Craft and Hobby Site

Everyone loves getting gifts that come from the heart. What shows this better than gifts made by hand? While this may make some people panic at the thought of trying to make something arts and crafts, it really isn’t that hard to make a nice gift for someone.

An excellent gift for a new bride in the family would be a cookbook of all the family favorites. Add some stories and maybe old photos of family gatherings to go along with the recipes. Put together some dry mixes of some of the recipes to get her started. Wrap it in a nice apron, maybe even one that belonged to a relative.

For kids, a great gift that can be added to is a Dress Up Kit. Get an old suitcase or two and fill it with old clothes that you don’t wear anymore. Include hats and shoes. Now and then, add more items to the box. Ask other relatives to contribute to it as well. If you have pictures of family members wearing the clothes, print them out and decoupage them on the outside of the suitcase and then coat with a clear finish.

Do you have a flower garden during the year? Save the petals, dry them and make your own potpourri. You could buy cinnamon sticks to add another scent and texture. Put it in small containers or mesh bags.
Everyone likes to snuggle up with a soft blanket on a cold evening. You can make a blanket and never sew or crochet a stitch. Purchase a piece of fleece the size that you want your blanket (the clerks at the store can help you figure out the right amount). Simply cut fringe in about two inches from all the edges about an inch apart. You can either let the fringes hang loose, or tie knots to make a pattern around.

Homemade cookies, fresh from the oven, are a great treat. A lot of people just don’t have the time to make them. You can make a frozen cookie kit. Mix up a batch of their favorite cookies. Roll them out into balls and flatten them slightly. Flash freeze them by putting them on wax paper on a cookie sheet until they are solid. Remove them from the sheets and place them in a freezer bag. Bake for two to three minutes more than the normal time or until golden brown. They can be baked in small batches, even in the toaster over, or all at the same time.

Another nice handmade gift could be writing a poem for a family member. Poems don’t even have to rhyme. Print it out in a nice font or in calligraphy if you know how, and put it in a nice frame. It’s a gift someone will treasure for years to come. You can have kids help write one for different family members. An easy poem type project is to take someone’s first name, write it along the left margin and then think of a word associated with that person for each letter. For example, Sue could be Sweet, Upbeat and Energetic or Bob could be Brave, Outgoing and Baseball.

No matter what your homemade gift, be sure to include lots of love in the making and it will sure to be a hit with it’s recipient.

The kids are home for Christmas break and are bored already. The weather is cold, wet and nasty. What do you do? Keep them busy making something with their hands, instead of you tearing your hair out. Here are some fun ideas that kids will love.

1. Christmas cards are always a great craft. Provide the kids supplies like construction paper, card stock, scissors, glue, glitter (the bottles of glitter/glue in one package are a very nice low-mess way to dress up a project), pencils, crayons or markers and old Christmas cards. Let the kids use their creative energy to make wonderful handmade cards that can be shared with family and friends. By cutting pictures out of old cards, even the younger children can make something really nice (and recycle at the same time).

2. Snow globes are a favorite. If you want to make your own, gather glass or clear plastic containers, like baby food jars or mustard or mayonnaise jars. Wash and dry them completely. Gather small plastic Christmas or winter decorations. Try to find some that float. Winter themed stickers or small foam cutouts are also nice. Decorate the outside of the jar with stickers or glue a few of the foam pieces on it. Attach a couple of the floating pieces (things like snowflakes or stars work well) to string and glue a figure to the inside with the string underneath the figure to anchor it (which will become the base). Fill the jar with water and some glitter. Carefully glue the lid in place using waterproof glue and let dry. Once dry, shake it, set it lid down and watch the glitter swirl around.

3. Candy crafts can be fun, as well as a tasty gift. A train can be a quick craft that can be used as a decoration or gift. Use a roll of hard candy (like Lifesavers) for the main part of the train. Use individually wrapped round candy, like peppermints for the wheels. For the front, glue a square candy, such as a caramel or a Starburst with a Hershey kiss on top. If you add a string, they can be used as a tree decoration. Experiment with other kinds of candy to create other things, like robots, animals or even angels.

4. Garland trees can be a great project for the kids, especially if there is limited room for a Christmas tree. Take a large piece of green poster board and cut a circle, with a slit out to make a cone. Tape it with clear packing tape. Take an artificial pine garland and wrap it around the cone, completely covering it to create a small tree. Fasten the ends in place so it doesn’t unwrap. The tree can be decorated with lightweight paper ornaments that the children can also make.

5. A cozy fireplace can warm up any room but not everyone has one. Let the kids make one. Find a large cardboard box and cut an opening in the one side for the fireplace. Using sponges, paint bricks on the box, leaving space in between to be the mortar. Paint the inside black if you want. Paint flames on the inside back section of the box. Use paper towel rolls to stack up in the fireplace as logs. Decorate the top to look like a mantel.

Get creative and think up your own Christmas crafts as well. Children will love the fun involved in creating these crafts and so will you. You can even give the crafts as a gift which will warm even the scroogiest of hearts.