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What easy-to-do DIY jewelry could I make?

Seeking DIY holiday gifts to create: shoestring budget, expensive taste

  • I want to get to work ASAP on holiday gifts and am looking for your favorite DIY gift ideas that have fairly broad appeal. Would prefer they not be holiday themed, so that they're gifts people can enjoy year round, or at least longer than the holiday season. They will also need to be tailored to my shoestring budget, but still reflect a sense of 'expensive taste' (I like things to look and be nice, and know this can be done without spending much money).Details on my personal DIY and crafting skills inside, as well as examples of DIY gifts I've made in the past, inside. Skills I possess/supplies I have in stock/tools I own and know how to use: - Cooking, baking, infusing alcohol (blueberry walnut bourbon, earl grey gin, etc) - Essential and carrier oils for use in diy soaps, perfumes, aromatherapy blends, etc - Knitting (but not crocheting) - Upcycling furniture (electric sander, hand sanders, varnish, paint, lacquer) - Kreg jig - Electric drill, other standard tools-around-the-house - Empty wine bottles - A few hundred wine bottle corks I've collected over the years - Acrylic (both artist's acrylic and craft acrylic) and watercolor paints - Decent array of quality paint brushes - Empty canvases - Chalkboard paint - Laminating machine (desktop size) - Hot glue gun - Dremel (rotary kit; could borrow engraving dremel if needed) - Basic beading/jewelry making - Origami paper, intermediate origami skills - Basic hand sewing (I do not currently have a sewing machine but can borrow one) - A long reach stapler, good for small/low-expense 'book binding' - Tracing paper - Scrap leather - ...Other things I am probably forgetting, but I can be versatile and extend my reach if it's within reason/budget DIY gifts I have made in the past: - Infused alcohols in attractive bottles - Homemade vanilla extract - Winter scarves, cowls, hats (all knitted) - Lemon and thyme sea salt scrubs in glass jars - Beautiful paper things laminated into bookmarks - Beautiful small things glued to magnets, for use as... magnets! - Beautiful things - Aromatherapy blends in glass perfume bottles, for use as a linen or room spray - Homemade aftershave using essential oils - Hand-sewn Hawaiian quilted pillow - Spiced nuts - Personalized "gift cards" for services I'll provide like a complimentary free car wash and wax, complimentary private yoga session, complimentary gourmet meal cooked by yours truly, etc Additional context for my situation: For most people in my life this year, I will be making spiced nuts and my famous cookies, but the principle people for whom I'll be making gifts are my immediate family members (mom/dad/sister), my boyfriend, and a few close friends (both male and female). I'd like to give each of them three to five exceptional, hand made gifts. Most of these individuals are into crafting, cooking, skincare/pampering (boyfriend included!), and decorating; my Dad being the one exception who is more likely to take pleasure in food gifts, things that make him comfortable/warm, and things that memorialize where he grew up. I want to build on what I've done in the past but also expand - I'm not afraid to try other crafty things, as long as they're classy, thoughtful, and inexpensive! So please throw anything you've got at me, within reason :) Links to Pinterest pages with DIY gifts are okay but I'm trying to break out of the Pinterest framework... Thanks!

  • Answer:

    If you feel like breaking into a new area, I've developed a reputation for giving canned goods at christmas. Some things that have gone over particularly well: - (add a dried hot pepper to the jar for spicy) - apricot rosemary jam (really good with cheese) - things with vanilla bean in them - I have gotten a jar of fig and walnut jam that made the. best. grilled cheese sandwiches I've also made other cooking-type things that have been well received, like homemade pork dumplings (frozen on a tray), but timing and travel make that trickier these days. Homemade peppermint marshmallows are fun and festive. Oh, and a http://www.thekitchn.com/edible-gift-idea-the-best-chai-132784, packaged with some http://www.amazon.ca/T-Sac-Disposable-Paper-Filter-100-Count/dp/B001BLCIN4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1411781379&sr=8-2&keywords=loose+tea+bags. I think the recipients liked that as well.

