Father's Day Gift - Fishing Tackle Box

So for Father's Day I made a little gift this year I made a neat little treat box for my Dad. I'm under the impression he doesn't get treats too often, but I might be mistaken. Either way, I wanted to include candy as well as non-sweet treats he could take with him when he goes out fishing with his buddies.

The examples I found online were equally as cute but used baby food bottles. There are no babies in this house, and I didn't have enough time to ask my friends to save their jars for me. This project can be made in very little time, which means I did it sort of last minute... typical for me.

I got my jars from the DollarTree and drew up my labels myself in Photoshop® and everything else I had on hand. Well, except the treats of course!

I had a box that fit 6 pint sized mason jars perfectly so I covered that in scrapbook paper. You could also cover your box in the wood patterned contact paper they have at the DollarTree and make your box look a little more authentically wooden or antique.

I printed my labels out on heavy weight white paper, but I would suggest using a cream color to make it look a little more vintage.

I used my 2.5 inch circle punch for the lid labels, and they worked out perfect! I just attached the labels to the lid with double sided tape, again, on-hand.

The side labels were also simply taped on with double sided tape. I cut them out by hand. I customized my labels to say what was in each jar.

My treats were:

• Swedish Fish
• Gummy Worms
• Peanut M&Ms
• Sunflower Seeds
• Mixed Nuts
• Goldfish Crackers

You could use all kinds of treats but I tried to stay with the fishing theme mostly. I added some labels to the box itself and voilà! There you have a sweet little treat box for dad on Father's Day or maybe for his birthday. And it doesn't have to be for only dad, it can be for any Fisher-person you have in your life!

FREE DOWNLOAD LABELS

Here are the labels I made in a free PDF download.

DIY Jar Soap Dispensers

SUPER CUTE GIFT ALERT!

These were a hit at the baby shower last spring and this last Christmas and quite inexpensive to make. And who doesn't need soap? It's a nice way to personalize a little, one of the most impersonal gifts I think a person can give, lol!

You can make this as hard or difficult for yourself as you'd like, and as a life rule, I decided on the difficult route. Even the difficult route is pretty simple so don't panic.

Here's what you'll need:

glass canning jars (pint sized is great)
galvanized lids - pre-drilled (This is just my preference. See link for available options)
high-temp hot glue gun
high temp glue
sand paper
soap pump
*optional glass beads
*optional twine or ribbon

I have used the lids that come with the jars, but I don't think they are as nice as the galvanized lids available out there. There are many places to order lids for your jars, in wide mouth OR regular just make sure you buy the right size to fit your jars.

You can get a pack of 12 wide mouth lids from Factory Direct Craft.com for less than six bucks! But you will need to do some work to the lids. You can buy their pumps too and not have to worry about them fitting into the pre-drilled lids, but I figured, why waste money on something I will end up buying anyways, right?

Besides, I prefer the foaming soap dispensers and they didn't appear to have those available through the same store. The only problem with the foaming soap pumps is that they are pretty wide. The smart way to make the holes bigger in these galvanized tin lids would be to use a drill it attachment and quickly drill the right sized hole. That is not how I roll though...

In all my low tech awesomeness, I just used a set of pliers and sorta peeled back the edges of the hole until I had increased the width enough to insert the pump... no measuring. Just insert pliers, bend the edge back and test.I apologize for not having a pict of this part of the process but it seems I was so unhappy with all of the pictures I took of that part, that I deleted them and have none left. Oops!

Once the hole is large enough, just slip the pump through. Make sure the hole is not so big that there is a big gap you have to fill later with hot glue. I sanded the section of the plastic pump that shows through the hole so the hot glue will have something to grab instead of just slick plastic. Trust me, I did not spend much time or effort making this part of the pump look fabulous, and neither should you.

Before I glued anything down, I screwed the lid on the jar. This is sort of an important step if you car about the logo showing on the front of your soap dispenser. Then I put the pump facing the direction I thought was most pleasing and made a mark on the underside of the lid. This might require a little bit of hand coordination so as not to accidentally move or misalign, but if you care enough about this part then you will get it right.

All finished with that, I hot glued everything in place. I suggest that you use high temperature hot glue because it has a stronger bond. Hot glue will also cover the sharp edges that you will make when you resize the hole, adding a little bit of protection for your fingers when you get ready to refill.

If you used the pint size jar, you will need 16 ounces of soap, and that means TWO Bath&Body soaps, OR you can add some glass beads to help fill the dispenser. I got the glass beads from our local DollarTree store.

Then to pretty them up, I added some twine and some holiday bangles I had! Voilà! A pretty little gift you can personalize via scent and decorations. You can buy these ready made for upwards of $35-$60 dollars online, but why when you can make them?!

Leave me a comment or send me a message and let me know what you think! Maybe I missed a step or didn't describe something well enough? I am happy to help!

