DIY Christmas gifts

I made my own wine/glass charms a couple years ago when they were really big. I couldnt understand why they were so expensive! Ill try to post some pics from home.

I guess this qualifies as DIY... i love baking at Christmas, so i give a variety of items to lots of people for gifts. I was thinking about doing a jar of homemade hot chocolate in cute little mason jars this year too!

ETA: Those magnets are TOO CUTE and look so easy!!!

I''m knitting scarves for 2 of my friends and baking for my coworkers.  It''s alot of work, but people tend to really appreciate it even though it costs alot less...

NJC i had a friend do wine glass charms - they came out so cute! So she did one set of those and then she bought me a set of wine glasses and did a removable wrap around them in different colors. It was really cute. Unfortunately I went to Paris and stored them with a "friend" who never gave them back!

The knitting seems to be popular. My aunt stuck scarves she made to peoples presents last year. They''re cute.

I went through a mosaic phase this summer and I did one on a vase that my aunt loved, so I am going to put that with her present this year. My friend is way better than I am and did mirrors and a table as gifts recently for her bf. They were pretty amazing.

Other than that, we bake huge amounts for acquaintances.

I''ve always loved those jars filled with everything to make a cookie, I got one for Christmas from a neighbor one year. All you add is eggs and water....all the dry ingredients are in there. I just never knew where to get a recipe for it, or how to get the correct size jar so that the ingredients are not moving around and getting all mixed up because the beauty of it is the different colored layers.

Bright Spot, I LOVED the idea of the magnets..
I loved it so much that I made my bf drive me to Michael''s.. and bought the stuff to make them.. they didn''t have the two different size marbles... SO I then made him go accross town to another mall, where I could shop around..
ahaha.
I love LOVE the idea though..
YAY!!!
(this made my week...as I''ll be playing around with them!!)

THANK YOU :)

We have made:

the wine charms
bath salts (people love these)
soap (fun to choose the colors and scents)

I think this year we will make those magnets!  They are very cute! 

Those magnets are really cute.  My kids would love them! 

I make fudge for lots of people, but I get actual gifts (plus fudge) for my parents, grandparents, favorite aunt, BF, and BFs family.  And I don''t go all out either, I get stuff like wine, vases, cookbooks, etc.

oh also there are lots of good photo gift ideas on kodakgallery, shutterfly, etc.  Last year I made a calendar for the BF and on each month I used pictures from that month in the past year.  For the grandparents since they play bridge a lot, I had playing cards made with a picture from a family gathering. 

portoar, care to share what you used to make thes ebath salts? Sounds like a fantastic idea..!!
The material cost a lot for those little magnets, but they are fun to make... hard to find good pictures.. I made 7 last night, and there are only two that I actually like.
Practice makes perfect though :)

I thought of a new one today.  I was starring right at it and couldn''t believe I didn''t think of it earlier.  Go to Hoibby Lobby  or the craft store.  Buy they cheap small picture frames for like $2-$3 each...in whatever sizes 3x5, 4x6, etc.  Then get scrapbook paper in various prints.  cut strips.  Use special craft glue that dries clear and coat the frame with glue using a sponge brush.  then wrap the strips around it.  cover with more glue.  They turn out really cute and you can put pictures or whatever in for the recipient.

Date: 11/17/2005 10:18:08 AM
Author: sparkly_stars
portoar, care to share what you used to make thes ebath salts? Sounds like a fantastic idea..!!
The material cost a lot for those little magnets, but they are fun to make... hard to find good pictures.. I made 7 last night, and there are only two that I actually like.
Practice makes perfect though :)

You can find the recipe by just doing a google search, but it''s so simple!  Really, all you need is salts, glycerine, perfume (I like to use real perfume, not cologne), and if you like a little food coloring.  I''ve made these with my favorite perfume (Obsession) or you can get scents at Michaels or use essential oils.

2 C salts
1 T glycerine
few drops scent (this depends on how strong your scent is, play with it)
few drops color, if desired

Mix it all together.   I make chiffon bags with ribbon pull strings to put them in (or you can get them at Michaels), or decorative glass containers look great too!

Also on eBay you can get troughs of the bath salts already made up or buy them unscented etc and just do your thing with them..I thought about that and then got lazy and just bought a few lbs of different scents for our glass bath jars...that is another idea is to put them in an apothecary jar or similar, and wrap a ribbon or raffia around it or similar..tie a little hang card on it with information on what you used or a cute note. Or you can do gift baskets using stuff off eBay in bulk. It can be fun but I usually end up spending MORE than I would have if I try to be all custom and homemade so I usually just buy gifts.

Date: 11/19/2005 9:25:10 PM
Author: appletini
I thought of a new one today. I was starring right at it and couldn''t believe I didn''t think of it earlier. Go to Hoibby Lobby or the craft store. Buy they cheap small picture frames for like $2-$3 each...in whatever sizes 3x5, 4x6, etc. Then get scrapbook paper in various prints. cut strips. Use special craft glue that dries clear and coat the frame with glue using a sponge brush. then wrap the strips around it. cover with more glue. They turn out really cute and you can put pictures or whatever in for the recipient.

