diy | A Little Nutmeg

Hello, friends! We are excited to be back with a Sister Inspirations post again after our long hiatus. This month we have been crushing on lots of geometric objects, so we decided to create our own. We chose concrete for our material because of its great modern, industrial vibe. Concrete is also surprisingly easy to work with and very inexpensive. The mix costs less than $5 and we hardly used much of the bag for our little projects.

We also have the templates for you to download so that you can easily make your own!

Amy designed an adorable hexagon bowl that is perfect for storing small objects like jewelry. I’ve been obsessed with succulents for quite awhile and I’ve been wanting to make a little planter for my coffee table.

You’ll need:

Quikrete concrete mix, photo paper, packing tape, a printer, scissors, vaseline, and toilet paper roll. We accidentally bought the commercial grade Quikrete, which was completely unnecessary.

Process:

1. Print out the template on photo paper.

2. Cut out and tape up the sides well with packing tape.

3. Coat the inside of the paper with vaseline.

4. Tape off the bottom of the toilet paper roll.

5. Take out any large rock pieces from the concrete mix.

6. Mix the Quikrete with a little bit of water at a time, until you have the consistency of thick pancake batter.

7. Pour concrete into your mold, push the toilet paper down in the mix until you have your desired depth to form the inside of the planter.

8. Let it set until it seems solid but not completely set. Around 18 hours.

9. Peel off the paper, remove toilet paper roll, and continue to let it cure. It should be fully cured after 24 or more hours.

I love the juxtaposition of industrial and natural. You could put a candle in it if you prefer, but I’m in love with the petite planter idea.

Be sure to check out Amy’s gorgeous little geometric bowl over at The Happy Tulip. You can download her template there.

We’re excited to share with you ten diy stocking stuffer ideas this month, all under $5 each. On this blog you will find five gift ideas for the gentlemen and on Amy’s blog she is sharing five ideas for the ladies.

Personalized Beer Glasses

I am fascinated by the gold leaf paint I bought for this project. Using masking tape as guidelines, I created graphic designs on the glasses. Originally, I wanted to use a stencil to paint words on the glasses, but the gold leaf paint is a little too runny to use with stencils. But, I love how dramatic these turned out. Plus the glasses were each only $1 at our local dollar store so this was super inexpensive to make. The paint was originally $8 but I also got it on sale for $4 at Hobby Lobby. I’m thinking I may add a glass sealer at some point.

Feed Corn Heating Pads

I made these last year for all the boys in the family and it was a hit. The corn pads can be used to heat sore muscles or warm up cold feet and hands. I followed this tutorial but I made a few customizations. I used feed corn instead of rice. I’m sure you can use either, I just prefer the smell and feel of the corn better. I didn’t end up using a lavender essential oils because the corn gives off a pleasant enough smell. I also didn’t feel the need to serge the edges like she does in the original tutorial and the pads held together just fine. I just wanted to simplify the project a little since I am still pretty new to sewing.

Coffee Syrup

This vanilla coffee syrup recipe was so easy to make. I would love the try the raspberry and caramel versions too, but I already had the ingredients for the vanilla syrup in my pantry. So all I bought for this project were the bottles that I found for $2 each at Hobby Lobby.

Peanut Butter Bites

These are so deliciously easy to make. You can find the recipe here. This recipes makes a ton of balls, so you can vary the recipe depending on the amount of people you will be gifting. Again, I had all the ingredients for this recipe on hand so it was super quick to put together.

Reindeer Bottles

Last year, I made these with beer for Brandon’s grandpa. He thought they were hilarious. This year, I made these with root beer so they can be a kid-friendly stocking stuffer, as well. Googly eyes, mini craft pom poms, chenille wire and a hot glue gun are the only tools needed for this gift.