How to Make Unique Christmas Gifts With Simple Snowflake Designs

By Penny Vedrenne

Since snowflake designs are so much a part of Christmas I came up with a few ideas for using them in some gift giving projects. OK I know what you're thinking. This is all about making some tacky, juvenile pictures for a grandmother to hang on the fridge. Not so. You'll learn how to make a nice glass jar with tasty goodies or bath salts, embellish a wine bag for a classy look and a few wrapping and card making ideas for a vintage look. Yes, they are easy but I think you'll be surprised at the finished product as will the lucky people on your gift list this year. I hope you find inspiration in these ideas and have a great time creating these unique gifts.

To start any snowflake crafts project you'll need to cut out paper snowflakes. This will give you a snowflake design. Snowflakes are six sided (hexagonal) so you'll need to fold a piece of paper so that the finished design will have six symmetrical extensions. Fold a piece of paper starting at the top right corner. Make sure that the top of the paper and the right side are aligned. Cut off the paper at the bottom not in the folded area. Bring the two points of the folded side together and mark the center along the fold. From the unfolded corner opposite the center mark, measure 3 and 1/8" along either side and make a mark. Draw two lines from the center mark on the fold to each of the marks on the unfolded side. Now fold along each line. I know it sounds complicated for just a paper snowflake but once you see how it's done you'll find that it's easy to just fold without all the measuring.

Now that you have the paper folded, cut away a few pieces. If you are cutting along the outside a scissors will work fine. But if you want to get more detail, you can use a craft knife to cut out holes any where in the center. I like to draw out a pattern before I start cutting. When finished cutting, unfold carefully and flatten. Now you have a snowflake cutout design. This snowflake pattern will be the start of many great projects.

For some projects you will need a stencil. To make a stencil, place the cutout on a full sheet of paper (or stencil film if you want a permanent stencil for multiple uses). Trace around all the edges and then cut out with a craft knife. Now you're ready to make some gifts and decorate the wrapping.

Oh! By the way, it's a good idea to make copies of the snowflake designs, and preserve your originals for more projects. Also, since these designs are on paper, don't forget that you can resize them to fit any project size by reducing or enlarging on a copy machine.

It's fun and easy to make Christmas Cards. Using colored construction paper, cut a rectangle to 8 inches by 6 inches. Fold along the 8 inch side in half so that you have a 6 by 4 inch card. Use a cutout snowflake design and glue to the front of the card. Be creative and cut out two or three different snowflakes and make it snow. For an old-fashioned vintage look, glue a ribbon along one side of the cover or attach a colorful button to the center of the snowflake. I like to use a hole-punch tool to make small circles of colored paper and glue them in random patterns around the snowflakes.

Making gift labels is easy with paper snowflakes. Just cut out a small square, rectangle or oval in construction paper and glue on a snowflake cutout. Write your greeting and who the package is for and attach to the gift with a ribbon tied through a hole made with a hole-punch tool.
The best thing about crafting or designing is that you can custom build any item for the person who is receiving it. If you have traditional friends on your list, work with red, green, silver and gold. But if you have friends into retro, then create snowflakes in bright colors like cyan blue, neon green and hot pink. They will feel very special when they receive a gift tailor made for them (including the wrapping). Don't forget about all of the fun you'll have designing and giving!
Here's a great way to turn an old jar into a nice gift. Clean the jar well and remove any labels. Use the snowflake stencils to paint on the jar. You can find paints especially for glass at a crafts supply store. If not, craft acrylics work well too. Just secure the stencil to the jar with tape and use a dabbing motion to lightly tap on some paint. Remember, stenciling is a dry brush technique, so don't overload your brush. Use more layers of paint to achieve deeper colors instead of more paint in a single application. Also, don't brush back and forth because that will drive paint under the stencil. Use a brush made for stenciling or a foam brush. You can use one snowflake, several images of the same snowflake, several paintings of different snowflakes and even different color snowflakes. It's your design so be creative.

If you want the snowy effect, consider lightly spray painting the jar with white before or after the snowflakes with a soft light spray. Don't cover the glass in white, just mist it. Hold the can of spray paint a little further back then you usually would. Maybe make it a little heavier near the top to look like snow accumulation. There are so many ways you could enhance a jar.

But wait! You need to fill it with goodies and top it off. Make some cookies or fudge or other goodies for your jar. Whatever you specialty is. Does the person receiving it have a love for a special candy like peppermints, butterscotch or M&M's? Then fill the jar with that. It's so easy to make them happy. Maybe your friends would like a jar filled with homemade bath salts. That's easy. Just mix 2 cups of Epsom salts with 2 tablespoons of baking soda and 9 drops of essential oils (flavor of your choice - like rose, gardenia, mint, chamomile...). Lock the top of the jar back in place and cover with a piece of festive fabric and secured with a ribbon. Again, you can customize this for the person you are giving it to. If they like cookies, fill it with cookies. If she likes the scent of roses, make a rose scented bath salt. Your gifts will be the ones of envy!

Spruce up a plain brown bag by painting on some snowflake designs from stencils or gluing on a snowflake cutout. Then tuck your gifts inside wrapped with some loose tissue paper. Again, if you want the snowy effect, hold a can of white spray paint about 12" away from the bag and spray a very light mist over the bag. It will only take one or two passes to get that misty, snowy look.

Have you seen those nice cloth or velvet wine bags at the discount stores? If you find some plain ones they are great for enhancing with painted snowflakes. Just secure your stencils in place and tap on a little paint. I found one that is simple red and green velvet with a gold cord and tassel. So I painted my snowflake designs in gold paint and then used a light coat of gold spray glitter.
During the year I collect boxes. Sounds strange I know but after covering them in a solid color of paint, they are a blank canvas for decorating. Stencil on a few snowflakes. Don't just stick with white snowflakes. Imagine a box painted dark blue with pink and light blue snowflakes. It's up to you. You can make your snowflakes traditional or absolutely funky. You'll start looking at boxes in a whole different way.

Make a sachet by stenciling a snowflake design onto a small pouch. Wet a few cotton balls with a fresh scent or essential oils and slip into the pouch. You can find simple drawstring bags at your local crafts supply store. I really like to add these to a gift box that has a scarf or piece of clothing inside. When the box is opened the fresh fragrance is released for an added surprise.

Stencil a snowflake on the corner of a nice linen handkerchief. You can give it as the gift itself or wrap a treasure inside. I like to hang them over the side of a basket and fill the basket up with goodies like cookies and fudge. Also, filling the basket with some fresh red and green apples makes a nice gift arrangement.

It's easy to decorate with stencils. Plus, it's the perfect way to create a one-of-a-kind gift.
Can't cut out a pretty snowflake? No problem! Just click over to Designs From Penny (http://www.DesignsFromPenny.com). They have a variety of cutout designs and stencils. You can purchase the patterns along with complete instructions for making paper snowflakes and many other creative projects in a unique downloadable file. It's a great place to find many fun and artistic stencils along with information on ways that you can create art with them. Don't miss the blogs that feature many ideas on using snowflakes with instructions and pictures of completed projects (like the 3-D snowflake centerpiece described above).

For more information on stenciling, visit All-About-Stencils (http://www.all-about-stencils.com). You'll find complete instructions starting at the beginning and graduating to furniture decorating and making art prints. Plus there's a full section on the Holidays complete with many projects for you to create items like Halloween Masks or Christmas Gift Giving Ideas. So, get into the spirit and join us for some fun stencil crafts.
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