We have all been blogging a lot lately about handmade gifts, and how fun and rewarding giving and receiving them can be. The past few nights I have been working on homemade Christmas cards to the tunes of Bing Crosby, Andy Williams, and Josh Groban. Giving has never been more relaxing and more enjoyable than when you have made the gift yourself (and when you can listen to Bing in the process, it's even better)!
The one downside of making my own gifts is that I never seem to have enough time to do everything I want. Cathy takes a whole week to get all of her creating, baking, and crafting in!
So many projects on BeadStyleMag.com make simple, fast, and fashionable gifts. The problem changes from "I don't have time" to "I can't decide what to do next!" As Martha Stewart, queen of holiday crafting, would say: It's a good thing.
I went through our free projects and found a couple of quick holiday gift ideas for you to try out at home. Did I miss a favorite of yours? Leave a comment and let everyone know which of our projects you have found especially good for holiday gift-giving! Don't forget that our projects for sale are still only $1.95!
Debbi Simon's briolette bangle
Gemstones briolettes and metal accent beads come together easily with a premade bangle. You can choose colors and stones to match the personality of the receiver. Best of all, the bangle component is premade, making your process a lot faster!
Jane Konkel's tagua nut earrings
These tagua nuts, dyed pink from their natural ivory color, have a funky, playful look when paired with rubber tubes. These earrings would make a great gift for a teenager or a fun friend. Play around with the color of the tagua and the length of the rubber components.
Christianne Camera's citrine nugget necklace
Contrast smooth, top-drilled citrine nuggets with the sharp lines of bicone crystals. Don't have citrine and no time to run to the bead shop? This design will look great with any top-drilled bead. The key is alternating the beads and interspersing them with a contrasting bicone.