Homemade christmas gifts #10 + another 25....

Finally, the last of our Homemade christmas gift series, and the last post on NooshLoves for 2011! And just because I'm such a generous kida gal, I'm not only giving you one more gift idea... I'm giving you 25 of them to keep you busy and inspired until 2012!!!!! 

First, this one is #10 and possibly my favourite - the Wax Luminerie

These make a great gift. They're super easy to create and your receiver will love them.

It comes from The 36th Avenue and if you click over here you'll find another 25 fabulous ideas to whip up this final week before the fat man arrives....

And with that, I'm going to take a few days off leaving you to enjoy your silly season! I'll be back with more inspiration and creative ideas than you can poke an elf at after New Year... Biggest thanks to every single one of you for visiting this year. You've made NooshLoves into what it is by coming back again and again and have given me a reason to create this place where I keep all the beautiful things that inspire me...

I hope you and your families all have an incredible Christmas and I'll look forward to seeing you back here on the 3rd of January!

Merry Christmas!!! x

Homemade christmas gifts #9

Gorgeous handmade pendants - so much better looking than they are difficult to make.

Air dry clay is all you need. Work your clay till its soft and maliable. Roll it out to the thickness you want. You can use anything to decorate - doilies work a treat, as do leaves - anything textured really. Just lay your piece on top of the clay and roll it to make an impression. Pull your piece out of the clay carefully and use a cookie cutter to create the shape you want. Don't forget to make a hole for the chain if you're making one of these pendants though - barbeque skewers are good for this. Now get busy creating!

Homemade christmas gifts #8

Another one that will make great use of your old paint colour swatches... and cute to boot!

Hop over here for the tutorial. x

Homemade christmas gifts #6 & #7

Well we're down to 4 weeks to go till christmas as of today! And to make up for my complete and utter slackness last week in not posting project #6, this week you get #6 and #7. That'll keep you busy!

#6. Blackboard painted herb pots.

This project is a double whammy of sorts because it's two projects in one and the kids can do both of them with a little help from a grown up. It's a pretty straightforward masking tape and paint project but if you want the instructions hop over here. And when you're using potting soil around the kiddos make sure they wear gloves and don't inhale or eat any of the potting mix...

#7. Fridge magnets

So cute and really easy to make. Some flat bottomed glass craft beads, glue and maps is all you need! Imagine a set of them them wrapped in a lovely box filled with tissue paper... Hop over here for the tutorial. 

Homemade christmas gift #5

Eeeek! It's going so fast! We're down to 6 weeks left. Naturally, it's already happening. Spiralling into christmas disorganisation... Here's #5 in our series of Handmade Christmas gift ideas the kids can do! It's a really pretty one and best of all it warrants a trip to the beach!

Gorgeous isn't it? Most families have a jar of shells lurking around the place somewhere don't they? Or is that just me and my hoarding tendancies? If not, off to the beach with you! 

I love that this design incorporates using buttons and beads as well. I think that gives the chimes a lovely individual feel. The process of threading everything is so good for the kiddos dexterity and fine motor skills too, and I was recently reading a piece about trying to boost these types of activities for school readiness to strengthen little fingers in preparation for all that writing they'll be doing - so this ones a definite must for us. For the full tutorial skip over here to home sweet homemade.

Homemade christmas gift #4

We're down to 7 weeks people... ouch!

This weeks inspirational homemade gift idea is a double-edged sword of sorts as it is not just a good craft project for gifting but also a good lesson in colour theory for the kiddos.

Looks great doesn't it? Would you believe it's a bunch of paint chips cut into triangles? Free art! Okay, so you'll need to buy a frame to put it in - but the art is free! And you can colour match to the decor of the receiver, or let the kids go wild at Bunnings and choose their favourite colours (which I do even without a project in mind... sorry Bunnings).

Hop over here for the full tutorial and make sure you read the comments section on the tutorial for all the measurements if you need those too. I've already stolen a very thick wad of swatches and my Ikea Ribba frames - all ready to go. Will show you the results. x

Homemade christmas gift #3

This weeks homemade gift idea is a bit dad inspired. Well, actually you could give it to anyone - grandparents, siblings... but for me, it fits perfectly as a dad gift...

Imagine the joy a gift like this could bring. 52 things I like about you is a great exercise for kids to delve into their feelings and memories about a special someone in their life. It also give the recipient a glimpse into the way they come across to the most innocent of eyes, kids. So simple!

Hop over here for the full tutorial.

Homemade christmas gift #2

If I didn't alarm you last week with my news of only 10 weeks till christmas, perhaps I can rouse some sense of panic when I tell you another week has now passed us by and we're down to 9... 

As most of you already know, Homemade christmas gifts is a weekly post of gift ideas the kiddos can make for friends, teachers and relatives. Something to help them learn to think further than a department store when it's time to give - besides, home made presents are easier on the hip pocket! This is idea #2 in our journey to christmas 2011.

#2. The soy candle...

This idea comes from the super-talented Amanda over at Ruffled. This DIY's original incarnation at Ruffled is as a wedding favour (or bomboniere, depending where you hale from), hence the "Thank You" tag in the image, but a quick gift tag change and this makes a lovely and simple christmas gift that is even easier than you can imagine to create making it perfect for the kiddos to do.

Essentially the steps go like this - buy wax, melt wax, scent wax, pour wax, set wax, add lid, give. Told you it was easy! And then you can have all sorts of fun creating gift tags and choosing lovely paper to top and wrap it! Check out Amanda's proper tutorial over here and be careful the kids don't get a burn!

UPDATE: Homemade christmas gift #1

Here's a quick update on today's post about the gorgeous homemade illustrated porcelain and it comes in the form of a great tip. Stencils! Check out this post on Brooklyn Limestone for a full tutorial! 

Hmmm, now that opens up a whole new world of possibilities...

Homemade christmas gift #1

I don't mean to alarm anyone, but did you know it's only 10 weeks till christmas? Gasp! Are you picking yourself up off the floor right now? I am... 

With this unsettling piece of information in mind, I've started a mental list of gift ideas the boys can make for friends, teachers and relatives. Nice idea? I think it is. I like the concept of them putting in their actual own time and effort to make a personal gift for the people who are important to them. I figure it might go some way to reinforce some of the ideals we were raised with that are sometimes forgotten in our over-commercialised world... I want them to think further than a department store when it's time to give. And if that way of thinking is a bit holier than thou for you - the fact that home made presents are easier on the hip pocket might appeal more...

Sooooo, each week between now and christmas I'm going to bring you one homemade gift idea. This is the first...

#1. The illustrated ceramic...

For very little cash, a trip to the Hot Dollar store can see you able to stock up on decent plain white ceramic pieces that you can easily decorate yourself at home. We found some lovely little white French Cafe style bowls for only $1.50 each. They'll stack really nicely and a set of 3 for each gift will be more than generous from 2 little fellas.

We picked up a Pebeo Porcelaine 150 ceramic pen from Spotlight or the local art supply store for under $9. Such a clever invention! It's basically a marker pen with special ink inside it that you can use to write and draw on ceramic pieces, bake them in a moderate oven and presto! It's permanent! Genius! The pens come in a range of colours but our art store only had black in stockso black it is. That's fine by me anyway, I'm all about monochrome. 

So that tally's up to a total of around $5 per gift, and I know that these gifts will be the most treasured gift the grandparents will get this christmas. (and we all know those kids of presents earn us parents lots of brownie points that can be used for babysitting at a later date - if you know what I mean....). Check out the full tutorial over here, and then set your wee ones loose on the crockery!