It's Crystal Clear...Handmade is Best!

 
Everyone loves getting those special gifts that someone made just for you. You know that the giver spent time thinking about you during the creative process, and these gifts, while often less expensive than their store bought brethren, are cherished forever by the recipients. The Stampendous Design Team is making gifts by hand this year, and they're forging those special ties with their loved ones this season. Each day this week we'll bring you some clever and creative ideas for making some of your own gifts this year.

For my post today, I created a beautiful crystal pendant tucked into a decorated clear tube that can double as an ornament to hang on the tree. I used the Perfectly Clear Kiddo Snow Globe for this project. I stamped two of the snowflake images with Bahama Blue Memento ink on tissue, and decoupaged these onto the back of a Connie Crystal pendant, and around the clear tube, using Beacon Adhesives Fast Finish Decoupage medium. I work with this product all the time. It is thin, dries perfectly clear, adheres to everything, and dries fast! I've found that if I brush a coat on the surface and pour Stampendous Multi Crystal UF glitter over it, it will dry in a few minutes so that I can brush on another coat and apply the stamped tissue over the surface. The result is a subtle sparkle that can't be rubbed off.

I wanted the snowflakes to show through the crystal, so I added a coat of Versamark ink on the back of the pendant, and embossed with Shabby Blue Embossing Enamel. This provided a pretty solid background for the snowflakes to contrast off of. I embossed with more of this on a torn strip of tissue and applied that to the tube at the bottom with the Fast Finish.

The pendant was strung on tinsel cording along with crystal snowflakes, silver beads, and a silver heart charm. All of these can be found at your local craft store. I was able to dangle it within the tube with the cording trapped by the lid. Then the cord could become the hanger for the ornament. I stamped, embossed, and layered an acetate tag with the "sparkly sentiment" from the same clear set, and some extra frou-frous for embellishment finished off this gift.

We hope we inspire and delight you with these ideas.  And of course there will be prizes!! Be sure to visit the blogs we list each day and comment on each one! For those you may have missed through the week, start back at the beginning with the Monday post on the Stampendous Impressions! blog. We'll be drawing for some of our favorite stamps for gift giving! Here's the players for today:

Cyndi Bundy

Janelle Stollfus

Jennifer Ingle

Krissy Fossmeyer

Kristine Reynolds

Melinda Gleissner

Pam Hornschu (you're here!)

Tenia Nelson

Wendy Jordan

Wendy Price