Spiritual Gifts

Last year we started the tradition of giving a gift to baby Jesus for Christmas (it is His birthday after all.) So I made this cute tin that we put under the back of our tree. After everyone has opened their gifts and things settle down, we take it out and write down the things that we would like to give to baby Jesus. These are spiritual gifts and it helps us to remember the true meaning of Christmas. - Anisa

Christmas Ornaments

Each member of my family gets to choose a new ornament every year for the Christmas Tree. This year we thought it would be fun (and thrifty) to make our own. I took clear glass ball ornaments purchased from a local craft store. They are 2 5/8" in diameter. I purchased them last year, but I remember them being very inexpensive (especially with the discount coupon). I had each family member list things that represented them this last year. I used our computer (thank you, Google) to find images to match those lists, printed them off and cut them out. Example: my oldest son had images of a soccer ball (he was on a team), his school mascot (his first year in his new school), piano keys (he began lessons in July), his age and the word Narnia (we finished all the books together). I used "Christmas Shred" to fill in the center and force those tiny pieces of paper against the glass. It took some patience and a few long, skinny tools, but I finished them. --C

Early Gift Craft

Angie turned me on to this simple necklace design that would make a great Christmas gift for any female on your list. If you are even mildly interested in trying to make jewelry, this is a great beginner project. Necklace can be worn as one large strand or doubled up. Here's the simple formula: 2.5 inches of seed beads, medium-sized complimentary bead, the large bead, then the medium-sized bead and repeat. Supplies I used:

• .30mm silver colored beading wire
• 2 7" strands Blue Moon Natural Elegance ceramic beads. (These beads are just barely larger than a dime and it came with the complimentary medium-bead though I did have to add four more from my stash.)
• 2 crimping beads

I repeated the pattern 12 times which left me two large beads with which to make matching earrings.

To finish off, I tied a square knot and put crimping beads on either side. I threaded the extra wire back through the beads for an inch or so.

--C