Christmas gifts I created for my family

My brother, sister in law, and nieces received their Christmas gifts, so now I can show you what I made! :)  The girls couldn't wait until Christmas to open the package, so they got some of their presents a little early.  For my sister in law, Ana, I made a pretty blue and red heart shaped trinket box.  It started with a metal filigree heart, which I painted with iridescent red paint.  I pressed blue polymer clay against the inside of the heart, allowing it to press through the filigree. I made a lid of polymer clay  and lined the bottom of the heart with felt.  I think it turned out quite nice!

I made a trinket box for my brother Mike as well.  I didn't really have a set plan when I started making Mike's gift.  I just let the clay guide me and  I ended up making a raised diamond pattern on the clay.  After baking the box I filled the diamond shapes with Gallery Glass in various colors to create a stained glass look.  For the lid I filled the diamond shapes with different colors of embossing powder before baking.  I even used some glow in the dark Gallery Glass for a fun effect when you turn out the lights.  My neices got a kick out of that!


  Several months ago my niece Jessica asked if I could make her a stuffed dog, so I knew exactly what she wanted for Christmas. I made a dog for her younger sister as well- I try to make sure the kid's gifts are somewhat similar, so there's no jealousy. When it comes to presents most kids are easy- ask them what they want, and generally they tell you!  Of course the same can't be said for brothers- LOL!  For Jessica I chose to make a more realistic dog using some very nice tan fur fabric I had left over from another project.  For Andrea, the younger sister, I chose to make a more whimsical stuffed dog.  I used super soft blue chenille recycled from a bathrobe and stuffed the dog with plastic pellets and polyester fiberfill.  I was very happy with the way both dogs turned out, and so were the girls.


The box of homemade Snickerdoodle cookies were well received too!  Jessica had a mouth full of them when she called to thank me for the gifts- LOL!  I love making gifts for people, especially my nieces.  When they see what I can create, they're inspired to be creative as well.  And if I can inspire a child to delve into arts and crafts and embrace their creativity, that's the best gift I could ever get!
I hope everyone has a very Happy Holiday and Santa leaves plenty of presents for one and all! :)
-Michelle of CreativeCritters