Creating Gifts

I often make presents for Master and other people in our lives. It doesn't take being an artist to make a gift think about what you do - sew, knit, crochet, cook, play music, give great massages, garden...all are gifts and talents that others will appreciate.

If you have questions about any of these gift ideas, please feel free to drop me an email.

Gift Ideas - Tips for Making - Examples of Gifts

Gift Ideas

Those with links have examples below.

Arts and Craft

Inspiration Cards - cards that have quotes, stress tips, reasons you love the person or what not on little cards that they can pull daily. Easiest way I found to do that is to get a pack of perforated business cards to put through the printer. (more instructions on this below)

A pack of notecards and/or just a homemade card - homemade cards always mean a lot to the person getting them. You can also personalize it for the person. You can get blank cards with envelopes at Walmart - a 50 pack for about $6. Also I did the notecards with collages on the front. Sometimes just individual cards or a whole card set for a gift....pack of 4 or 8

Calendar - a piece of cardstock and cut them in half for the base. Calendar part could be done with a computer or hand making them....drawing lines and then using rubbers stamps for the numbers. That part would be on the bottom half of the cut piece of cardstock and then the top half is a collage. Bind it all together with a metal clip. Just a note this takes a long time to do the more creative you get with it.

Magnet poetry sets - Basically typing up words and then printing them off and sticking them to self adhesive magnetic sheets. You can also buy magnetic sheets that are safe for the printer --- so you could print directly to them. I like this idea being specialized to the person - such as my sister is a history buff and so I could make a poetry set that is all about history.

Magnets - just doing a little collage on some matboard or cardboard and then stick magnets on the backside

Marble magnets

Links to the how-to on several sites 1, 2, and 3

Book-markers - just collaging them and some without a tassel and others will have a tassel of yarn or beaded tassels

Journals - taking those mead journals (got them for 50 cents a piece at target) and painted and collaged the cover (inside and outside covers) On the inside collage I am putting ribbon under the collage so that the journal can be tied shut.

Mini notebooks - collaged the front cover

Picture frames - picked up frames at the dollar store --they have flat wider frame. Collaging the frame and including photographs in them.

Mix cds with collaged cd covers or books - took the aol free cd and used the fold out card pockets they fit in as a template to make covers for the mix cds. Doing collages to go along with the cd

Food and Goodies

cooking a special meal or the person's favorite meal

baking and packaging into a pretty tin tied with pretty ribbon

jar mixes - here is a site that has all sorts of ideas for them.

basket stuffed with goodies - take a basket and make it specialized for the person...if they like coffee do some sample packets of coffee, maybe some chocolate covered spoon and a nice pottery mug or a pretty package of napkins. Or get assorted teas and coffees. A basket with a jar mixes of cinnamon pancake mix and a bottle of syrup and a little jar preserves. Make one that has some little notecards in it...a couple of votive candles and maybe a Godiva chocolate bar. Or a paperback book or a magazines, a bottle of bubble bath and a candle. For baskets it is endless possibilities.

Tips for Making Art/Craft Gifts

Ideas for decoration on paper crafts:

using the fancy punches you can get that have stars, hearts, flowers and punch out little shapes from construction paper and gluing them onto the cards
rubber stamps - cane color them in if you want also
scrapbooking items (such as puffy hearts, buttons, brads, eyelets and other rickrack)
stickers
ribbons or yarn- can just be glued on cards or punched holes across sides or top/bottom and weave some ribbon or raffia through the cards
fabrics - so many have beautiful textures and designs on them
collage - just cut up magazines and collage little elements on front around quotes or collage the back to go with the front quote
markers and crayons - easy and fun
fancy scissors - these days they have scissors that will create wonderful edging to these little cards

Look around your house you might have more things then you think - think wrapping paper, old greeting cards with pretty images, stationary, ribbon, tissue also has great designs.

Have a budget - check out places like the dollar store (especially Dollar Tree), Big Lots, Target (check out the $1 Spot), Wal-Mart - they all at times have stickers, rubberstamps, and even scrapbooking supplies. Another place is Archiver's they have the Hot Spot and things are $2 dollars or under.

Examples of Gifts

365 Days of Inspiration and Reasons I love you Cards

I bought a pack of the blank business cards for our printer. I did use a few sheets of colored paper and cut them out but I really didn't want to have to cut 365 cards. So the business cards were very handy as they have perforated edges for easy tearing. I used Microsoft Word's template for business cards and just started filling each card out. I did 100 reasons I love him. I did quotes from http://www.powerquotes.net as you can search by subject. Some had really good questions after each quote and so I at times included those. I looked for stress relieving tips online and put a tips on the card. I then printed out and then decorated some of them. Not all 365 but I did probably end up doing close to 200 of them.

Here is a peek at some I made before all my art supplies were unpacked. So all I had was just a few things and still was able to create some unique cards. It does take some time but it was well worth it as he was thrilled with something I put so much time and thought into.

Here is just a very small selection of pictures of them....

Notecards

Calendar

Magnets

Marble/Glass Magnets

Book-Markers

Journal

These were not made specifically for Master but other friends and family but really could be adapted for anyone.

I took a mead note book that you can get at Target for 50 cents or Wal-Mart for $1 and then collaged and painted the covers to make them into a personalized journal.

Basically I just took some acrylic craft paint that you can get from 50 cents to $1.50 at crafts stores or Wal-Mart and painted the outside covers. I then collaged the front covers. Make it simple...by just cutting out images from a magazine or catalog and gluing them on the cover. Maybe glue a picture of the 2 of you or whatever has meaning to the person on the front.

Mini-Notebooks

This is a little notebook that I got in a 4 pack at the dollar store...

Mix CD and Collaged Book

Here is something I made for Master for Valentines Day. I did a mix cd of songs that I felt fit us and then decided to take it one step further by creating a book to go along with the cd. Each song has a page layout with just a bit of the lyrics that I felt represented Master and I or made me think of him or us together.

A few pictures of the book:

I printed out the lyrics I wanted. I then again used much of the similar type of things I mention in the 365 Cards above to create little collages that went with each song. If you don't want to go with the book, a mix cd is still a great present.

CD Cover's