DIY Dinosaur Treat Jar To Make

I've been playing around with a lot of glass of late and creating homemade gifts to give.

Homemade always offers a special uniqueness, it's personal,

can save money and is a fabulous outlet for your creativity.

The 'Dinosaur Treat Jar' is very simple to make.

All you need is:

A jar with a screw lid.

A plastic dinosaur toy.

Spray paint in the colour of your choice.

Strong glue 

Lolly treats.

I used a square-style preserving jar.

I used the same style jar for the Pretty Pressed Flower Vase

which is also a wonderful homemade gift.

To Make:

Place the jar lid on the newspaper in a well-ventilated area.

Spray the lid with spray paint.

Paint the dinosaur toy too.

Leave to dry.

Glue the dinosaur onto the lid.

The glue I used is called Araldite because it has a super strong hold!

Leave overnight for the glue to set.

Fill the jar with treats.

I used 'The Natural Confectionary Co' lollies which are 25% less sugar with no artificial colours or flavouring.

Quite conveniently they have the cutest little dinosaur treats in their range.

Add a bow to the jar neck if you want to or leave it plain.

And there you have a fabulous homemade gift that kids little or big will love!

#homemadegifts #DIYgifts #dinosaurs #treatjars

Garlicky Roast Mushrooms

 Enjoy them on their own as a meat-free meal with a green salad.

Or present them as a sidekick to your next steak meal.

Super quick to whip up, you'll be devouring them in 15 minutes!

To make it, you will need:

6 portabello medium-size mushrooms.

Trim the stalks.

Place in a non-stick baking dish.

Dice 2 cloves of garlic and finely chop 1 tablespoon of fresh thyme sprigs.

Sprinkle over the tops of the mushrooms.

Mix 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and 5 Tablespoons of olive oil.

Drizzle over the mushrooms.

Grind seasoning of salt and pepper over top and place in a preheated oven heated to 180 degrees Celcius.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Serve immediately.

I served mine as a main meal with a bacon, chicken and vegetable stir fry.

You can enjoy them on their own with toasted sourdough bread for breakfast.

Or they are delicious with steak and coleslaw.

Printable recipe HERE.

#mushrooms #sidedishes #healthyfood

Pretty Pressed Flower Vase

Homemade gifts are always wonderful to receive, so here is an idea for gifting.

You can place the pressed (not dried)  flowers onto any glass object.

I have used a preserving jar that has a nice shape with square faces.

The first thing you need to do is gather the flowers.

Select various flowers and leaves.

And more than you need in case of any pressing fails.

This does happen!

 This technique is the old-fashioned way where you use a book.

Just like we did when we were kids, before the invention of flower press contraptions.

Just place the flowers and leaves between two pieces of newspaper.

Insert in the book.

Do this with all the flowers and leave a gap of about 10 pages between every insertion.

Make sure you use an old unwanted book as the moisture may ruin the pages.

Put the book in a warm place. 

Add more weight by piling more books on top.

Leave for two weeks.

Then carefully remove it from the newspaper and place them on a white sheet of paper so you can see what you will have to use.

On the side of the clean glass vessel, Spread a layer of Mod Podge glue.

Place your flower design onto that.

Leave to dry.

Then proceed on around the jar or on one face - that is entirely up to you.

Leave to dry once more.

Then place a final coating of modpodge on all the flower areas.

Dry for two days.

Seal with clear spray sealer.

Dry again.

There is quite a bit of drying time involved, but it really is worth it in the end!

You can use dried flowers, but I find pressing for a few weeks is sufficient.

The glue seals any moisture left in the flowers as does the sealer.

To finish I tied a simple thin rope bow at the neck of the jar.

Fill your vessel.

I have placed a bunch of garden flowers into my jar.

But you could display dried flowers in the vase.

And tied a simple twine bow at the neck of the jar.

Fun to create, this is a lovely homemade gift, or keep it for yourself.

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For TLee's art and photographic prints, visit  https://www.saatchiart.com/tlee

Art and Photographic prints @ https://www.saatchiart.com/tlee

#flowercraft #DIYgifts

Cinnamon Xmas Tree Decorations

 Delicious aromas of cinnamon permeate the air in your home when you decorate your Christmas tree with a few of these DIY decorations.  

To make about seven decorations 3 inches in diameter all you need is the following:

 1 cup of cinnamon

3/4 cup of unsweetened apple sauce plus 1 more heaped Tablespoon.

And 3 Tablespoons of white PVA glue.

Mix all in a bowl and knead well until a dough is formed.

The more you knead, the better the consistency.

Sprinkle more cinnamon on the bench and roll with a rolling pin or press out into a circle that is 1/2 inch thick.

Cut the circles using a glass.

Or use shaped cookie cutters.

Or press a design into the dough.

I used icing shape cutters.

Use a nail or straw to make a hole for the hanger.

Slide a spatula under the dough.

 Place the ornament gently on a baking paper-covered tray.

Bake in a 180 degrees oven for 20 minutes.

Leave to cool overnight.

Add a string or ribbon then hang it on your tree.

Or as in my case my upcycled bat branch from the Halloween decor.

I added mini pearl lights to the branch tree and added a single wooden deer ornament.

To finish it off, a pair of ceramic white deer standing in the front is surrounded by wooden heart lights.

Simple, but perfect.

And oh my!

The cinnamon ornaments make it smell like 

JUST LIKE CHRISTMAS!

Grab a cuppa, and visit

 my Fine Art America gift store

#cinnamondecorations #diychristmas 

#christmasornamnetstomake