Thanks!

Mod Podge Tile Coasters

Found these fun little DIY coasters that are super easy to make and cheap too!

Like all projects lately, I found this one on Pinterest. I'm thinking Christmas presents... but they're not likely to be a surprise anymore since I put them on here. Oh well, I think they are cool so here's my attempt.

Pinspiration: Tile Coasters

You will need:

• 4 - 5 square tiles (4.25" x 4.25"), white ones are cheapest. I think I payed 13 cents a piece! 
• 4 - 5 pieces of fabric or scrapbook or wrapping paper (3.75" x 3.75")
• 4 - 5 pieces of felt or foam (3.75" x 3.75")
• Mod Podge
• Sponge brush
• Glue, For gluing the fabric or foam to the bottom of your coasters
• Clear acrylic sealer spray paint

Optional:

• Cutting board
• Rotary cutter for fabric

How to:

1.  Cut your fabric or scrapbook paper into 3.75" x 3.75" squares.

2.  Mod Podge the top of you first tile and center your patterned square. Make sure tho get all the air bubbles out from underneath the square, you're gonna put cups full of liquid on them and you want the surface to be flat. Let it dry.

3.  After you let it dry a little, put a layer of Mod Podge on top. Let this dry.

4.  Put a few layers of Mod Podge on the top of the coaster. Do this for all of your coasters.

5.  Once you've properly coated your coaster you'll want to protect it and make it water proof. Spray the acrylic sealer on your coasters. You'll want to give them a few coats of the sealer as well.

6.  While everything is drying, cut your foam or felt into 3.75" x 3.75" squares.

7.  Glue your felt or foam squares to the bottom of the coasters.

8.  Let your coasters dry and cure for a couple of days before you put anything hot on them, but after that you should be able to use them for anything.


You should be able wipe the coasters clean, but they are not likely dishwasher safe.  The best part about this is you can make these for pretty cheap. I had the Mod Podge and the fabric already. The sealer paint wasn't much, maybe $4 but you will be able to use it on other projects. Sponge brushes are from the dollar store. You can find felt and foam both at the dollar store.

These turned out cute and I suggest you go make some this weekend!

Peppermint Meltaways

These cookies are a HIT among the women I know. Men like them, but not NEARLY as much for some reason. DISCLAIMER: If you read the ingredients of these marvelous cookies, you'll see that they are mostly butter and flour. So don't be surprised when a serving size is probably only two cookies. These are almost pure fat... with that said, who freaking cares?! They are awesome!

One more thing before you start. These cookies WILL NOT TURN OUT IF YOU DON'T USE REAL BUTTER. Duh. Some of you might think this is a no brainer, but in my early experiences with this recipe, I discovered this the hard way. If you are able to get them to taste the same using margarine, let me know what portions you used.

Prep Time: 45 min.
Chill Time: 30-60 minutes
Bake Time: 12 minutes
Makes 3.5 - 4 dozen cookies

Nutrition per serving (ONE cookie):
Calories: 83
Fat: 5g
Cholesterol: 10mg
Carbs: 10g
Fiber: 0g
Protein: 0g
Sugar: 6g
Sodium: 45mg


Cookie Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup Cornstarch

Glaze Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract
2 to 3 drops red food color, if desired
Candy canes or hard peppermint candy, crushed

Preparation:

1. Combine: Butter, powdered sugar and the peppermint extract in large bowl. (If you use a metal bowl it will cool the dough much quicker.) Beat together at medium speed to cream the butter with the sugar, scraping bowl frequently. Reduce mixer speed to low; add your flour and cornstarch. Beat until mixed together well. Cover and refrigerate until dough is firm (30 to 60 minutes).

2. Heat: oven to 350°F.

3. Shape: Rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into 1-inch balls. (This is smaller than you think. I usually end up going back and pinching a little off of the cookies to make them smaller.) Place 1-1.5 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. (plenty of butter in these so they shouldn't stick.) Also, I flatten mine with the heel of my hand a little so they don't puff as much... I guess this is a personal preference. but the icing stays on better I think.

4. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned (the rest of the cookie will still look very light. Let stand 1 minute then remove from cookie sheet to cool completely.

5. LET THEM COOL. (Sometimes it's hard for me to wait, but icing these buggers will be much easier if they are cooler.)

6. Drizzle: glaze over cooled cookies. To make the glaze, combine 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons butter, 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract and enough milk for desired glazing consistency in small bowl OR like I did, in a baggy, and mix by squishing the bag. If you mix it in a baggy, you can just cut the corner and drizzle using the bag like a piping bag and have one less bowl to clean! Add in food color, if desired. Immediately sprinkle with crushed candy.

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Recipe Variation: Try using Almond extract instead of Peppermint, or maybe Lemon or Orange. This cookies is a good base for trying different flavored extracts.