Step up the fancy for less™
Photo by JurgaR/iStockphoto.com
Why Christmas when we’re in the throes of summer? I know. I worked six years in retail. In my experience, nothing incited people’s groans more than Christmas being stocked on the shelves in August. However, I think this a worthy exception. After all, if you’re going to have a handmade Christmas, you can’t very likely undertake the proposition in December, now can you?
I’m excited to share this prodigious list of Christmas gift ideas that I compiled years ago. I forgot that I had it, but Tracie reminded me when she asked for inexpensive handmade gift ideas that I might have come across in my search for camp crafts.
This is the first of seven parts that I will post over the next few weeks (MWF). Keep in mind I culled most of these ideas from the internet years ago, but I added ideas I found recently plus a few of my own. I hope these ideas will inspire you to create your own unique gifts. I can’t wait to see what you come up with! On Friday: Christmas-themed crafts.
Part 1: Home & garden crafts
curbly.com
1. Make a set of tile coasters using 4-inch ceramic tiles. Paint a simple design or decoupage napkins, paper or photos onto them. Glue felt on the back to protect surfaces from scratches. Then tie them with a holiday ribbon.
Tile coaster instructions
2. More coasters to try using recycled magazines, buttons, or fabric:
Woven magazine coasters
Woven button coasters
Quilted fabric coasters
3. Personalize a picture frame. Choose a plain picture frame and decorate it with polymer clay, acrylic paints, seashells, beads, ribbon, etc.
Paulownia wood picture frame
marthastewart.com
4. Make a set of inexpensive cloth napkins into a special gift by adding a personal touch. Add a monogram to each one with cross-stitch, embroidery, needlepoint, or embellish with buttons, appliques, or stencils. Include a set of handmade napkin rings.
Fruity button embroidery napkins
Recycled fabric napkin rings
5. Storage boxes are decorative and useful. Get several different sizes from a craft, office, or stationery store and decorate them with paints or decoupaged paper. Stack the boxes inside each other. Stacking storage boxes
source unknown
6. Make bird seed balls with seeds, suet, peanut butter, Christmas tree hooks, and leftover ribbons.
Peanut butter birdseed ball recipe
Suet snack recipe
7. Make a mosaic tea-light holder or decorate a box, dish, pot, or frame with mosaic tiles. For outdoor projects, try a mosaic stepping stone or bird bath.
Mosaic instructions
Mosaic stepping stones
Mosaic birdbath
8. Make a mosaic address plaque/house marker or individual house numbers. The house marker can be mounted to the house or to a stand in the yard.
Mosaic house number
Mosaic house number plaque
Inspiration from Pear Tree Mosaics
charliescraftroom.com
9. Paint an empty wine bottle with non-toxic paint and fill with olive oil. Top with an oil pour spout that can be found at a gourmet cooking shop.
Turn a wine bottle into an oil bottle
Van Gogh on a wine bottle
10. Frame a piece of your own artwork.
How to frame your own art
11. Create and frame your own family tree photo collage.
Handmade family tree collage
12. Make a soothing herb pillow filled with flaxseed or buckwheat or a heat-therapy bag.
How to make an herbal pillow
Rice heat-therapy bag
marthastewart.com
13. Make a candle in a vintage teacup. Scour garage sales for cheap but interesting tea cups. Start with a wick, melted old candle ends, and a little scented oil, such as lemongrass or grapefruit.
How to make teacup lights
14. Make seashell candles. Fill sea shells with melted wax and a short wick, then let cool. A variety of shells big or small make cute bath lights.
How to make seashell candles
15. Make floating candles. Include a wide bowl and instructions to float the candles in water with the recipient’s favorite blossoms.
How to make floating candles
save-on-crafts.com
16. Make no-sew lavender sachets. Purchase dried lavender buds, fine tulle or other thin fabric, and 1/8-inch satin ribbon. Cut the tulle into saucer-size circles. Place two or three tablespoons of lavender in each circle. Gather sides and tie tightly with the ribbon. Place several of these in a holiday box.
