School of Decorating

Decorate with Confidence and Create a Home You Love

  • Free Class
  • Videos
  • Blog
    • How to Decorate
    • Simple DIY Projects
    • Life Tips
    • Success Stories
    • Our Home Tour
  • Classes
  • About
  • Contact

DIY to Give

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, on purchases made after following an affiliate link. See my full disclosure here.

October 14, 2012 By Jackie

My favorite gifts to give are personal and handmade.  It truly is the thought that counts.  Nothing shows more thoughtfulness than a DIY gift.  Handmade gifts are also perfect for the “person who has everything”.

I am always collecting handmade gift ideas.  I have a Pinterest board I recently started to help me keep track of and organize my gift ideas.  I am using it for mostly handmade ideas and DIY wrapping ideas, but there are also a few buy ideas mixed in.

I love helping my kids make handmade gifts.  It is another way I DIY to teach.  They love to help with the project.  It teaches them the best gifts aren’t purchased, they are made.  Here are a few of the gifts the boys helped make.

Iron on Transfer Dish TowelsKitchen Towels – My oldest helped write his “recipes”, draw the food, and then iron the transfers on the towels.  We made a set for both his Grandmas.

Magnetic Paper DollsMagnetic Paper Dolls – These were a gift for one of my sons’ little girl friends.  He helped pick out the dolls to include.

Stuck On You ValentineStuck on You Magnets – A fun little project we made for our nanny on Valentine’s Day.

Modern Bird Feeder – Another gift for Grandma, who has a spring birthday.

Besides making the gifts, I also like DIY gift wrap for both handmade and store-bought gifts.  Simple embellishments can make all the difference.  Here are a few of the techniques I have used for wrapping:

Monogram Brown Paper Gift WrapMonogramed Gifts

Paper Ruffle gift wrapRuffled Paper Trim

Mini Feed Bag Gift WrapMini Feed Bags

For my sister’s birthday, I passed on the gift of giving.  She is always giving to her friends and family.  So, I made her a gift giving kit with everything she might need to wrap up a beautiful gift.  The contents of the kit were mostly handmade.

Gift Giving Stationary Kit

Handmade gifting is in my blood.  I have been known to stay up past midnight making cake in a jar treats for my coworkers.  Now that my oldest is in school, I fully expect a few late night crafting events for the kids.  I have already figured out what were are making for Halloween.  I am getting better and better at starting well in advance to make sure my handmade dreams come true.

Previous Post
Buy When You Love (Nothing Else Will Do)
Next Post
DIY Tools: Painting

Comments

  1. Lisa says

    October 14, 2012 at 11:09 pm

    I’ve decided that I want to make all my Christmas gifts (for the adults) this year. The only downside is that I don’t have a lot of room for DIYing crafts in my home. I love that you’ve included your son in making gifts. I have a tendency to take over which I need to work on.

    • Jackie says

      October 15, 2012 at 11:34 am

      Lisa, space is always a challenge. When we were in our townhouse, I made a bit of space in our laundry closet on a shelf. I kept all my gift projects in a canvas bin about the size of a laundry basket. I pulled it out to the table whenever I had time to work on them, then I could put it all away.

  2. Kerry @ Made For Real says

    October 15, 2012 at 2:07 pm

    Love love love these ideas!

  3. Rebecca says

    October 27, 2012 at 2:25 pm

    Love these. I wish someone would make me a gift giving kit. That is spectacular!

Hi, I'm Jackie. I believe you are the best person to decorate your home and I'm here to help.

I teach online decorating classes to help you create your dream home. Click on the images below to learn more about each class.

Take an Online Decorating Class

Best for beginners!

12 Class Bundle!

Get a free copy of my book
Free Decorating


Start reading now...

Follow Me Here

Categories

  • How to Decorate
  • Simple DIY Projects
  • Life Tips
  • Success Stories
  • Our Home Tour
I believe you are the best person to decorate your home. You just need a dash of courage and a dose of decorating know-how. That's why I created School of Decorating.

I know how frustrating it is to feel like failure at home. I also know how amazing it feels when decorating finally makes sense and your home reflects you. I want to share what I've learned so you can create a home you love without years of trial and error.

Get a free copy of my best-selling book Free Decorating

  • How to Decorate
  • Simple DIY Projects
  • Life Tips
  • Success Stories
  • Our Home Tour

© 2018 School of Decorating
 · Terms of Use 
· Privacy Policy
 · Disclaimer




This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.

Necessary Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

Non-necessary

Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.