DIY Ribbon & Bead Necklaces for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes

Upcycling items into quality crafts for Operation Christmas Child is a great way to pack shoeboxes on a budget while enjoying the creativity of crafting.  Suzanne, from Sew Delightful, creates simple necklaces for shoeboxes from costume jewelry and ribbon.  She shops estate sales and thrift stores for deals on the jewelry as well as bulk beads and makes hundreds of unique, one of a kind, necklaces.  She also uses purchased pony and other beads she finds on clearance.  Suzanne is very generous and ships many of them to us to use in our shoeboxes each year.

We shared an unboxing video on Simply Shoeboxes YouTube when two of Suzanne's boxes arrived in the mail; and interest was sparked in the necklaces.  I decided to share a quick overview here and on YouTube (see video below--it shows more of Suzanne's designs) so others could enjoy seeing them and making some of their own.  This is a great project for groups to do together -- even good for children to be a part of.

Add brightly colored new beads to duller upcycled ones.

Ribbon Necklaces Using Upcycled Costume Jewelry and Plastic Beads Tutorial

Tic-Tac-Toe Game from Upcycled Greeting Cards ~ Perfect for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes

I always save my greeting cards to find ways to incorporate the bright images into my Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.  A friend passed some on this past holiday season and I had some poker chips left over from my Drawstring Tic-Tac-Toe Games so I decided to make a super simple tic-tac-toe (also known as noughts

DIY Easy Coloring Books, Drawing Pads & Sketch Pads for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes

I have had a hard time finding nice coloring books small enough to tuck easily into an Operation Christmas Child shoebox. I have often seen packers printing their own.  I've finally decided to take the plunge.  [I'll share the how-to's at the bottom

Upcycling Greeting Cards Into Needle Books for Operation Christmas Child Shoe Box Gifts

I am always trying to think of ways to upcycle cards as they are so sturdy and lovely.  Here is my latest:  needle books for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.  I want to include small sewing kits in several of my 10 to 14 year old girl shoeboxes this year.  My mom can no longer sew and I have a box of her sewing supplies.  I decided to check it out and see if there were any new items I could use in my sewing kits.  I found some pins and needles and to make a simple needle book I used felt and a greeting card.  These will be included along with thread, scissors

Upcycling Upholstery Samples: A Simple Stocking for an Operation Christmas Child Shoebox

So many great resources for upcycling. This is a stocking my daughter made for an Operation Christmas Child shoebox from upholstery fabric samples.  Many furniture stores have books of samples that they will gladly pass on when they are thru with them.Tote bags, pencil pouches, marble bags, crayon holders, the list is endless of what can be made with them and tucked away in a shoe box gift.  We have several tutorials just right for using upholstery fabric samples.  Find all of our tutorials here:  Crafting for Operation Christmas Child DIY Index.

Upcycling Christmas for Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Gifts

These are some ways we have up-cycled our Christmas wrappings into Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts.

These are some ways we have upcycled our Christmas morning wrappings into Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts.

• When wrapping presents, have a shoebox or two nearby--if you have a small piece left over that will be hard to save, wrap the top or bottom of

Upcycled Cards & Cardboard Tubes = Paper Holders for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes

Finished tubes.

I watched a long interview online of an OCC Representative talking about all aspects of  Operation Christmas Child shoe box gifts.  I am sorry but I have no idea where I saw this or who it was, so I can't share it.  She began at one point showing what she had in her box and one thing stuck with me--an upcycled toilet paper roll tube.

She took the tube and wrapped it in pretty paper.  She then rolled the school paper she was including in the box and tucked it inside the tube.  It kept the paper from creasing and also looked pretty.  I knew I had to try this and also share it with you all.  As always, I added a twist to the original idea:  make tubes out of cards!

Greeting cards are already decorated and with a little free tape I had on hand it was a breeze to whip some up.  I am thinking some stick glue might work nicely, too, but I don't have much experience with it.  I just rolled my cards up and taped

Upcycled Ladies' Skirts to Little Girls' Dresses for Operation Christmas Child Sheoboxes

Finished Dresses

My daughter was gathering items to donate to Goodwill and knew that I was interested in upcycling items into new gifts for my Operation Christmas Child Shoebox gifts.  She had these two cotton skirts that were perfect for turning into pillowcase style dresses for a 2 to 4 years old girl's shoebox!

Paper Pocket ~ Upcycling Gift Bags for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes

I had some gift bags that I wanted to upcycle for my Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes as the bright colors could really brighten the box for a child.  I remember a missionary telling our family that she collected the fronts of cards in America to give to the children in Chad, Africa because the surroundings were so dull there and that the families enjoyed using them as artwork to hang on their