Every year I try to get creative when it comes to Christmas gifts for family and friends. I am not big on conventional Christmas shopping methods and almost all my gifts are handmade little goodies. These were a favorite of mine that I made this year for my little cousins. I found a similar idea on Pintrest and decided to add my own twist. You can make these as stocking stuffers, party favors, bridal gifts, or any other occasion! Being such a good gift for ladies of all ages and taking only about an hour to make, these are good when you are in a creative pinch. Its amazing what a bit of gold paint can do!
These walnut jewelry holders look great, and add a whimsical touch to any gift. I made bracelets to put in mine. I kept with the woodland and shabby chic theme by adding teacups and tool charms to my bracelets.
How to make:
Step one: Buy your walnuts. Try to find large and round ones. The bigger the better. This leaves maximum room for your necklace or bracelet on the inside. Once you have them saw or cut them in half as evenly as possibly. This gives them a clean opening and is safe for even younger children you may plan on giving these to. Once you saw them in half take the walnuts out as gently as possible. Sometimes the nuts are stuck to the edges and can break the shell if your not careful.
Step two: Paint your shells. I choose to paint only the rim and a bit of the outside of mine. You can paint the whole shell, inside and out if it suits your fancy. I noticed some ladies even added glitter. I'm pretty simple so I just stuck to a minimal design. The paint I used was just a gold acrylic paint from Micheals Craft Store that cost under two dollars. Any paint will do. If you want to make these extra durable you can paint a coat of modge podge over the shells as well. This will make them water proof and can add a shine to them if you buy the satin modge podge. I choose to only use gold paint and skip the modge podge because I like the more natural look. Set them aside to dry between coats and allow to sit for at least two hours before wrapping and giving them away. This ensures the paint is completely dry.
Step three: Create your necklace, bracelet. or whatever goodies you want inside. The bracelet's I made I bought the chains with the ends already assembled. I just added the charms and the braided rope. You can get as creative as you like at this point.
Once complete, I added a piece of velvet ribbon and tied it around the shell to keep the two pieces together. You can use any ribbon you like, but once again I like a more rustic appeal so I went with the velvet.
I also made little handmade tags that I said "Handmade for princess _______". I printed them on normal printer paper.
