Think Crafts Blog - Craft Ideas and Projects - CreateForLess

Gift Giving

1. Frames. Everyone can use a frame to hold a precious memory. Go to the thrift shop and buy old frames second hand. Sand to give an even work surface and then sponge paint or gild with golf foil.
2. Plastic frames are fun to decorate with buttons, bows, ribbon, small silk flowers, or personalize to your recipient’s taste.
3. Who can’t use a sachet? Smelling pretty in a hall way closet, a drawer, or placed on a shelf. Use netting or wide ribbon for the bag to hold the potpourri or get creative with a paper mache box or even a cute kid’s stocking! Add oil to strength the scent.
4. Give a memory ornament. Decorate an ornament very personalized to the person you are giving it to and date the ornament. Make it a tradition to add a new one each holiday.
5. Need more time? Everyone does. Give the gift of time with a friend, a child, a parent, or your spouse. Create a special certificate worth minutes of your time- on demand! Frame it! And give it!
6. Craft a journal for a friend. Any old spiral bound notebook will do. Decorate the front with fabric, sponge paint, or ribbon. Marbleize some matching pencils to complete the set. To marbleize the pencils just squeeze several colors of paint onto a paper plate. Roll the pencil through the paint and allow to dry.
7. Make a special vinegar for a friend. Select a fun decorative bottle, fill with white vinegar, and add spices or herbs like tarragon, rosemary, or ginger. Add a few sprigs of fresh parsley. Seal and tie with a jute or raffia bow. Extra touch: Create a unique label for the bottle.
8. Bubbles for the tub! Using large crystal sea salt, add a touch of essence oil and color with food dye! Read essence oil bottle carefully because some oils are too strong for skin contact and should not be used. Try lemon, lavender, rosemary, or rose.
9. Mirror, Mirror on the wall! Decorate a small mirror with florals or dried naturals. Perfect for small rooms or hallways. Or frame the mirror with festive ribbon.
10. Think of what you love to get as a crafter! Is it a new craft supply? A sharp new pair of scissors? An organizer for all your stuff? Pick this item out for your favorite crafting friend. And watch the smile of delight as he or she opens it!

More Decorations!

1. Spray some leaves gold and string in a garland for the door, window, or mantle.
2. Buy inexpensive plain curtains for the kitchen window and stencil or paint in a holiday motif. A lot of time is spent in the kitchen for the holidays so make sure it is a room filled with holiday cheer.
3. Don’t forget the floor. Old rugs or new canvas rugs can great to stencil for some holiday spirit. If you aren’t into stenciling then just drizzle bright holiday colors of paint over the rug! Don’t forget some glitter too. Dry thoroughly before using!
4. Gold or metallic ribbons really add sparkle to satin or glass ornaments. Add a few pearl strings or strands for an elegant look.
5. Stamp, stencil, paint, or iron on fabric shaped to an old pillowcase as a wrapping for larger gifts.
6. If giving plants or flowers for the season, go the extra step and decorate a terra cotta pot to match the person’s home or to cheer up the holidays. Remember that some flowers are poisonous and not allowed in nursing homes or hospitals so be sure to ask the nursery or florist.
7. Need to hang a big wreath on a door, but don’t want to put a nail into the door. Pull an all-metal cloth hanger to its fullest length creating a long thin diamond shape instead of the triangle. Fold over top of door and hang wreath from hanger end, which forms a hook.
8. Add a drop or two of essence oils to any candle or light bulb. As the heat increases the room is filled with the scent. 9. Don’t throw old fruit and spices out. Fill large pan with water and add chopped up fruit and spices and bring to a boil. Your home is filled with scent and for all the people using heat the steam adds some humidity to the house air.
9. Don’t forget the birdies! Instead of buying tinsel and garland, string popcorn and cranberries. For added color string some dried fruit like apples or oranges (dip in lemon or salt water to retain color, dry under low heat in oven for several hours.) After the holidays, take this string and place it outside for our feather friends.

Decorating

1. Simple really is quite pretty and sophisticated for the holidays. Add a red bow to a basket, spray some pinecones gold, or spritz some glitter on a candle.
2. Use swags as the base for floral decorations. Swags come go on the mantle, over a door, cover the corner of a door, or be placed flat on a table for a centerpiece. Swags are available made from most materials from evergreen to grapevine.
3. Quilts can act as a quick tree skirt or table clothe and add a special country flavor to the room!
4. Cookie cutters make perfect napkin ring holders during the holidays and all through the year.
5. Glass ornaments aren’t just for the tree! Fill up baskets, candy dishes, and other containers with the shiny fun balls that symbolize the holidays. A special touch is to add light; a small string of lights makes the ornaments glow!
6. Don’t just use fresh evergreen for florals. Add other delights like boxwood, holly, ivy, ferns, and even bare tree branches plain or sprayed white.
7. Run out of wrapping paper? Use the Sunday comics. Use a plain box and stamp it with fun prints. Use fabric. Freezer paper sprayed with glitter. Use your imagination!
8. Why just pour plain old shelled nuts in the nut bowl when you can spray them gold or silver!
9. Some more great ideas for gift wrap: brown or white lunch bags with iron on transfers or stenciled, recycle 2 liter bottles that you have foiled, or create a holiday basket with lots of sparkle.
10. Need more ornaments for the tree? Why not add some family treasures? Some old mittens, grandma’s handkerchief, dad’s old pipe, some of the children’s small toys, a favorite teddy bear, a string of buttons and baby booties. Can you think of more???