Susans Wine Bottle Stopper gift Complete

Here is the completed set.
I tried to turn the bases to look identical. The red cedar one, for red wine, is a wine bottle and the lighter sycamore one, for white wine, is a wine goblet. The holder has 3 coats of polyurethane. You cant see it, but it still needs a 2009 penny embedded in the bottom. The recess is drilled, but I have not yet seen a 2009 penny.

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Susans Wine Bottle Stopper gift

Im making a birthday gift for my girlfriend, Susan. She asked for a set of wine bottle stoppers and holder, similar to the ones I made a while back. She likes the set I have in my kitchen.
Her birthday is in May, so I have plenty of time, but I started early to get it done as soon as possible. What she doesnt know is HOW they will look. The first one is a wine goblet on a pedestal.
As you can see, I hollowed it out on top as well.
The stand is the one I kept for myself. At this point I have milled the wood for hers, cut it to size and drilled the holes and recesses. But the wood needs sanding and finishing. So for these pictures I posed the first stopper with my holder.
Also, I have glued up a cedar block for the second stopper. It will be shaped like a wine bottle and will sit on a matching pedestal. It will have a hole drilled to make it look somewhat authentic.
More to come soon.

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Anthropologie Inspired Gift Tags

I always take inspiration from Anthropologie during the holidays.  Their gift wraps and tags, as well as, holiday decor are so happy.  But the prices, not so much. 
I recently came across their holiday wooden gift tags and became completely smitten with them.  I love using nature in decor and even better that its something that comes from your own backyard.
I knew these would be ridiculously easy to make so I went looking around in the backyard for a log, preferably a dead one that was already somewhat dried out.  I found the perfect one about 1 1/2 inches in diameter and used a miter saw to slice it into 1/4 inch slices.  I used a drill bit to make a small hole in the top and threaded a piece of twine through it.  Done.

I made homemade vanilla this past summer to give away as gifts for Christmas and I thought these would look cute on the little bottles.  And I cant wait to use them on my gifts.

Note:  I tried making these with some logs that my hubby cut fresh off a tree and the wood was still so wet inside that I didnt think it would work.  I was worried they would crack during the drying out process.  I didnt coat these with anything.  You could probably seal them with polyurethane if you wanted.   But I like them natural.

Super easy and free and I was able to make a big pile of them.  I love giving gifts so I need a lot!  LOL  :)

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!
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