Crafting Secrets

Christmas is an ideal time to spend with your love ones, catch up on some reading and just enjoy the festive season. As we all know modern customs of Christmas include gift-giving which is quite expensive, time consuming and stressful. This year and provided you have a workingInkjet printer we would like to share with you 4 creative ideas for creating the perfect Christmas present all within a very small budget and from the comfort of your own home.

4 Ideas for Arts and Crafts Christmas Present:

1. Create custom t shirts designs - Using your home Inkjet printer any image or text could be printed onto a transfer paper and ironed on a textile fabric like a t shirt or even an apron. To start your project find a suitable image on the Internet (make sure you are allowed to us the image) or create a block of text. Next print the image onto the transfer paper and using a hot iron place the textile on to a stable hard surface, such as a worktop and apply pressure.

2. Create custom candle designs – Again using your home printer any image such as pictures, animation and illustrations or text could be printed onto a temporary tattoo paper sheet and applied on the candle. To start your project find a suitable image or create a block of text with your Christmas message . Next print the image onto a non-toxic temporary tattoo paper, cut the sheet to your size and apply onto a large plain candle.

3. Create custom fridge magnets – Inkjet magnetic paper sheet is an innovative product which is truly fantastic for creating special presents. The back of each sheet is magnetic so you can easily affix the sheet to fridges, metal doors etc so all you need to do is print an image or text onto the paper and cut to size. Naturally compared to normal printer paper this premium magnetic paper isn’t cheap so we recommend to always print a test page first.

4. Create custom Christmas cards – This year consider printing your own festive high quality looking Christmas cards complete with your personalized message. To start your project using Microsoft word (or an equivalent
program) create a suitable Christmas design or use a build in template and print it onto a greeting card paper. If you do some research you will likely find sellers selling the paper with free envelopes which is a big plus.

Go on, express your creativity this Christmas and create a custom present.

Candy canes are most often used at Christmas time for decorations for the tree or to satisfy a sweet tooth. These minty candies can be used for many types of inexpensive decorations around the house and given out as small gifts to holiday visitors as well. Candy canes can be used in different holiday crafting projects too.

One inexpensive holiday craft project is a candy cane pillar. This easy idea is so simple, quick and looks fabulous too. All you need is a box of candy canes and a candle in any holiday color you choose. Begin by breaking off the curved end of the candy cane so you have a straight piece. One you have complied your straight pieces, use a hot glue gun to attach the pieces to the candle. Arrange the pieces so the entire candle is covered. Once dry, you can place your candy candle creation in a glass dish or candle jar. Complete the decoration by placing garland around the base and add bells, artificial holiday flowers or berries or any other items you prefer. Now you have just created a beautiful centerpiece for you table just in time for Christmas dinner.

Candy canes are commonly used as Christmas tree decorations, but you can also use them in other areas of your home to decorate. Another low cost holiday decoration is to drape a long garland over doorway or window frames and hang small or large candy canes on the garland. This is very easy to do, does not cost very much and really adds to the festivity of you home.

Using these simple, inexpensive holiday crafts can help save you money on your Christmas budget, yet make it look like you spent a fortune on decorations for your home. You are sure to get many compliments on your beautiful Christmas creations.

Christmas is a special time of year and homemade Christmas gift ideas can add to the excitement of the holiday season.  Christmas shopping and gift decisions can make the season a lot less jolly, but making the gifts yourself give can make Christmas more personal and memorable. It can also help you save money too!  Getting the children involved with making the gifts can start a cherished yearly tradition.

Here is some money saving homemade Christmas gift ideas to help you show the special people in your life how much you care:

Christmas Candles: purchase plain pillar candles (at least 3” wide) at a discount store and dress them up with ribbon, plastic berries, or gift tags.  You can also use fabric or Christmas pushpins.  Another idea is to purchase a small votive candle, a small votive holder and a wide glass vase.  Partially fill the vase with Christmas decorations – plastic holly, fake poinsettias, red/green/gold glass beads, etc. – and then place the votive in the small holder in the bottom.  You can find all kinds of decorations that will work – just use your imagination. You can spend less than $20 at a local dollar store and make up to 10 candle gifts, now that’s how to keep more money in your pocket.

Christmas baskets: purchase a large, plain, wicker basket and any type of Christmas fabric with a small print.  You will need to purchase 2 to 3 yards of fabric.  You will need fiber fill material and a 2 yard strip of elastic.  Place the fiber fill material in the bottom of the basket.  Sew the strip of elastic around the edge of the fabric.  Place the fabric in the basket so that the edge with the elastic sewn in it is covering the outer edge of the basket.

