Part 4 of this ongoing list of inexpensive, handmade holiday gift ideas comprises two categories: 1) stationery, albums & calendars and 2) jewelry & personal accessories. Those two crafting categories are probably the most popular on the web, so I had a ton to choose from. These are some of my favorites. Click here for Part 3. On Friday: Themed gift sets.

Handmade stationery, albums & calendars

amazon.com

57. Make a personalized set of note cards or stationery. Tie them with ribbon and place in a classy box or tin. Include coordinating address labels, envelopes, and a fancy pen. Inspirational books: 1,000 Handmade Greetings: Creative Cards & Clever Correspondence
Handmade Greeting Cards for Special Occasions

58. Order a custom rubber stamp. Design it yourself to reflect the person’s hobby, profession, or interest. Or use a piece of free clip art (just Google “free clip art”). Or you can personalize a ready-made stamp with a name or address.
Custom rubber stamp
Ready-made stamps

homebysunset.com | Rob D. Brodman

59. Design a family calendar marked with important dates, such as birthdays, anniversaries, and family gatherings. Decorate the calendar with family photos.
DIY vintage photo calendar
Custom printed calendars

60. Make perpetual calendar that can be reused every year—either to hang on the wall or sit on a desk.
Juice-can lids calendar
Photo wall calendar
Perpetual desk calendar

61. Make your own mini photo album or scrapbook—either bound like a book or folded accordion style.
Mini bound books
Mini accordion books

howaboutorange.blogspot.com

62. Make a set of handmade bookmarks. Design them on your computer and print them on card stock, or make them with craft paper, ribbon, crochet, cross-stitch, or embroidery. Bookmark ideas
More handmade bookmark ideas

63. Put together a photo album, scrap book, or framed collage containing pictures and mementos. Or have your photos professionally bound in a book.
Make an album out of a binder
Shutterfly photo books
Kodak Gallery photo books

64. For a creative writer, a notebook for recording thoughts, poems, etc., is always a treasure. Bind your own journal or customize a store-bought diary.
Decoupage a composition book
Make your own moleskin-like notebook

Handmade jewelry & personal accessories

craftynest.com

65. Make a fabric flower pin.
Fabric flower tutorials
Felt dahlia brooch
Flower with covered button
Flower with melted edges

66. Make a crochet flower pin.
Video: Crochet instructions for beginners
Free crochet flower patterns

67. Make a wallet out of duct tape, leather, fabric, mailing envelopes, or paper—nearly any material you want.
Duct tape wallet
Quilted wallet
Mailing envelope wallet
Paper wallet

cicadadaydream.blogspot.com

68. Make a tote bag for shopping or trips to the beach. Or buy pre-made canvas totes and customize them with fabric paint, ribbon, buttons, etc.
Fat quarter tote bag
Rice bag tote
Recycled t-shirt tote bag
Tank top tote
Suesse Sac bag
Decorated canvas totes
Martha Stewart’s tote bags
More tutorials for bags, pouches, and purses

69. Make a colorful belt out of a sash, ribbon, or webbing.
Grosgrain ribbon belt
Webbing belt
Four more belts

curbly.com

70. Make a no-sew, no-knit scarf using fleece or bulky-weight yarn.
Hand-printed fleece scarf
No-knit scarf from Martha Stewart
Easy fringe fleece scarf

71. Bead a necklace, bracelet, or earrings. Buy beads at bead stores or craft stores or make your own paper beads.
How to make paper beads
Supplies, lessons & projects: Beadage
Projects from DIY Network
Supplies: Fire Mountain Gems
Supplies: Artbeads

72. Knit a hat, socks, or scarf. If you’re new to knitting, start with a simple scarf. Free knitting patterns for hats
Video: How to knit

purlbee.com

73. Make a woven bracelet out of parachute cord, yarn, beads, or embroidery floss.
Paracord bracelet
Crochet bracelet
Crochet beaded bracelet

74. Make a woven or stitched necklace or bracelet out of buttons. 
Button bracelet
Stretchy button bracelet
Button necklace from Craftlog
Button necklace from Creative Kismet

75. Make resin jewelry using pendant trays, ring/bracelet blanks, or molds.
Resin pendant supply list and tutorial
Resin trays and blanks

hideousdreadfulstinky.blogspot.com

76. Sew accessories out of fabric yo-yos, such as yo-yo headbands, yo-yo brooches, or yo-yo hairpins and clips. Or decorate a tote bag, purse, hat, belt, scarf, or shoes with yo-yos. Or make a necklace, bracelet, or ring out of them. Yo-yos are so fun and easy, you’ll get addicted to making them.
Yo-yo headbands & pins tutorial
More instructions and ideas (pdf)
Yo-yo necklace tutorial
How to make a fabric yo-yo bracelet
More yo-yo projects

