Etched Christmas Plates

Every year I struggle with what to make for my neighbors for Christmas. We have such a tight knit neighborhood and we are all good friends. In fact, on my small street alone, we have 29 kids! We have a lot of block parties and play dates! Everyone knows me as the “crafty” one so they always expect something handmade. I have tried my hand at baking and cooking and always end up apologizing when I deliver my burned, undercooked, or just plain uneatable gift. LOL! This year, I opted to make every family a custom plate. I’ll explain how I made them in a minute. After I made the plates, I realized that I had to put something on the plates to give them. Sooo...knowing that I wasn’t about to attempt to make a zillion (probably burned) cookies, I decided to take part in my very first cookie exchange. After burning 2 batches of cookies, I opted for a simpler cookie. So, I ended up making some ginger snaps and jam filled sugar cookies. And they actually tasted pretty good and I didn't even burn them!!

Anyway, onto the plates...I found some glass plates at the Dollar Store which was where my idea first started. I bought 15 of them and figured that I would try my hand at etching them with some etching cream. I created a jpeg file for each family with their names and importerd the files into my SCAL (Sure Cuts a Lot) program. Then using my Cricut I cut out the names from some contact paper that I also got at the Dollar Store. I peeled the backing off and stuck the contact paper to the plates to use as a mask. Then I brushed the etching cream on and let it sit for about 5 minutes. I washed it off and then peeled off the contact paper. I was pleasantly surprised at the results. After washing and drying them really well, I filled them with a bunch of different cookies from the cookie exchange, wrapped them up in cellophane and tied them with some ribbon.

I delivered them yesterday and everyone loved them. A few of my neighbors even asked where I got them. They wanted to know if I ordered them online. They couldn't believe that I made them! The best part was that they were so inexpensive to make. The hardest part of the whole gift was the cookies...really, that was the hardest part for me. LOL!

Anyway, I hope this gives you some ideas for some last minute, quick personalized gifts. I think it would be great to personalize a glass mug or bowl and fill it with candy. (That would have been much easier than making 100 cookies!)