12 Projects: Stocking Stuffers

Stuffing a stocking can get very expensive very quickly.  Just because things are small, doesn't mean they are inexpensive.  But stuffing stockings is so much fun! For today's post I'm going to share with you some of my favorite stocking stuffer ideas.  I will not be sharing the actual stocking stuffers I may or may not have made, because their recipients may be reading.

Mint Chocolate Blossoms, adapted from The Cooking Photographer

Edible gifts:  A mini loaf of bread or a packet of cookies will make someone smile.  For kids, try homemade candies.  It's a great excuse to try something new in the kitchen, but not have all those tasty treats haunting you.  If you don't bake, try a jam or jelly from a local vendor.   Pinterest is a great place to find recipes (as well as new blogs to follow), but don't forget the recipes that come from the food companies.  I'm in the process of making these sandwich cookies from Ghirardelli, and I always follow the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip bag.  Snack Picks has a whole slideshow of tasty looking holiday ideas.

Photo from Leethalknits

Small Knitwear: This one is a little more time consuming, but ends in a big payoff.  You could knit a simple hat, like Leethal's scant, pictured above.  You could also put together a pair of wrist warmers, or even a coffee cup cosy!  There are tons of free and low cost patterns to be found on Ravelry.  Looking for something even smaller?  Try this crochet necklace from The Making Spot.

Photo from Make and Takes

Health and Beauty: Rice bag tutorials are all over Pinterest, and they are a great useful stocking stuffer.  The photo above is from a tutorial over at Make and Takes.  Once you have the general idea, you can make these in any shape or size.  I even made these with kids at the library once.  I pre-sewed the bags out of white cotton so they could decorate and fill them.  we closed off the bags with iron on hem tape.  A simple body scrub is also an easy stocking stuffer idea.  Check out this tutorial for lavender foot scrub over at Frugal Granola.

What kind of homemade presents are you making this year?  What do you like to stuff in stockings?




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12 Projects: Ornaments

Homemade ornaments are a great personal touch to any Christmas tree.  I know one of my favorite parts of decorating the tree with my family was pulling out the ornaments I had made throughout my childhood.  A few have made their way to my tree at home, but most still stay with my mother.  Like my angel tree topper, they are a part of every Christmas.  Here are a few simple homemade ornaments I tried out this year!

First, I took inspiration from Snowflakes and Dragonflies and her glittered light bulbs that have been going around Pinterest.  I had a few that I had bought a few years ago as replacements and never used.  They've just been sitting in my Christmas box.  

I could have painted them with glitter modge podge like my tree topper, but I wanted to use the big glitter, so I painted each with modge podge and sprinkled the glitter on top. 

I saved the extra glitter from my pine cone mini tree, so they are gold and red.  I also decided to break out my old friend Epsom salt to make a few snowy bulbs.

I wrapped the tops with ribbon and looped it to make a little hanger.  These would look really cute attached to a gift, or hung on a hanger with the stocking of a loved one!  

I also wanted to crochet some stars. I bought some white yarn with silver metallic thread, and used this super simple pattern from summerfete. 

When I finished the star, I slip stitched up to one point, and chained until I made enough to form a loop, and i slip stitched it closed.

Cute little white star!  These are soft and great for low hanging ornaments around pets and small children.  They are also flat, so they can be mailed inside cards!

Here are some great links to other ornament tutorials!  I hope you find the perfect ornament to place on your tree!

Photo from The Witchcraft

Speaking of ornaments you can mail, this adorable paper craft ornament from The Witchcraft is attached to a card for easy gift giving.  When you pull the string, it turns into a little Christmas tree!  The website is in Japanese, but your browser (I use Google Chrome) can translate it for you.  

Photo from Michele Made Me

Michele Made Me has a great ornament overview, linking to 19 free tutorials she's put out over the last few years, and 3 paid PDFs.  

Photo from Grainline Studios

I am in love with this tiny narwhal ornament from Grainline.  She whipped up a bunch for an ornament exchange, and was sweet enough to share the pattern.  I may have to make one of these for my own tree.

I hope you have found inspiration for something new to grace your tree, or that of friends and family.  

What are your favorite tree ornaments?  Are they homemade or store bought? 

Missed something?  Check out The 12 Projects of Christmas.

12 Projects: Glittery Candles

I love how, in recent years, glitter has become such a big part of Christmas decor.  I've always loved twinkly lights, and some glitter provides a great reflective surface.  For this project, i wanted to try out something i'd been seeing around Pinterest for the last year or two.  I decided to try out making glittery candles.

 One of the popular Pinterest "tricks" is to use double sided tape stuck to the side of the candles to keep the glitter on.  I tried this on one candle.  However, It didn't occur to me that I would have problems getting the double sided tape to sit flat on tapered candles.  Since I didn't want to spent any extra money, I just tried to make it work. 

I used permanent double sided tape and Martha Stewart glitter in yellow gold. 

You can also see that the glitter clings to the wax of the candle.  I had to wipe it off with a paper towel.  Even more mess.  Pinterest lies, this is not a no-mess easy way to make things glittery.  Very messy.  I love the look of the superfine glitter, but it really gets absolutely everywhere.

  

While I was in the midst of getting glitter everywhere, I figured I would try out another popular craft trick: mixing glitter with modge podge.  This was a little more effective...and slightly less messy.  I mixed it together on a plate and painted it on.  

I dipped this candle into the modge podge and rolled it in glitter.  This one turned out super glittery and dense. 

I also used some silver glitter paint I had lying around. I dipped a few of the candles directly into the paint.   I wasnt sure how to dry them, and sadly  the paint stuck slightly to the plate they were resting on and peeled off.

The glittery on these is very thin, not as dense as the other ways.

My favorite candle resulted from mixing some of the loose glitter with the glittery craft paint. I painted it on thick, and tapped the base on the table to encourage the drips.   

 I was miraculously able to get it to stand upright on the table for 24 hours.  I have no idea how the cats didn't knock it over. 

I don't know how burnable these candles will be (the glue, paint and glitter may make some interesting toxic fumes) so I think these will just be for decoration.   I don't have a specific arrangement in mind, so we'll see where they end up.  

Have you tried any Pinterest tricks lately? Wanna check out some other things I've pinned?  Follow my Christmas board on Pinterest! Happy crafting! 

Missed something?  Check out The 12 Projects of Christmas.