Anyone who knows me, knows cooking is not my specialty. That’s why I’m not one of those bloggers who takes a picture of whatever masterpiece she made for dinner and shares the recipe. I can, however, bake quite well. Maybe it’s because I’m good at following the directions in a recipe. Anyway, food of (almost) any kind makes great gifts. Here’s a sampling of ideas. Click here for Part 2. On Wednesday: Stationery/albums/calendars and jewelry/personal accessories.

Part 3: From the kitchen

myrecipes.com | Howard L. Puckett

39. Bake small loaves of quick breads. Wrap them in wax paper and tie on a recipe card with baker’s twine.
Five quick bread recipes

40. Fill a basket or gift box with homemade candies or cookies.
Homemade candy recipes
Book: Cookies

41. Whip up several batches of homemade fudge—some with nuts, some without. Cut it into squares. Wrap first in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil to maintain freshness. Place in holiday tins. Creamy chocolate fudge recipe

42. Go Tex-Mex with jars of homemade salsa and a large bag of nacho chips all bundled up in a fiesta serving dish. Feliz Navidad. Chipotle salsa recipe

marksdailyapple.com

43. Select a cookbook and choose a recipe from the book. Attach a card to the front that includes the recipe name and page number. Place the cookbook and ingredients for the recipe in a basket.
Suggested book: The Primal Blueprint Cookbook

44. Make homemade sugar cookies. Decorate them with colored frosting and sprinkles. Include the recipe and cookie cutter with the gift.
Seven sugar cookie recipes

45. Prepare homemade soups or dinners that can be frozen for future use.
Homemade soup recipes

myrecipes.com | Randy Mayor; Melanie J. Clarke

46. Bake your finest pound cake, bundt cake, etc. Wrap and place it in a decorative tin.
Orange-pecan-spice pound cake recipe
Sour-cream-hazelnut bundt cake recipe

47. Select a large tart dish, fill it with the number of apples called for in an apple tart recipe along with the other ingredients and a recipe card. Or make the tart yourself.
Tarte aux pommes (apple tart) recipe

48. Fill jars in various shapes and sizes with homemade pickled vegetables, fruits, jams, and jellies. Tie squares of holiday fabric with ribbon around the lids. Canning guide and recipes

myrecipes.com | Randy Mayor; Cindy Barr

49. Make your own fortune cookies. Write the fortunes yourself, tailor-made to the person receiving them. Package them in Chinese food take-out boxes. Wrap the cookies in plastic wrap first to maintain freshness. Fortune cookie recipe

50. Give a jar gift. Layer dry ingredients for brownies, cookies, cakes, soups, cornbread, etc. in a quart-size canning jar. Decorate and attach instructions.
Eight homemade gifts in a jar recipes
Soup mixes
More jar recipes
Even more jar recipes

51. Bake a carrot cake directly in a Christmas tin. It’s one of my aunt’s specialties. Carrot cake recipe

craftynest.com

52. Put together a book of favorite family recipes. Create your own binder or book or submit the recipes to a professional cookbook printing service.
Cookbook printers: Tastebook, Create My Cookbook, Morris Press Cookbooks

53. Make large gingerbread men and women cookies. Decorate them with frosting and candies. Package a gingerbread man and a woman together with a little note that says “‘We wish you a Merry Christmas.”
Large gingerbread man cookie cutter
Large gingerbread woman cookie cutter

sunset.com | David Prince

54. Give cocoa in a jar. Layer the ingredients for an attractive presentation. Or try my mother’s not-so-attractive-but-yummy hot chocolate recipe: In a large bowl, mix together 1 lb. Nestle Quick powder, 11 oz. instant creamer (dry), 1 lb. powdered sugar, and 25 oz. box of instant milk.
Four cocoa in a jar recipes

55. Make flavored vinegars, which add zest to salads, soups, sauces, and stews. Give a food lover different flavors with edible flowers, fruits, or vegetables floating in the bottles. Flavored vinegar tips and recipes

56. Create a menu of various culinary delights (e.g. Tantalizing Thai, Mexican Fiesta, etc.) and have the gift recipient choose one of the options for you to make for him or her.
Thai recipes
Mexican recipes

Handmade Christmas-themed gifts often double as decorations, so you might want to give these gifts early so they can be properly enjoyed during the holiday season. Or maybe the gift is making some of these together with family or friends. Either way, these crafts get in you in the holiday spirit, and they’re fun to make. Click here for Part 1. On Monday: From the kitchen.

