Wednesday, December 16, 2015

it's not too late!

There is still over a week until Christmas...so if you are a last minute person like me, here are a few gift ideas to make. It's not too late! Hahaha! I met up with a good friend of mine for lunch yesterday, so I made up this little gift package for her.
I used some good neighbors fabric (and a few other prints) to make a pair of Christmas dishtowels and a pot holder. I love how the rounded edges of the pot holder make the simple patchwork more interesting. Simple is good! I used bias binding to finish off the edges, which I hand stitched down while waiting for my son's choir concert on Monday night. (Every minute counts! Ha!)
There is a tutorial for making a simple patchwork dishtowel here, if you care to make some of your own. I love how the set turned out! These are scrap project # 120!
I also made a few decadent sauces. I used this recipe for the salted caramel sauce. (It's soooo good!) It's very salty, so you may want to reduce the amount of salt to start with and adjust to your personal taste. I did add the full amount and only 1 out of 5 in my family thought it was too salty.
 
The hot fudge sauce is a recipe I've had for years. It's easy, and it only takes about 10-15 minutes to make.
 
Hot Fudge Sauce
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 cups (12 oz) evaporated milk
2/3 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp. vanilla
 
Mix all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 8 minutes, stirring constantly. Cool slightly and pour into a jar. Keep refrigerated for up to two weeks. (It probably won't last that long!) Warm for several seconds in the microwave before using.
 
There you go! If you have any great last minute gift ideas, I'd love to hear them! I can always use a few more.

29 comments:

Unknown said...

You had me at Salted Caramel Sauce! :-) Merry Christmas!

Michelle said...

I'm taking every moment to sew and crochet too!

Natalie, the Chickenblogger said...

You have raised the bar on making last minute gifts... these are gorgeous and generous!

em's scrapbag said...

Cute pot holder and towels. The sauces sound yummy. Thanks for sharing the recipes.

Material Girl said...

Yum, salted caramel AND hot fudge! Wonderful! My last minute gift is the hanging dish towel. Cut a dish towel in half, gather and sew to fabric top with a button for hanging. Great inexpensive gift for anyone with a kitchen. I make them for teacher gifts too.

Unknown said...

I really wanted to do some homemade pressie's this year after working on my blog over the year. I just couldn't think of anything, other family members do jams etc.

But i love the idea of these sauces!! Fab!

Thanks for the inspiration
www.homemadebyhail.blogspot.com

Vagabond Quilter said...

What a beautiful gift - love your bright and happy patchwork - pretty and useful. And what a great idea adding the sauces. Well done!

Christine said...

Love the patchwork towel! It's now on my to-do list for 2016. Yep ~ planning early never hurts!

STH said...

Definitely going to make these for my honey this year!

Another quick idea: car trash bags. A couple of people on my list got new cars recently, so I thought they'd appreciate these (I'm using them as a blank canvas for quilting and applique!) Link: http://www.a-ditchin-time-quilts.blogspot.com/2012/01/tutorial-for-my-car-trash-bags.html

farmhousequilter8 said...

Will you share the potholder pattern? It is really beautiful.
Thanks Paula in KY

margaret said...

color pop! love these.

Suzanne said...

Ha! I was making beaded bookmarks earlier. It's not too late ever to make a gift that will spread joy.

Di~ said...

You are the bomb! :) cute. That is the SAME hot fudge recipe I use...LOVE it!

Dasha said...

Great (not so little)little gifts! Lucky friend that receives these.

Julie Bagamary said...

Cute and useful gift!

Marianne in MD said...

Lovely gift set!

Question about the four sack towels. Do they actually dry dishes? Most all cotton tea towels I have had don't dry. Or are they part linen? Thank you!

Marianne in MD said...

Lovely gift set!

Question about the flour sack towels. Do they actually dry dishes? Most all cotton tea towels I have had don't dry. Or are they part linen? Thank you!

Sandy Panagos said...

That has to be the perfect gift for a lot of people I know. Thanks for the inspiration!

Lara B. said...

Such cute projects and your fabrics are adorable! Your friend must have been delighted Amanda Jean!
Yum - salted caramel sauce!

Daytona Damsel said...

I had some mini Christmas charm packs so I made up a couple of the dish towels after you posted yours. Love the way they turned out. Simple, festive and useful. Love the potholders. Did you use a templet to round the edges or just free hand sew and cut?

Sandra Coleman Clarke said...

Amanda, Wow this must be an extra, extra special friend!!! Yum! Thanks for your cute ideas.

Live a Colorful Life said...

Good Neighbors looks perfect in a Christmas-y setting!

Jeneta said...

Oooh - the hot fudge sauce sounds delicious! It's summer here, but ice cream is cold, so I'm going to try it!!

mandalei said...

I did a post over on my blog a couple of days ago that had links to foody-type hostess gifts, like marinated olives and homemade maraschino cherries. we get requests for them every year!

Anonymous said...

What kind of filling are you putting in your potholders so they don't let the heat through? I just bought something called Insul-Bright, so am hoping it does the job it says it does. Have you used it?

Mary Marcotte said...

Thanks for the hot fudge sauce recipe. My hubby loves the stuff over everything, so I'm going to surprise him. Those dishtowels and potholder are too cute together. What a sweet gift! Merry Christmas!

Lisa C said...

Great sauce ideas. What size jar did you use for the Hot Fudge Sauce and how many jars does one recipe make? Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Such a pretty gift.
I think we'll have to try the caramel sauce - bet it would be great with apples.

At the moment, I'm making some homemade hummus for a gift.

I also like to raid my pantry for last minute gifts. Now is when I'm happy to have done a lot of canning this past August and September. I'm also thankful for those who shared their garden produce so that we have such a nicely stocked pantry.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the quick gift idea. I'm going to try putting together a few towels for neighbor gifts today. Later, when I have more time, I think I'll try stringing some EPP hexagons along the edge of a towel or two.
Merry Christmas.