Handmade Christmas Gift Ideas

[mucgwyrt]

:D

Last year I painted wooden baubles and wrapped them in ribbon, and gave them to my friends and family. I dont know what to make, this year! :T

Any ideas would be appreicated :elf:

[*Rain*]

This year i'm making candle holders by covering glass with coloured tissue paper and using lead. I might do a bit of glass painting too and some candle making.

Last year I engraved rune sets, in the years previous i've knitted and crocheted hats, scarves, bags, hot water bottle covers.

Take a wander around Hobbycraft if they've got one near you, I went last week and came away with tons of ideas.

[mucgwyrt]

Good idea :thumbsup Hobbycraft is SO expensive, but they've recently expanded ours so I'm sure it's chocca full of ideas!

[Copperaven]

the rice filled heating pads are easy to make and fairly inexpensive :)

[mucgwyrt]

Ooooo good idea!

[*Rain*]

Loads of ideas here
http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts/season/specialfeature/holiday_gifts_ms/ (http://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts/season/specialfeature/holiday_gifts_ms/)

[misty]

I make homemade coffee mixes and chocolate spoons. Or homemade jams and shortbread. YUMMY...makes me hungry, lol!

[ladyselena621]

I've made baskets with homemade breads,cookies,candies,candles,bath goodies,and such in them. This year I am thinking of making witching stones sets for my friends. Good luck!

[Copperaven]

if you knit or crochet you can make bookmarks, I make mine on a small loom

http://www.rocknbead.com/weaving/01010003.JPG

[mucgwyrt]

if you knit or crochet you can make bookmarks, I make mine on a small loom

http://www.rocknbead.com/weaving/01010003.JPG
Those are really cool! I've always wondered, with weaving - how do you make the edges all neat? :)

[Faery-Wings]

You can make ornaments- Get clear glass ornaments, I think plastic should workk well. Drip a bit of acrylic paint (just a little so it doesn't puddle). Rotate a bit to swirl it inside. Then you can add another color. Varying the dry time will result in blending or non-blending of the paints. I do that, then glitter glue the year on the outside.

I saw this site yesterday: http://www.fetesandfestivals.com.au/fetecraft.htm (http://www.fetesandfestivals.com.au/fetecraft.htm)

http://www.allcrafts.net (http://www.allcrafts.net)

and there is a make-stuff.com I have gone to before for ideas.

[Ziana]

my daughter and I have made christmas ornaments using cookie cutters and homemade clay. If you are talented enough you can free-hand runes and such as well. Then using acrylic paints you can buy at the craft store, and glitter, decorate each ornament for a loved one.

[Winter_wolf]

If you know how to crochet the 'funfur' scarfs are really popular now... the funfur yarn is not very expensive and all you need to know how to do is single crochet and a size K hook. My mother-in-law wants one this year...

Another idea is flour clay ornaments... I made little snow men for everyone and painted them with some acrylic paints I had around. They were pretty cute and easy to make and extremely cheap to make. All you need is paint, 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt and 3/4 cup of water to make the clay. Bake at about 300 degrees for about an hour. You can make anything, not just snowmen... I used some cookie cutters to make stars and sometimes I just messed with it and made bears and birds and such.

[chrestomancie]

I always make hand made gifts for stockings. I made the dangle bookmarks last year and this year I am making bottle cap necklaces and ATCs. Example of the bottle cap attached

[Shanti]

Macrame!!
One year I made a glass table that hung by macrame, macrame towels holders, macrame plant holders, macrame place mats, oh gee..the list goes on! Oh and this adorable wall hanging with owls that had pockets for stuff made out of all macrame!!

[halfwaynowhere]

i like that bottlecap necklace! how on earth do you make them? i know plenty of people who would love something like that, i know i would...

[mucgwyrt]

I always make hand made gifts for stockings. I made the dangle bookmarks last year and this year I am making bottle cap necklaces and ATCs. Example of the bottle cap attached
wow, thats really cool! We want instructions! _wiz_

[chrestomancie]

Here ya go; Enjoy and above all have fun!!!

Bottlecap necklace instructions:

1. order unpressed bottle caps from ebay! :> *I'm an ebay addict*

2. buy some stamps or cut pictures out of magazines, glue to inside of bottlecap.