Christmas tray: purchase a plain wooden tray from a craft supplies store.  Decorate it with paints and premade Christmas designs.  (You can find all of these items at the craft supplies store.)  Another idea is to paint the tray a solid color, then place a photograph in the center of the tray.  Cover the photograph and the bottom of the tray with a thin sheet of glass.  (This will make it waterproof.)

Christmas ornaments: you have many different options for homemade Christmas ornaments.  One of the easiest ways to make homemade ornaments is to buy the plain wooden, ceramic, or glass ornaments from a craft supplies store and then decorate them yourself.  You can also make ornaments from paper.  Another idea is to get plain glass ornaments and cover them with swirled paint or use decoupage techniques to cover them with decorative paper.

Photo ornaments: purchase scrap booking supplies and several sheets of card stock.  You can use premade scrapbooking picture frames and use the card stock as the backing for the ornaments.

Homemade Christmas gift ideas are a great way to let your creativity and thriftiness shine through during a very special season of the year.  Making your Christmas gifts by hand will ensure that your gift stands out. The only thing that limits you is your budget and your imagination.

Christmas is a special time of year and homemade Christmas gift ideas can add to the excitement of the holiday season.  Christmas shopping and gift decisions can make the season a lot less jolly, but making the gifts yourself give can make Christmas more personal and memorable. It can also help you save money too!  Getting the children involved with making the gifts can start a cherished yearly tradition.

Here is some money saving homemade Christmas gift ideas to help you show the special people in your life how much you care:

Christmas Candles: purchase plain pillar candles (at least 3” wide) at a discount store and dress them up with ribbon, plastic berries, or gift tags.  You can also use fabric or Christmas pushpins.  Another idea is to purchase a small votive candle, a small votive holder and a wide glass vase.  Partially fill the vase with Christmas decorations – plastic holly, fake poinsettias, red/green/gold glass beads, etc. – and then place the votive in the small holder in the bottom.  You can find all kinds of decorations that will work – just use your imagination. You can spend less than $20 at a local dollar store and make up to 10 candle gifts, now that’s how to keep more money in your pocket.

Christmas baskets: purchase a large, plain, wicker basket and any type of Christmas fabric with a small print.  You will need to purchase 2 to 3 yards of fabric.  You will need fiber fill material and a 2 yard strip of elastic.  Place the fiber fill material in the bottom of the basket.  Sew the strip of elastic around the edge of the fabric.  Place the fabric in the basket so that the edge with the elastic sewn in it is covering the outer edge of the basket.

Christmas tray: purchase a plain wooden tray from a craft supplies store.  Decorate it with paints and premade Christmas designs.  (You can find all of these items at the craft supplies store.)  Another idea is to paint the tray a solid color, then place a photograph in the center of the tray.  Cover the photograph and the bottom of the tray with a thin sheet of glass.  (This will make it waterproof.)

Christmas ornaments: you have many different options for homemade Christmas ornaments.  One of the easiest ways to make homemade ornaments is to buy the plain wooden, ceramic, or glass ornaments from a craft supplies store and then decorate them yourself.  You can also make ornaments from paper.  Another idea is to get plain glass ornaments and cover them with swirled paint or use decoupage techniques to cover them with decorative paper.

Photo ornaments: purchase scrap booking supplies and several sheets of card stock.  You can use premade scrapbooking picture frames and use the card stock as the backing for the ornaments.

Homemade Christmas gift ideas are a great way to let your creativity and thriftiness shine through during a very special season of the year.  Making your Christmas gifts by hand will ensure that your gift stands out. The only thing that limits you is your budget and your imagination.

Despite careful planning and sometimes months of Christmas shopping, at least once, every gift giver inevitably finds herself scrambling to pull together a meaningful gift for a friend or relative at the last minute.

Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas A great gift for Christmas can be crafted at home with a little imagination and a few craft supplies. Consider the personalized Christmas gift ideas below in a pinch.

Easy Last-Minute Present to Make at Home – Printable Coupon Booklet Gift for Christmas Instead of giving a tangible gift, consider giving a loved one the gift of time or attention. Printable coupon booklets are inexpensive and only limited to the imagination. Depending on the recipient, consider giving coupons for hugs, a date night, breakfast in bed, or ball tossing sessions. Also, consider coupons for errands like taking out the trash or vacuuming.

Personalized Gift Idea for Christmas – Photo in Custom Picture Frame Find an existing family photo and choose a plain picture frame from somewhere in the house. Customize the picture frame by painting a message on the edge of the frame to coordinate with the photo. For example, write “Summertime” for a beach photo or simply “Me & Grandma.” This homemade Christmas gift would work especially well for a parent or grandparent who would truly cherish a photo of a child or grandchild. However, this easy last-minute present could work equally as well for a best friend or sister.

