Projects

Snow globes

What you need:

Glass container with lid that screws on

Epoxy

Glitter

Glycerin

Distilled water

Miniature christmas trees or other decorations that will hold up to water

As I was trying to come up with Christmas gifts for the grandparents, this seemed like the perfect handmade gift that would last for a long time and be meaningful to them. I wish I had time to get really creative with what went inside of the snow globe, but Christmas snuck up on me so I kept it simple with the Christmas trees

Glue your Christmas tree with the epoxy to the inside lid of the glass container that you are going to use (this could be anything from a mason jar, liquor bottle, or any cool find at the local thrift store). Let dry over night.  

Fill the glass container with distilled water, adding in a splash of glycerin. Too much glycerin will make the glitter stick to the top of the container. Then add in a generous amount of glitter.

Glue the inside of the container lid with epoxy, and immediately put it on your glass container and let it sit upside down so that the glue has time to dry without water leaking out. Once it is dry you have a beautiful, unique snow globe all made by you!

Miniature Christmas Trees

This year I strived to make, instead of buy, as many Christmas presents for my family as possible. The kicker is coming up with things that you can make and the recipient will use and appreciate. So I came up with 3 projects: decorative christmas trees for my mother-in-law, fire starters for my dad, and snow globes for the grandparents. 

Christmas Trees

What you need:

Paper

Spray paint

Wooden sticks (You can use a stick from a tree, or go to Hobby Lobby and find something in their craft section)

Wooden stand that the wooden sticks will fit into

Cardboard

Glue

I got this idea from some paper trees I saw at Anthroplogie. My sister got me some BEAUTIFUL handmade paper from India when she lived there last summer, so it was the perfect way for me to use that. You cut out all the sizes you will need, starting with big pieces for the bottom of the tree and ending with small pieces for the top. Then cut out small pieces of cardboard to put between your paper in order to give it more of a stacked look

Cut your wooden stick to the size that you want your trees to be, then take the wooden stick and wooden stand and spray paint them (I used gold). If you would like a pointed top on your tree you can carve it out easily with a knife. You could also decorate the top with yarn, an ornament, or even a succulent would be cute and unique! Glue the stick inside of the stand.

Cut holes in the middle of your paper, and shimmy down the spray painted stick going from the biggest pieces to the smallest, putting cardboard every few pieces.

I made this for my mother-in-law and she really enjoyed them! They make cute Christmas decorations, and you could do a whole fleet of them for the fire place mantel or counter and it would look awesome! 

Fire Starters

What you need:

Lent (collected from the dryer... or your husbands belly button)

Paper (recycled paper grocery bags work great for this) or sawdust (which you could get for free at your local Home Depot)

Wax (you can find this at any local craft store, or use old candles)

Wax paper

An old pot, or empty tin can

Cardboard egg carton 

My parents have a great fire place, which I LOVE to snuggle in front of whenever I am over there. We have even turned on the A/C in order to have a fire going. It is very sad to me that they are some of the only people I know that still have a fire place that burns wood and isn't electric! Nothing beats sitting in front of the fire with a cup of coffee and hearing the wood pop, while the scent absorbing into your clothes. So I decided to make my dad fire starters because he uses them so frequently! These are also great for when you go camping! 

Take your egg carton and fill it first with your recycled paper or saw dust.

 Then stuff the egg carton full of lent. Put a few sheets of wax paper under the egg carton so wax doesn't leak out onto the surface it is sitting on.

Melt your wax in an old pot, or boil water and put an old can in the water with wax inside of it. Once all of the wax is melted, pour it into the egg carton until all of the lent is covered. It may sizzle when you pour it, but that is only because it is hot! 

Let it cool. It is hilarious watching people open the carton and try to figure out what it is! They catch fire great, and this is a cheap, easy, and useful gift for any man in your life.