~Useful~

~Juggling Balls~

Fill a small plastic bag with bird seed. Cut the end off a ballon. Stretch it around the bag of seeds. Cut the end of second balloon. Stretch it around the bag of seeds in opposite direction of first balloon.

~Candle Centerpiece~

Take tuna sized cans and fill them with colorful dried beans. Then put a candle in the middle and fill the can with white glue. It should take about 24 hours to set. Then tie a red ribbon around the base of the candle.

~Bird Feeders~

Make bird feeders with large pine cones spread with peanut butter and rolled in birdseed. Make sure you have the fishing line hanger on first.

~T-shirts~

Make your own T-shirts (or one for Father's Day) with puff paint and white t-shirts.

~Bath Salts~

Epsom salts
food coloring
fragrance (ex:scented oils)

Fill a baby food jar, label, and put a pretty covering on the jar lid. (e.g wrapping paper and ribbon)

~Minature Vases~

Paint 1 1/2" candle cups and stuff them with moss. Then insert blue and white baby's breath and attach a small bow to the front. The moss and baby's breath are also glued in case it gets tipped over.

~Bookmarks~

Cut two pieces of laminating film about 2 1/2" x 6". Then place a 3/4" ribbon down the middle so that it will come out of the bottom of the film. then sprinkle it with glitter confetti and stick the two pieces of laminating film together.

~Earrings~

Purchase strings of amber, rose quartz and clear quartz chips from a local lapidary. Also purchase gold plated hooks and pins. String the chips on the pins and using needle nose pliers, bend the pins onto the hooks. (for pierced ears)

~Brooches~

Cut pieces of thin cardboard into triangles and squares and painted them gold. Glue on colored macaroni and then sprinkled it with glitter. Glue a pin on the back.

~Note Holder~

Here's an easy caterpillar that can be used to hold notes to the refrigerator.

Glue small 1/2" pompoms to one flat side of a wooden clothes pin. Glue two eyes at the mouth of the clothes pin and glue a magnet to the other flat side.

~Gift Bags~

Brown lunch sacks with Christmas stickers and red and green marker "art".

~Wrapping Paper~

A roll of plain white art paper cut into sheets and decorated with stamps, stickers, stencils, glitter or whatever.

~Stationary~

Buy plain white paper and envelopes then decorate them.

~Pot Holders~

String necklaces using gold or silver shoelaces and big dyed round and square beads--can use some with letters and spell out "Merry Christmas" or the like.

~Belt or Necklace Tree~

Use old wooden thread spools and glue them to those straight wood hangers for a tie or belt or necklace tree. You can vary this by buying pretty knob-style cabinet pulls. You can color with magic markers or paint the projects.

~Candles~

Buy a bunch of cheap white tapers (candles). Get about 40 or 50. Also buy 2 packs of Candle Decorating Wax. This wax will set you back less than $20, and you'll have lots left over. The decorating wax is thin sheets of beeswax which can be cut into shapes and pressed onto the tapers (or smeared thinly on the tapers). Anyway, have them make festively decorated candles (maybe in pairs).

~Tie Rack~

Made out of a covered wire coathanger

~Storage Box~

Take a shoe box and cover it with attractive material (or wrapping paper) for a personalised storage box.

~Key Holder~

Just a block of wood, varnished and with a few small hooks in the front and a brass ring on the back to hang by.

~Sachets~

Use potpourri and fill little bags made of lace, handsewn together. Heart shape is nice. Then stitch on ruffled edging, sew on a satin rose. Very pretty! Fill after stitching. Do use double or triple layers of thin lace to avoid leakage through the net.