Christmas 2019: Jewelry Boxes

Every Christmas, I make a gift for my aunties (and some of the other women in my life). This year, I decided to make little jewelry boxes from bangle bracelets. (Idea here.)

Because I wanted to make so many of these, I actually purchased the bracelets in bulk from Etsy. I stained some of them, using a bit of leftover stain my dad was throwing away because it was old and chunky. The others I painted with gold acrylic paint. I think the stained ones look prettier. 

I made lids from Sculpey clay, and I had a blast designing all the different lids. These ones were my favorites:

The handles are just little balls of leftover clay. I left some of them unpainted, but the ones that were a real mish-mash of colors, I painted gold.

I also made discs of clay for the bottoms of the containers. Everything got sealed with Sculpey sealer. (I actually tried using a clear gloss spray sealant, but it started eating away at the clay. Yikes!)

Finally, I cut two discs of green felt for each box, one as a no-scratch pad on the bottom, and one inside the box to make it soft.

I'm really pleased with how these turned out. They took a lot of work, but were a fairly inexpensive craft overall.

Love and Glaze,

Leah Joy

Christmas 2019 Ornaments

Hey, look - I've finally caught up to the most recent Christmas!

I made both of our kids' ornaments this year. Jo is still a Daniel Tiger fan, so this year I improved on last year's design. I ordered a photo print (just from Meijer photo) of Daniel Tiger, then cut it out in a circle. I made a disc of Sculpey clay just slightly larger, poked a hole for a hanger, then baked it. I secured everything together with Mod Podge. Much cuter (and less creepy) than last year's!

Micah loves cars and trucks ("vroom vroom!"), so I embroidered him this adorable felt car.

For our en masse ornament this year, I got Jo involved. I put together Christmas tree bases with yarn, painted popsicle sticks, and wooden stars. Then, over several weeks, we would sit down with a bunch of fun craft supplies and she'd decorate the trees. I helped with some of the gluing, but everything got put right where she wanted. (With the exception of the one on the top right below - that one was my idea.)

Why, yes, my four-year-old does know the correct order for the rainbow - and will correct you if you say it wrong. :)

Love and Sequins,

Leah Joy

Christmas 2017 (cringe) Round-Up Part 2

Here are few more photos I've been hanging on to for far too long.

I made some marbled clay dishes with Sculpey clay. Once they were baked, I used gold acrylic paint to 'gild' the edges. I glazed them with Sculpey's satin glaze.

I also made these super-easy mountain range photo holders.

I tried my hand at water marbling, a notoriously temperamental craft. I made some little votive holders. They're okay; not my favorite craft I've ever done, certainly.

Finally, one of my favorite projects was this peace wreath. I got the pattern from Betz White. I ended up making six of these, five for gifts and one to keep. The original had little blue pom-poms all over it like berries - they looked super cute, but I couldn't find any pom-poms small enough, so I left them off. I also simplified the embroidery on the dove, adding just gold stars instead of the foliage.

I've got one more post from Christmas 2017, then I think I can finally get a little less behind.

Love and Sculpey,

Leah Joy