My name's Mario. I'll make anything I can imagine and I love to teach people how to make things too. There's a story behind everything I make and I love to share why and how I made something and how it affects other people.
I love birthdays. I love my own (so much so that I celebrate it multiple times a year) and I love other peoples’ because it’s the perfect excuse to make them something. However, when there’s one hundred people to get something for, I just don’t have the money to make or buy every one of them a labor-intensive, top-tier gift. Luckily, I know this little secret.
People love when they know you care about them, and if they receive something from someone they love, they will hold onto it (in secrecy) forever. I know because I do this myself. Especially in middle school, having someone cool write you a note makes you feel like the most important person ever.
Everyone deserves to be celebrated. The best part is it’s easy to do. Just give them some of your time. Making your own cards is a great way to cut down on cost while still allowing you to make a creative and personalized gift that I hope every student will keep close to heart and I guess, if they’re embarrassed, out of sight in the back of their desk where only they can see it.
Supplies:
Blank card stock, paste, paintbrush, wrapping paper or fabric, scissors
Let’s get started. First, cut out a piece of blank paper to whatever size you want your card to be and fold it in half. If you’ll be making a lot of cards, I recommend making a template out of a thicker and more durable piece of paper so you can quickly trace around the edges when you want to make a card.
Next, get your fabric or decorative paper ready by finding out what part of it you want to use and placing it wrong-side up. Working quickly, apply paste to the back of the card and then carefully place it onto the wrong-side of your fabric. Press down on the card in all directions, especially on the corners and edges. After it’s dry, cut along the edges of the card, refold it, and place it under some books to press it flat until you want to use it (the paste will make it curl).
What you write is up to you. Since I teach English, I keep my messages pretty simple (ie. “Happy birthday (name). I hope you have a great day!”). Sometimes I’ll throw in a sentence about the student if I know them a bit better (“You’re a great leader”, “I’m so proud of you”). My students get excited when they can read what I wrote, even if they don’t know exactly what it means. They also like to read cards that are addressed to people other than themselves.... At least they’re curious!
Your message doesn’t have to be life-changing. At my high school, everyone had to take a state-wide standardized test in eleventh grade. A few days before testing started, teachers could buy messages for students which would be passed out the first morning of tests. I didn’t expect to receive any because I knew I would do fine and… I guess I didn’t think any of my teachers cared about me enough to write me one.
But they did. I received a card from my anatomy teacher. I don’t think I ever talked in his class, but he thought of me anyway. He wrote that he was going to write me something inspirational, but that I probably wouldn’t need it because he knew I would do fine on the test without it. You might think “Why even write something in the first place if you’re going to say nothing?” but he actually did say a lot. I didn’t particularly need confidence to do well, but it was nice to know that he was supporting me anyway.
To tell you the truth, the real reason I started doing this is because all of my students are so precious to me and I couldn’t bear the thought that any one of them might feel that they’ve been forgotten about on the day that should be all about them. They are all so awesome and hard-working and strong, even if they can’t see it yet themselves. They’re worth it.
I don’t think I ever posted it, but I made my mom this necklace for Mother’s Day last year.
I originally found this necklace in a Russian video that I happened to stumble upon, so I don’t have the source because... well, I can’t read Russian and I have no idea how to find it. Anyway, this isn’t my original design. But because the video is so hard to find, I’ll show you how to make it (in English!).
You’ll need:
1/4 yd chiffon
small piece of heavier material such as felt or batting in a similar color to your chiffon
hot glue gun
scissors
pearls
heat source (I recommend a candle)
safety pin (optional - if you want to pin it to something)
Find a round object like a shot glass or a pill bottle and trace a circle on your felt/batting, then cut it out. Mine was about 2 inches in diameter.
Next, cut out 2x2″ squares of your material. I find it easiest to keep the material folded several times (left in the picture below), then cut a long strips (middle), and cut those strips into squares (right) so you don’t have to cut out every square individually. It’s alright if they’re not perfectly square.
When cutting, I like to measure out one, then use it as a template for the others so I don’t have to keep measuring each one. Just line it up at the bottom of your work area, cut, and keep moving the strip down as you work.
Now we’re ready to start forming the petals.
Note: I recommend making your petals one at a time. If you set them down after they’re formed, it might be hard to reshape them, so I always cut and fuse mine one at a time. After you fuse one petal, start back at this step with the next one.
