Tis the season!!!

[snogirl17]

HI everyone, this year we have decided not to go all out on gifts because we have purchased a nice leather couch this year. However we did agree that our tree needed some gifts under it
We agreed to make our gifts this year and they have to be under $100. Anyone have any great ideas? I have a few but with school and working full time i think i am going to have a hard time pulling it off. I was going to try to make a quilt for our bed, however i just dont think i am going to have time. (i would have to take classes, because i have no clue how to make them)
Any suggestions?? I know you ladies have em! Thank you so much in advance!

 

[~*Alexis*~]

I went out and bought a bunch of gift cards for various places and wrapped them up in different size boxes so he didnt know. He was pleasently suprised. Thats an easy thing and he can always get what he wants....

 

[Mandarine]

Last year for his birthday I gave him a wine club membership!

We love wine so it was a perfect gift. I think it was slightly more than $100, but they had different options. The one I gave him was one that would send him 2 bottles of wine per month (with decsriptions, etc) for six months. They have shorter ones too...and all kinds of clubs! (beer, chocolate, coffee, etc) www.amazingclubs.com

I love to give "unexpected gifts". This year I gave him kiteboarding lessons for his birthday...he''s always wanted to try it so he loved that too!.

Maybe there is something your BF has been mentioning he wants to try or do?

Good luck!

M~

 

[anchor31]

My FI will be going to Texas soon for a business trip, so I''m probably going to buy him some decent luggage. I''m a student, so I hope it won''t cost me a fortune either!

 

[snogirl17]

Mandarine thats a really good idea.. he love his beer maybe i could look into that for him..
He has wanted to take guitar lessons maybe i could buy a few for him..

the thing is we said we had to make our gifts... and i dont know what to make, i thought maybe a calendar. but maybe kind of corney!

 

[jcrow]

ohh, guitar lessons... i need to write that idea down!

 

[Mandarine]

Oh sorry! I missed that you said you had to make it!!! hehehe

Ok...Let's see. I don't think a calendar is corney. It depends how you make it. Kodakgallery.com has some pretty cool calendars (ok, so you don't actually make it, but you design it!)

Last year I made him a book of 2005. A scrapbook (my first scrapbook ever!). So each month had it's own section with pictures and stories from that month (I save all our e-mails so I went back to see what was going on each month)...so I added funny stories, copies of e-cards I sent him, pictures, special moments, pictures of our trips, etc.....

The first page said "The memories of 2005".....At the end I just summarized why 2005 was such a great year...and the last page just said "I can't wait for 2006!!!".

He loved it....I think I even saw some tears

and he's a tough cookie to break! hehe

M~

 

[ChargerGrrl]

I LOVE Mandarine''s idea of a scrapbook yearbook!

If you aren''t crafty and cannot see yourself putting together a scrapbook (they''re very time-consuming), then what about a picture book?

I''m currently looking into putting a couple together for our wedding and parents album. Check our mypublisher.com I''ve only browsed through the site, but it looks very user-friendly and they have a nice selection of book sizes, colors, and other options.

 

[bee*]

I think that a scrapbook is a great idea-Im not very arts and crafty but I might do that for D next year for our engagement year. It seems like a great idea!

 

[Fancy605]

If you don''t have time for a scrapbook, you could always make a photo collage. One Christmas I made my fiance a photo collage using copies of photos from memorable times in our relationship. I also included words and prhases and inside jokes that made me think of us that I clipped from magazines. I collected the words and phrases in a little box until I was ready to glue everything together. It may be a bit dorm-room-esque, but I like it.


I think the quilt idea is great, but I have done a bit of quilting myself, and it is VERY time consuming. You would be very pressed to finish by Christmas, especially as a beginner. I spent every free second of nearly 2 months cutting and putting together my first quilt top, which was a very simple pattern of just squares. (I did it by hand, not on machine, so maybe it would have been faster by machine). I made so many mistakes, that I never ended up backing it and quilting it. But, it was a good learning process.

 

[fisherofmengirly]

A quilt will take a good bit of time. I made a quilt of the Atlanta skyline for Paul last Christmas, and I started in August and only had a couple of weeks to spare at the end. It takes a lot of time. Under pressure, it can become really frustrating, too!

