Last Minute Handmade Gifts

Here are five handmade gifts that can be made last minute. I am still mostly making mine so you'll just have to trust me that I have tried these and they are great. Also, all no sew.

Healthy Frozen Dinners! - I made my mother and father in law five dinners, they were all hearty, healthy, and a little involved. If they were too easy they wouldn't have made a great gift! The point is to gift meals that are saving your recipient a night of work and kitchen clean up. I included directions, coffee, wine, frozen rolls and bread (made fresh at our market with organic ingredients). I tried to buy nice items and use high quality ingredients. It started out seeming a little overwhelming but what I ended up doing was just having a huge cooking day and I doubled almost everything I made them and froze it for us as well which meant I also had a week of no cooking for myself after my crazy, intense day! ... guess what though I don't have any photos ;)  

 

Name, Birthday or Anniversary Photo Collages - My photos for this project are sitting at Walgreen's right now, that's one of Ava's A's above. Go to this Flickr site (try not to spend hours looking at the galleries) and pick a name or a birth year or anniversary year and download the numbers or letters you like. Next upload them to your favorite one hour photo place and have them printed at 4x6. When you go to pick them up stop by TJ Maxx or Walmart etc. and pick up a good frame with the right amount of openings. It is easier to make dates if you do this last minute because 4 opening photo frames are easy to find! You can make your own of course (like this) by gluing cheap dollar store frames to a board and spray painting it all - but remember you have less than a week now so maybe next year. If you buy a mat that is pre-cut and print them in black and white then they will look a lot more like the classic ones you see everywhere. The one below could also be pretty cool - it looks like it is just those cheap packs of Ikea frames glued to a black board cut to size. 

 Jewelry - there are some awesome jewelry tutorials online. I want this bracelet and it has a video! I would wear this everyday. Making jewelry is easy and can be done in front of the TV in one night. 

We did make bracelets but we went a little lower-end than the one above ;) Ava made these for all her cousins and a few friends too with a bag of beads from the craft store. Everyone loved them. I really wanted to help Ava made bracelets with all their phone numbers on them but the number beads for those turned out to be too hard to find enough of for everyone. Most kids need ten numbers on their bracelet now since almost all of them memorize cellphone numbers. 

Chalk Board - These are great for kids and adults. I made this one for our entry with a dollar thrift store frame spray painted gloss red. I had my husband cut me a cheap piece of wood scrap which I painted with chalk paint to put in the frame (we tacked it in on the back). I made my own chalkboard paint with this tutorial. Apply chalk board paint on with lots of thin layers and then 'season' it well as directed in the tutorial link. If you aren't making several boards or aren't using the chalk paint for other projects then you would be better off just buying the chalk paint pre-mixed, because the DIY version leaves you with a ton of extra ingredients.

I plan to mix up some more paint to make Ava a board book like this one.

Penny Keychain - I am still looking for my last few but simply putting pennies from each important year on a keychain is such a sweet gift! The ones sold by PatsDesign (photo below)  are also affordable and come with a stamped coin. It is pretty simple to drill through a penny but practice on a few first. 

Other things I have made as gifts in the past include superhero capes (for girls and boys) and embellished tea towels. I also really want to make some enhanced silhouettes like these.

There you go! Happy Crazy Crafting!

The Perfect Gift - Simple, Beautiful and Practical

I love holiday blog gift posts! I honestly have a hard time finding just the right gift for a few people on my list. I hate giving candles that will never be lit or 'one more' toy to add to the box. For birthdays I typically give gift receipts but at Christmas I buy ahead or buy on clearance so I don't always have a gift receipt!  My default gift when someone is very hard to buy for is always a restaurant gift card because who doesn't like free food?!

Here are some other gifts though, that have gone over really well for me -

For Babies 

Kid's regulation sized sports balls. Babies love balls and these are a 'grow with me' toy that most babies don't have. At our house my three year old only plays with her soccer ball for 'real' soccer but our baby is memorized by this cool bright red and black ladybug soccer ball.

My other default gift is a classic board book signed to the baby. Even if we have a book - a dedicated book feels like a keepsake, just make sure it is truly a classic book like Ten Little Babies - there isn't anything worse than a dedicated Elmo book that you feel like you have to keep because it is signed!

Older Kids

If I can't figure out what to get a kid over the age of three I always default to nice art supplies or nature gifts. Children love to create and be outside. I have never gone wrong with - 

sun print kit, flower press, magnifying glass, regional plant and animal guides, binoculars, or nature art / activity books like Blossom Buddies.  Another idea that would work for lots of kids is an Audubon iPad or iPhone app.

For Adults

My adult ideas aren't that original but I can tell you my husband's perfect gift involves good beer and an iTunes gift card. My favorite thing to give to women though is small, original framed art from Etsy. You can of course go larger but almost anyone can find a good place for original art. Photographs are easy but I try to branch out, I think you could easily find a piece of art to fit anyone's personality on Etsy. I would pick the print below for myself, it is an 8.5 x 11 limited edition print of 100 for $28 by Elsa Mora the author of Blossom Buddies. This print is beautiful and unique and would be a bargain to frame. A less expensive option would be framed art note cards like the ones from Sarah Jane Studios. I adore her holiday line for framing and I have the three little bears cards framed in Ava and Lilly's room. 

I am working on my top DIY gifts post too - I have some great, easy ones!