I am going to come right out and say it, I’m not the best gift giver.

It’s hard!  It really is.  It is hard to find the perfect gift for every single person on your list.  And when did my list of people I am giving gifts to become so long?! This year I made a compromise, took a gamble, and it paid off.  Thank goodness.

By now you should all know my love for Joy the Baker.  I follow her blog religiously and am just waiting for her to do a book signing in Chicago.  (Please Joy, don’t be scared of the Chicago winter and come!)  She has a recipe for homemade vanilla extract – it’s simple, and straightforward, and the perfect solution to my gift giving situation.

Here’s how it goes… buy a bottle of bourbon.  Buy some whole vanilla beans.  Pour the bourbon into two glass jars.  Slice open the vanilla beans and scrape the insides out.  Place the beans and the insides in the jars.  Let them sit for a few months in a cool, dry place.

Easy, right?!  When you do this, make sure to shake the jars around once a week or so.  And then all you have to do is bottle the vanilla extract!

For me, the bottling and decorating was the most fun.  I used these bottles and bought these craft labels from Amazon.  I was able to create the design on the labels myself using Adobe InDesign and practiced my faux calligraphy to address the gifts.

Merry Christmas!