Gifts Post - Gifts in a Jar, Pet Portraits, and Decorated Candles!

Tonight was a choose-your-own-adventure night of crafts.

Gifts-In-A-Jar by Stacy
1-Pint jars she made:

• Mexican Fiesta Dip Mix
• Mexican Hot Cocoa Mix (see recipe below)

1-Quart jars she made:

• Friendship Cookies
• Taco Bean Chili Mix

Candles by Bob
She bought flameless candles** - just as great-smelling as regular candles but zero mess, zero stress. She decorated them by hot-gluing a thicker ribbon and then a thinner ribbon around the candles, finishing with a bow.

Pet Portraits by Jess
The portraits were created using watercolor paint. You can see them by clicking here.

UPDATE: Jess finally made her gifts-in-a-jar too! It took 3 hours (surprisingly long).


*Mexican Hot Cocoa Recipe for Pint-Size Jars

• Ingredients to make 3 jars:
• 5 cups powdered milk
• 2/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 3 tsp powdered vanilla non-dairy creamer
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• To fill gift jars:
• Mix all ingredients and divide equally among three pint-sized jars
• Use tulle or other fabric on lid of jar and tie on a decorative bow
• To make hot cocoa:
• Combine 2 1/2 tbsp mix per 1 cup boiling water and stir
• Each pint-size jar makes about 6 servings of hot cocoa

For more gift-in-a-jar ideas, see this example and this other example and this further example and yet another example.

**Note: "Flameless candles" are also called "electric candles" or "battery-operated candles." They have an LED light instead of a flame.