Anyway, fold one square diagonally to make a triangle.
Fold it diagonally one more time to make this shape. I like to fold it around my finger to get that nice loop.
Keep holding it in that shape (sometimes I flip mine so I’m holding the longer folded edge) and now, cut off the bottom 3/4 of your petal.
Hold it by the rounded edge if you’re not already and trim the front as well.
Carefully, holding it over the flame (much closer than I did in the picture), fuse the bottom and side edges that you just cut. Once you see the material start to shrink back, pull it away from the flame and carefully pinch down. What we’re doing is melting the polyester in the fabric and fusing the edges together by melting them. This has two purposes: one, we’re joining the edges (remember, just do the cut edges - the bottom and side), and two, we’re preventing the fabric from fraying and losing its structure over time.
A couple warnings: If you put the petal directly into the flame, it WILL burn and turn brown/black, so be careful. Also make sure not to clamp your hand down on the material right after sticking it close to the fire or you’ll get burned.
When the edges are fused, it should look something like this. Repeat with the remaining squares of fabric. You’ll need about 20-22 petals to make one 2″ flower. I usually take a break after every 10 petals or so. You don’t want to lose your focus when working with a flame. Also, it’s nice to make some extras so you can quickly throw together a flower anytime you need one in a hurry without having to cut and shape new petals!
Heat up your glue gun and start gluing petals around the outside of the felt backing that you cut out earlier.
Once you go around the outside, start gluing petals around the inside. Keep going around until the flower is full. You might be able to fit a third row in the center. Do whatever looks right to you.
When it looks right, glue a pearl in the center of the flower.
And we have our finished flower! You can of course form it into a necklace, or you can even use it as a pin like in this jacket I made for my grandmother for Mother’s Day this year.
Or if you’re in need of a bow for a gift, attach a pin and then clip it on. We bought my other grandmother a lace table runner (I don’t know why I wasn’t asked to make it...) for her new buffet table, so this made a perfect bow to compliment the beauty of the lace. Because it was detachable, my grandmother was able to wear the pin afterwards. A double present!
I know this is the same picture as from the tutorial I just posted, but I wanted to explain the story behind it.
The very next day, I just started referring to him as my best friend, and you know what? It worked. It was a bit of a rough process sometimes, but we became friends pretty quickly (even though I guess we've already been for three years now...). Anyway, the point of the story is that sometimes you just have to fake something until it becomes real. Once I started treating him like one of my best friends, even though I did it out of nowhere, we actually became best friends.
It's kind of strange because I do that all the time with people I meet in my classes and it works 90% of the time, but I just never thought to do it with someone I actually knew.
Anyway, I wanted to make him this Christmas present I guess to show that we are friends now and that I know stuff about him, like he loves scarves and his favorite color is red. Easy. But why just make a red scarf when I could make something so much more unique? And thus this strange accessory was created.
Happy New Year everyone! I hope you make lots of new friends this year (even if they're people you've known for a while)!
This scarf ends in a tie and uses a button hole to keep the tie in place. It uses just one yard of fabric and can be made with or without a machine. It's a long tutorial, but extremely easy (even if you've never sewn a thing in your life), so let's get started!
Here's what you'll need:
1 yard of fabric
small amount of lightweight fusible interfacing
tie pattern (you can trace your own from an old tie if you don't have a pattern). You'll just need the first half of the tie and its interfacing piece
tape measure, pins, shears, matching thread
optional: fray check, chalk/marking pencil
Cut out your interfacing. It doesn't have to be on the bias (diagonal).
Lay out your pattern piece on your material and see how much room is left over. I always orientate my fabric this way so I can make a scarf no matter how wide my fabric is, as long as it's a yard long. After laying out my pattern piece, I had about 15" left over at the bottom. This left over rectangle will become the body of the scarf. My fabric had a nice grid on it, so I cut right at the edge of the bright red line.
Pin and cut your pattern piece. Remember, you just need the first half of a tie.
After cutting, you'll be left with four pieces. Set aside the triangle and the other piece.
Pin or position the interfacing to the tie and fuse the interfacing to the wrong side (not the "prettier" side you want to be seen) of the tie. Using a damp pressing cloth, iron over the interfacing (rough side down) for a few seconds on each section. When the material is fused, it will be stiff, but still bendable.