I love the idea of making a gift; I try to do that for every occassion we celebrate. Let me think of some of the things we''ve done: Paul made me a map, to scale and everything, of all the places we went on road trips in 2005, I made him a photo journal of his 28th year, we went to a pottery painting studio and painted our gifts for one another''s 6 month anniversary present (I made him a toothbrush holder with a skyline on it, he painted me a giraffee, my favorite animal), I crocheted him a scarf, I crocheted him a blanket. We made picture frames for one another once.

Some good ideas that would be sweet and still not cost too, too much or take too much time, since you''re on a bit of a tight schedule now, are: a scarf. Learning to crochet isn''t that hard, or you could even buy that fleece stuff, and just sew it, or even make those cuts along the bottom of it that you simply tie off. Or, if it''s not cold where you live, you could go to one of those pottery painting studios and paint him a bowl for him to have cereal out of every morning, or a coffee cup, whatever he likes. If that''s not enough of "making it yourself," then you could write a journal about all the things he means to you, and all the memories you hold the dearest, and the dreams you have for the future, along with pictures of precious moments in your life. That''s a lot less time consuming (and expensive) than scrapbooking. You could bake him a meal that he really loves. You could make a book of coupons for him to use throughout the year, including things like a back rub, a night of him getting the remote all night, getting a "pass" on NOT having to do something he does because he loves you, but really doesn''t like to do *like going with you shopping, visiting a friend of yours, whatever.* You could make him a CD of songs you know he loves. You could try to build something around his interests: like, make a collage for him of his favorite sports team, then get one of those clock sets you can get at a craft store, and make a clock for his office or den or bedroom that shows off his interests. If he''s the sentimental type, you could find a penny or dime or some sort of piece of change with the year he was born, and the year you were born, and have them drilled, so it could be a keyring, signifying both of you.

Okay, I can''t think of anything else. But if you know of any specific interests he has, I bet I could come up with another idea or two. I hope you''re able to think of something that will be special to both of you. I love the thought that goes into personalized gifts!

 

[snogirl17]

Wow Fisher you really went to town and gave me some great ideas! I like the clock idea!! i could maybe cut out motorcross pictures and put them in there. He could use it for his office.

the key chain idea is really cute too! thanks so much!

He actually made me a scarf last year and i have NO idea how he did it.. and a memory box, when i opened it he had put some batting down so it looked snow and it was lined with ticket stubs and pictures and all of the cards he has given me. it was sweet.. maybe i should do something like that for him becuse my cards and memory type items from me to him are all over the closet.

I hear that those tie blankets are pretty easy to do... has anyone had any experience with those?

 

[Fancy605]

The fleece tie blankest ARE really easy. I have made several. It only takes a couple of hours:

I usually get 2 coordinating colors/patterns of fleece (one for the top, one for the bottom--but you can use just one layer. It isn''t as comfy that way though IMO). I get 2 yards of each for nice, big blankets.

Then all you do is line them up on top of eachother and make cuts along one side. I make 2ish inch cuts. I just sort of eyeball them. Make the cuts about 6 inches or so long (The longer you make them, the longer the tassles. Longer cuts are easier to tie too.

Then you knot the whole side. You can use the 2 layers to make square knots, or you can just make a hard knot with the cuts.

Then do the next side.

The only hard part is the corners, but if you do one side at a time, the corners sort of work themselves out. Some people cut them off, but I leave them (It makes the blankets more rounded).

Once you have all the sides knoted, you can personalize it. I take sticky felt and cut letters from it and put them in a corner. Then I puff paint around it. That way the lettering is small and out of the way, but it is still personal. You could always use regular felt or fabric and tacky-glue or iron on stuff.

I have done them with people''s names on them. I have done them with greek letters on them. You can put anything you want really.

And lots of fabric stores have COOL patterns of fleece.

 

[snogirl17]

sounds easy enough for me!!! I also like the idea of putting the letters on the blanket. Since our initals are the same.. that could be kinda neat.
thank you so much for the help ladies.. and if you have any more ideas, keep them coming...