Part 2: Christmas-themed crafts

womansday.com | Eric Roth

28. Make a felt Christmas stocking. Stuff it with a bottle of wine, sparkling apple cider, homemade salad dressing, etc. Personalize the stocking to fit the personality of the receiver. You can also make a stocking out of a dish towel.
Stocking template and instructions
Salad dressing recipes

29. Knit a Christmas stocking.
Book: Christmas Stockings: Holiday Treasures to Knit

30. Make holiday-scented potpourri. Mix together cinnamon sticks, dried orange peel, whole cloves, evergreen clippings, and dried lemon peel. Half fill cellophane florists’ bags and tie with ribbon. Yule Simmering Potpourri recipe (scroll down)

crochet4you1.tripod.com

31. Cross-stitch a holiday ornament. Draw your own design on mini graph paper. Stitch. Frame in a small embroidery loop and add a ribbon for hanging.
Patterns for the ornaments shown
Free easy Christmas cross-stitch patterns
Argyle applique ornament instructions

32. Decorate a small Christmas tree with homemade ornaments, miniature toys, cookies, or potpourri bags for a shut-in friend who can’t take care of decorations this year.
Homemade ornaments and instructions
Beaded snowflake ornaments
More Christmas ornaments

krylon.com

33. Make tree ornaments out of old CDs. Glue two CDs back-to-back with a 5-inch loop of ribbon (for hanging) sandwiched in between. Decorate with paint, photos, felt, beads, buttons, faux jewels, ribbons, stickers, etc.
Beaded CD ornament instructions

34. Make snow globes. You’ll need jars, such as olive, jelly, or baby food jars, plus little figurines, clear-drying epoxy, distilled water, tarnish-resistant glitter, glycerin, rubbing alcohol, and oil-based enamel paints.
Snow globe instructions
Snow globe examples and inspiration

Country Home magazine

35. Make an advent tree. Tie numbered cards and candies on a small potted tree like the one shown from Country Home magazine. Or make one out of craft sticks and paper boxes.
Popsicle stick advent tree
Manzanita advent tree

36. Make origami ornaments. Tie or glue a ribbon at the top for hanging. Place the ornaments in a holiday box or basket.
Paper cranes, boxes, spike balls,
santas, trees, reindeer, bells

37. Here are more 3D paper ornaments. Coordinate the colors to create a set of ornaments to fill a whole tree.
Wreaths, flower balls, snowflakes, quilled snowflakes,
Other paper ornaments, more paper ornaments

haphazardhomestead.blogspot.com

38. Make a wreath out of greenery, jingle bells, ribbon, pine cones, corks, ball ornaments, fabric, felt, flowers, or paper—or all of the above.
Instructions for a greenery wreath
Ribbon wreath
Another ribbon wreath
Recycled cork wreath
Ball ornament wreath
Felt wreath
Jingle bells wreath
Paper wreath
Origami wreath

Why Christmas when we’re in the throes of summer? I know. I worked six years in retail. In my experience, nothing incited people’s groans more than Christmas being stocked on the shelves in August. However, I think this a worthy exception. After all, if you’re going to have a handmade Christmas, you can’t very likely undertake the proposition in December, now can you?

I’m excited to share this prodigious list of Christmas gift ideas that I compiled years ago. I forgot that I had it, but Tracie reminded me when she asked for inexpensive handmade gift ideas that I might have come across in my search for camp crafts.

This is the first of seven parts (plus a bonus) that I will post over the next few weeks (MWF). Keep in mind I culled most of these ideas from the internet years ago, but I added ideas I found recently plus a few of my own. I hope these ideas will inspire you to create your own unique gifts. I can’t wait to see what you come up with! On Friday: Christmas-themed crafts.

