Christmas Presents

So in my family we draw names for Christmas presents between the siblings and their spouses. This year Jacob and I drew Sarah and Sheridan. I was so excited because I knew immediately I wanted to make them some homemade presents. Necklaces are kind of the craft I'm most familiar with right now, so I decided I'd make them each a necklace. Then, I asked Sheridan what kind of gifts she wanted, and she said she'd love to have some holiday decor for their house. Now, I've been wanting more of that myself, but I've been looking for something I could switch out and re-use for multiple holidays, so I googled for tutorials and found these great ideas:


An interchangeable ornament frame at Today's Fabulous Finds


Interchangeable Letter Frames at All Things Heart and Home



and a sign or picture display at Just Beckause


After debating for a few days, I decided to go with option number one, but the frames I ended up buying were plastic, so I couldn't put the nails in the actual frame. At first i got super frustrated with myself for not realizing that, but with the help of Jacob and my mom I figured out how to make it work by putting the nails in the backing itself. This gave me the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the three frame piece that came with the frames and also make them option number two! I had some problems figuring out how to keep the alternate backing in place and ended up using some velcro, it's not a very pretty sight, but it'll do. Anyway, here's the end result(s)




And this is the necklace I made for Sarah. The picture of the entire necklace doesn't show the coloring of the beads very well, so that's what the closer pics are.




As for the necklace I made for Sheridan, I don't have any pics for you yet. As I mentioned, I got a new camera for Christmas, but by the time I opened it I had already wrapped the presents, and silly me, I forgot to take pictures after they opened them. Hopefully I can get some pictures of it soon to share with you, I'm quite proud of both necklaces, but Sheridan's was a style I've never tried before and I think it turned out great. I plan on making one for myself and Sarah after the same style as soon as I have the supplies.

And finally, for your enjoyment and mine, a couple pictures of my adorable nieces, Leah and Evelyn! They both are almost always happy and smiling and I love them to pieces!