I think the product you''d use to do this is called Mod Podge. I used to do that to my binders in high school. Its also good to follow up with an acrylic or polyeurothane (I''m sorry, I''m sure that is SO spelled wrong!) because it can get sticky. You can make some really cute and creative things by decoupaging, have you done frames before? It sounds like a great idea!

When the kids were younger (elementary school), I insisted they make their teacher gifts every year.  We made monogramed scarves, scented bath soaps, tree ornaments, candles, gingerbread houses, and lots of cookies.  The kids enjoyed doing it, and I think the teachers apprecaited the effort they put into each gift. 

The kids have the most fun making gingerbread boxes and filling them with home-made cookies.  We usually have a few holiday parties to go to, and I don''t like to show up empty handed, so we make quite a few and give them as hostess gifts.  Not the best pic, but you get the idea.

Attachments

gingerbreadcookiebox.jpg (90.91 KiB) Viewed 485 times

Date: 11/20/2005 2:06:49 AM
Author: Blue824

Date: 11/19/2005 9:25:10 PM
Author: appletini
I thought of a new one today. I was starring right at it and couldn''t believe I didn''t think of it earlier. Go to Hoibby Lobby or the craft store. Buy they cheap small picture frames for like $2-$3 each...in whatever sizes 3x5, 4x6, etc. Then get scrapbook paper in various prints. cut strips. Use special craft glue that dries clear and coat the frame with glue using a sponge brush. then wrap the strips around it. cover with more glue. They turn out really cute and you can put pictures or whatever in for the recipient.

I think the product you''d use to do this is called Mod Podge. I used to do that to my binders in high school. Its also good to follow up with an acrylic or polyeurothane (I''m sorry, I''m sure that is SO spelled wrong!) because it can get sticky. You can make some really cute and creative things by decoupaging, have you done frames before? It sounds like a great idea!

Blue, Thanks for the clarification.   I love this idea, I might have to start doing these again...maybe next year.

Here''s a different one.  You can put it in a cute little designer bottle/jar...

Relax With a Hot Chocolate Milk Bath

1 cup dried milk
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup baking powder
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons cream of tarter
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

Thoroughly combine all ingredients and store in a clean, dry container until you''re ready for your chocolate pampering.

When the mood strikes, make the bath solution by heating 3 tablespoons of the mix with 1/2 cup of water and 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan. Bring to a boil. Add the hot mixture to bathwater while the tub is filling. You''ll emerge from the tub silky smooth — and without any regrets! Mmmmm. Isn''t that delicious?

 

after buying lots of those glass beads for the little magnets (they come in packs of 25-50) I started my search with other ideas of what I could do..

I came accross this idea, and although it would only be suitable for the sensitive type of bf/husband etc.. Its still very cute.
I think you''d only be able to put words like "eyes" "butt" etc.. because it suggest writing on them, and you cant write much on the small size! BUT! :) there, thought I''d share!
LINK :)

I have bought a large pot of tiny leaf english ivy and from that one pot can make up  to 5 or more topiary potted plants.  Then I decorate them with ornaments expressing the recipients personality.

You can use an inexpensive clay pot...filled with soil and take a wire coat hanger shape it in a circle, spiral, heart, sphere, etc.  Shove the wire into the pot...(sometimes I put gravel in first before the soil).  Take spanish moss or live moss tear it off and place it on your wire form.  You attach the moss with green florist wire.  Take an rooted ivy sprig from your large plant, bury the roots and lghtly attach the delicate ivy to the moss wrapped form with florist staple clips.

Take a slender width of silk ribbon wind it around and through the heart shape and ending at the top make a large bow.  Hang the ornament in the air space of the heart (example) and attach a pretty piece of wrapping papper around the clay pot attach with another ribbon, add tiny delicate balls and decor and viola. 

The last heart shaped topiary I made was for a snow man lover.  The ornament was a snowman angel that was in flight...it dangled from the center of the heart and was simply precious.  I used a large square piece of wrapping paper with snow man themes and gathered the paper around the pot with a string that had little mittens on it.  It was adorable.

I usually make "crafty Christmas plates" - kinda the same concept as the picture frames.  I have a few so I''ll see if I can get some pictures.

Ingredients:
clear glass plates (usually found at Hobby Lobby, Michaels or WalMart for about $1-$2 each; typically they come in 2 sizes)
1-2 yards of cotton Christmas themed fabric
Mod Podge (I prefer gloss rather than the matte finish)
sponge brushes
acrylic/polyurethane finisher

1) Cut out a piece of fabric that is slightly larger than the plate
2) Using the sponge brush, cover the back of the plate with a thin layer of Mod Podge (sometimes I delete this step, but find it helps the fabric adhere to the plate).
3) Cover the backside of the plate so that the print side of the fabric is the side that touches the plate
4) Using the sponge brush, brush the Mod Podge onto the back of the fabric, be generous.
5) Continue using the sponge brush to smooth out the fabric and get rid of trapped air bubbles (you can usually see these better by looking at the front of the plate).
6) Set the non-fabric side on top of a plastic cup or a jar & let dry
7) Coat w/ an acrylic or polyurethane finisher.

Then I usually fill the larger sized plates with cookies, fudge, brownies, etc. and on the smaller plates I will place a candle in a color that coordinates with the fabric.

Very cute & cheap!