After a few years of pretty much running out of holiday spirit by the holidays, I have slowly learned to plan early with my holiday crafts. This year, I’ve started getting in the mood by putting together these projects so far:

• Retro ornament tree skirt
• Ornament wreath
• Pom pom wreath

Holiday preparations always include gifts for our teachers and my “work family.” I love creating something handmade to show our appreciation, and I try to make a few extra for hostess gifts throughout the year. A round-up of past holiday gifts/ hostess gifts is at the bottom of this post.

For this year’s gift, I knew that I wanted to do a project using scrapbook paper. I have a little (tiny, really) bit of an addiction to pretty papers, and I wanted a way to share them. After looking through lots of ideas on Pinterest, I decided to make these desktop magnet boards with coordinating glass cabochon magnets. My inspiration included similar boards from Papemelroti in the Philippines and Leanne from Organize and Decorate Everything.

These magnet boards can be used for notes or as picture frames, and they even make lovely decorations on their own. I added some favorite quotes as appreciation and inspiration for the hard-working teachers and friends in our lives.

Materials:

• desktop magnet boards. I purchased mine from Cynthia and Co. This is a family business, and they were really great in working with me to get the quantity I needed.
• 20mm glass cabochons
• 3/4 inch Circle Punch
• scrapbook and wrapping paper
• magnets
• E6000® Craft Adhesive to attach the magnets to the cabochons
• Glue stick to attach the paper to the boards and magnets.

Instructions:

• Cover the magnet board with scrapbook paper using a glue stick. Cynthia shared a helpful tip, which was using a plastic card (I used an expired gift card) to smooth the paper.
• Add a quote or piece of art to the center
• I’m not sure if I’d recommend this step… I brushed on a coat of clear polyurethane. I wanted to protect the paper, but the moisture made some of the edges peel. I managed to glue them back, but it was a bit of a pain. Maybe

• Cut circles of paper and glue to back of cabochons.
• Add magnet to back of cabochons using the E6000

This is a simple project, but I love that there are infinite ways to personalize it. There were so many variations on the boards that I will include some more in a second post!

Looking for more ideas of great gifts to make? Check out these from years past:

• Hot chocolate, pancake, and bath salt mixes in jars
• Dip-painted kitchen utensils
• Hand-stamped kitchen towels

Hope you are getting into the spirit of the holidays!

“Jewels”