What a magical time! We love all the excitement in the air as everyone begins to unwind and get ready for the holidays. At Elephantshoe we started the Christmas season early, {how lucky are we?} when Consol Glass and Humankind Advertising approached us to do the styling and stationery design for this years "Give with Glass campaign". If we could ever dream up the perfect project to be apart of, it would be this, {Thank you Santa for the early pressie!}. To top it off we got to work with our besties - Blackframe photography. Yipppeeeee! Follow our post below and you may find yourself getting into some easy Christmas projects this December.

Although we love to spoil our family and friends all year round, the festive season is the perfect opportunity to have a bit of fun with your giving and to create some unique and special gifts using a few DIY ideas. All you need to do is visit the Consol shop to purchase the glass items that we have used below and simply download our free printables from the bottom of this post and follow our guidelines for each project.

WISHFUL WONDER

A stylish way to put Secret Santa into action this year. Ask your friends and family to fill out their wishlist, roll it up as a scroll and pop it into a large glass jar. Once everyones wishes are in the jar it's time for everyone to pick out one scroll each. The scroll will have the name of the person they should buy one gift for and some ideas of what they are hoping for this Christmas.

ORGANIC INSPIRATION

Create a festive atmosphere by placing your favourite flowers and natural elements in glass bottles and jars.

Rock Roses planted in rich dark soil and placed in these glass jam jars make for a fun and eco-friendly gift or a striking and low-maintenance alternative for table decor.

We love the idea of placing sweet smelling bath products into these jars instead of wrapping in the more conventional way. Tie one of our Christmas tags on with a dash of twine and give the gift of relaxation.

TIP : Hang single flowers or sticks of cinnamon in small glass bottles from a wooden wreath for a naturally festive decorative element.

TIP : Keep your tasty treats, (nuts, biltong, nougat) fresh in Consols new Classic Glass Storageware. Ooooooh I wouldn't mind a set of these for Christmas.

Organic Inspiration- download the printables featured above here. {Gift Tags and Labels}

TIMELESS TRADITION

We at Elephantshoe discovered these absolutely amazing and beautiful Solar Jars, {the lights hanging in the first image above} for the first time while working with Consol, and we wish we knew about them before. They are incredible, they use only the suns rays for energy and last up to 6-8 hours. Perfect for Christmas dinner outside.

TIP: Wrap lace around glass jars and pop a candle in each to create a warm and lovely atmosphere in your home. {This is a great idea for any time of year}.

TIP: For a unique centerpiece, coat a variety of glass bottles in your favourite paint. This is such a versatile idea as you can really choose any colour you like.

PAINTED GLASS JARS

SHOPPING LIST

A variety of different shapes and sizes of Consol Glass jars
An enamel primer
An enamel paint in your choice of colour

METHOD

STEP 1: Wash out the empty glass jars with a soapy warm water and allow to dry completely.
STEP 2: Pour a small quantity of enamel primer into each jar and swirl around the bottle in order to coat the inside of the glass. Pour out any excess and allow to dry.
STEP 3: Pour your choice of colour enamel paint into one jar at a time and once again swirl around until the inside is coated with paint. Pour out the excess.
STEP 4: Dry these jars upside down on a paper towel.
STEP 5: Check on these bottles every now and then and wipe the rim of each jar, as excess paint will collect here.

TIP: Make your own Snow Globes with simple ornaments and glass jars. These are a great table gift or decoration.

SNOW GLOBES

SHOPPING LIST

Any CONSOL Glass Jar with a screw on lid
Small Christmas decorations and trinkets, (N.B - check that they can fit into the jar comfortably)
Oil based enamel paint
Distilled water
Glycerin
White glitter flakes
Super Glue

METHOD

STEP 1: You have the option to either paint both your Christmas trinket and the lid of the jar in your choice of enamel paint and wait for them to dry completely. Or if you like their original colour leave them as they are.
STEP 2: Stick your small Christmas decoration to the inside of the screw on lid with super glue and allow for this to dry.
STEP 3: Fill your glass jar with distilled water, aprox 2 cm from the top.
STEP 4: Add a pinch of white glitter flakes to the distilled water, (Just a pinch – not too much).
STEP 5: Add a dash of Glycerin, (this helps the glitter flakes to fall slowly).
STEP 6: Screw the lid with the small Christmas decoration attached onto the jar and make sure it is secured tightly.
STEP 7. Turn the glass jar over and shake gently and watch those flakes fall.