Part 1: Home & garden crafts

curbly.com

1. Make a set of tile coasters using 4-inch ceramic tiles. Paint a simple design or decoupage napkins, paper or photos onto them. Glue felt on the back to protect surfaces from scratches. Then tie them with a holiday ribbon.
Tile coaster instructions

2. More coasters to try using recycled magazines, buttons, or fabric:
Woven magazine coasters
Woven button coasters
Quilted fabric coasters

3. Personalize a picture frame. Choose a plain picture frame and decorate it with polymer clay, acrylic paints, seashells, beads, ribbon, etc.
Paulownia wood picture frame

marthastewart.com

4. Make a set of inexpensive cloth napkins into a special gift by adding a personal touch. Add a monogram to each one with cross-stitch, embroidery, needlepoint, or embellish with buttons, appliques, or stencils. Include a set of handmade napkin rings.
Fruity button embroidery napkins
Recycled fabric napkin rings

5. Storage boxes are decorative and useful. Get several different sizes from a craft, office, or stationery store and decorate them with paints or decoupaged paper. Stack the boxes inside each other. Stacking storage boxes

source unknown

6. Make bird seed balls with seeds, suet, peanut butter, Christmas tree hooks, and leftover ribbons.
Peanut butter birdseed ball recipe
Suet snack recipe

7. Make a mosaic tea-light holder or decorate a box, dish, pot, or frame with mosaic tiles. For outdoor projects, try a mosaic stepping stone or bird bath.
Mosaic instructions
Mosaic stepping stones
Mosaic birdbath

8. Make a mosaic address plaque/house marker or individual house numbers. The house marker can be mounted to the house or to a stand in the yard.
Mosaic house number
Mosaic house number plaque
Inspiration from Pear Tree Mosaics

charliescraftroom.com

9. Paint an empty wine bottle with non-toxic paint and fill with olive oil. Top with an oil pour spout that can be found at a gourmet cooking shop.
Turn a wine bottle into an oil bottle
Van Gogh on a wine bottle

10. Frame a piece of your own artwork.
How to frame your own art

11. Create and frame your own family tree photo collage.
Handmade family tree collage

12. Make a soothing herb pillow filled with flaxseed or buckwheat or a heat-therapy bag.
How to make an herbal pillow
Rice heat-therapy bag

marthastewart.com

13. Make a candle in a vintage teacup. Scour garage sales for cheap but interesting tea cups. Start with a wick, melted old candle ends, and a little scented oil, such as lemongrass or grapefruit.
How to make teacup lights

14. Make seashell candles. Fill sea shells with melted wax and a short wick, then let cool. A variety of shells big or small make cute bath lights.
How to make seashell candles

15. Make floating candles. Include a wide bowl and instructions to float the candles in water with the recipient’s favorite blossoms.
How to make floating candles

save-on-crafts.com

16. Make no-sew lavender sachets. Purchase dried lavender buds, fine tulle or other thin fabric, and 1/8-inch satin ribbon. Cut the tulle into saucer-size circles. Place two or three tablespoons of lavender in each circle. Gather sides and tie tightly with the ribbon. Place several of these in a holiday box.
Dried lavender buds
How to make sewn lavender sachets

17. Make a small indoor water fountain kit. The main ingredient is an inexpensive pump. Get a bowl or dish to hold it and some decorative rocks. Include directions or a diagram.
How to build tabletop fountains

notmartha.org

18. Create a set of magnets out of bottle caps, marbles, or just about anything.
Bottlecap magnets
Marble magnets

19. Make a clothesline coil basket. All you need is a sewing machine, length of cotton clothesline, and some colorful fabric. Or try weaving a basket out of recycled paper.
Clothesline coil basket
Woven map basket

20. Make handmade soaps and package them with a soap dish, loofah, or natural sponge.
Tips and recipes at soapmakingsecret.com
More tutorials and recipes at teachsoap.com
Japanese-motif soaps at marthastewart.com

ohdeedoh.com

21. Make silhouettes out of fabric or cut paper, then frame them as gifts.
How to make paper silhouettes
Hat silhouettes
Silhouettes in under 30 minutes
Stitched silhouettes

22. Make a pencil/pen caddy for someone’s office. Make it our of wood, a glass jar, tin can, etc.
Salvaged wood pencil & pen caddy
Perpetual calendar pencil holder

23. Make cookie-cutter candles. Package them with cookies make with the same cookie cutter, then tie the cookie cutter onto the outside of the package. How to make cookie-cutter candles

threadbanger.com

24. Make a sunburst/starburst mirror using lazy susans, plant markers, Woodsies, cereal boxes, paper, or bamboo skewers.
Starburst mirror with plant markers
Cereal box sunburst mirror
Lazy susan sunburst mirror
Starburst mirror with skewers
Sunburst mirror with magazine scraps

