinnamon, ginger, and pine.

supplies you’ll need

15. Homemade Shower Soothers

The height of gift-giving season is also the height of cold season. These DIY Shower Soothers are a perfect gift that someone can use when they’re sick, or just for a relaxing shower that smells great. You can package them in a mason jar- which would look adorable! Who wouldn’t love that?

supplies you’ll need

The post 15 Awesome Homemade Gifts that People Actually Want appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

Caregivers are essential to any community. Being there for people during hard times is not only difficult, it is sometimes a thankless job. That’s why it’s important to find ways to let caregivers know just how much we truly appreciate them.

Some of you know that I’ve lived for years with a chronic illness, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). I’ve been insanely lucky to have many amazing caregivers over the years. The two who have done the most work are two of my favorite people, my mom, and my husband.

My mom, Lisa, was my main fighter during the worst years of my life. She took me to countless doctor’s appointments, researched alternative and holistic treatments, and stood up for me when I didn’t know what to say. There is a lot more awareness and education about POTS now (not that we don’t have farther to go!), but 10 years ago when I was diagnosed, we had an incredibly difficult road. We went from specialist to specialist leaving without answers.

She spent hours and hours putting together an application to Mayo Clinic, which is where I was eventually diagnosed. And at every appointment she was there to speak for me and say “I know something more is going on here and we won’t stop until we have answers.” When we did have answers, she helped me to reach out to organizations to raise awareness and tell my story. Her persistence in telling my story has led to multiple people reaching out to us that ultimately were diagnosed with POTS because of reading about my experience. She has literally changed lives, beyond my own. I could never do enough to give back to her.

Lars has taken up the mantle of being my primary caregiver now, and he couldn’t do a more wonderful job. We both seem to know each other better than we know ourselves, and he often realizes that I’m not feeling well before I do. He is always there to help me on days when I struggle, regardless of his other commitments. Despite his limited experience with the medical world before he met me, has learned my treatments and triggers and the reality of living with a chronic illness. He reminds me to advocate for myself and advocates for me when I can’t do it myself.

Lars and I lived with my parents for a few months last year. I had one day where I woke up with one of the most terrible migraines I’ve ever had- the dreaded horrific migraine that I luckily only get about 1-2 times a year. But on those days I absolutely cannot function and spend the entire day on the bathroom floor. They can last more than a day if I don’t get some more heavy duty medication that I don’t have at home.

On that day, I had both my caregivers there by my side. Lars brought me a pillow while my mom called my doctor. They actually argued over who would take me to the doctor, even though they both had to work that day. Lars won in the end, and he made sure that I got some relief that day. My caregivers are amazing.

And their caregiving didn’t stop at helping me function- they have been incredible with emotional support. This can be one of the most difficult aspects of being a caregiver. A lot of people are up for the task of helping someone function or complete tasks, but being there to help deal with the emotional stressors that chronic illness creates takes someone special.

I can’t think of a better thing to be thankful for this holiday season than the caregivers in my life.

That’s why I am so excited to be partnering with Create the Good to spread awareness for this amazing caregiver appreciation- 25 Days 25 Ways to Care. You can nominate caregivers in your life for a chance to win gift cards ranging from $25-$500 dollars. To nominate someone, all you have to do is submit a short video (less than 60 seconds) explaining all they do to care for others.

One Grand Prize winner chosen by a panel of judges will get to choose a charity of their choice for a donation of $2500.

So if you know an inspiring caretaker, nominate them today! It’s the perfect way to let them know just how appreciated they truly are. You can learn more about official Contest Rules here.

The post Giving Back to Caregivers appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.