Flip the tie over to the right side and fold the wide end of the tie over on itself to make a triangle. Now it's starting to look like an actual tie. Pin and sew the now-open edge. Note: if your tie pattern is constructed differently, please follow those directions up until you stitch up the back of the tie.
If you flip the tie over, it should look like this.
Now turn to the other end of the tie, which should be much more narrow. The tie will end the same way as the wider end, with a long triangle pointing off in one direction. Cut across at the base of the triangle to create a flat top.
Lay the top of the tie against one of the short ends of the scarf. Measure out the middle of the scarf body and mark it. Line up the short end of the tie with the middle and mark the edges.
Measure and mark about 4 inches up on the side. Fold the fabric in half and cut a diagonal line from the mark 4 inches up to the mark down at the bottom (where the edge of the tie was).
After cutting, you'll be left with the shape underneath the tie in this picture. Place the tie and scarf right sides together and sew across the top edge. The width of the tie should match up perfectly with the width of scarf since we just cut it to be like that.
With right sides together, sew along the body of the scarf, stopping about 3 inches away from the tie. I had a bit of trouble sewing this material because it kept puckering. Now, when I was little, I was told "Never touch the tension on grandma's sewing machine!" Or any machine for that matter. Well guess what. If your material keeps pulling, this is your chance to touch that dial. Woven fabric tends to pucker, especially if it's tightly woven, because the needle is disrupting the structural integrity of the fabric by shifting the threads. This pulling can usually be reduced by lowering the tension of your stitches. I actually had to turn mine all the way down to 0 to stop it from gathering. If you did have this kind of trouble with your material, don't forget to release the tension you may have previously sewn by lifting up the presser foot and gently pulling until the material lies flat. If you don't, you might be permanently left with a gathered piece of fabric that's uneven.
Flip the scarf inside-out through the hole that you left unstitched and press the seams along the edge flat. Now turn the body of the tie over. Fold one edge along the edge of the interfacing and press it in place.
Fold and press the other edge right against the interfacing. It should look like the top of this picture by my finger labeled "unfolded". After the whole length has been pressed, turn the edge under about 1/4 inch or just until it touches the edge of the fabric underneath and press it again (pin as you go if you have to). This can be a bit difficult if your interfacing was cut even a little too wide. When the edge is folded under, you should not see any white from the interfacing and it will look like the bottom half of the picture labeled "folded". We're almost done!
This is probably the most difficult part if you've never done this sort of thing before. You need to invisibly stitch up the back of the tie. Starting at the bottom with about 3/4 of your armspan's worth of thread, loop through the two folded layers a few times to secure the opening (the knot will be hidden on the underside). Next, start to stitch up the back. Catch the edge you folded under and go for about 1/4 inch. Come back through the fabric and go down into the other edge BEING VERY CAREFUL to not go through the front of the tie. Go under that side for about an inch and come back up. Repeat this up the back of the tie, again, being very careful to only stitch the back two folded sections. Once you get to the part where the tie is attached to the scarf, keep sewing (VERY tiny) and close the gap that was left earlier to flip the scarf. If your thread matches well and your stitches are small enough, you can sew on the outside at this point. No one is likely to notice or even bother looking anyway ;) Press the back one more time to make sure the edges are flat.
The last thing we need to do is sew a button hole to put the tie through to hold in place. Measure over 4 to 5 inches from the bottom edge of the scarf where we cut out the triangles. In the picture above, the tie connects at the top left. Find the midpoint and measure out about 2.5 inches for the button hole. Apply fray check here if you have it.
Sew a button hole at the line you measured, making sure that your fabric is perfectly flat and even on each side of the button hole.
To wear, lay the tapered end of the scarf around your neck and pull the end of the tie through the button hole. Wrap the rest of the scarf around your neck and you're ready to go!
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. If you have any questions, please let me know!
I'm sorry I haven't posted anything in so long. I've been so busy the past few weeks I haven't had time to even think about making anything. So I figured I'd come back with one of my favorites.
I made this for my mom for Mother's Day in 2012. It's made out of copper wire and I think it took me about 5 hours to make. What I love about this piece is that it reminds me of something different depending on how I look at it. The picture in the top left looks to me like a ring of flowers or a bunch of butterflies flying around in a circle and it has a light carefree feeling to it, yet because of the color and the shine that it has, it's still an elegant piece.