25. Create a trivet, bulletin board, or bath mat out of recycled wine corks.
Wine cork trivet
Wine cork bath mat

26. Hand paint a flower pot and plant holiday blooms such as amaryllis, paper whites, poinsettias and English ivy.
Hand-painted chalkboard flower pot

rhodeislandaltars.com

27. Holiday centerpieces and topiaries add so much to the season. Make your own topiary using 18-gauge wire and needle-nose pliers. Shape the wire into a star, snowman, tree, heart, or a circle. Place it in a pot planted with ivy or another climbing plant. Separate the runners and wrap them around the wire.
Simple ivy topiary
Boxwood Globe topiary
Round topiary
Topiary trees and centerpieces
More topiaries

These yo-yo headbands, brooches, and hairpins were the sixth and final camp craft I had planned. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time for them at girls camp last June, so we’re saving the supplies for next year. In these samples, I hand-stitched them to a stretchy headband, pin backs, and a bobby pin. The brooches look great pinned on a scarf or hat, and the headbands are cute alone or in multiples.

After you make a few yo-yos, I’m sure you won’t want to limit yourself to just these accessories. Try sewing them onto a tote bag, purse, hat, belt, scarf, or shoes. Or a sweater, t-shirt, tank top, or socks. Or sew them onto pillows, pillow cases, towels, quilts—you get the idea. I just made small yo-yos for these projects, but you can make them any size you want. Have fun!

Special thanks to all my friends who spent hours cutting circles with me. We had fun chatting and working together. Don’t worry, ladies, our work will pay off next year!

Yo-yo headbands, brooches, and hairpins

Supplies and tools

• fabric
• buttons
• scissors
• needle & thread
• pin backs—available at Michael’s
• bobby pins
• headbands—I used Goody Stayput headbands from Walmart
• pencil, pen, or erasable fabric marker
• cups, bowls, etc. as circle templates

1. Trace your circle template onto clean, ironed fabric with a pen or pencil. Cut out the circle. If you are cutting many circles (like we did), use thinner fabric and fold it so you can cut 2-4 circles at a time.

2. Tie a knot at the end of your thread. Fold over the fabric about 1/4 inch as you sew around the outside edge, spacing the stitches about 1/4 inch apart. Sew all the way around. Don’t knot it at the end. (As you can see, I’m not a yo-yo pro, but you and I will get better with practice.)

3. Pull the thread tight like a drawstring pouch.

4. Flatten the yo-yo and sew on a button. Sew through the fabric and button 4-6 times. If you prefer to go buttonless, tie off your thread by hiding a knot between the pleats. Don’t cut the thread yet.

5. Run your needle through the center of the yo-yo and out the back.

6. Sew the yo-yo to a pin back or bobby pin by stitching around the pin several times on each side. Finally tie off the thread by sewing back through your previous stitches and through the loop a couple times. Cut your thread. If you’re attaching just one yo-yo, sew it in the center (as shown). If you plan to sew on multiple yo-yos, stitch closer to the edge of the yo-yo.

7. For a two-yo-yo pin, make another yo-yo and stitch it to the pin next the the first. When sewing to a headband, keep the yo-yos evenly spaced and overlap them as much as possible to anticipate the stretch when you put the headband on.

8. This is a finished 2-yo-yo pin. This pin back could also accommodate a third yo-yo, if you wish.

These resin pendant necklaces are the final craft that we made at girls camp last June. (I planned one more craft that we didn’t have time for in the end: yo yo headbands and pins. I’ll share that craft next week.) They were inspired by bethtastic’s amazing photo necklaces. We chose something from nature or created a scrapbook-paper design to embed in the resin. The girls embedded blossoms, leaves, twigs, bugs, and spiders. One girl even put the tick that had been removed from her body in her pendant. And some girls embedded their .22 shells saved from shooting at the camp rifle range.

Although the girls loved the pendants, I wouldn’t recommend this as a camp craft. Four reasons: 1) The process is quite involved and doesn’t lend itself to group participation, 2) It requires some special tools, 3) Cold weather delayed the typical 24-hour cure time, and 4) The end result was unpredictable. Almost everything from nature floated out of place and changed color (usually yellow or brown), some more dramatically than others. It became a science experiment to see how each pendant would turn out.

A special thank you to my lovely and talented sister-in-law, Devon, who single-handedly taught the girls how to wrap the wire (or did it for them) and attach their ribbons and cords.

Resin pendant necklaces

Supplies

• Easy Cast Clear Casting Epoxy
• mold release/conditioner
• rubbing alcohol (for cleanup)
• four Popsicle/craft sticks
• disposable gloves (available at Walmart or The Home Depot)
• disposable plastic cups (not waxed paper cups!)
• wax paper (to protect your work surface)
• clear condiment squeeze bottles (available at Walmart)
• 24-gauge beading wire
• ribbon, chain, or cording (in the photo: 5mm silk organza ribbon)
• necklace findings
• items from nature or scrapbooking paper
• paper towels

Tools

• Dremel 300 rotary tool
• Dremel Rotary Tool Work Station
• Dremel 3/32-inch drill bit
• Dremel 3/32-inch collet
• resin jewelry molds
• two 10oz. graduated mixing cups
• crock pot (or saucepan on the stove)
• timer (or watch with second hand)
• beading pliers and wire cutters
• tweezers
• sanding block (to smooth out the edges on the back of the pendants)
• some sort of cover to keep the dust off while curing overnight

Because I learned how to do this on YouTube, I thought it best to share those videos with you instead of doing a step-by-step tutorial myself. (Not to mention save myself a lot of work!) These are the best resin jewelry videos that I found. Enjoy!

With pendant plates (3 parts)

With resin molds (4 parts)

Drilling resin

All you scrapbook fanatics are going to love these. The girls at camp took this idea and ran with it. I wish I had photos of all their great plaques. These subway tile nameplates to stick on your bedroom door were inspired by a reader, Josie, who asked me for suggestions for what to do with some leftover white tiles that were given to her. I thought of the ceramic nameplate that I’ve had since I was a child, and decided white subway tiles would make excellent nameplates. We decoupaged scrapbook paper and added stickers, rhinestones, ribbon, etc., but you can use whatever artist’s medium your heart desires. Paint? Glitter? Knock yourself out.

Subway tile door name plates

Supplies and tools

• white subway tile (26 cents each at The Home Depot)
• alphabet stickers (I used leftover stickers from my advent calendar project)
• other stickers, chipboard letters, rhinestones, etc.
• paint, markers, glitter, etc. (optional)
• variety of scrapbook paper
• Mod Podge or other decoupage glue
• scissors
• 1/4-inch-wide ribbon
• hot glue gun and hot glue sticks
• four Scotch foam mounting squares
• paint brush and disposable plate/cup
• wax paper

1. Choose your design using cut paper, stickers, etc. I bought white alphabet stickers and colored the letters I needed with a black Sharpie.

Tip: Lay out your alphabet stickers on wax paper first so you can visualize your design (and ensure that your name will fit on the tile).

2. Protect your surface with wax paper. Apply glue to the front of the tile. Adhere your background piece, smoothing out bubbles immediately. Then paint glue onto the back of the smaller pieces of paper and stick them onto the tile. Let dry about 30 minutes.

Tip: To wrap the paper around the edges of the tile, cut a piece of paper about 7×4 inches, place the tile in the center, then cut out a notch from each corner. Or print this template onto the back of your paper and cut/fold where labeled.

Glue the front of the tile first, adhere the paper, then apply glue to the sides. Tuck in the tabs and fold over the edges.

3. Add stickers, etc. Apply top coat(s) of glue. Let dry about 10 minutes after each coat.

4. Sick on rhinestones or other decorations. Hot glue ribbon around the outside edge of the tile, if desired.

5. Stick one foam mounting square at each corner on the back. Then peel off the backing, and stick it on your bedroom door.

I anticipated that this these pillows might not be as well-liked as the other camp crafts because hand stitching is rather time consuming. Surprisingly, these fleece alphabet pillows were very popular at girls camp.

I got the idea from a book titled 101 Crafts Under $10 from the editors at Butterick. Their craft is called “Felt name pillows.” The Butterick editors ironed the rest of the name in smaller letters onto the pillow, which I loved but decided was too difficult for camp purposes. We used fleece instead of felt because it’s softer and cheaper.

The hardest part (for me) was drawing and cutting out each letter of the alphabet in cardboard for the girls to trace onto the fleece, but you won’t have to make the whole alphabet.

Mostly everyone made a pillow out of their first initial, but I thought it would be cute to make “X” and “O” (kiss and hug) pillows. I used red embroidery floss on the “X” and charcoal floss on the “O” so they coordinate.

Fleece alphabet pillows

Supplies and tools

• two 16-inch square pieces of fleece (found at Walmart and JoAnn)
• embroidery floss
• embroidery needle—we liked these best: Singer’s large eye hand needles
• 16-inch square piece of thin cardboard
• pencil & ruler
• fine point marker or erasable fabric pen
• paper scissors
• fabric scissors
• polyester fiberfill

1. Draw your letter onto the cardboard. Cut it out. For best results, make the letter as fat as possible and round the corners so they aren’t as pointy as my “X” pillow. Two alternatives to freehand drawing your patterns: 1) Print out your letter in Gill Sans Ultra Bold, Lithos Pro Black, or Insolent font and enlarge to 16 inches tall, or 2) Try McCall’s pattern #3274 (minus the seam allowance).

2. Trace the pattern onto one piece of felt.

3. Cut out both pieces at the same time. If you used a permanent marker, cut just inside the line, so the ink will be cut away.

4. Line up the edges of the two fleece pieces. Thread your needle with a long piece embroidery floss, using all six strands. Tie a knot in the end.

5. Blanket stitch all around the letter, stuffing the pillow with fiberfill as you go. Alice at futuregirl craft blog has an excellent tutorial on how to sew felt (or fleece) using the blanket stitch. Follow her instructions here. For letters such as A, B, etc., blanket stitch around the opening(s) in the letter first, then around the outside.

4. You’re done!

These paracord bracelets were a hit at girls camp. As you can see, even some of the male camp leaders joined in. I got the idea from Stormdrane at Instructables.com. His tutorial is excellent, but although the site pictures two-color bracelets, he doesn’t explain how to make a two-color bracelet. I wanted to keep it simple for camp anyway, so we made one-color bracelets. However, a few innovative girls at camp figured out one way to make them, so I’m passing the info on to you. I also improved upon the final step to better prevent the bracelet from unraveling. This bracelet takes about 45 minutes to make.

By the way, paracord bracelets are also known as survival bracelets. They’re a convenient way for soldiers and hikers to always have eight feet of 550 parachute cord (which easily supports many times one’s own body weight) literally on hand. Check out Stormdrane’s Blog for more amazing paracord projects. I’m planning to make the adjustable paracord watch band myself.

Paracord bracelets

Supplies and tools

• 550 parachute cord from Supply Captain
• 1/2-inch curved side-release buckles from Creative Designworks
• lighter (I used $1 barbecue lighters from Walmart)
• ruler, yardstick, or tape measure
• sharp scissors
• needle and thread

1. Start with Stormdrane’s step 2: Measure wrist. Skip step 1 because his measurement is off. He says to use about 1 foot of cord for every 1 inch of bracelet length, which I discovered is not enough. Add one more foot to that. So, if your wrist is 7 inches, then you’ll need 8 feet of cord. And because we are making a two-color bracelet, you’ll need half of that in each color.

2. Assuming your wrist is 7 inches, measure and cut two 4-foot pieces of parachute cord.

3. Burn the ends with a lighter to keep the cord from unraveling. Don’t burn it so much that you get a big blob of plastic because it won’t fit through the buckle. Just burn it enough to keep the inner strands in place.

4. Overlap the end of each color about 1/4 inch and hand stitch several times to secure. Tie it off as you normally would by stitching through the loop of thread a couple times. Trim the thread.

5. Continue on to step 3. For two colors, pull the end of each color up through back of the buckle.

6. Pull the loop tight and place the seam at the back against the buckle.

7. Continue with step 4: Finding the bracelet length. Stormdrane recommends that you add an inch to your wrist length, which makes for a snug fit. I prefer to add 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 inches to avoid the buckle pinching my skin when I put it on. Continue with step 5 and step 6. When you reach the end, it will look like this.

8. In step 7, Stormdrane says to either cut the ends and melt them or tuck/pull the ends under the last couple of knots. I prefer to do both. Start by loosening the very first loop you made, then tuck both ends through the top and out the back. Pull tight.

9. This is what it will look like from the front.

10. Flip it over to the back. Loosen the next closest stitch, then tuck both ends under it. Pull tight.

11. Bend the bracelet back, and trim the ends close to the loop they’re tucked under.

12. Burn the ends to keep them from raveling. It’s ok if you melt them to the loop next to them a little. They will be that much more secure.

13. The back will look like this.

14. The finished bracelet, from the front.

After volunteering for girls camp, I needed a couple weeks to recover. Now I’m back. I planned to take lots of photos at camp, but instead I ended up spending every moment teaching the girls how to make duct tape wallets. By the end of the week, I was seriously sick of duct tape wallets. But the girls loved them, so it was worth it. A friend sent me these photos that she took at camp. (That’s me in the gray sweatshirt in the first photo.)

Because of the green tarp roof on the makeshift quonset hut that we called The Craft Shack, everything looked green tinted. It reminded me of the Mr. Big song “Green Tinted Sixties Mind.” Admit it, you know you loved Mr. Big. :)

Anyway, duct tape wallets are certainly not a new thing, and I probably don’t need to tell most of you how to make one. But when I was searching for instructions online, I couldn’t find one easy-to-follow tutorial for a simple duct tape wallet. Plus, friends have asked me for the instructions for my wallet design. Though I developed this pattern myself, I’m told it’s not exactly original, but here it is. This wallet takes about 45 minutes to make.

Duct tape wallets

Supplies and tools

• duct tape (Walmart and Michaels have a great selection of Duck brand duct tape. Urban Outfitters also sells designer duct tape)
• craft knife (X-Acto or other utility knife. We used these mini cutters)
• self-healing cutting mat or other cutting surface (we used sheets of Plexiglass from my salvaged window project)
• credit card/driver’s license
• 3- by 4-inch piece of clear plastic for ID window (I cut up a roll of clear plastic I had on hand)
• 12-inch ruler with metal edge

Main fabric:

1. Tear off four pieces of tape that are at least 9 inches long. (Don’t use scissors. Don’t use your knife. Rip it!) Place them sticky-side-up on your cutting surface. Stick them to each other (front-to-back), overlapping about 1/2 inch.

2. Tear off four more pieces the same length. Starting about 1/2 inch from the top, adhere one piece at a time (back-to-back). The last piece should overlap about 1/2 inch. (The reason you start 1/2-inch down is to stagger the thicker parts of the duct tape “fabric” you’re making. If you don’t, some parts of the fabric will be four layers thick, which is difficult to fold.)

3. Fold over the top and bottom edges. Your fabric should now be about 6 inches tall.

4. Using your ruler and knife, cut a clean edge on the left side. Always use your ruler when cutting with your knife.

5. Then measure 8-1/2 inches and trim the other edge. Set aside.

Credit card pockets:

6. Tear off two pieces of tape about 5 inches long. Overlap them the same as step 1.

7. Tear off two more 5-inch pieces and adhere the same as step 2.

8. Fold over the top and bottom edges the same as step 3. This large pocket should be about 3 inches tall.

9. Using your ruler and knife, cut a clean edge on the left side.

10. Then measure 4 inches and trim the other edge. Set aside.

11. Tear off two pieces that are about 9 inches long. Stick them directly back-to-back.

12. Cut this double-sided piece into two 4-inch long pieces. These are your smaller pockets.

13. Tear off a 5-inch piece of tape. Rip it lengthwise down the middle. (Yes, I said rip it. Fast. You can do it. Don’t worry if it’s not exactly down the middle.)

14. Use two of the ripped pieces to make a top border on each of the small pockets. Tape the top edge, then fold over. Trim the excess.

15. Tear off a 4-inch piece of tape. Rip it lengthwise down the middle.

16. Stack the pockets on top of each other. Stagger the height of the two smaller ones evenly.

17. Place a credit card on top of the stacked pockets to make sure you leave enough space for your cards. Using one of your ripped pieces, tape the left side of your pockets right up to the edge of the credit card. Fold it over to the back side and trim the excess with your ruler and knife. Do not tape the right side yet.

ID window:

18. Use another ripped piece to tape the right edge of your window. Fold it over and trim the excess. Do not tape any other edge yet. Set aside.

Final assembly:

19. Fold your main fabric in half lengthwise. Make sure the height of your pockets, window, and wallet are all the same height (3 inches). If not, trim them as necessary.

20. Unfold the main fabric. Place the window and pockets in opposite upper corners of your main fabric. Rip a 9-inch piece of tape lengthwise. Option 1: Use one piece to tape the top edge all the way across. Or option 2: Using your knife and ruler, cut one of the pieces in half endwise. Tape the window down, lining up the cut edge with the right side of the window. Then tape the pockets down, lining up the cut edge with the left side of the pockets. Trim off the excess.

21. Tear off another 4-inch piece of tape. Rip it lengthwise down the middle.

22. Refold your main fabric. Place a credit card on top of the pockets. Using one of the ripped pieces, tape the right side of your wallet right up against the edge of your credit card. Fold it over the entire wallet. Trim the excess with your knife.

23. Tape the left edge (window side) of your wallet the same way. Trim the excess.

24. Following either option 1 or 2 in step 20, tape the bottom edge the same way. This piece will show on the outside of your wallet, so follow option 1 if you want a contrasting border. (You can cut out a notch on the inside, if you prefer.)

25. Fold your wallet in half endwise, then press it flat.

26. Add decoration with duct tape as desired. You’re done!