Christmas Gifts On the Fly

I used to be prepared for the Christmas season. I would have ALL of my shopping done before Thanksgiving and I marveled in that fact. Well, with the economy taking its toll on my personal life, I decided to become a wise shopper and a wise gift giver. Over the past 6 months or so I would shop with Christmas in mind. "Put your talents to use Heather! For crying out loud, can't you think of things to create for people? Just keep looking, just keep looking.....ah ha! That will be perfect as __________ (fill in the blank)." I found myself in this internal dialogue about how to re-craft items I would see on clearance racks or on shelves at the local Goodwill/Salvation Army/Value Village. So, with that in mind this years gifts should be a ton of fun! Not just for me to make but also for friends and family to receive.

Perhaps the best gift to give at Christmas is the gift that keeps on giving (literally year after year as something new). You don't have to look far or deep to discover what something can be transformed into. Here are some examples of quick gift ideas for this holiday season.

1. Scan the clearance racks at your local Target/K-Mart/Sears and look for a basic, solid white shirt of some kind. Preferably not ribbed. While you are at the store buy some iron on transfer printer paper. Usually you can get this type of item under $10. Next go to any kind of fabric store and gather some "end of bolt" fabrics that the gift receiver may enjoy. If you have a sewing machine don't forget the thread to accent with. Try metallic thread! If you don't have a sewing machine but have an iron, purchase some bonding fabric/fusible web. These are permanent which means the shirt could be washed. To add more dimension to your one-of-a-kind shirt use your computer (Adobe photoshop) to make a graphic that can be ironed on as well. Bottom line.....have fun and once you have purchased the basics you'll be able to make 4 or 5 shirts for great Christmas gifts! Here's an example.
   
   
2. If you are fortunate enough to live in a city that has a Habitat for Humanity surplus store, this can be one of your greatest resources for finding reusable products. I'm sure you have seen them around, cupboard door chalkboards. The benefit of getting the doors at the H4H store is that the doors are inexpensive ($5 at the most!) and they usually come with pre-drilled holes where the door hing mechanism is supposed to go. Automatic wall hanging already done for you! How cool is that, no hammer or nails needed?! There is usually a great abundance of odd shaped and conventional shaped doors with great detailing. The next supply you'll need is chalkboard paint, a paint roller/pan, painters tape and 3 days to let the paint dry. It's that simple. The most expensive item will be the chalkboard paint. But again, once you have purchased the paint you'll be able to do more chalkboards. Another use for cupboard doors is to transform them into signage. Below, I use my Cricut Expression machine to cut out the letters that make up the alphabet. And a bag of buttons from JoAnn's to accent. Fun right?!

Well, I hope you enjoyed my first post on Reused. Keep coming back for more fun, creative ways to save a little money and to learn how to give something of yourself.