Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas for Anyone

A few ideas that are good for grandparents or perhaps anyone on your list are:

Homemade Bath Salts

Supplies:

1 cup Epsom salts
Measuring cup
2 jars with lids
2 colored of liquid food color
1 pretty 8 oz. jar
A few drops of your favorite perfume
1/2 yard of ribbon, 1/2" to 1" wide

Directions:

1. To make these good smelling bath salts, first measure 1/2 cup of Epsom salt into each jar with a lid.

2. Add 15 drops of food color to each jar, one color per jar and put on the lids. Shake the jars until the Epsom salts are dyed evenly.

3.If you want your colors to be darker, add more food color and shake again. Take off the lids and let the salts dry overnight.

4. Now, make sure your pretty jar is all clean and dry. Then pour the dyed bath salts into the jar, alternating colors (you may want to get colors that go together well).

5. Add a couple of drops of perfume to the bath salts, put on the lid and tie the jar with your pretty ribbon.

Homemade Refrigerator Magnets.

Custom magnets are fun and easy to make. The local craft store (your new best friend when making gifts yourself) will have all the supplies you'll need: magnets, and clear or lightly colored flat circular glass stones. When you get the glass stones home step one is to customize them. You can do this by gluing a photo or scrap of pretty paper with fun designs on it to the flat side. With the stone customized and glue dried attach the magnet to the bottom. The persons most likely to enjoy these are grandparents (use photo of grandkids), tween or teen age girls (use photos of friends, hunky movie stars or funky designs).

Homemade Christmas Ornaments

There are about a bazillion ways to make a homemade ornament; one favorite is the popcorn glass ball. Buy a box of plain, clear glass tree ornaments. You an often find them at the dollar store during the holiday season. Take off the metal top, and fill the ball 1/3 full of popcorn. To pop the corn put it in the microwave on medium-high heat. Watch it carefully so it doesn't burn. Replace the top, add a red or green ribbon, and the results are pretty!

Another Christmas ornament idea that also starts with glass balls is the painted ball. These mimic those ultra fancy blown and spun glass balls. Again start with a clear glass ball, and remove the top. Next using crafters paint choose a few coordinating colors and add a few drops of the first color into the ball. Then spin or twirl the ball until the paint inside is thrown onto the sides and creates swirled patters. Let each color dry before adding the next color.

Simmering Potpourri

Supplies:

1 oz. can cinnamon sticks, broken into small pieces
1 (1.12 oz.) can whole cloves
1 (1.25 oz.) can whole allspice

Directions:

Combine all ingredients. Place 1 heaping teaspoon and 1/2 cup of water in simmer pot and heat.

You can also dry orange peels and add these to the mixture.

Bead and Pipe Cleaner Ornaments

Christmas ornaments made from ordinary pipe cleaners and inexpensive acrylic beads are very pretty and easy to make.

To make the bead and pipe cleaner ornaments, you need common pipe cleaners in desired colors and acrylic beads.

Two types of beads are particularly effective when strung on pipe cleaners. One type are called sunburst beads, but are also known as paddlewheel beads, snowflake beads, or starburst beads. These beads have six faceted paddles spaced equally around a center that contains the hole for stringing. When several of these sunburst beads are strung consecutively, they fit against each other in an interlocking pattern.

The other type of bead that is also effective for this Christmas craft is called the tri bead or propeller bead. It has three rounded bumps arranged around the stringing hole. Like the sunburst beads, the tri beads interlock when strung consecutively. For the most sparkly and attractive Christmas ornaments, get tri beads and/or sunburst beads in translucent colors of red, green, and clear. The tri-beads can also be found in metallic gold and silver which can be used in this Christmas craft as well.

Pipe cleaners can be found in silver and gold tinsel as well as chenille of all colors. For the Christmas craft, the best colors to use are the metallics and Christmas colors. The beads cover the pipe cleaners, but the ends will need to be twisted together and made into hangers, so they show.

Anyone, even small children, can string these beads on pipe cleaners. Bend up the end of the pipe cleaner so the beads don't fall off. The pipe cleaner works like a needle, making a needle unnecessary. For best results, show the children how to alternate colors when stringing, or start a pattern of three colors.

When the beads are strung on the pipe cleaners, they can be bent into different Christmas shapes. For instance, string red and clear beads alternately, then bend down one end of the pipe cleaner for a candy cane shape. Or alternate red and green beads and form a circle for a wreath. Use red pipe cleaner to form a small bow to decorate the wreath. Form a hanger for the Christmas craft or simply slip the circle over a branch of the tree.

If you experiment with clear beads and silver pipe cleaners, you can make some beautiful snowflake or star ornaments. Snowflake designs can be twisted of silver pipe cleaner only, without the beads for a simple but pretty decoration.

Potholders from Scrap Fabrics

Directions:

First cut two 8-inch (21 cm.) squares of fabric to be the front and back of the potholder. Choose coordinating fabrics that match your kitchen for these pieces. To make it easier, you can make an 8-inch square pattern from a piece of cardboard to use as a pattern. Cut more 8-inch squares of any old fabric to stack for the filling.

You want the stack of fabric squares to be thick enough to protect you from a hot pot, but thin enough to be flexible and able to be sewn through.

Stack all layers so that the outer layers are facing to the outside and the filler layers are inside. You can put a couple of large straight pins through all layers to keep them together. Now sew right across the middle of the stack.

Sew across the middle again, perpendicular to the first stitching. You will have divided the square into 4 squares. Sew across the stack again from corner to corner, and again from the other corner to corner. The layers should be joined and sturdy now.

To bind off the raw edges of your creative handicraft, trim with scissors so that all the layers are again even at the edges. Open out one folded edge of the bias tape. The wider bias tape might seem to be easier to use, but the narrow type makes a neater finished product.

Starting at one corner, line up the edges of the tape with the edges of the potholder, and start stitching through all layers along the first fold line, which will be about 1/4 inch from the edge. Stitch neatly and slowly, attaching the opened tape all around the edge until you reach the beginning corner. Cut the bias tape off, leaving 3 inches, (7 cm.) to make into a hanging loop.

Fold the bias tape over the raw edge so that the middle fold lines up with the outside of the potholder and the other fold is hiding the raw edge of the bias tape. Now, for best results, hand sew the binding down, forming a loop on your creative handicraft when you get to the end.

Homemade Christmas gifts allow you to give a bit of yourself with your gift. Your recipients will love them, and you for putting the extra thought into their gift.