Trim up the Tree!

My trees are trimmed! I've actually decorated one tree three different times (it decided to tip over twice). But there is always time for another ornament or two or to create some gifts for friends.

My friend, Lori Bryson, made the cutest ornaments from our Base and Bling so I decided to make some too and show you how.

Take two base and bling pendants. You can check out the different shapes here.

Using liquid glass, glue them back to back with the hook thing that the chain goes through (very official, right?) with one going up and the other going down. You only need a tiny bit of liquid glass, about enough to cover the tiny flat circle in the middle of the back--my sample photo uses too much. Excess liquid glass will ooze out the sides (if you get carried away, baby wipes work best for wiping up the excess). Let this sit for about 15 minutes to allow the liquid glass to dry.

Here's a tip for your liquid glass. Keep a pin taped to the side of the bottle. I store my liquid glass upside down but sometimes you still need a pin to unclog the tip. 

Choose your images. These sticker sheets are self-adhesive but I use a little liquid glass anyway (very little, remember). 

Adhere the images inside the pendants. Make sure they are both in the right direction (you don't want one upside down).

Using a teeny bit of liquid glass (remember, it gets all over), put the glass covers in place.

I like to hold these down really tight to make sure the liquid glass spreads out and I don't see any bubbles. If you do get some liquid glass that oozes out, grab that baby wipe (liquid glass on fingertips makes it very difficult to use the touch screen on your phone--voice of experience).

Now, attach the charms to the bottom with a bit of ribbon. There are lots of charms to choose from but the holiday/winter ones are only available until December 31st. You could use a jump ring but you need a really big one.

Add ribbon to the top and you're done!

These are darling in gold as well. And if you don't want to make it double sided, you could use one pendant instead of two.

If you want to wear it, add a chain or a longer ribbon. It makes a darling holiday necklace.

Happy decorating!

Christmas gifts--Base and Bling

Every year I struggle to find a meaningful, inexpensive gift. But Close to My Heart came out with a fabulous base and bling line of jewelry. It's quick, easy and inexpensive and you can say you made it yourself.

This is one of my favorite necklaces, given to me by the corporate office. The necklaces come in antique gold or silver and a variety of shapes.

You can add charms as shown on the necklace on the right or no charms. They are darling either way. And you can choose what image you want to go inside.

Close to My Heart has wonderful images that you can get to customize your necklaces but I wanted something Christmasy so I found this Santa image.  There is a little bubble on his beard--not noticeable from a distance. This is a result of my hurry to put together this necklace with the help of a three year old. I used this adhesive which works fabulously (liquid glass works as well) but you must make sure you rub it down well to remove any bubbles such as this. As I said, I was being assisted by a very cute but impatient three year old.

Here's another fun holiday image.

And yes, there are bracelets as well.

A pendant, a glass, a chain, an image and one charm are less than $10 (before shipping and handling). You could make multiple pendants and just switch out chains and charms. The bracelet is less than $5.50 for bracelet and image. Either way, this is a beautiful, inexpensive, personalized gift for a loved one (or yourself).

Merry Christmas!