3. add whatever small embellishments you want

4. Buy ENVIROTEX (high gloss finish) and mix amount needed - pour into the bottlecap on top - let dry

5. punch hole in top for hanging ring and bottom for dagles. Add what you want for dangles.

Very easy and fun to do. Makes a great gift.

[medit8ive_spirit]

one year, my hubby made individual ornaments for friends and family out of Fimo.....I'm crazy about Pandas so that was what he made for me...one friend likes playing checkers...so he made a checkerboard ornament complete with playing pieces(All scaled down to size, no less!!! The pieces and board have hidden magnets(small rare-earth type) in them that hold it all together, and the whole thing is no larger than about 3 inches by three inches!!!)......for another friend, he made a small sailboat.....the possibilities are endless....

[medit8ive_spirit]

Last year, our oldest sons' girlfriend wanted to do something special for us....and didn't know us as well then....so she got a large round basket and this is what was in it:
She had baked two different types of cookies and packaged them in a couple of different plastic wraps complete with ribbons, several bags of different brands of teas, some cinnamon sticks, some bags of hard to find brands of instant chocolate, some of those fantastic Chocolate and White Chocolate Toblerone bars, some packs of microwave popcorn, two nice size mugs to enjoy the drinks with, some candles and a wonderful note.

We found out later that she had asked our oldest son a lot of questions about us and the one thing she really picked up on, was that when my hubby and I have some precious moments only a couple of nights a week, due to schedules, that we like to relax and watch a good movie....so these things were our snacks during that time. This was a really LARGE basket and although the cookies disappeared the quickest(!), we were enjoying the drinks and such for weeks to come. And even the basket came in very handy as my hubby had bought we all the basics to start knitting and crocheting and they all fit into it!!!!!

[Winter_wolf]

I was also considering doing these I saw on DIY one afternoon....


Candied Walnuts

Ingredients:

Large egg white at room temperature
1 tsp. water
2 cups walnut halves
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 250-degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil. In a large bowl, whisk together egg white and water until stiff and foamy. Add walnuts and toss to coat. Pour nuts in a colander to drain for 3 minutes if necessary. Wipe out the bowl, add the sugar and spices. Mix well and add the walnuts and toss to coat.

Spread nuts in one layer on a baking sheet. Stir every 15 minutes for approximately 1 hour. Let cool and store in an airtight container.

You put them in a tin and decorate the tin or buy one already decorated.

[LadyCelt]

homemade lotions, prefumes, oils etc

[misty]

Candied Walnuts

Ingredients:

Large egg white at room temperature
1 tsp. water
2 cups walnut halves
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. allspice

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 250-degrees. Line a cookie sheet with foil. In a large bowl, whisk together egg white and water until stiff and foamy. Add walnuts and toss to coat. Pour nuts in a colander to drain for 3 minutes if necessary. Wipe out the bowl, add the sugar and spices. Mix well and add the walnuts and toss to coat.

Spread nuts in one layer on a baking sheet. Stir every 15 minutes for approximately 1 hour. Let cool and store in an airtight container.

I make candied nuts for my dad each year and he LOVES them! I think he eats the entire tin Christmas morning :).

You can use other nuts besides walnuts, too. I usually use pecans and almonds.

[Faery-Wings]

one year, my hubby made individual ornaments for friends and family out of Fimo...

They sound awesome. I think that is what I am going to do with my kids this year. I always make some seasonal ornament or decoration for everyone in my family.
every year.
Including the one when my DS was 2 and DD was 2 months and I wanted to make hand print wreaths. The year when I had horrible postpartum depression.
And hand cut a zillion hand prints of theirs and glued them onto plates- all the while sobbing my heart out.
( :p Now I can laugh about how insane I was!!)

I have a bunck of those Sculpy push molds. I'll have the kids make a bunch of them, and we'll insert ornie- hooks.

Some of the other crafts I have made with them (other than the infamouys hand print wreaths)

- hand and foot print angels- foot it the body, hands are wings. I cut them out of white felt, glues onto green felt, added a dowel as a wall hanger

- tissue paper votive holders

- handprint Xmas tree- we used all of the grandkids (SIL and I) and cut themout of fabric. Each kids hands were a new layer of the tree, the baby was on top. Framed that with a white fabric background and some small 3-d boxes for gifts under the tree.