Dried lavender buds
How to make sewn lavender sachets
17. Make a small indoor water fountain kit. The main ingredient is an inexpensive pump. Get a bowl or dish to hold it and some decorative rocks. Include directions or a diagram.
How to build tabletop fountains
notmartha.org
18. Create a set of magnets out of bottle caps, marbles, or just about anything.
Bottlecap magnets
Marble magnets
19. Make a clothesline coil basket. All you need is a sewing machine, length of cotton clothesline, and some colorful fabric. Or try weaving a basket out of recycled paper.
Clothesline coil basket
Woven map basket
20. Make handmade soaps and package them with a soap dish, loofah, or natural sponge.
Tips and recipes at soapmakingsecret.com
More tutorials and recipes at teachsoap.com
Japanese-motif soaps at marthastewart.com
ohdeedoh.com
21. Make silhouettes out of fabric or cut paper, then frame them as gifts.
How to make paper silhouettes
Hat silhouettes
Silhouettes in under 30 minutes
Stitched silhouettes
22. Make a pencil/pen caddy for someone’s office. Make it our of wood, a glass jar, tin can, etc.
Salvaged wood pencil & pen caddy
Perpetual calendar pencil holder
23. Make cookie-cutter candles. Package them with cookies make with the same cookie cutter, then tie the cookie cutter onto the outside of the package. How to make cookie-cutter candles
threadbanger.com
24. Make a sunburst/starburst mirror using lazy susans, plant markers, Woodsies, cereal boxes, paper, or bamboo skewers.
Starburst mirror with plant markers
Cereal box sunburst mirror
Lazy susan sunburst mirror
Starburst mirror with skewers
Sunburst mirror with magazine scraps
25. Create a trivet, bulletin board, or bath mat out of recycled wine corks.
Wine cork trivet
Wine cork bath mat
26. Hand paint a flower pot and plant holiday blooms such as amaryllis, paper whites, poinsettias and English ivy.
Hand-painted chalkboard flower pot
rhodeislandaltars.com
27. Holiday centerpieces and topiaries add so much to the season. Make your own topiary using 18-gauge wire and needle-nose pliers. Shape the wire into a star, snowman, tree, heart, or a circle. Place it in a pot planted with ivy or another climbing plant. Separate the runners and wrap them around the wire.
Simple ivy topiary
Boxwood Globe topiary
Round topiary
Topiary trees and centerpieces
More topiaries
The list continues on Friday with numbers 28 through 38.
32 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post · TrackBack URL
Leave a Comment
recent comments
- Mary: Amazing! I love it!!! Now, if only I get around [...]
- Sarah: I can't get all the glue off either. How'd you [...]
- solmaz: that is so fantaaaaaaaaaacccttttiiiiiiccccccccccc
- monica: danger - You can subscribe to the newsletter by clicking [...]
- danger: Hello, I desire to subscribe for this website to obtain [...]
- Jacqueline Viers: It looks durable compared to the ones I usually see [...]
August 25, 2010 at 8:26 am
Omg….I can’t wait to start making these things…
August 25, 2010 at 9:17 am
Great list! You are so right that if you are making gifts or decorations, you really do have to start early. I have a bunch of ideas from blogs that I printed out to do this year. I will have to take the next rainy weekend that I am home and go through them to decide which I want to do and/or try.
August 26, 2010 at 6:00 am
It’s awesome….
August 26, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Great Post! I love giving gifts. One of the things I like to do is try to confuse people about what they’re getting for their gift. I saw this idea about fake gift wrap. here’s a link http://bit.ly/c5wZDW – Does anything like this exist? I’d appreciate any info or ideas you can give me. Thanks!
August 26, 2010 at 9:11 pm
I love monograms, anything will do. This year I am monogramming new fluffy bath towels with a last name initial in a pretty fabric that coordinates with their bath colors, following instructions I found online to back it and adhere it, and then machine satin stitch all around the initials edge. Another idea, purchase glassware and get a do it yourself kit for glass etching a last name initial on each one. Can’t wait to get started….
