Handmade Christmas - 2015

This year was another good year of handmade gifts for family and friends.
For Helen, I made a small stationary kit. I didn't want to give her a big gift this year as I know she doesn't have a lot of space in her dorm room so this was perfect. I custom made the box for it, which I really enjoyed.

The box on the left is for Helen's kit and the one on the right is one I made for Sarah's gift tags. I really enjoyed these sub-projects and will definitely do it again!

I lined all my boxes with brown paper to give them a more finished look

One of my custom boxes under construction

This cutter was the best way to cut the chipboard for the boxes

For Elizabeth, I made a picture frame and printed out a bunch of photos that I thought she might like to put in it. This was a simple gift but well received.

Liz's picture frame

For Sarah, I made a bunch of reusable gift tags. I wrote a bit more about the project here.

I made a journal box for my sister in law, Hilary. I had fun with this one and it came out well.

The Journal box for Hilary

Plans for the journal box

Here are a couple other things I made to enhance the holidays this year.
A tree topper for the wooden Christmas tree I made for Sarah a couple years ago.

Here's our advent candle holder for 2015. I love working with gas "nipple" (a.k.a. pipe). It's quick and has a cool industrial look that I find attractive. I buy most of it at the Home Depot but this four-way junction had to be special ordered from a plumbing supply site.

Advent candles with greens

I made an arch for work to hold Christmas lights and to just generally be festive. Lots of people liked it at the office!
I really liked this project. I didn't spend a penny on it. The wood was scrap hemlock; the green paint was from one of Helen's theatre projects; and the whole thing was held together with that most awesome fastener in the world: Kregg pocket screws.