Food and useful items are high on my list for what makes a great gift! Who doesn’t love brownies? And there is always a use for a hot pad for the kitchen. This easy DIY Christmas hot pad is a great gift which works for men or women. And with a price tag under $5 it qualifies as a very frugal Christmas gift.
** I was compensated for this post. This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links**
Every year I get to December and wish that I had started Christmas gifts earlier. Making handmade personal gifts is what I LOVE to give but often I have to give store bought items because I just run out of time. This year having the gift that my son is going to give his teachers picked out is a huge relief. We are going to put it together SOON so that gift will be checked off.
Any child can help with this and teens could do most of it themselves! Gifts don’t have to be complicated to be appreciated. If you don’t want to purchase a brownie (or cookie) mix then it would be awesome to make and provide your own homemade mix to put in the hot pad but I’m going for easy this year and just bought the mix!
Items needed for making DIY Brownie Mix with Hot Pad Christmas Gift
All items were purchased at the Dollar Tree for $1!!!
Also helpful: Ribbon, twine etc for decorating
Totally optional but FUN iron-on decal!
The best thing about this gift is you can make it as simple or complicated as you want!
Adding a saying to the hot pad will bring a smile to the recipients face and make them remember who gave the gift long after the gift is unwrapped and the brownies are eaten up!
But if you prefer simple that works great because the hot pad and brownies will still be appreciated without the decal.
Optional: Use a vinyl cutting machine to add a personal touch
You can use either machine to cut an iron-on decal out using Siser Easyweed heat transfer vinyl. Easyweed can be applied using an iron if you press evenly and firmly! I personally love my Cricut Easypress to apply heat transfer vinyl(HTV)but an iron does work if you are careful to heat every section of the HTV and press down firmly!
When I purchased the Cricut Easypress I wondered if I would use it much. This is the 3 or 4th project that I’ve done with it and it lives up to it’s name. It makes the project a bunch easier! Highly recommend it!
Don’t have a Cameo or a Cricut to cut your vinyl? You can buy the decals from my store for $5 each. (Or if you don’t have time to make the Hot Pad Christmas Gift yourself? Well I can help you with that as well! Last date to order is December 10th)
How to assemble the hot pad Christmas gift
- Gather your supplies from the the Dollar Tree. Did you know you can order online and avoid the crowds??? I’m TOTALLY doing this!!
- Cut or purchase your decals
- Remove tags and packaging
- Arrange your decal on your hot pad while your iron or Easy Press heats. I turned mine a little diagonal so I didn’t have to measure and worry about getting it straight! (lazy crafter tip right there!)
- Look up the time and temperature needed for applying your heat transfer vinyl.
Lay a piece of parchment paper over the vinyl and hot pad.
Press the iron or Easy Press over the parchment paper, heat transfer vinyl and hot pad for the recommended time. I did 330 degrees for 30 seconds.
Remove press and parchment paper.
Give it a few seconds to cool and then carefully pull the backing off the heat transfer vinyl. If it doesn’t come off easily then you can apply heat for more time. The video below shows how I pulled my backing up after pressing it.
After the hot pad is cooled you can insert the brownie mix, spoon and decorate it with a ribbon or attach a card with ribbon!
Below are some more options for fun sayings to create for your hot pads!
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