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I happen to be a fan of maps, and find these http://www.instructables.com/id/Cutting-a-Path/ very appealing, and meet your idea of expensive taste a bit better than making stuff with paracord, which is my current hobby

Sunburnt

Derp. Didn't mean to list one of my past DIY gifts as just "beautiful things". Meant to say "beautiful things upcycled for other uses" (wine bottles turned into lamps, etc). Just wanted to clarify. I'm pleased with my past efforts but I'm not that arrogant... !

nightrecordings

Have you tried 'book arts' - making handmade books? I keep a running chapbook of quotes or poems that grab me, generally divided by themes, and have made small compilations of choices selected for the occasion or individual. Or you could base it on printed photos. There is a world of beautiful papers, ribbons, etc that can meet your standards. I like mine much better than the ones I've seen on Pinterest or etsy.

mmiddle

I have a few knitters/crocheters in my family, both veteran and aspiring. I saw this https://www.etsy.com/listing/200333533/knitting-bag-project-bag-striped-pouch?utm_campaign=Merch&utm_medium=Internal&utm_source=Pinterest and figured that is so simple to sew. So I made four at the same time on my sewing machine, and will give the other 3 as presents. It cost me nothing to make them, too - I used a pair of old jeans and lined them with material from old t-shirts. Additional ideas to enhance the bags: -sew a tag into the seam with just plain ribbon folded over -embroider a cute little design into the bottom corner -http://img.alibaba.com/wsphoto/v0/491186311/Wholesale-20-Classical-Bronze-Tone-Owl-Shape-Safety-Pins-Brooches-Clothes-Jewerly-53-32-mm-160378.jpg can be found at the yarn store or at Michaels for cheap, and (bonus) also useful for marking stitches. -pretty wooden buttons

lizbunny

Using your scrap leather: learn Japanese or Coptic stitching to make your own leather-bound small journals. Many tutorials on youtube. Very elegant and can be tailor-made to the recipient; i.e.: watercolor paper inside for an artist, lined paper inside for the list maker, smooth white paper for the sketcher. Using your scented oils (although not necessarily pure essential oils, which burn off too quickly) - make candles. Very very easy. You need wicks and can use old tins and things of that ilk. They can look very upper end depending on your container. I second amthro's suggestion. Look at pegandawl and lessandmore on Etsy for caddies that are really beautiful - just a block of wood with holes drilled in for specific tools. They're lovely.

the webmistress

http://ak1.ostkcdn.com/images/products/6660358/79/451/Sparkling-Aura-Purple-Amethyst-Agate-Lariat-Necklace-Thailand-L14220232.jpg can be as simple or elaborate as you want. I give them a LOT, using the beads I've collected over the years. I use leather and just knot in between the beads.

raisingsand

Monogrammed coffee mugs! Buy nice, generic mugs at the dollar store and porcelain paint at the hobby store or a big box store with a decent craft section and monogram mugs for each of your relatives. Will pair perfectly with baked goods! The same porcelain paints can also be used to personalize generic ceramic things of all kinds: Lotion dispensers, soap dishes, x-mas ornaments, etc. Similarly, a small bottle of glass etching cream and some decent but not pricey glasses (pint glasses, wine glasses, whatever) can make for some beautiful personalized gifts, especially if you can cut your own stencils from contact paper. I would also love to have some scented neck pillow type things, the kind filled with rice or other grain that you microwave for a few minutes to heat up. That or some silky sleep masks, hand sewn.

GoLikeHellMachine

Things I've done in the past that seem to fit your criteria: -flavored coffees (using an oil on the bean, such as from www.coffeeflavoroils.com. Buy bulk beans from Costco to keep the cost down and gift in decorated paper coffee bags) -simple herbal teas (grow mint, tarragon, lemongrass etc and dry. might be too late to do it this year!) -homemade bitters (lots of great recipes out there, I made grapefruit-Campari bitters) -liquor/wine bottle vases (using the glass etching tool/hot water method - you can ask around at bars for fancy bottles, though the oddly shaped ones, such as St. Germain, are harder to break evenly) and my all time favorite... book stash boxes http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Hollow-Book! buy old, attractive hardcovers for a couple bucks each. these take a LOT of time but the result is very impressive. Your dremel tool will help perfect the project. Bonus: fill them with something unique to the recipient. For example, I made a box of Huck Finn for my Grandma and filled it with a set of markers - she likes to color. And thanks for all the great ideas in YOUR "gifts I've made in the past" section!

le_salvo

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