Showing posts with label Gifts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gifts. Show all posts

Thursday, December 17, 2009

A great gift...

Last year, I wanted the boys to make a gift for their grandparents & great grandparents. We decided to make ribbon bookmarks. These were very easy to make & everyone loved them {& they are still using them.} I am reposting this from last Christmas. This year, I think my kids could do almost everything.


First, I gathered my stash...



Then, I cut the ribbon to the right size (I did just a bit over 12 inches). I layed out my ribbons & matched up the buttons that I wanted to use.



My last step was trimming & burning the ends so that they wouldn't fray. I had to trim the thicker ribbon down so that the corners didn't show.



Here is my ending product. I am pretty happy with how they turned out! I knew that my dollar ribbons would come in handy some day!! Tomorrow morning we will sit down & glue all of the buttons on & decide which bookmark is for who. If you get one of these, just act surprised for the boy's sake! Thanks!

Monday, December 29, 2008

The Finished Product

So, we got our Salt Dough ornaments finished on Christmas Eve...nothing like cutting it close!! I love how they turned out & we will definitely make more for next year!!





Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Teacher Gifts

This is my first year doing teacher gifts. I nearly forgot. My sister in law & I (but mostly her) did tile magnets. The tiles are tiny & then we bought vinyl to put on the tile that said "Live", "Laugh", & "Love". I then attached magnets to the back of the tile. They were pretty easy & super cute. I wrapped them up & they were ready to go! Thanks Val for all that you did! They turned out super cute!!!



Sunday, December 21, 2008

Ribbon Bookmarks

With Christmas approaching (quickly), I decided that I should probably go through my ribbons & buttons to make sure that we have everything that we need to make them.

First, I gathered my stash...



Then, I cut the ribbon to the right size (I did just a bit over 12 inches). I layed out my ribbons & matched up the buttons that I wanted to use.



My last step was trimming & burning the ends so that they wouldn't fray. I had to trim the thicker ribbon down so that the corners didn't show.



Here is my ending product for tonight. I am pretty happy with how they turned out! I knew that my dollar ribbons would come in handy some day!! Tomorrow morning we will sit down & glue all of the buttons on & decide which bookmark is for who. If you get one of these, just act surprised for the boy's sake! Thanks!



Tomorrow & Tuesday will include painting the ornaments that are still sitting on my counter & gluing the buttons on the ribbon. Somewhere in there we will also be making cookies. There will be more posts to follow...so keep checking back. :)

Thursday, December 18, 2008

**Salt Dough Ornaments--part 1**


Tonight, we were able to find a bit of time to make the salt dough ornament recipe. It was too much fun. A few things to note:

#1..I ended up mixing up 3 batches of the recipe...It made the amount of ornaments in the photo (plus a little left over for the kids to goof around with).

#2..I tested both the oven & the microwave method. I would definitely suggest the oven. It takes a lot longer, but they turn out way better. I only ended up cooking mine for 1 minute in the microwave & it came out with big bubbles & it wasn't a smooth surface. I did all of the rest in the oven & was very pleased with how they looked!

#3..We did most of the ornaments with cookie cutters, but at the very end we did some 3-D ones. I made our family of snowmen (& snowwoman) & the boys made balls with a hole in them. They were just giant clumps of dough, but they have character.

#4..I used a straw to make the hole for the ribbon. You still need to stir it around for a minute because the hole will shrink up a bit as you cook it, but I think that the straw made it quicker & the boys could help easier. Plus, the dough stays up in the straw.

Up to this point the directions that I gave you were great! It is really simple & the kids loved kneading the dough & mixing in the ingredients. Stay tuned for the second installment...PAINTING & EMBELLISHING! I am kind of excited to see how they turn out!

**If you make these, please let me know. I would love to see pictures of what you have done!

Monday, December 15, 2008

Salt Dough Ornaments

I found this on http://crafts.kaboose.com. Just search "Salt Dough Ornaments". Here is what you will need:

½ cup salt
1 cup flour
½ cup water


Rolling pin
Cookie sheet
Toothpick
Miniature cookie cutters
Acrylic paints
Glitter glue or glitter paint
ribbon


Here's what you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.**
2. Mix salt, flour, and water together until dough is formed.
3. Knead the dough on a floured surface until the mixture is elastic and smooth. If dough is too sticky, sprinkle with flour, continue to do so until stickiness is gone. Do not add too much flour, this will dry out the dough and will cause it to crack before you get a chance to bake it.
4. Roll out the dough to about ¼” thick with a rolling pin that has been dusted with flour.
5. Use cookie cutters to cut the shapes that you want.
6. Use a toothpick to make a hole toward the top of the shape. Poke the toothpick into the shape, then holding toothpick straight up and down, make a circular motion as if you were stirring something. Keep circling until the hole is the size you want.
7. Place all shapes onto an ungreased cookie sheet and place into the preheated oven.
8. Bake for 2 hours.
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
10. Paint the ornaments.
11. When paint is dry, use glitter glue (we used green) or glitter paint (we used gold) to put a sparkling cover coat on your ornaments.
12. When dry, thread ribbon through hole and tie in a knot in the back.

**I also read on another recipe where you can microwave them instead of using the oven. I got this step off of http://www.allfreecrafts.com. Here is what they say:

Using a microwave-safe plate (not paper or cardboard), microwave a plate of your ornaments for 1 to 4 minutes, increasing the time by 1 minute increments and keeping a close eye on the microwave as the ornaments bake. Microwave power levels differ greatly, so use high power in a less-powerful oven, but lower it if your oven tends to heat things very quickly. You don't want to risk a fire! Let the ornaments cool completely before decorating.

Tips:
If your toppers are large enough, you can make two holes in each so that you can thread ribbon through like a button, only showing a small amount of ribbon on the front.
These make adorable pins to wear to school. Just don’t make a hole. Glue a pin back to the back of the completed ornament instead.
Uncooked salt dough doesn’t keep well, so only make enough dough for the ornaments you are going to make. If you are only making a few toppers, halve the ingredients above. The listed amounts will make enough ornaments for a classroom of 20.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Gift Tags

I spent a lot of time looking for the right wrapping paper. When I finally found it, I could imagine searching for matching gift tags. I looked on the Internet to find some cute templates to use, but really didn't find any that I liked. I decided that I would just have to make my own.




I just used scraps from my scrapbook stuff & found patterns & solids that would match. Then I cut a small circle(2 inch) and then a slightly bigger one (2.5 inch). I inked the edges with brown & then glued the small circle onto the bigger one. I made small hole punch at the top of the bigger circle. I had some wire that I have used for scrapbooking projects & wrapped it around a sharpie pen. Then I used the coil to put through the hole in the paper as a little hanger for the ornament.




Now I am going to get some yarn attach it to my presents. I don't have the yarn yet & I haven't started wrapping yet...so I can't post the finished product.

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Homemade Christmas Gifts

I have been looking for something for my boys to make for Christmas gifts. I wanted it to be something that people could use. Once again...Family Fun came through for me! These are adorable & look so easy to make!



Here is how you make these bookmarks:

Simply cut lengths of ribbon (ours are 12 to 14 inches long, to fit a standard-size hardcover book), then attach buttons to the ends using tacky glue or a glue gun. Shown here are just a few of the decorating options: sandwiching the ribbon's ends between two buttons; stacking smaller atop larger buttons; and grouping several small buttons in a pattern.

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