Mint Serving Trays

I first saw this idea on Pinterest.  Then a friend of mine tried it and it really worked.

It was so fascinating that my 13 year old actually stopped gaming to help me with these clever creations.

All you do is arrange mints side by side on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Then put them in the oven for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.  The mints will melt and fuse together.  It is kind of like a candy version of fuse beads.

My creation before…

…and after.

Because of the melting, the outside edge does flow a bit so you do not end up with a “perfect” shape.  But it still makes for a very festive serving tray.

My son’s creation before…

…and after!

Of course we still had some leftover candies, so my son decided to make some mini trays.

Before…

 
…and after!

The parchment is critical or the candies will stick to the trays.  Once the trays cooled, they came off the parchment with ease and were surprisingly sturdy.  They are perfect for sharing treats during the holidays.

Tag, You’re It

When I was a little girl, my mom would save the Christmas cards we received and then the following Christmas, recycle them into gift tags.  She would cut around them with an old pair of pinking shears and use bits of left over ribbon for ties.   I was always fascinated with her pinking shears and thought they were completely magical.  These were the days WAY before all the scrapbooking and card making tools and supplies were available so her idea was very much ahead of the times.

I have to confess that the past several years, I have opted for the convenience of the preprinted adhesive gift tags.  But I still saved my old Christmas cards.

I had been working on putting some quick cards together with items from other projects.  I actually have a drawer labeled “unfinished projects” where I put those bits and pieces I don’t know what to do with.   While searching through this drawer, I came across some leftover tag shaped card stock.  Then I remembered my stash of old Christmas cards.

The tags were 2-1/2 inches wide, so I cut the Christmas card images to 2 inches square and matted them on 2-1/4 inch square coordinating cardstock or wrapping paper.  I especially liked the effect when I used foil wrapping paper.  I then stamped the back with the words “To” and “From” and added a ribbon tie to the top.  I was very pleased with the update to my mom’s idea from years ago.  Now I just need to get to wrapping my Christmas presents.

The tag bases themselves are very easy to make.  You don’t need a Cricut or a die cut machine.  The ones I had started out as 2 inch by 3 inch rectangles.  I simply snipped off two of the corners with regular scissors and used a 1/8 inch circle punch to create the hole at the top.

I worked with what I had on hand, but the tag bases could be made just about any size.  I’m thinking that next year I might make them a bit larger so that the Christmas card image and mat could be done with decorative edges.  I already have several different decorative edge scissors, but I think I will be looking for an old pair of pinking shears when garage sale season rolls around!