- glass ornies- printed out a photo of the kids and decoupaged them and sealed down with glitter glue.

- snowmen magnets- pics of the kids faces were glued to the "head" circle. made out of craft foam.

Most of what I have done over the year (obviosuly) is with the kids for the aunts/uncles/g-parents. They really love taking them out each year and seeing what they have made- I always make sure I put the year on them.

[Faeawyn]

You can also buy those unfinished boxes and plaques at Walmart and custom paint them for friends and family. They're incredibly cheap, and everyone can use a nice trinket box :D

[cjtarot]

Hi,

My special gifts for teachers is book bands...polymer clay or beaded center on the band that wraps around the cover of the book and beads on the dangle that marks your page

the other thing that went over well was a homemade bath salt and 2 candle gift set. The salt is 3 parts epson salt, 2 parts baking soda, and 1 part house salt and essential oils.

Thanks for the great links and idea..I love them.

Cj

[Faery-Wings]

Those book bands are awesome, can you post directions?

[cjtarot]

Hi..

here are the general dictions for the book band.

to measure elastic cording...I usally wrap the book around 3 times then add 3 - 4 inches to elastic cording then cut ....

1. take a wire with a loop at the top, bead then put a loop at the bottom...or do as I do, make a polomer clay disc with 2 holes in it..top and bottom

2. loop the elastic onto the bottom of the cernter peice..I tie it, add a bead then super glue it.

3. put 2 bead on cording then wrap the cording around the book cover. loop the cording thru the hole at the top of the center piece and tie, then thread cording thru the 1st bead then thru 2nd bead.

4. center the peice on the book cover, adjust the lenght of the top portion..then tie a knot at the top, then super glue both beads in place.

5. measure the book marking part by putting thru the last page of the book...add beading on end, then tie and as usuall GLUE...(I leave about an inch so the person's not locked into a thin book)

I also have one made with beading on the web site..www.geocities.com/magickcottage

a book band and a gift certificate is a great grab bag or in my case Bookaholic brother gift...

Cj:acheeer:

[Mickie Mueller]

Here is a really cool holiday gift that I made for all my family members some years ago. I'm making more this year because it was very popular, and my idea bucket has run dry.:shift:

This is a homemade coffee liquer in the tradition af Kaluah!
When our batches were ready, we poured them into Grolsh beer bottles, they have the cool porcelain and wire stoppers. Then we traced the outline of a label from the bottle and designed our own label. Ours said "handcrafted coffee liquer...Muellers Christmas Kaluah" and it was decorated with holly, moons and stars, and the family crest. We made velvet bags that came just below the kneck of the bottle so the label showed and attatched a small folded card with drink reciepes for Mudslides, White Russian, stuff like that.

They were such a big hit, I have seen several of the bottles still adorning family members curio shelves! Everyone loved it!


MAKES ABOUT 1/2 GALLON

4 cups, sugar
1, 2-ounce jar, good instant coffee
2 cups, boiling water
2 cups, bourbon or brandy
1 vanilla bean

Mix together the sugar and instant coffee. Pour over the boiling water and stir to dissolve coffee. Allow mixture to cool, then add bourbon or brandy and pour the mixture into a glass 1/2 gallon wine bottle or other glass container. a sun tea jar works great. Drop in the vanilla bean. Allow to stand about 30 days in a cool, dark dry area to develop flavors.

Cheers!

Mickie

[Jenne]

So much talent here for homemade gifts!

Let's see, I've had a tradish of sorts of making gifts, so everything from felt stockings I sewed and added ornaments and candles to, gift baskets with homemade soup and blueberry vinegar mixes, eggnog bread and fudge, bath bombs and bath salts with soaps in homemade spa kits, glass ball ornaments I wrote on with a metallic paint pen, 6x6 mini scrapbooking albums that were just ready for pix to be added...on and on.

This year, I've no clue. I'm sort of imagination-challenged, lol. I have a book that is gifts-in-a-jar, so maybe I'll do that this year--haven't done it ever, and I always love it when I get them.