The picture on the right makes me think of a taotie, which is an animal mask design commonly found on vessels of the Shang dynasty. Bronze was a common material used at that time, and the color of this, as well as the design, make it feel like a historical piece that might have been worn about 3000 years ago.
The picture on the bottom makes me think of Ancient Greece. In this view, you can see the loops that connect the pieces together, which take the shape of a long branch, and the spirals that are connected to the branch then turn into leaves. This view reminds of golden laurels, a symbol of victory in ancient Greece and Rome.
But maybe you see something else. Things can change a lot depending on how you look at them, and you can't be expected to see everything the way someone else does. So don't listen to me. See what you see in it.
Save your frustration and time for something more important
Today I'm going to show you a really easy way to cut fringe. Instead of measuring out each individual piece and cutting it, this is a way to "mass produce" those annoying, but sometimes drastically needed extra strands of yarn to give your piece a more finished look.
The first thing you have to do is figure out how long you want the finished size of the fringe to be. If you want it to hang 8", then you'll need a piece 16" long (when it's folded, you'll have two 8" pieces). Then you need to find an object that's the size of the fringe that you want.
I decided to use a notebook, which was perfect for me. Try to make it as flat as possible so you don't add extra length on the top and bottom of the object. You could also use a sturdy piece of cardstock or cardboard cut to whatever dimensions you need if you can't find anything else.
Next, start wrapping around the object. Since there are coils at the top of the notebook, I started at the bottom, which is where I will cut and finish it. You don't have to wrap as much as you can. I needed a lot of fringe, so I did it in sections. Each wrap around (in my case) is 16", which is enough to make one double-stranded piece of 8" fringe.
When you have enough, you're ready to cut. Try to get as close to the middle as you can. I actually put the scissors inside the notebook to cut closer to the middle.
And there you have it. Depending on the width of the top and bottom of your cutting object, your strands may be a little bigger than you want, but it's a very easy fix to just cut a little off the end. Because of the possible addition of length, using this method is not as accurate as measuring each strand individually, but I feel like it saves more time, and I personally like having fringe that's not entirely even anyway.
Wondering what to get your friend who loves to sew, but have no idea what they might like? Of course you can take the easier way out (which is still perfectly acceptable, don't get me wrong) by just giving them money or a gift card, but trust me on this one: this will be a gift to remember.
Unless you just keep all of your pins in a box, most people who sew will use a pin cushion (and if you don't, they're very convenient and I highly recommend you get one). Ever since I was little, we've had this (very) old, but still functional, wrist cushion. Yeah, it works, but this isn't the 80's anymore. I wanted something cool, something new, and definitely something unique, so I made my own.
And here is where you come in! A pincushion is just an outer layer of fabric with stuffing inside, much like a stuffed animal. I don't think there's anything nicer than making a personalized gift that someone will have and use for a long while. It can be knitted, crocheted, or sewn itself (or anything else you can think of). Here's the one that I currently use.
Or if knitting's not your thing,
Don't be afraid to make it big either.
Or a character or item from a game that they love.
It's not only something that looks nice, it has a function too! There's no limit to what you can come up with! Even if it's not their favorite character or animal, I'm sure they'll appreciate whatever it is nonetheless and they'll always think of you whenever they use it, and that's my favorite kind of gift.
I was commissioned to make an afghan for my friend's mom's husband's aunt's 90th birthday! She's seen me make things throughout the years, so she left EVERYTHING up to me. I decided to use this pattern from Red Heart's website:
http://www.redheart.com/free-patterns/pineapple-squares-throw
I know it says Intermediate, but I thought it was pretty easy, so don't be scared if you want to try it. I added the border on my own just to make it a little bit bigger. The finished size is 3.5' x 4.5', which won't fit a bed, but it's big enough to sit on the couch with, which is just what she wanted (her aunt is also very tiny). I was actually really upset when it was done because I didn't like how it looked at all and I hated how small it was. I was kind of embarrassed because I've been crocheting for years; I should have known better about gauge. The original pattern calls for a G hook, but I recently lost most of my hooks, so I decided to use an F hook like I normally use for stuffed animals. Gauge isn't extremely important for making stuffed animals, which is my specialty, so I figured smaller is better!
Wrong.
I have bigger hooks too. I just didn't think to use them. I was just embarrassed that I let something like that completely slip my mind. But I'm feeling better now. My friend's mom absolutely loved it and I'm so glad she did. In fact, as much as I don't like making afghans and clothing, it was nice to take a break from stuffed animals for a few months and I already have some other projects planned for the fall.
