I always find that I have one person that is almost impossible to Christmas shop for. This year it's my neighbor's husband. While his wife and I are pretty close, and I have a long list of options for her, I had a huge blank space under his name. Like my husband, he is the guy that buys everything he wants for himself. He likes reading, but has a library, he loves movies, but has a huge collection, no particular hobby, a family man, has a huge sweet tooth and likes Star Trek. So what do you get the man that's impossible to buy for? A cookie jar embellished with his Star Trek quote of course!
The last time I was at my mother in law's house, I commented on her cute dog treat containers. They were simple plastic jars with her dogs name on them. She told me she made them herself with the Cricut machine and some crafting vinyl. I've been wanting to try this out for myself but haven't had an opportunity (or a need) to do it for my house. Thank you mom for the inspiration.
First things first, I needed an awesome cookie jar. TJ Maxx has this little guy for around $8. I bought this one specifically for the air tight, suction top. The only bad cookie is a stale one.
Then I dusted off the old Cricut and found the vinyl I had stuffed away from a previous project. The vinyl is typically a little on the expensive side, so if you don't already have some, I would suggest waiting for a sale. The coupons in the craft stores tend to exclude all Cricut stuff so unless you can find a different one, this is going to be a pricy purchase.
Next I chose a gender neutral font. Come on ladies, we all love the scrolls and the loops and all the pretty fonts but for a guy, lets just say the simpler the better! You need to choose a skinnier font if your words are more than 3 letters long, because your words end up wrapping around the jar, which looks a little awkward.
The tricky part is the saying. The saying is the most important thing about this project. You have to find something that, not only appeals to the recipient, but that they won't mind looking at every time they get a craving for a cookie. And heaven forbid you mix up genres or misquote anything. Do your research! In this instance, I know that my neighbor's husband is more of a Treky than a Star Wars guy so the dark side cookies probably wouldn't appeal to him as much as "beam me up scotty". But I must say it's a little funny to have "live long and prosper" on a container full of some of the most fattening cookies known to man, but the humor is the best part of the present, outside of the cookies, of course.
The final step is to add their favorite cookies. For me, I now know that Oreos (whose aren't though really?) are his favorites, courtesy of his wife. Add a big bow on top and you're done! Knowing my neighbor, when the cookies are gone, say three days after opening this, he will find a use for this in his office or the shed, either way, it's a thoughtful reusable gift. In my experience, it takes two packages of Oreos to get this thing semi full. I would suggest three, and whatever doesn't fit, well I guess you will just have to enjoy the left overs.
Happy Crafting!
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