It's that time of year where we are desperately looking for thoughtful gifts that don't break the bank. In our opinion there is nothing that beats handmade gifts. Every fall we test our creativity by making a few things that we've never made before to give to friends and family at Christmastime. Here's what we made this year:
Beer Can Candles. We love the artwork that many craft breweries are using on their beer cans. Step 1: Go and buy some beer that has fun graphics on the can. Step 2: Drink the beer! Step 3: Remove the top part of the can with a side can opener. Once the top is off make sure that the sides are smooth using pliers to flatten any rough pieces and give the can a good washing. Step 4: The candle making! Last year we loved the Peppermint Mason Jar Candles that we made from A Pumpkin & A Princess Blog so we used her recipe for the wax. We also came across this You Tube video from Sam of All Trades that is excellent. Keep in mind that you can use any kind of can - we just happen to like the craft brewery cans and what they had inside them.
Spiced Honey and Strawberry Margarita Preserves. We use the water bath method of canning. This is relatively easy and preserves food for up to a year. Both of the recipes that we used came from the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving and are unfortunately not available online.We scoured the internet to find recipes that are essentially the same and this is what we came up with:Spiced Honey from Recipe Link & Strawberry Margarita Preserves from Food.com.
Creativity feeds to the soul. Handmade gifts let the recipient know that they are loved. It's a win-win! We'd love to hear what you made this year. Please share in the comment section or drop us an email at hello@hangupsjewelry.com
2022 was a bit of a blur and most of it has passed by without a newsletter or blog post from us. Note to self - add newsletter & blog to New Years Resolution List for 2023. As 2022 comes to a close we would like to thank each and every one of you for your support. Support comes in so many forms. Maybe you told a friend about us, purchased a piece of jewelry, liked our social media posts, read our newsletter, or offered us a smile and conversation at a show. We are grateful for all of you! We are looking forward to the Missouri, Ohio and Kansas Music Educator Conferences again this January & February! We look forward to making new friends and seeing smiling familiar faces. If you are at any of these conferences please stop by our booth and say HI! We want to wish you all a Happy Holiday Season filled with warmth and love. See you next year!