‘Twas almost the night before Christmas and…you have to stuff some stockings, mass produce crafty gifts for your book club, or keep your kids busy and away from the television. Here are 3 fun crafted gifts that satisfy all of the above.

I call these gifts “Half Craft” because they are just dolled-up basics. A little paint, a little bling, and they feel special and unique! Here’s how they started…

And here’s what I did…

Necklace: I painted 1 whole bead (beads from Oriental Trading) in pink nail polish, and 2 half beads to match. I let them dry, then twisted a very thin gold wire around the center one. I strung them on simple white cord and there you go! A pop of color for a dreary day (and a fun, homemade gift).

Paperclip tree: Ok, I had to buy this little paperclip tree from Muji when I saw it. It seemed like it had so much potential! Mostly I was thinking that it would hold my daughter’s eventual colorful hair clips. Here, I wrapped it in yarn and then unfolded a gold paperclip and reimagined it into a star. Cue the awww……

Yoyo: So I’m sure you don’t have one of these raw wood yoyos hanging around (no pun intended), but you can paint one that you do have and then glue on some sequins to bling it up. I added little dots of glitter glue in the center of each sequin to fill the hole. And to take it to the next level, I replaced the string with pink yarn to match.

December 23, 2013| Christmas, Everyday Crafts, Gifts, Grown-Up, Jewelry and Fashion, Older Elementary, Tween to Teen