137 inexpensive, handmade holiday gift ideas, Part 1 - Craftynest Why Christmas when we’re in the throes of summer? I know. I worked six years in retail. I’m excited to share this prodigious list of Christmas gift ideas that I compiled years ago. This is the first of seven parts that I will post over the next few weeks (MWF). Part 1: Home & garden crafts curbly.com 1. 2. 3. marthastewart.com 4. 5. source unknown 6. 7. 8. charliescraftroom.com 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. save-on-crafts.com 16. 17. notmartha.org 18. 19. 20. ohdeedoh.com 21. 22. 23. threadbanger.com 24. 25. 26. rhodeislandaltars.com 27. Decorating Frames « In the Wabe I had a bad morning and needed to make myself busy with something, so I went to the BX and bought a cinnamon roll, some cheap little frames, and a world map. The cinnamon roll was unrelated to this project but significantly improved my mood. I just tore strips of the map and arranged them on the frame with rubber cement. I tried a few different designs–the one in the front has a lot of water, the middle is mainly land, and the back is a good blend of both. Name the book (I make sure the photo had a few recognizable names)! I have the perfect photo to put in this frame! Edit: Since I first posted this, I’ve made even more frames. I also finally got my hands on Mod Podge–a absolutely fantastic glue and sealant.
marble magnets I finally gave in and made marble magnets. Not surprisingly they are quite fun, smooshing the glue out to make a perfect little magnified image is very satisfying. Here, in order of appearance, are the places I referenced: paper candy instructions with pictures (this is the first place I saw this project) dogmestic with instructions and pictures photogeek pictures ugly green chair cute ladybug magnets – pictures with packaging threads at Glitter:onetwothree I bought all of these supplies at Michael’s, including the glue I went back for since I got the wrong kind to start with. These are great packaged in those Altoid-sized tins, I’ve seen them in office/gift shops like that. Design*Sponge » Blog Archive » diy wednesdays: knot trivet last month i bought lauren a set of “the family creative workshop” books for her birthday. we’ve been having a blast learning all sorts of new things as we make our way through the incredible variety of projects collected in the volumes. one section we were particularly excited to explore was all about knots, which we’ve long admired both for their usefulness and their beauty. this project is based on a “carrick bend” and is great for creating trivets and placemats, but you could just as easily hang it on your wall to be admired for its decorative charm. have fun!derek & lauren CLICK HERE for the full project after the jump! here’s what you’ll need: -14 feet of 1/2” rope for an approximately 8” trivet (we recommend you play around with different lengths and thicknesses of rope until you find a size and style you like. the cotton rope is great for this project, but we couldn’t resist the nylon rope with its amazing patterns and colors.) 2. form a loop with the right (longer) piece as shown.
How to Make Non-Obnoxious Alphabet Magnets | {NiceGirlNotes} Okay, okay. Non-obnoxious isn’t a word. But neither is unobnoxious. Not really, anyway. I’ve come to embrace this part of my life where I have a baby and a toddler. I can’t carry a nice handbag because sippy cups leak and goldfish crackers leave goldfish cracker dust on everything that enters my bag. There will be toys. A multitude of them. However, for the sake of my sanity, I try to make it look like we all share the space together – adults and tiny ankle biters – as opposed to Jack and me just unrolling sleeping bags in the middle of a Toys R Us. Enter alphabet magnets. Hard plastic. And the floor. Just kidding. But Rembot loves alphabet magnets. A win-win situation: non-obnoxious alphabet magnets. I picked up some flat wooden disks, magnet strips (these work really well, too), and rub-on letters. 1) Spray paint both sides of wooden disks. 2) Lightly spray paint one side with white spray paint. 3) Spray with blue spray paint. 4) Rub letters onto each disk. Like them? Super cheap craft.
Recycle Reuse & Repurpose ? Glass Jar Photo Frames In South Africa, recycling is way of life that not very many people incorporate into their daily routine. Partly because we do not have the facilities or many places that offer this service, but mainly because most people are too lazy to think about what happens to their rubbish once they toss it in the bin. So instead of carelessly dumping your trash, one of the ways you can help give used things a second life, is to reuse your glass jars, and use them as novelty photo frames. You will need A selection of different shaped glass jars A bunch of your favorite photos Doom Paper Towels Scissors / cutting knife Ruler Pencil Step 1: Remove the label After speaking to several people in search for the best method to remove the gluey sticky mess left behind when attempting to soak off labels on glass jars, I have discovered the secret is… Doom. Step 2: Measure the Jar Step 4: Place photo into the jar Slightly roll the photo, with the image facing outwards, and insert it into the jar upside down.
