Handmade Gifts from IKEA

This guest post is from Pia Utriainen.  She has several fun ideas for homemade gifts from IKEA.  And her saffron muffins look yummy!

Christmas gifts - a thought of  love?

Hi! my name is Pia Utriainen I live in Sweden; stay at home mom for some years now, now I'm studying again.

In Sweden every year we get to hear that the Christmas gift shopping is exceeding last year's with many millions, but thats not the point, or is it?!  My idea of a perfect Christmas gift is something for all senses -- it's appealing for the eye, it's fun to touch, it smells good, and it's good to eat of course!

OK so my post is about shopping on a budget at IKEA and making it yours!  So come on, lets take a gift shopping tour together and make it personal on a budget!  AND as a bonus if you shop at IKEA here in Sweden they have playroom for the kids while we shop for gifts, and affordable prices on food and cinnamon rolls.  :)

This is what I bought:

• two organic orange jams little glass jars
• two bars dark chocolate
• four candles
• a package of tealights
• tea bag
• coffee bag
• kraft paper (free)

Bonus tip: Homemade gift wrapping is fun, I think.  So I usually paint or stamp my giftwraps usually on that paper from IKEA that's meant for plants and delicate stuff.  It has been great gift wrapping paper.  But they recently changed the quality of the IKEA plant/delicate stuff paper!! So it's no good for gift wrapping anymore, just decorating.

My holiday gifts this year will be sweet, mostly handmade and homebaked.  A gift set is: organic orange jam, saffron and sultana muffins (2pc. The saffron price here is over the roof I tell ya!), orange and dark chocolate biscotti, tea or coffee, candles and that's that!

Here are the saffron muffins:

Saffron muffins
about 15, the size of IKEA's drömmar- cupcakeliners

2 eggs
1 cup of cane sugar
75 -100 grams of butter (I usually take the smaller amount)
½ cup of milk or other liquid, maybe orange juice?
0.5 grams of saffron – that's one small package in Sweden
 1 cup of sultanas, organics are good,
1 cup of  flour
2 teaspoons of baking soda
some vanilla, essence or powder or what you have

1. Preheat oven to  347º farenheit (that's  175º celsius)
2. Start by mixing eggs and sugar until fluffy.
3. Melt butter and saffron together, add the milk, let it all cool off a bit.
4. Combine flour, baking soda, sultanas and vanilla powder - if you use vanilla essence combine with the butter.
5. Gently combine flour mixture into the egg batter (I usually pour half the butter first and then flour and then the last butter, but that's just me, 'cas I think it keeps the batter more fluffy that way).
6. Spoon your batter into the cupcake liners and sprinkle with some cane sugar for that extra crunch.
7. Bake for about 10-15 minutes in the middle of the oven.  Watch out, don't overbake them! If you do they get a bit dry.

REALLY good and simple Christmas muffins, enjoy!  You can see that I wrapped them up for gifting in some homemade packaging. 

Estimated cost for a gift set, with baking ingredients and decorating too, maybe 60 kr (about $8.75) and the decorating was quick, easy, cute -- just some painting and layering and you're done!

Below are the paper bags for biscottis -- would have been sweeter with kraft ones but I only found these ones with hearts and added the toppers.

The most time consuming was stamping the text and painting.  I then just stapled it all together, some glue for finishing corners, but not necessary!

I thought I would share with you how I decorated my pillar candles.  First I looked at the IKEA cupcake liners for inspiration. 

Then I painted black dots with acrylic paint, a thin layer only, then some gold Stickles mini dots around the black dots.

After that I cut a border from kraft paper: freehand scallops and glued together with some pretty lace in a cream colour.
 

I took a pretty pink pin, put it through a white pearl, and some of lovely brown satin ribbon (I just ruffled  it up the pin), attached the ribbon to the candle with the pin, and done!

Simple yet charming, right?


(P.S. Be sure you remind the receiver to remove the lace before lighting the candle, maybe with a small attached note?)

Here is the whole gift set: organic orange jam, saffron and sultana muffins, orange and dark chocolate biscotti, tea or coffee, candles.

I hope you found some fun ideas, and take it easy, make something you enjoy making and giving -- a smile and a hug is always appreciated!

Happy holidays from Pia U.!

My name is Pia Utriainen I lived in the capital of Sweden all of my 35 -ouch – old life.  I am a SAHM of three boys 3, 5, 8. I am now starting to study again. 

I have been scrapping and cardmaking since 2002 since I had my oldest boy.  Before that I painted and took photos.  Nowadays I try to cram in everything when creating...hrrm...I love to draw and make illustrations too.
Friends, family, baking, cooking, creating fun things, homework, and domestic stuff boring things.

My blog is here: Arts and Crafty Bits - Calabobo

Sometimes frequently uppdated, sometimes not so much...the queen of random I'll tell you!

OK, go create something, have fun!