Handmade Christmas Gift Ideas

Here are some great ideas from Better Home and Gardens:

Fashion a cute Christmas sock or small sweater into a reusable sleeve for coffee or hot chocolate to go. After washing, cut a 3-inch section from the top of your clothing.Embellish with buttons or felt snowflake cutouts for added winter charm. Slip the sleeve onto your to-go cup or tumbler, roll the ends to hide frays, and start sipping. You can cut Felt and Fabric on the Accucut Die Center at Photo Express.

 

Monogrammed Candle

Personalize a store-bought candle for an inexpensive Christmas gift. Simply wrap cardstock around the candleholder, and embellish it with a die-cut accent and letter. No die-cutting tool? No problem -- use stickers instead or come and use the PE Die Cut Center - free to use with paper purchase.

Editor's Tip: Stock up on candles the next time they're on sale. They're easy to embellish, and they make great Christmas gifts.

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   A decorated jar turns your favorite Christmas cookie recipe into an instant gift. Print a holiday greeting on strips of paper and wrap them around a recycled peanut butter or mason jar. Adhere punched shapes to the jar using adhesive foam for dimension. Fill the jar with ingredients. Print your recipe on matching cardstock and use a circle cutter to trim the piece so it fits perfectly on the lid.

   Editor's Tip: After completing the design, hold everything in place overnight with a rubber band to ensure the adhesive holds.

Christmas Cookies in a Jar

Stamped Sachets

Homemade sachets make easy, affordable Christmas gifts you can create in bulk. Dress up purchased drawstring muslin bags with a pretty rubber stamp design, then fill with fragrant cedar shavings. (All the Christmas stamps at PE are buy one get one 75% off right now!)

Framed Inspiration

Give a friend or family member's desk a little holiday flair with a framed quote. This one is done with a seasonal motif, but you can adapt the project to fit the recipient's passions or interest.

Picture-Perfect Mailer

Treat relatives to an easy-to-mail album that recaps the year in photos. Layer and staple small sheets of paper along one edge of cardstock. Fold over the stapled edge twice; flip paper to inside, creating a flap. Crease cardstock; insert opposite edge under flap. Use photo corners to attach photos to paper.

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      Embellish a ready-made frame with rhinestones. Include a favorite picture to make this gift even more memorable.

   Polka-Dot Picture Frame

Organization in a Box

This little tin is the ultimate handmade gift for someone who likes to keep things in order. Tabbed index cards are perfect for filing gift lists, receipts, decorating ideas, and more. And its holiday-theme embellishments are a cheery extra. Click here for directions.

Handmade Recipe Book

With pretty paper and chipboard pages, this sturdy handmade recipe book is perfect for storing recipe cards.

Perfect For: A cook, your parents, or other relatives

Make It Say Christmas: Use holiday-theme papers and red and green envelopes.

Write It Down

This embellished notebook is a thoughtful gift for a budding young writer or journal keeper. Start with a plain notebook with a thick cover. Customize the colors and design to the recipient's taste.

Perfect For: Anyone who loves to write or draw or a perpetual note taker

Make It Say Christmas: Adapt this craft into a book of Christmas Memories. Cover the outside with holiday-theme embellishments and give it as a journal to record the season's happenings and special memories.

Easy Artwork

Pair clipboards with leftover die-cut shapes for easy-to-do low-cost art. Give the clipboards a makeover with a coat of paint (choose paint designed for metal if you want to cover the clip). Mount die cuts, available in scrapbooking stores, onto plain cardstock and stitch embellishments with embroidery floss.

A Personalized Gift

Need a quick gift? Round up scraps of pretty patterned paper and a few frames. Cut a piece of patterned paper to fit the frame opening. Die-cut or hand-cut an oversize monogram and, if desired, a mat. Mount the initial to the patterned-paper background with adhesive foam, add the mat, if using, and slide the assembly into the frame. Dress up the frame edge with ribbons and charms.

 

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