Handmade Christmas gift ideas (with instructions)

So, Christmas is once again looming just around the corner and crafty people everywhere are looking for nifty thrifty ideas for handmade presents. Now is a great time to start! So I thought I might compile a few of my past blog posts that have steps by step for all sorts of Christmas pressies, from teachers' gifts to jewelry:

Bottle cap magnets:

For instructions click here

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Cork boards:

For instructions click here

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Filigree necklaces:

For instructions click here

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Filigree and washer necklaces with Sugar Beads:

For instructions click here

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Cheer pants:

For instructions click here

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Christmas wreath with jumbo buttons and stars:

For instructions click here

How to make a washer necklace with sugar beads

Hi everyone, it's Geli with a cool gift idea using the new and awesome sugar beads!

My school has a mother's day stall every year and we always try and make pretty gifts from thin air. Basically, it should cost next to nothing, look awesome, appeal to kids and be liked by mums. This year I am making washer necklaces!

You will need:

♥ metal washers from the hardware store (mine are 35mm in diameter, which were the biggest ones)

♥ spray paint (optional)

♥ sugar beads in the colour of your choice

♥ Glossy Accents or similar

First, spray paint the washer in a colour that matches. I only have black or white, so white it was.

Cover the top of the washer with a coat of Glossy Accents and sprinkle sugar beads all over. Shake off any that don't stick or those that sit on the sides. We just want them on top.

Let that dry a little and then add a thick coat of Glossy Accents on top. I did several coats to give it a nice glossy and smooth surface.

Add a 90cm long cord and you are done!

And here are some with Licorice Twist Sugar Beads and Strawberry Shortcake Sugar Beads:

If you prefer, you can glue some leftover paper onto the washer instead. In this case, you can skip the spray painting, but you have to sand the edges before adding the gloss. I did one coat of gloss, then a line of gloss to attach the sugar beads and finished the whole thing off with some more gloss. I quite like it that way too:

While I had the spray paint out, I started a little experimenting. I sprayed a filigree black...

... and glued some Strawberry Shortcake Sugar Beads on the back of a glass cabochon. 

Another coat of Glossy Accents to secure them, let it dry and hot glue the glass to the filigree. Voila! 

I'm going to play with a few more colours for Mother's Day. I think this one is a winner. And true to the plan, it cost very little per necklace.

Geli

How to make cheer pants

My girls love to wear shorts and recently I bought some hot fix rhinestuds from my2angels. They have a glue backing that needs to be heated with an iron or an i-rock tool. They are a great bargain at only $1.00 for 50 and look wonderful on paper or on clothes.  

I decided to write the girls' names on the back of the pants in rhinestones. Our neighbour girl got a pair too. Here is how:

Your supplies:

* A plain pair of shorts, preferably without back pockets

* Rhinestuds  (Find all the 9 colours here)

* A heat resistant mat to protect the front of the pants 

(click here to find one)

*A big wooden cutting board to protect your table

* An iron or an i-Rock tool

Lay out one letter in rhinestuds, starting with a middle letter next to the middle seam of  the pants. This one spells Leah, so "e" it is. This way your word ends up centered. (I bet by now you'll regret it if you gave your daughter a long name)

Since I used the i-Rock tool, I let it heat up and pressed the hot tip onto each rhinestud, letting the heat melt the glue underneath and attach them to the pants. If you don't have one, simply use an iron. I recommend you iron on one rhinestud at the time because they do become permanently attached once they are heated. 

Once all the letters are on, I ironed the pants to make sure all rhinestuds are well glued on. And that's it already! 

 My girls will wear nothing else, so I made a few...

They were a great hit as gifts too!

And this is how they look on paper (from the Paradise Found layout):

Scrapbooking Memories blog hop - Lazy days of summer

My first ever blog hop! And it's with Scrapbooking Memories, of all people and magazines! If you have joined me from Kim's blog, all is well; if not, go back to hers here. To the start from the beginning click here.

We are all doing different things, but there is a common thread, have you guessed it yet? My hint is: lazy
And here is my project:

  It's my husband's brothers, living the good life in Vanuatu. As you can see, they're working extremely hard... 

 ...about as hard as a pair of sloths in a tree...

I found this chipboard frame at Kaisercraft, it's a little bigger than 12x12". I painted it, crackled it, sanded it, misted it... the poor thing has seen 100 years of wear and tear in one afternoon.

The paper is all from the gorgeous new Tropicana collection, nice and beachy with a touch of vintage.

A lot of the embellishments, like the net, the beach sign and the charms came from the my2angels beach kit (click on the word to find it)

Would you like to know how to make this bottle cap embellishment? Click here to go to my bottle cap magnets tutorial, they are fun and easy and make great gifts for teachers and friends.

Thanks for dropping by! Please leave me a comment, have a guess at the theme, follow me and be a good little bunny and hop along to Sarah's blog here. Her post will be up Thursday morning.

Cheers, Geli 

U & I canvas

As requested, we'll be making a canvas in my home class next week. This makes a great Christmas gift, too. 

It looks a bit like a shadow box when you look at it from the side:

If you prefer it busy, there is lots of space left for more embellishments.

 

You can find the camera charm here and the car charm (above the word "happiness") here at my2angels. Tracy is the one who shared the fantastic canvas idea with me. Check out her blog here for many more great ideas.

So if you would like to make a canvas with me next week (Tue, Thu night, Fri) please feel free to contact me.

Bottle cap magnets - teacher's gift idea

Are you looking for something personal and fun to make for your kids' teachers or your friends? Should it should be cheap and quick to make, but not look cheap? I've got a great idea for you to copy:

Bottle cap magnets!

Here is what you'll need (click on the words to find the products at my2angels):

1. Glass cabochons-25mm

2. Dimensional Magic

3. Some paper with small designs (use up some bits from your stash)

4. An unsused bottle cap (from the home bewery section at Woolies)

5. A magnet (from the cheap shop) 

Cover the cabochon with Dimensional Magic, place it on the design you want and swirl it around a little to spread the glue and pop any airbubbles.

Let it dry for about half an hour.

Now on to squishing some bottle caps!

If you have a Cuttlebug or similar machine, you're in luck. Make the following sandwich:

B plate

metal die (metal side facing bottle top)

bottle cap (pointy bits up)

A plate

It will be squished to perfection. 

If you don't have a Cuttlebug and can't rush out to get one this very minute, don't despair. Lay your bottle cap with the pointy bits down on a wooden cutting board and give it a few gentle taps with a hammer. It's not as perfect, but looks ok too.

 Check your glued-on cabochon. Is it completely dry? Then cut it out. It doesn't have to be perfect, just follow the outline of the glass pebble.

Put some strong glue (I use Helmar 450) on the inside plastic rim of the bottle cap

Glue the cabochon on.

 Glue a magnet on the back of the bottle cap.

Easy, right? For a present I made 6 matching ones.

Now you need some presentation. 

Cut out a tag from Snowflake paper (there are 9 on the sheet, so that will go a long way). 

 Glue 6 small metal washers on the backside of the paper (raid the shed!) They will hold your magnets in place. 

 Pop the magnets on the front, add some red baker's twine and a Christmas tree charm. Wrap it in a bit of cellophane and you are done!

Try and match the paper you use to your teacher's taste. My daughter's male teacher is getting monsters!

For more easy handmade Christmas gifts (with instructions and lots of photos) click here.