does anyone else's kitchen table look like this??

I mean seriously, I can't be the only one who's table is covered in 10 different Christmas projects!! This is what happens when you get behind on finishing teacher gifts, class gifts, class party stuff, etc. That's ok, it'll be cleaned up tomorrow. And then I can mess it right up again with some other project! hehe

So here's what I've been working on. First off, teacher gifts. I wanted to come up with something different and I found some blogs/websites about making rag quilt purses. And I thought that would make a cute gift filled with some Christmas goodies. I've said this before ~ you don't have to spend a ton of money to give a great gift that's from the heart. I found some Debbie Mumm fabric on sale at Joann's a few weeks back. And this is what I came up with...

I'm really happy with how they turned out. I used a scallop square Sizzix die to cut all the square pieces. And when you wash the purse it really gets a "raggish" look to it. I know, not a word... Anyhoo, when you make these you're supposed to use some scissors and snip those little ends that are sticking out. But I like the way you can see the scallop edge so I didn't cut them. Personal preference.


I made 4 of these purses and each one is just a little bit different. 

I have some more cute fabric that I found so I'll be sharing more rag quilt purses in future posts (and some instructions if anyone wants them).

Inside I put some Christmas goodies, some little candles I decorated, *big* candy bar (toffee & chocolate mmmmm...), holiday socks, towel, & post-its.

I added a cute little Christmas tag on the front and the kids wrote a note on the inside :)

For the kids in the class I made blizzard bites. They're super yummy :) (I'll give the recipe at the end of this post). I used little glassine bags, created tags in Photoshop using Christmas Memories Circles and attached them with these cute little mini clothespins I found at Hobby Lobby. It's hard to tell in the photos but they're actually about 2/3 the size of normal clothepins. Need to get more of those :)

And that's it! Happy gift giving everyone :)

Blizzard Bites

6 cups Chex + 2 cups Cheerios or 8 cups cereal of your choice

2 cups nuts 

(I use peanuts, you could also use pecans or your favorite nut)

2 cups pretzel twists

1 lb bag plain M&Ms (the holiday ones!)

3 12-ounce bags white chocolate chips 

(I use Candiquick, I doubled the recipe and used 3 16-ounce packages)

Combine everything except for chocolate. Melt the chocolate (either in the microwave or double-boiler). When melted, pour over cereal mixture and gently fold into cereal until evenly coated. Spread mixture onto wax paper and let dry/harden. Break any large clumps into smaller pieces & store in airtight container.