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Every year I make a Christmas Card for my Mom. Now that I have kids, the ideas just magically come to me.

This year’s card:

This year’s inspiration:

Merry Christmas! Now I have to go finish the SIL’s gift. It may or may not be Twilight related…

It’s the Christmas season & we’re all looking for lovingly hand made (AKA “super inexpensive”) gift ideas. So I’ve got three (3!!!) ideas to share with you. And the first project we’re showing today is (insert drum roll here):

1 – FELT PIRATE BOOTY POUCHES!!!!!!

I made these out of felt, embroidered the skulls freehand (note the wobbly one on the top), and filled them with super awesome $1 “gold” coins fresh from the bank. Aren’t those coins fancy? I am in love with them, hopefully my nephews will be in love with them too. The plan is to give them each a map on Christmas morning & then have them find the treasure (that’s right, they need to EARN their Christmas gifts!)

I’m not including directions, cause I figure if you want to make them & know how to sew you can *probably* figure it out. But you can email me if you really want me to explain it…

The next fabulous craft idea is…
2 – GLASS BEAD ORNAMENTS!!!!!!

There are many variations of the glass bead craft. You’ve probably seen the magnets before, but did you know you can make pretty ornaments by using the big glass beads (1.25″ approx)? Stick a photo to the back of the glass bead with any clear glue. So pretty. So easy:

Tack a scrap of ribbon to the back & cover it with some pretty felt:

Done. Total project cost: $.50/each (but you gotta make them in bulk. If you’re doing just one, it’ll be about $10. Not so much cheapness anymore). And it only takes a few minutes to bust each one out. So easy.

Next Project is….

3 – GLASS BEAD NECKLACES!!!!!

(Yes, that is a chicken in the necklace. I have a friend who loves chickens. What, you don’t?)

The necklaces are a bit more complicated. You have to solder. But it’s fun working with new tools, right? (I’m just going to pretend you agree with me).

Supply List
-Soldering Iron
-Flux
-Copper Foil Tape
-Solder (lead free if possible)
-Glass Beads (you can use the small .5″ ones OR the bigger 1.25″ ones, found in the “floral” section of the craft stores)
-Small metal ring (for loop at the top. We made our own with wire)
-Sized Photo
-Ribbon or chain to string necklace on

Krista-the-Super-Sister-In-Law is my hand model (much prettier nails than me). (Dude, she’s got bling. It’s IN HER NAIL. She is fancy.)

Step One
Cut out the photo.

Step Two
Use glue to attach photo to back of the glass. I found it’s easier to put a big squishy dollop on top of the photo & then smoosh it to the glass. Make sure you get all the air bubbles out. Sometimes air will get stuck in there & make a weird fuzzy bit on your picture. Get those out before you proceed!!! Then let it lay face down till dry.

Dry! Dry! Dry!

Step 3
Add copper foil. I think it’s easier to apply it to the back first and then wrap it around the outside of the bead. You don’t want any gaps! The solder will only stick where the copper is! Make it come up over the front of the bead just a little bit.

Here Krista is trying to squish the copper foil tape down by rolling it around on the board:

Flatten! Down! You! Little! Foil! Piece!

This is what it looks like when the foil is all applied. Like a pretty little out-of-focus penny (sorry, camera woes).

Step 4
Apply the flux. Brush it all over. It makes the solder stick to the copper.

Step 5
Apply solder. Tap the heated gun to the roll of solder. It magically melts (it’s really cool. I was totally amazed by this part). Drip it onto the copper. We put about 4 “drips” on & then used the soldering iron to spread it around. You might need a pair of needle nose pliers at this part (to move the glass bead around) cause the glass gets REALLY REALLY HOT!!!

Step 6
Attach loop to top. Here Krista is using her madd jewelry making skillz to bend wire into a loop:

Mark the back of the bead (the soldered part) to show where the loop should be attached. (Hint: You want to loop at the TOP of the photo.)

Make sure to add flux to the loop before you try to attach it. Otherwise much swearing may ensue (spoken from experience. Luckily Ella was not in the room).

Solder ring to bead an voila!

(Actually, it might take you a little while to get the “voila”. This is the hardest part. It helps to have an extra pair of hands. Have someone hold the bead still in a pair of needle nose pliers while you put on the solder. It’s amazing how wobbly those darn glass beads can be!)

Horrible out of focus picture of Krista’s final project: