Crafts

GL's DIY Holiday Gifts!

 
Looking for affordable and awesome gifts to give for the holidays?
 
GL editors share their fave prezzies and how-tos on how to make them (featured in the D/J ’10 Editor’s Page). 

 
Jiae’s Snowmen Cupcakes
 

Materials:
Pre-made or homemade cupcakes Rice Krispie balls (in two diff sizes) White frosting Blue, red and yellow food coloring Coconut flakes Twizzlers (the stringy kind) Brown candy confetti sprinkles 2 Frosting cones or parchment paper

Instructions:
Snowmen: Take one small and one big Rice Krispie* ball and stick together with a toothpick (or glue together with icing). Cover body in white frosting. Roll frosted snowmen in coconut flakes. Lay snowmen down and use one frosting cone* filled with icing to glue eyes, mouth and buttons with candy confetti sprinkles. Take a teaspoon of white icing and add a drop of yellow and red food coloring to make orange. Place the orange icing in the second frosting cone. Squeeze a little nose on the face and pull up to make a tip. Lay completely flat till dry. Pull apart strips of Twizzler and wrap or tie around the snowmen’s neck to make a scarf.
 
Cupcakes: Add a couple drops of blue food coloring to make frosting blue. Ice cool downed cupcakes. Sprinkle a layer of coconut flakes. Plop snowman on top. 

*Instructions for making Rice Krispie treats are on the cereal box. Once made, cover your palms with butter and roll into two diff sized small balls.
 
*Roll a triangular piece of parchment paper into a cone to make a frosting cone. 
 
Katie’s Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix
 

Materials:
Clear containers Ribbon Fabric Labels or paper

Ingredients:
2 ½ cups powdered milk * ¾ cup sugar * ½ cup unsweetened cocoa * 1/8 tsp. salt

Optional: Mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, marshmallows

Instructions
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl. Portion into containers. Add about a ½ cup of chocolate chips (more or less if you want). Top off with marshmallows. Place fabric on top of the container and tie with ribbon (like a lid). Write instructions for mixing hot chocolate on labels or paper. I like to use about 3-4 tbs. of hot chocolate mix for 8oz. or water or milk. (Milk is the best!) Attach to ribbon or stick on container.
 
Meg’s 3-D Snowflakes

 
Materials:
5 sheets of perfectly square paper Scissors Glue gun Stapler

Instructions:
Fold paper to make a triangle. Fold the same triangle in half, so that it makes a smaller triangle. Cut a horizontal slit at the side of the triangle that doesn’t open. Make sure to leave about a centimeter of space at the end. Cut as many more slits across (spaced an inch apart from each other) that you can fit on the paper (should be about 5 or 6 cuts). Unfold the triangle. Grab the two points in the center and fold them in towards each other and staple. Then, grab the next 2 points and fold them in towards each other the opposite way. Staple. Keep folding and stapling all matching points together (remember to alternate front and back). This is one arm of your snowflake. Repeat instructions to make 5 more arms. Once all 6 arms are made, staple points together.
 
Katie A.’s Eco Friendly Gift Wrap


Materials:
Magazines A sheet of newspaper Glue Scissors Tape A present that needs to be wrapped

Instructions:
Carefully rip colorful pages of the magazines. Cut the pages lengthwise, creating 1-inch strips. Glue some of the strips together, until you have a few yards of “ribbon.” Let it dry. Wrap the present in the newspaper, using tape to keep it in place. When the ribbons are dry, wrap it around the present. Then, loop some magazine strips to create a bow, gluing them onto the box as you go. Cover the center of the bow with a circle of cute paper or a fake flower.

Cait’s Personalized Playlist
 

Materials:
Blank CD CD Jewel case Playlist of songs that remind you of the gift-getter Pictures Paper Markers (or type and print the playlist) Scissors Glue Sparkles, gems, buttons, etc.

Instructions:
Burn the tunes onto a blank CD. Label the “album” with the title of your choice. Type out or handwrite the list of songs that you used on your CD. Make it look really pro by adding track numbers, artists and song lengths. Cut track list to slip inside the back part of the CD case. If you can’t open the back, just glue the sheet. Measure a square of paper to match the size of the case. Glue pics to the square. Let dry. Then, glue square (with pics) to the front of the CD case. Decorate with album title and little trinkets—concert tix, shells, sparkles, gems, whatever.

Feeling ambitious? Create a booklet with cute messages about how much ya heart having the person in your life to slip inside the front of the CD case.

Trish’s Paper Bag Lanterns
 

Materials:
Brown paper bags Battery-operated tea lights Scissors

Instructions:
Fold the bag in half lengthwise and then fold again. Cut in designs (like how you make paper snowflakes). Open the bag and pour two scoops of sand or birdseed into the bottom. Grab a battery-operated tea light and place in the center of the bag (on the sand or birdseed). Line your driveway or walkway, place on your porch or window sill, wherever you would like glowing fun. 

BY JIAE K. ON 11/18/2009 1:18:00 PM 42 COMMENTS