Box of DIY Christmas Gifts for Girls

I love making crafts and gifts, so it's always fun for me to give the girls a little 'something extra' homemade at Christmas time. This year I put together boxes of small personalized homemade goodies.  Everything was not only easy and inexpensive to make, but easy to taylor to each individual. 

Here's what I included:

 DIY Magnetic Notepads

Memory Wire Bracelets

Scrabble Letter Pendant Necklaces

Christmas Simmer Pot. Borrowing the instructions from here and a food dehydrator I easily made about 20 of these for simple gifts!

I packaged everything in my leftover Birchboxes, a great way to use them since they've been piling-up in my closet since sending Sunshine Boxes!

Tags for DIY Jewelry

When I make homemade gifts, I like to create homemade 'packaging' to go with it.  This not only makes the item look like it came from a high-end boutique, but it lets the recipient know that you made it just for them.  In addition, for jewelry like the Scrabble Tile Pendant necklaces I just made, it keeps them from getting missed in a larger gift package.  

Here's how I made some simple labels for the necklaces:

The supplies are simple: 

-large and small punch 

-card stock

-rubber stamps

I used the large circle punch to create the tag.

Using a small heart, I punched a hole it in the tag for the necklace to go through. I punched the heart close to the edge so it would fit in the clasp and not slide around on the necklace.

After lying the tag on a piece of scrap paper, I stamped the tag. I used a 'Handmade with love by' stamp, but any image would work.

I also stamped my name so they would know it was made by me and not by a high-end boutique.  If you don't have a stamp with your name you could simply write it or scribble your initials.

I love that he stamped extend past the tag creating a 'less perfect' look.

Here is the final tag on the clasp of a necklace!

I used a similar concept to make tags for my Memory Wire Bracelets.  The bracelet just slides through a hole in the card an the beads hold it in place.

Scrabble Letter Necklace Pendants

After seeing Scrabble Tile Necklaces at many gift shops, I wanted to try making some myself. Since I had leftover Scrabble pieces from my Scrabble Wall Art project and vintage atlas maps left over from my We Met, We Married, We Lived project, I knew I could easily make some cool, personalized pendants for next to nothing.

Start by brushing some Mod Podge to the back of a Scrabble letter (I chose to use the first initial of the person I was giving it to). This is just to glue the paper/map to the Scrabble piece, so it doesn't matter if its glossy or matte.

While the Mod Podge is wet, place the letter on the back side of the map (do not cut to size yet).  You may want to hold it up to a window while you do this so you can see what area of the map will show on your pendant.

I found it was easiest to trim the paper after it was glued to the Scrabble tile using a rotary cutter and a rubber mat.

After trimming the paper, sand the edges to the paper is flush with the Scrabble tile.

I used Mod Podge 'Dimensional Magic' to seal the maps and create that 'glassed over' look.

Do not shake the bottle as it will create bubbles that will dry into the pendant. Apply to the edges first, being careful to seal the edge of the paper to the tile without it dripping down the side.

When the tile is completely covered, it will appear milky as shown but will dry clear.

When the first coat has dried, you may need to glue down any corners that curled up as shown above.  Mod Podge and a Q-tip work well for this.

Apply a second coat the same way as the first.

When the Dimensional Magic has dried, use superglue to apply a flat bail to the back of the pendant.  The bails can be found at Michael's.  Use any chain you like, and the necklace is done!

Here are a few that I made using maps and collegiate scrap booking paper.  Photos would also work great!

Memory Wire Bracelets

When the girls at craft club were making memory wire bracelets, I knew I had to make some too! They are so simple and easy to make, a great craft to do while watching a movie. Since any color beads can be used they're great to make in the colors of your team or school.  This would also be a great craft to do with a group of friends. Simply supply memory wire and a variety of beads and see what combinations everyone comes up with!

The wire used is called memory wire, which holds its round, coiled shape making them perfect for bracelets. Simply cut to the desired length depending on how many times you want them to wrap around the wrist, and string with any beads that will fit the wire.

To finish, use a pliers to make a loop that will keep the beads from falling off.

On some bracelets I added a charm to the finishing loop for some extra 'bling'.

Here are a few bracelets that I made.  These make excellent stocking stuffers and would be a great post-Thanksgiving dinner craft.

Thanksgiving Turkey Card

We sent these Thanksgiving Turkey Cards out to family and friends last fall. Although they are 3-D they're actually very easy to make!

For the feathers, score lines every .5" on a piece of scrap paper about 8" long and about 1.5-2" wide.

Tip: If making more than one, score a larger sheet of paper then cut to save time on scoring!

After I scored the paper, I cut it in half since I would use it for two feathers.  Fold the paper like an accordion using the scores.

Bend the accordion to make a half circle.  Attach the ends to the card. Use a hot glue gun to catch the folds to secure the rest of the 'feathers' to the cards.

I cut out the turkey body using my cricut and Animal Kingdom cartridge, then glued wiggly eyes for something fun. 

Inside the card I attached the 'Gobble Gobble' which were also cut out using the cricut.  Only the ends are glued so the phrases pop out when the card is opened.

DIY Magnetic Notepads

I had a bunch of blank notepads to use, so I decided to turn them into personalized fridge notepads to give as gifts!  Although they're not really that 'homemade', they're something everyone can use and can be personalized with the stamps used.

1.) Stamped each page in the notepad. I chose stamps that reminded me of the people I was going to give them to. This was easy but took a while--great to do while watching a movie.

2.) Cut a piece of magnetic tape (found at Michael's) and attach to the top of the back of the notepad.

3.) Since the tape comes rolled-up, it has a tendency to want to bend.  Lay the notepads on a flat surface with a few heavy books on top to hold the magnetic tape tight against the notepad backer until it sets.