With the current economy in the condition it’s in right now, it’s not surprising that families are doing everything they can to save money. Even if the economy wasn’t in a mess, it’s still a wise idea to live frugally. By doing so we are doing so much more than just saving a few pennies. We teach our children the value of a dollar and let them know that one can live comfortably without spending money or racking up credit that is not necessary. After all we can’t take all those material things with us when we go, right?
One way you can accomplish these lessons, save money, and have fun at the same time is to create homemade gifts for birthdays of family and friends. The kids will enjoy the time you spend together and the recipient will love the thoughtful presents they receive. These types of gifts will mean more to your family and friends than anything you could have purchased from the store.
Here are a few craft ideas that your relatives and friends are sure to love.
Mom – Moms are the easiest when it comes to creating something special. No matter what her child gives her she will cherish it as if she received a million dollars. Some things mom might enjoy receiving for her birthday includes:
• Craft or real flowers in a decorated pot
• Coupons that can be exchanged for household help
• Crafty picture frames filled with pictures of the entire family
Dad – Does Dad like to golf, watch football or fish? If so, get creative and make something that will help him do the things he loves doing. For instance a bag decorated by the kids would be perfect for fishing lures, golf tees, and more. Design a remote control holder with pictures of the kids that he can attach to his favorite recliner.
Siblings – Every child has a favorite television character or musician. For the teenage sibling, decorate a CD case for their video games, DVDs or CDs. For younger kids, create a coloring page with their favorite cartoon pal or craft a memory game just for them with cardboard squares and stickers.
Grandma – Does grandma like to cook? If so, take a plain apron and decorate with puffy paints, glitter glue or pictures of the grandkids.
Grandpa – If Grandpa enjoys reading, make a personalized bookmark with pictures of the kids or drawings of things they like to do with him.
Neighbors & Family Friends – Take the time to learn about everyone’s personal likes and cater their gifts to match. If you’re kids are old enough and like to bake, you can create edible treats for neighbors like cakes or cookies decorated with birthday wishes.
When you create birthday presents from scratch, it’s important to take some time and determine the perfect gift for each individual. For instance, if Grandma likes to bake, make her gift one that is related to cooking or being in the kitchen. When you take the time to personalize your creations, you are making someone feel special and loved even more than you would if you just threw something together.
This is a great way to teach your children about feelings and taking time to really get to know others as well. Not to mention the things they can learn about the many differences that we all have. Have fun and save some dough by creating crafts for your nearest and dearest this year.
Dec 16, 2009 | Sentimental Gift Ideas
Spring means everyone will be in for another grand and fun house cleaning!
What isn’t well-realized is that spring is also the time for scrapbooking. Why? Notice when you clean, you stumble upon some sentimental but forgotten things you haven’t seen for a long time. Of course, at that moment, you promise never to lose it again. You place it inside a box and you vow to do something with it as soon as possible.
But things don’t go according to plan, do they? Soon you find yourself forgetting about these sentimental items that you really want to preserve forever. Moreover, you realize that the longer you keep them unprotected, the more they become damaged. Don’t let one spring cleaning pass you by again before you start treasuring these valuable things.
What are the things that you can put in a scrapbook?
1. Photos of you and your friends
2. Candid shots from family gatherings
3. kids’ artwork
3. buttons that you misplaced
4. rocks and shells that you picked up during your vacation
and the list goes on.
With a scrapbook, you preserve the memories, you can use your scrapbook as a conversational piece on your living room, and you can even wrap it up and send it as a gift to a relative who lives far away. Memories are the best gifts. If you can’t preserve them, they’re gone forever. If you can keep them with you, do it. You only live once.
Mar 29, 2009 | Scrapbook, Sentimental Gift Ideas, crafts, family traditions
Whether you are going for the sentimental scrap book that is “anything goes”, or the structured, almost-professional look, you have to decide which scraps will be worth putting in. Let’s say you bought all your scrapbooking tools (glue gun, cutter, colored paper for origami), set up a space and downloaded scrapbooking techniques. You’re ready to get started, but cannot decide which among your scraps or finds you should put in.
Layout – The first thing to consider is how big your page is and will the scraps be too bulky or too humongous to place there? It’s a good idea to have little pockets built in each page, for very small things that could get lost or damaged by gluing and too frequent pressing.
The Story – An ideal scrapbook tells a story … I saw one scrapbook with pages that contained only hand prints and photos of a child. Up until the child reached 18 years of age. This is a really sentimental way of keeping those precious “growing up memories”.
Your First Layout
There are two ways of finding some great layouts for your scrapbooks.
1. Online Scrapbooking Ideas – The internet exposes us to the lives of millions of people. Usually these people will have blogs, myspace pages and customizable web pages. The really creative ones will adorn their web pages with photos and knick-knacks. The idea is to observe how the pages were built and get ideas. Internet surfing can be very productive, as long as you keep your eyes open and your creative juices flowing.
Alternatively, you can look for sites that SELL scrapbooking pages, print out those that you purchased and use them as ages for your scrapbook. These aren’t expensive if you just buy a few for your scrapbook’s dividers, but if you plan on putting all of these quality and high resolution pages in your scrapbook, it could get very pricey for you.
2. Magazines and Books -Learn from professionals who make a living putting out layouts of magazines and catalogs. See the colorful sales brochures? Where is the text located? How big are the photos? The best resources are sometimes the design magazines and real estate. They take photos of their products at very unique angles.
You can learn a thing or two from these professional publishers.
Inspiration may also be found from a book that has nothing to do with crafts, or an old calendar.Note that the beautiful and scenic photos from calendars can be good materials for your backgrounds.
Maybe you can create your “best memories” scrapbook according to the lyrics of your favorite song, poem, or quotes.
Lastly, you can learn a lot from friends. Why not propose a get together with friends and family who may or may not be into scrapbooking? You can obtain briliant ideas from their handiwork, or they can give you tips on how to improve a layout you’re already working on.
Nov 06, 2008 | Growing Up Stories, Homemade Gift Ideas, Scrapbook, Sentimental Gift Ideas
