I’m not sure why, but whenever I’m invited to a bridal or wedding shower, I have this desire to do something homemade. It usually ends up stressing me out, and I wish that I had just bought something instead.
A few weeks ago, I was invited to a double-bridal shower for two of my dear, freshman roommates. These girls are some of the sweetest and most fun girls I know, and I was so excited to attend! A few days before, Forrest said, “You aren’t going to make anything, right?” and at that point, I wasn’t. However, as I started looking at Pinterest, that desire to create snuck up on me, and a little while later, I had grand plans for the gift. I wanted something that was useful and fun, but wasn’t too expensive.
I’m happy to report (and so is Forrest) that making these didn’t stress me out at all, and it was actually kind of fun. I saw some similar ideas on Pinterest, and then went from there. We did have to visit two stores to get everything, and there is some cutting, gluing, and pinning involved. But overall, I thought it turned out well. I included some of my favorite kitchen supplies and tools (some of which can be found here)
To make this you need:
1 white poster board
1 poster board in matching color
1 pot holder (with front pocket)
2 matching dish towels
1 matching dish cloth
Matching Ribbon
Newspaper
Chip and dip bowl (Found at dollar tree) or something similar
Variety of kitchen supplies and tools — I used: Slow cooker liners, method dish soap, air freshener, spatula, vegetable scrubber/peeler, spoon rest, kitchen scissors, cookie mix, cream of mushroom soup, and jello
I went to Target and the Dollar Tree to buy all this stuff. The dish towels happened to be on sale, which I was so excited about because they were SO cute. The oven mitts I bought are my favorite kind that my mom bought me last year. The slow cooker liners were bought there as well, but everything else came from my own pantry or the Dollar Tree!
First, open your dish and fold it in half length-wise. Lay it on top of the white posterboard and cut it to be approximately the same size.
Next, make the the long strip of posterboard into a cylinder and tape it that way.
Unfold the dish towel and wrap around the posterboard cylinder. Fold the excess dish towel into the top and bottom and secure with pins (make sure to let the recipient know about this!) It might take a little while to make sure everything looks straight, but it should work out in the end.
Place the cylinder over the top of the “dip” portion of the chip-and-dip bowl (or in the middle of whatever dish you are using.) Crunch up some newspaper and put that in the middle of the cylinder.
Take the smaller dish cloth and place it over the top of the newspaper
Take the other dish towel and fold it in thirds like this:
This is kind of hard to explain, but hopefully it makes sense. First, place the oven mitt in the back of the cylinder with the pocket facing forward and up. Make the dish towel into a “U” shape. The ends should have a circular opening, which you can pin into place. Place in front of the oven mitt, still in the U-shape. Hopefully this picture can show what I mean!
Arrange the items whatever way you want. This required a little bit of trial and error, but in the end, it looked just fine. I ended up putting a can of cream of mushroom soup in one of the ends up the “U”-shaped tube, and then placed the air freshner in that. I tied a ribbon around the soap, and then cut out a strip of blue posterboard that fit around the cylinder. On that, I glued a letter that cooresponed to each girl’s name!
Both of the girls really liked the gift, and I think they appreciated all the random items in it. It ended up being a, “I’ve been married for a few years, and here are some things I’ve found most useful” basket. I also liked that, even though it was the same gift, each was customized to reflect the girl receiving it with the colors I used. Each was would cost about 15-20 dollars, depending on what you get to fill it, and if the towels are are on sale or not!
If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment!
Katie is a Colorado-native, BYU graduated, and most importantly, wife to one and mother to three beautiful boys. She is passionate about sharing her experiences with others - especially about pregnancy, breastfeeding, cooking, and crafts. She is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. She loves spending time with her family and helping others find joy in family life.
What a cute project! I’ve never heard of slow cooker liners before… sounds like something I should investigate, as I bet they make cleaning up a million times better than my standard “leave it in the sink soaking forever” technique.
Great gift ideaq! How about a bathroom trash can or a bucket instead of the posterboard cylinder? Will have to keep this in mind for future shower/housewarming gift ideas.
That’s a great idea! I used the cylinder so I could put it over the center of the dip portion of the bowl I was using, but if you use a bowl that doesn’t have anything in the center, that would be a perfect idea…and more functional in the future!
Need more gift ideas? Check out this other posts:
What a cute project! I’ve never heard of slow cooker liners before… sounds like something I should investigate, as I bet they make cleaning up a million times better than my standard “leave it in the sink soaking forever” technique.
Thank you! They truly make using a crock pot even easier, and simpler! I don’t know what I’d do without them.
So much more personal that you made it. Super cute, too!
Finally linking up with my Friday Flash Blog community. Thanks for linking up and sharing in the fun! Have a terrific week and see you on Friday.
Jennifer
http://www.TheJennyEvolution.com
This is such a cute idea! I love making homemade gifts for showers-it means so much more!
Those turned out so cute! I have got to try that dish soap you guys are always talking about! 🙂
Great gift ideaq! How about a bathroom trash can or a bucket instead of the posterboard cylinder? Will have to keep this in mind for future shower/housewarming gift ideas.
That’s a great idea! I used the cylinder so I could put it over the center of the dip portion of the bowl I was using, but if you use a bowl that doesn’t have anything in the center, that would be a perfect idea…and more functional in the future!