August 26, 2010 at 11:53 pm
great ideas, thx!
Michaels & ikea do have cheaper frames.
August 29, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Great craft ideas, thanks. I might even be able to achieve some of them! :)
Lots of these would make good end of year teacher / coach / mentor gifts too.
Can’t wait for the next ones.
August 30, 2010 at 12:56 am
seriously….most of these are cute but if someone gives me a birdseed ball for christmas they are not getting invited back next christmas….lol
August 30, 2010 at 3:08 pm
This is a perfect list!
October 25, 2010 at 3:14 pm
I’m totally enjoying this list! Thanks so much!
October 6, 2011 at 8:22 am
is there anyway i can make the bird seed balls without using beef fat? im vegan and either way i just find that really gross. i really want to hang some on the fruit trees in my backyard. i really liek a lot of these ideas though! grreat job!
October 7, 2011 at 6:45 pm
gigi – Yes! I found the perfect alternative to beef fat: coconut oil. It’s solid at room temperature just like animal fat, and it’s good for birds — loaded with healthy saturated fat. You think I jest? Surely not. Read this article: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/saturated-fat-healthy/
A Dusty Frame » Blog Archive » From Outside The Frame said,
October 28, 2011 at 6:09 am
[...] Inexpensive homemade gifts [...]
November 1, 2011 at 5:23 pm
WOW! I just can’t explain it. :) This makes my heart melt every time just like my husband does when we “have fun” at night!! :) THANKS SO MUCH!
Thinking About Christmas « Rainbow Garden said,
November 3, 2011 at 4:15 pm
[...] Crafty Nest [...]
Could You Have a No-Buy Holiday? | Ethical Energy said,
November 4, 2011 at 11:15 am
[...] There are tons of ideas online for handmade gifts. You can get your creative juices flowing with this wonderful list. [...]
November 7, 2011 at 8:45 am
Tried a few of these previously (or at least variations of them). I’m getting more into the mode of giving good food–everyone will use/like that. Great post here on some more gift ideas: http://aemayer.com/blog/2011/11/easyholidaygifts/
November 9, 2011 at 2:00 am
Found you via Pinterest. Lots of great ideas here – should keep me busy. Thanks!
November 9, 2011 at 11:27 am
These are all gorgeous gifts. they don’t appear childish or cheap as many of the other ideas I have found. Thank you for some nice ideas for adult gifts.
November 30, 2011 at 9:55 pm
Quick question about the teacup candles, Would you have to worry about them breaking when the candle is lit? I have some very cute teacups that I would love to do this to!
December 1, 2011 at 1:17 am
Brianne – I think you’re safe. Teacups are made to withstand heat.
December 3, 2011 at 11:48 am
i like them
December 12, 2011 at 3:31 pm
These inexpensive Christmas gifts ideas surely reflect the true Christmas spirit of love, feelings and meaning.
December 17, 2011 at 7:27 am
need more ideas!!!!!!!!!
January 20, 2012 at 3:22 am
the ideas are great and are very special kind of…. thanx for the gift ideas for making my moms birthday special………
January 31, 2012 at 4:26 am
very nice plz post more ideas
August 8, 2012 at 12:10 pm
Thank you for such a great collection of diy gifts. I love candles in a vintage cup idea, I am going to make them for my friends.
October 13, 2012 at 3:41 am
great ideas for christmas…. cant wait! :)
October 24, 2012 at 2:41 am
Im so doing the basket weaving SO excited!!!
November 3, 2012 at 11:38 am
all the christmas tree are in a basket or bucket. how do you get them to stay in there. I love the look but can’t figure it out with out the tree falling over.
November 30, 2012 at 7:06 am
Great!!!! Know what I am getting my mom for Christmas.
December 10, 2012 at 4:19 pm
I recently purchased quite a few of these Personalized Letters from Santa for all of my nieces and nephews. They ALL LOVED them! http://www.iSantaLetters.com. They were cheap and very quick delivery!