This is probably the only request that I ever filled.
My one friend had been asking me to make him a Pokemon for about two years. He wasn't pestering me or anything about it. He would just mention it here and there. Of course I eventually did, and here it is, but it was at the bottom of my list. Here's the thing: I don't do demands requests. I used to have people ask me all the time, "Oh, can you make this for me?" or worse, "You should make me this." or worst of all, just "Make me this."
Umm... no?
Now, when you read this, don't think that I'm being rude or anything. Just try to understand where I'm coming from. First of all, let me just clear up this big misconception about things that I make. I do not just close my eyes, say some magical words, and the thing that you want magically appears in front of me. It takes a lot of time and money to put something together, and even more time to do it well. I also have to spend my own money to buy supplies, and my time to make something for you, while getting nothing in return (Yes, unfortunately "thank you" is sometimes just not enough). Your chance of success also depends on how much I like you, what else I'm working on at the time, and if your birthday or some other celebration is coming up.
I hope you can understand that.
Now to actually talk about this picture! This is another fantastic pattern by WolfDreamerOffTheHook. I use her patterns all the time and I highly recommend checking her out if you know how to crochet (or if you don't. I can always teach you). My favorite things about this piece are the tail, which is poseable, and the eyes. I think using felt to make eyes, especially for things like cartoon characters, makes the whole doll look much cleaner than with crocheted eyes, and I think it looks more professional. It does take some work to get the shapes and positioning right, but it's highly worth the effort.
Here's my tip for attaching felt eyes (or other felt parts) to a piece. It seems that most people will just glue the eyes onto the doll, but I don't think that's very secure as you can just rip them off if you really try. Glue also hardens and makes the eyes themselves hard, which isn't a very nice texture. I prefer to sew mine on. It does take longer, but it's not too difficult and you can retain the original texture of the felt. Just use the same color thread as felt (or invisible thread) and start from the top-most layer and work down (so you can cover the previous layer's thread with the next one). There's also one more way in which I do this and it's even faster than sewing, but it involves a special tool called a felting needle. A felting needle is just a long needle that has barbs toward the end. When it goes through the felt, it will twist the fibers together and attach it to the surface after working it for a while. This can be done directly on the surface and it creates an even cleaner look without thread or many needle holes (although you will still have some). It works on yarn and felt bases and it saves me so much time, so give it a try!
Now don't forget, you're in control of what you make, so don't let someone convince you to make something for them if your heart's not in it. I make things for people because it makes me happy, and that's not something that you can force. I only make labors of love, not hate, so don't be afraid to tell someone no.
Here's that site by the way! If you need help making something, let me know!
I'm finally getting around to it (as if anyone even wants to read this)! Here's the story.
It all started in October, my senior year of high school. This was the first year that I was in AP Calc, but most of my friends had taken it before, as well as my older brother and his friends, so I had heard plenty of stories about how much of a jerk the teacher was and how much they hated him. Now, I'd been in school for just over a month, and I obviously had preconceptions about him, but none of them seemed to be true. I just couldn't understand why everyone seemed to hate him. I actually thought he was really funny and I liked being in his class.
Okay, that's enough background information. Flash forward to when I decided to make this. I was the drum major of my school's marching band and before every practice, I had to bring the podium down to the field. Luckily, my best friend would usually help me carry it. Since I always plan my Christmas presents months ahead, I'd been thinking that it would be really nice to get my teacher some sort of present for Christmas, just to show him that people do care. To be honest, this is not my original creation. I found this afghan on spritestitch.com, my favorite video game crafting site, where some lady had made this using a tunisian crochet hook (a really long hook usually used for making afghans), as well as the pattern. When I first found it, I really had no intention of ever making it, but several days later when I was carrying the podium to the field, I decided to ask my friend what he thought about it. Being the engineer that he is, he was uninterested in things such as "yarn" and "afghans", so he just said something like, "Sure, whatever. If you think you can do it." But I had already made up my mind. I knew it was going to be the biggest project that I had ever worked on and it was going to take a lot of time, but I wouldn't settle for anything less.
