Quick and Easy Gifts: Great for Mother's Day

With Mother's Day and Dance Recital just around the corner, I spent a few hours at Hobby Lobby the other day looking for ideas for gifts. I came across one of those free fliers they strategically place next to merchandise. You know the kind: they make every project look super easy. They lure un-knowledgeable crafters in thinking, "Hey, I can do this!"

Yep, sucked me right in! So I loaded up on supplies:

The Jewelry Shoppe brand square key chains, assorted scrapbooking papers, stickers, embellishments, and Magic-Glos.

The Jewelry Shoppe has lots of different mediums to work with. You can make key chains, pendents in many different sizes and shapes, earrings, rings, ect.

The Magic-Glos is the key to the whole project. There maybe other products out there like this, I am just not aware. It comes in a little bitty 1 ounce bottle with a $9.99 price tag stuck on it. I used my 40% off coupon and prayed one bottle would be enough.

The next step should feel comfortable to any scrapbooker. You simply open the package and scrapbook the item you are working with. I decided to make key chains for the "Mother's" in my life. I put down a background paper, an initial sticker and then two round jewels.

I also decided to make my daughter a pendant for her first dance recital, which is Saturday. I found a cute package of stickers that were ballet and I used the ballet shoes sticker on solid card stock.

I had a little fun. I also used some small charms I picked up and made a few extra things. There is an important difference between making these pendants and scrapbooking. I did not tack anything down with adhesive. I just laid it on the surface I was working with. {Except the things that were stickers, and yes, they were stuck down.}

After I had them decorated the way I wanted, I put them on a cookie sheet. I then took the Magic-Glos and filled up the pendant. It did not take much. I put some in, used a toothpick to spread it to the corners. Now, I must tell you, AIR BUBBLES are not our friend on this project. I used my heat embossing gun after I had all the Magic-Glos in the pendants and blew the bubbles out. It was super easy!

The last step is to sit the pendants under a UV light for a few minutes. WELL, I do not have a UV light, nor do I want the expense of buying one just for this project. A little research told me I could also sit these pendants outside in the sunshine for 15 minutes and they would cure.

And they did.

They key chains are done, I just have to wrap them up. But the two necklaces still need some ribbon and clasps put on them.

Overall, I made 10 small gifts in less than an hour. And that 1 ounce bottle of Magic-Glos? Well, it is still not empty!

The coolest thing, was showing them to my son when he got home from school. He literally asked me, "YOU MADE THESE?"

Interpreting things a teen says is sometimes difficult. But I am interpreting it as a win!

I made this pendant for my Short Chic. I gave it to her after she finished her first dance recital. I promise these gifts are super easy to make and hope you have as much fun making them as I did!

p.s. I do not do paid product endorsements. These are my own opinions on products I sought out to try.

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