Last-Minute Christmas Present Idea for Mom, Aunt, Sister – Scrapbook Page Kit Need a gift for a scrap booker in the family? One easy last-minute present to make at home for this person is a scrapbook page kit. This would require memorabilia from a recent trip or event (think: concert tickets, park admission tickets, brochures). One or more photos would be nice, as would homemade embellishments. Use craft supplies on hand to create cutouts, glittery letters, and unique paper scraps. Also consider contributing journaling ideas. Just write down what you can remember about the trip or event and include that in the package.

Don’t Want to Make a Homemade Christmas Gift? Be Sneaky with Holiday Gifts To be sneaky, consider ordering a bulky Christmas gift online for a visiting relative, then have it delivered directly to his or her home. Write the name of the gift in a card and explain that the present is being delivered to save the relative the hassle of lugging the present back home.

Holiday Gift Articles – Hottest Christmas Presents & Personalized Gift Ideas for Kids The easy to make homemade Christmas presents above are more appropriate for adults than children.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas already. Thousands of people have started Christmas shopping early due to the economic situation. It’s much easier to spread out christmas shopping over months instead of waiting until December. Even Walmart recognized the situation for shoppers by lowering prices on the most popular toys early starting October 10th.

There are thousands of lists throughout the web that are specifically geared for specific people. Stocking Stuffers for him, for her, for teens, golf lovers, coffee lovers and so on and so forth. Are there any lists that have universal stocking stuffers that can be used for anyone? In an attempt to make shopping a little easier, I’ve put together a list of things that you can put in any stocking!

Gift Certificates: Maybe not always the most thoughtful gift, but it works well for stockings. You can always buy thoughtful gifts to go under the tree. Find a gift certificate to the person’s favorite store or a place they frequent often. A Starbucks gift card would be great for someone who has to have their morning Venti White Chocolate Mocha before a hard days work at the office. Or perhaps an Itunes gift card for your teens so they can download the latest album from their favorite band! Those type of gift cards you would not have to add a lot of money either, maybe $10 to $15.

Batteries: You know you will end up having to buy them anyway for the the oodles of toys under the tree, the handheld poker game for your husband or the new watch for your sister who can never seem to get to family events on time. You might as well put them in a stocking instead of wrapping them separately.

Ornaments: This is more of a thoughtful gift and one my own family practices. Each year my husband and I buy each other an ornament. You can find websites online that will allow you to put a digital picture on an ornament for memories and some allow text also. Imagine “Our 1st Christmas” “Baby’s 1st Christmas” and so on. They create lasting memories for everyone. This is great for kids in multiple ways also. Usually at school kids will create little ornaments for their parents out of clay, paper, or popsicle sticks that they could put in their parents stocking. Also by getting your kids an ornament every year, by the time they move out, they will have a bunch of ornaments that they could put on their own tree! It’s also a great way to remember your phases or hobbies since their are ornaments for everything from Bob the Builder to your favorite football team.

Event Tickets: Tickets are a great thing to stuff in a stocking. Mainly because they are small and cover every hobby, like or passion you can think of. Concert tickets for your 17 year olds favorite band. Movie tickets to the latest Pixar movie for your kids. Sporting event tickets to a hockey game for your husband. Event tickets to a craft expo for your wife. You could even give Lottery tickets if you have a family member who likes to play the lotto. Whatever your family’s passion you can find a ticket to cover it.

Chocolates and Candy: Always great as a filler, for the stocking anyways, not so much for your tummy. This would also be great to put in different types of chocolate or candy you might not always buy. Like green tea flavored Kit Kats from Japan. I’ve tried them and absolutely love them! You can’t buy them in the U.S. to my knowledge but that is the beauty of online shopping. Find something unique and different, but make sure to throw in a candy cane or two just in case the unique candy you picked out wasn’t as appealing to their taste buds as it was your eyes!

Magazine Subscriptions or Books: As I’m sure you know there is a magazine for any topic you desire. Get a subscription to fit your family’s hobbies. Books are great as well at least paperback novels, I think it might be difficult to put a large book in a stocking. You can find books from their favorite author, or books for your children, some of the older Beatrix Potter books are stocking stuffer size. Even if you have a baby or toddler, buy board books for them to look at and for you to read to them!

Journals, Diary’s or Planners: They are all along the same theory, buy one that is useful for the person you are picking it up for. A planner for mom or dad to keep track of the numerous soccer meets or work meetings, maybe a diary for a little girl, or even a small sketchbook for a boy or for small children to scribble in. Give them something to be creative with or something that is useful!

Craft Supplies or Pens: You can pick up different craft supplies for kids, crayons, markers, scissors etc. Those things could also be handy for moms as well! A nice ballpoint pen for adults, because everyone needs something nice to use at work that isn’t going to run out of ink in a week.

These are only some of the things you can pick up. The list is endless!