The holiday season is among us folks, and with that being said, you might be scrambling right about now to find the perfect gift for the ones you love. Sometimes, finding the right gift can be challenging, because you want it to be unique and special, and you want your gift to stand out from the crowd. Well, sometimes even that can be difficult, especially if you’re on a budget. That’s why we wanted to take some time today to talk about a few unique DIY, or “do it yourself,” holiday gift ideas that you can create right at home today. Hand-crafted items are a great way to show someone that you care, because you put in the extra effort to create their gift yourself. Let’s go over some of our best ideas to help your gift stand out from the pack!
Monogrammed Mug
Monogrammed mugs are a unique way to show that you don’t mind putting a few extra minutes into making a personalized gift. This is a pretty simple DIY art project that is fairly low budget as well. First, you’ll need a standard white mug to start things up, with a stencil or scrap book sticker of the letter you want monogrammed onto the mug. After that, you’ll want to stick your letter stencil onto the mug, and use oil based sharpie paint pens on the mug and dot all around your stencil. If you need help finding letter stencils or oil based sharpies, check out our partners at the Inspiration Station, right here in Stafford Springs. Once it’s dried, carefully peel the stencil off of your mug to reveal your monogram. To make sure it sticks properly, even through the dishwasher, go ahead and place your mug in the oven at 350 degrees for thirty minutes. This will ensure a specialized gift that’s built to last!
Photo Collage Letters
Our next choice for DIY holiday gifts is a photo collage letter, which is a great addition for any home living area. Your family has countless memories together, so why not make a decoration that you can hang on the walls that creatively displays them? For this project, you’ll need a wooden letter of your choice, which you can purchase at almost any craft store. You’ll also need mod podge, a paintbrush, scissors, and some photos, and that’s it! Once you figure out where your photos are going to go on your letter, you can piece your photo collage together one photo at a time with your hod podge. For the full instructions on how to accomplish this project, check out House on the Way’s article.
DIY Photo Pendant
If you have a family member who has a special appreciation for jewelry, this is the perfect gift for them. Not to mention, if you have some valuable family memories, this is a great way to take them with you, so to speak. What you’ll need for this project is some diamond glaze, some E-6000 industrial strength adhesive, a one inch clear circle glass piece, and a pendant, which we’ve supplied links for. You’ll also need a small x-acto knife, a rubber mallet, and some of your favorite photos printed on heavy duty or cardstock paper. For a full set of instructions on how you can complete this project, you can check out the Sarah Saving Blog, but you can take a look at our example below.
We hope our guide has been helpful for folks looking for some creative last minute gift ideas. What are some of your favorite DIY gift ideas? Be sure to let us know in the comments section below, and happy holidays everyone!