I actually wasn't sure how I was going to make it at first. I tried making small circles for each pixel, but after realizing that it was going to be about 9 feet long (as well as have 2 loose ends for each pixel), I decided to try something else. The original afghan was made using a tunisian hook, but I only use the regular size hooks (as well as I don't know how to do tunisian crochet); however, I did know how to switch between colors, so I just did what I knew how to do. That's right, I carried colors all throughout this afghan and added new ones on when I got to them. It's actually made out of 20 strips, plus the border, which was my own idea. Each strip took I think 4 hours, not to mention sewing them all together, then making the huge border with Koopas included in the corners. Then I had to weave in every single strand of yarn securely so that they would never come out (as in, I didn't just tie knots). I was working every single day from October to December at least 4 hours, and in late December, I'd say at least 6 hours a day. Believe it or not, I almost did not finish in time. I worked myself so hard over this, but I'm glad I did it.
It was now the final day of class before break and I didn't have math until right after lunch, so some of my friends had seen it beforehand (not to mention I was carrying a huge bag around since it wouldn't fit in my locker). I waited until the end of class to give it to him because
you have to understand something about me. I love to see people happy, and I'd love to see someone's reaction to one of my gifts, but... I just can't. Part of it is that I'm just embarrassed about it, but the other half is that I'm like a mirror. I somehow have so much empathy that if I see someone beyond happy, I'll get that way too, but I feel like that's their moment to have and I don't want to intrude, so what I usually do is
chuck it at them and then get the heck out of there as fast as I can. (It also would have been so distracting if I did it at the beginning of class).
So some of my friends stayed after class with me to see it and I presented the bag to him. I tried to dash out of there, but he asked me what it was.
Um, duh, it's a Christmas present,
But I guess people usually don't get him anything, especially this big, so he was surprised. My friends kept telling him "Open it! Open it! while I was still trying to get out of there, and then it just happened.
He opened the bag and held it up and... well, that was it.
He was speechless. I've never had that happen to me before and even at the time, I was so... embarrassed first of all, and dazed about the whole thing that I wasn't really paying attention, but I wish I would have been. I mean, I couldn't speak either, so my friends were like, "HE MADE THAT." and he looked at me and I just nodded my head. "HE CROCHETS STUFF." ... That's really all I remember. Sorry.
Not to complain or anything, but he never actually thanked me for it, but
that's okay. I'm sure he would have if he knew. And I never expected anything anyway. All I wanted to do was make him feel like he was important. I hope I did.
So that's it. Yep, I gave it away to someone who I only knew for a few months, and I've never seen it again. But I hope that every time he looks at it, he remembers that he's not alone. He doesn't even have to remember my name (but, I mean, how hard would that be? I'm on the afghan).
I still never found anything dislikable about him. He was the best teacher I ever had in high school, so I don't know what everyone was talking about. But what I do know is that everyone deserves to feel like they're important, and I try and show people that every day. This was just one of those times.
It can be hard trying to find a present for someone who's crafty. Besides getting them a gift card to their favorite store, I honestly don't know much else that you can do (please take note, I do not recommend buying someone yarn, needles, or other supplies; everyone has their own favorite brand and you can never be sure of what they might already have).
However, this just might be the second best thing, and definitely something that will stand out among the sea of gift cards and money. If you didn't know, when you crochet or knit a continuous piece, everything is worked by the round. When the piece is small, it's very easy to manage, but after a while, it's hard to remember where the new round begins. To help with this, companies make markers that you can use to keep track of your rounds. Obviously, they're unnecessarily expensive.
Now, getting someone a gift card is great, but what they buy with that gift card might not be with them forever, or they might even forget who gave it to them and what they bought with it. So, now's our chance to give a gift with a lasting impression! All you need is some wire, wire cutters, pliers, headpins, and beads (I just used leftovers). I also used a mandrel / ring sizer for sizing and shaping, but if you don't have one, it's still totally do-able.
Cut a section of your wire about 5 inches long. Loop it into a circle (I made mine about a size 6.75 ring) and twist the ends together.
Next, make a small loop with the other end of the wire and cut off the excess.
Put a bead onto the headpin and form the top into a loop. If the hole of the bead is too big, try putting another bead on first. I used a size 11/0 seed bead so that it would fit inside and not be seen.
Now, attach both of your loops.
And with that, you've just made your own stitch marker! I think it would be really cool to make a set of these that all match. I know it's not the ultimate gift, but I think it's a pretty great one because every time they use it, they'll think of you, and it looks a lot nicer than a plain plastic ring, too.
Let me know if you need any help or if you want other ideas!
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