Check Out My Moves! **Update: Come see new and updated photos of this project HERE! :) Does anyone else feel like their spice cupboard and/or baking cupboard is full to the max? Or overflowing, even? And then I got one. I have been saving and washing Emily's baby food jars ever since we got back from Florida in order to do this: (see that dusty spice rack????) In order to eliminate all of these from my spice cupboard: I still have some spices left in my cupboard, but I ran out of magnets, so I was only able to make 10 jars. These took a bit of time, but very little skill. Obviously. I just collected baby food jars, rinsed them out, and pulled off as much of the label that I could. I had some nice powerful magnets. To eliminate any need to coordinate colors on my part, I used the DCWV Latte Mat Stack, with its coordinating solid mat stack to decorate the jars. I Mod Podged 1" strips of paper around the jar. I made the labels out of two circular pieces of paper. Now for the magnets. Whew! So far I am loving it.
Tin Work Ornaments featuring Bic Mark-its Happy Friday, friends! We’re in the homestretch of the Christmas holiday now, and I’m STILL making little gifts. Today I came up with this idea to make some metal-work ornaments. Craft Metal + Nestabilities Dies + Bic Mark-It + Tools = Awesome! I made this with craft tin, but you could just as easily use recycled soda can aluminum. I used an embossing folder to add instant texture. For this bird version, I then embossed the shape using a Cuttlebug folder. Next, I decided to free-hand a design on a bird shape & hand-tool it so that it was 3-D. Then I colored it in with my Bic Mark-It Markers and let them dry. You can blend the colors with a bit of alcohol. In the meanwhile, I cut an extra birds shape from embossed craft metal and from adhesive backed foamies. Adhesive-backed foamies help keep the tin's shape. I placed a ribbon hanger in there, and voila- a hand-tooled ornament suitable for any season! For this version, again, I free-handed my design.
Christmas tree ornament mobile, how-to Here is how I made my Christmas tree ornament mobile, it was easier than it looks, promise. The Supplies a 17″ steamer rack from a restaurant supply storeabout 5 feet of lightweight jack chaina small carabiner100 basic ornament hooksone roll, 500 feet, monofilament jewelry string (not the stretchy sort)200 jewelry crimp beads or tubesjewelry crimping tool100 lanyard hooks100 ornaments Note: In the photo above I show earring wire instead of ornament hooks. Creating the Mobile Frame Creating the frame for my ornament tree mobile turned out to be fairly simple. For the top of the mobile I needed something that would allow me to easily secure a lot of hanging points without them sliding around too much. Turn the rack upside down and the spots where the legs were secured neatly become four hanging points. I bought some inexpensive jack chain to use for hanging. I joined the chains using another lanyard hook, and put that on a little carabiner which hung from the hook in the ceiling.
Monogram Mugs Friends! I’m so pleased to share our first gift DIY of the season. Maude made these fantastic monogrammed mugs over the weekend. Don’t they look terrific? The idea came when we saw these fun initial cups at Anthropologie and remembered our kitchen was lacking in hot cocoa mugs. We decided to create a whole set. It’s a very doable project. 1) We started with a trip to Goodwill, where we collected 8 plain white mugs. 2) Then we gathered supplies. For the font, I had something very specific in mind. 3) Cut out an initial and a piece of transfer paper. 4) Trace the initial. 5) Take your Porcelaine pen and trace over the lines of the initial. 6) Once the lettering is done, let the mugs sit for 24 hours. 7) And that’s it! The project turned out so well that it has my mind spinning with other possibilities. What do you think? Need more sibling gift ideas?
Make coasters from curling ribbon | Chica and Jo Years ago when I was a college student, I had a part time job in a card store. One day on the job, I was fiddling with the curling ribbon we used for balloons. As I twisted and curled it in my fingers, I found myself rolling it into a tight spiral. As it grew and I added more colors, I soon realized I had a really cool design forming, and without too much effort I would have a spiral of color large enough to use as a coaster. Ever since then, whenever I get balloons or gifts that are tied with curling ribbon, I save the ribbon in a special box in my craft room. Selecting the ribbon You probably haven’t been saving up used curling ribbon from balloons and packages (not yet, anyway), so you might need to buy some new ribbon to start on this project. Winding the ribbon To start your coaster, just grab a piece of ribbon and roll the end up as tightly as you can. Now for the fun part. You can see a lot of potential fun here with patterns and colors. Coat the coasters or brush-on varieties.
Felt Ogee Ornament Tutorial I woke up this morning with an image in my head of a felt snowflake. So I asked my kids to make a few traditional fold and cut paper snowflakes for me before they left for school. I wanted to use them as templates for my idea. …it worked! Step 1: Cut one 6″x 6″ square of felt. Step 2: Using a straight edge and an Xacto knife, cut along the first line from the corner to about 1/4″ from the diagonal line. Repeat until all cuts have been made, keeping the felt intact at each corner on the diagonal line. Step 3: Lift the corners of the center square and hand stitch the ends together with matching thread. Step 4: Turn the piece over and lift the corners of the second square. Step 5: Continue turning the piece over, overlapping points and stitching until all 4 squares are stitched. Step 6: Create a hanging loop at one end with a clear monofilament thread. This makes a large ornament, about 10″ in total length. Felt projects inspired by paper projects is a natural.