SWEET SURRENDER

Embrace this season and it's spirit of guilt-free indulgence, as you snack on tasty treats and delectable delights while sharing special moments with friends and family. Add a new dimension to these treats by wrapping them in glass and giving them as gifts. A delicious present with versatile packaging that is sure to last much longer than the snacks that it holds.

We adore these glass cake stands and bell jars - select your favourite style and size from the Consol shop and fill it with mouthwatering, delicious toffee apples or Christmas cake. YUM! Bring on the Christmas feast.

TIP: Fill bell jars with coloured baubles and pine cones and place them around the house for a fun festive decoration.

TIP: Spray paint Mason jars with white spray paint and fill with Candy Canes.

TIP: Fill simple long drinking glasses with your choice of coloured macaroons.

We had a great amount of fun making all of these goodies and we hope you do to. Please send us pictures if you use any of the ideas in this post, it would be lovely to see how you have personalised your gifts this year.

Happy glass shopping!

love Sam

from the "Elephant factory"

{DOWNLOAD WISHFUL WONDER PRINTABLES HERE} - {Festive Wish Label and Wishing Cards}

{DOWNLOAD ORGANIC INSPIRATION PRINTABLES HERE} - {Gift Tags and Labels}

{DOWNLOAD TIMELESS TRADITION PRINTABLES HERE} - {Place Seating tags and Straw Flags}

{DOWNLOAD SWEET SURRENDER PRINTABLES HERE} - {Gift Tags and Dessert Table Labels}

It's International Choose Glass Week and we are honouring the beauty, versatility and recyclability of glass by bringing you a DIY project on theprettyblog that you can use in your home to get your pantry in order.

Having a spick-and-span grocery cupboard can be difficult when the ingredients we buy to make our delicious meals are often sold in a great deal of packaging. Thank you to the quaint glass mason jars from Consol paired with our easy to use labels you will be able to store some of your basic food items in a beautiful way.

These labels are available in black and grey to match every kitchen or you have the option to use them in colour.

Simply download our "from my pantry" labels at the bottom of this post.

Directions for Labels:

1. Please print page 2-5 of the downloaded document onto a very thick A4 card stock. (Ivory colour preferable).

2. Trim each circle by cutting along the outer edge. There are 16 labels in total.

3. Spray the back of each circle with spray glue and attach onto the top disc of each mason jar.

4. Fill each glass jar with the corresponding ingredient.

I find having everything organised in my kitchen gives me a little more energy to get down with some baking. We thought you may feel the same. Here is a cute and different way for you to share your sweet treats with your family and friends instead of serving in your usual cups or bowls. The jars are inexpensive and I love that you can see the layering of ingredients, it somehow makes everything look more scrumptious.

Simply follow the directions below to assemble a yummy Caramel Nougat Cheesecake.

Caramel and Nougat Cheesecake

Your Shopping List

Consol Glass Jars
Tennis Biscuits
Butter
Cream Cheese
Icing Sugar
Double Cream
Vanilla Pod
Caramel Treat
Nougat

Method

TO MAKE THE BASE : place the tennis biscuits in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin. Mix the melted butter and these crumbs in a large bowl until all the crumbs are coated with butter. Press this mixture into the bottom of glass jars to create an even layer. Place these jars in the fridge to chill .

TO MAKE THE FILLING: remove the seeds from the vanilla pod and beat with an electric mixer together with the cream cheese and the icing sugar until the mixture is smooth. Slowly combine the cream. Once all the ingredients are combined spoon the mixture over the biscuit base in each glass jar.

TO MAKE THE TOPPING : spread the caramel treat over the filling and decorate with nougat.

Directions for Labels:

1. Please print page 3 of the downloaded document onto a very thick A4 card stock. (Ivory colour preferable).

2. Trim each circle by cutting along the outer edge. There are 3 colour options available.

3. Punch a hole at the top of each circle and attach to each cheesecake jar with twine.

4. Serve to your guests or give as a gift.

The loveliness and charm of these bottles has been captured thanks to Blackframe Photography. Your work is beautiful and it is a privilege to partner with you in putting together this weeks DIY. To view and admire some of their work please take a peek at their blog.

Happy organising.

love Sam

from the "Elephant factory"

{DOWNLOAD OUR PANTRY LABELS HERE}

{DOWNLOAD BLANK PANTRY LABELS HERE} - Should you wish to fill in your own product names in the language of your choice.

{DOWNLOAD OUR "SOMETHING YUMMY FROM MY PANTRY LABELS & RECIPE CARD HERE}