Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Need a unique neighbor gift? You've come to the right place!

We've been really excited to tell you about this Christmas idea.


Melissa and I were brainstorming what to do for neighbor/ friend/ VT gifts this year.


We were trying to think of something unique and special that we could MAKE for our dear sweet friends and neighbors


and then it hit us...


with a hammer, over and over and over...

Isn't it PURDY?!


This is what we used:

-1/8" steel stamping set (bought from habor freight back when the washer necklaces were all the rage)

- Two washers 1in and 2in in diameter

-Ribbon

Put any message you like and your friends and neighbors are sure to love these one of a kind ornaments!

******UPDATE*****

To answer your questions: 1. No, we did not paint the washers with anything. We bought them at Lowes and I just picked the ones that looked the best (not all scratched up).

2. The big washer is just a regular round 2 in. washer. (It is not smaller at the top)

3. We did not glue the washers together, we just tied them with the ribbon.

4. We followed this tutorial to stamp our washers and darken the letters.

Hope that answers all you questions. Good Luck and we would love to see yours when your done!

Your neighbors are going to love you. :)


and


Photobucket

45 comments:

Natys said...

WOW!! so easy, so personal sooo cheap

Thanks for the idea, is genius

tinahead81 said...

GREAT idea!!

Valerie said...

SOOOOO cute! I am filing this away at thecraftersfilebox.blogspot.com.

Thanks for sharing!

Cheryl G. said...

I LOVE that. I think my son would love to make those too.
Thank you!

Lynn Kellan said...

Instead of measure twice, cut once, I will spell check twice, and then hammer once.

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

very cute and easy! I featured this at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com Grab my "featured" button.

megan said...

This is great!!!! Love it!

Room to Inspire said...

Love it, great idea. I am off in search of a steel stamping set!

Chelsea

Anonymous said...

This is such a cute idea! I've got to get me one of those stamp sets. :)

Randi~Dukes and Duchesses said...

Can't wait to try these!

Leanne said...

Great neighbor gift idea. I hope not too many of my neighbors read this or we might all end up with the same gifts. Thanks for sharing this. I'm having a giveaway this week, stop by if you'd like.

House Queen said...

FAbulous!

Jen@Notes From the Heartland said...

Love this idea!! One question...the larger washer looks like it is narrower on the top than on the bottom...is that just the way the photo makes it look or is that a special type of washer? Thanks!!!

Company EIGHT said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Katie said...

Love the washer ornaments! Think I'll send my husband to harbor freight to pick me up a stamp set!

Suesan said...

LOVE IT!! Now I just have to get my hands on one of those stamping sets!

Katie said...

Quick question... did you use anything to oxidize/change the color of the washers? They look bronzed a bit, plus the lettering really stands out. Any tips are appreciated!!!

lacey said...

You know what I loved getting from you as my visiting teacher? Those thin mint cookies!!!! I thought they were "name brand"- tasted just as good.

Love all your great ideas ;)

Jen said...

Yes i would like to know about the color of the washers too. Are they glued together???

Nickie said...

I think I have the same questions everyone else does...Did u paint the washers? Also for the lettering did you paint the letters black? The size of the second washer seems to have a narrow top on it does it?? I went to Harbor Freight today and picked up my stamping kit. I will wait and hopefully get my questions answered before starting this project. THANKS for the wonderful gift idea.

Becca said...

love this!Wish I were your neighbor!

Kathryn-nannygoat said...

Hi Ladies, it's me Kathryn.
I updated the post to answer all your questions so check it out!
Good luck with your ornaments!

Amanda Brantley said...

This is so cute, thanks for a great idea! I am off to Hobby Lobby to see if they have stamping sets, otherwise I will have to make the 30 min drive to get one (with a three month old, haha). These could be great teacher gifts!!

KatieJ said...

Those are awesome, I think I need one of those stamping sets now...

Kelly @ turned UP to ELEVEN! said...

I am so happy to have found your blog! This is a fantastic idea!

Nickie said...

Thanks for the update....And the other link

gail@My Repurposed Life said...

love, love, love these!
washers... check!
stamping set... check!
definitely going to try this!
gail

Jessica Taufer said...

I'd LOVE to use this in the Utah Baby Guide. I'll link back to you and give you credit for it. Can you email me and let me know that it's okay? Thanks!
Jessica Taufer
Editorial Director
Utah Baby Guide
j.taufer@utahbabyguide.com
www.utahbabyguide.com

Tylersmom51304 said...

I am off to Harbor Freight tomorrow !!!!

marlene said...

Kathryn love this idea I think some laddies in Idaho

Sumo said...

Great idea! I'll be featuring it on my blog next week:

http://sumossweetstuff.blogspot.com

Yannie said...

This is cute idea.... I love it very unique!

NinaNaNaNa said...

I just picked up my stamper set at Harbor Freight over the weekend. I'm on the hunt for some pretty ribbon right now. I can't wait to get started. I'm making these for family members this year...it's been a tough one and this project helped to inspire everyone to forget the $50 grab bag and focus on handmade and how we can help others. I know something so simple will and has made such a huge impression on my family already. Thanks so much!

Joy said...

I love the ornaments. Is it ok if I post about you on my blog? Check me out at www.joyslightbulbs.blogspot.com

TheMoncurs said...

What kind of washers did you use? Did you just pick them up from Home Depot? I got some but I don't know if I'm not hammering hard enough or they're a different kind of metal or what but my letters are super super faint.

Julie said...

So cute! But they are way harder to stamp than I thought they would be. I can't seem to get them to stamp the letter evenly. The washer metal is much harder than I thought it would be. I am stamping on cement.
Any tips?

Kathryn-nannygoat said...

Hi Ladies, We bought the normal washers and we found that if we hammered on a cutting board on top of cement and we hit each letter 15-20 times with the hammer (hard) it worked. Try that and let me know if it works.

Kari Sweeten said...

Just wanted to stop by and let you know that I featured this in my favorite ornaments post on Ucreate!

Jill@Barnes Yard said...

Love it.
PS I'm not seeing the tips for darkening on the link. Help.
-Jill :)

Kathryn-nannygoat said...

Hi Jill,
Thanks for the heads up. They changed their link on sugardoodle so I fixed the link and it works now.
:)Kathryn

CaMiMa said...

I loved this idea when I saw it...HOWEVER...I had no luck what so ever. I tried three different kinds of stamping sets (including the one mentioned in the instructions) and all types of washers. I even had my husband try to hammer the letters. I couldn't get them to look at all like the pictures...the letters were barely visible. I did using my stamping sets to hammer some letters into some vintage metal cookie cutters to use as ornaments though and it wasn't a total loss.

Star @ A Load Of Craft said...

Hey there! Thank you so much for this tutoiral! I used it and posted my result here:

http://aloadofcraft.blogspot.com/2010/12/last-year-i-used-nannygoats-tutorial-to.html

Single PAP said...

i bought all the materials, too and like cara miller matthews, i failed miserably. the letters aren't lined up and some are barely visiable. i think my washers were too thick?

Jeannetta said...

I LOVE these! My husband and my 15yos are giving me SUCH a hard time, but what do THEY know!
Thanks for the AWESOME idea!

Anonymous said...

Wow . . . great idea and the ornament is adorable!

Debby, 57
Jacksonville, FL