I’m a huge fan of personalized cards. In fact, I usually don’t give them unless I’ve made them myself. This is equal parts me trying to be creative and give something special, and me boycotting the ridiculous price of a hallmark card. I mean, really, $3.99 for something that will be looked at once and…
A while back I decided to paint some embroidery hoops I had, fill them with fabric, and hang them up as part of the gallery wall I was creating. But lately I’ve been seeing so many amazing embroidery hoop art creations, that I decided my originals were a little boring. So this weekend I set out to spice up one of my hoops.
Here’s how it unfolded (and how you can do it yourself):
My mother is a huge fan of both takeout. [sidenote: In her defense, she works the graveyard shift, so when she wakes up after a day of sleeping there isn’t much time for her to cook a meal before getting ready for work] She also loves herself some coupons; I guess that’s where I get my frugal nature from.
So for Mother’s Day this year, I thought I would make her a takeout menu/coupon binder to hold all her goodies (especially since her current organization method consists of an old, decrepit paper folder). The materials only cost me around $7.50, and assembly was no more than an hour or two process. I’ve seen these online and in bookstores for around $20, and they are half the size of the one I made, which just isn’t big enough for some coupon flyers.
I put together some Easter baskets for the kids of our closest friends and wanted to give them a little handmade goodie. I stumbled upon a tutorial for chick beanbags at MarthaStewart.com, and loved how easy they looked and how adorable they were. They ended up being really simple and I was able to use scraps of fabric that I already had.
They would be perfect to decorate your house with for spring, or to give as gifts to kids. Check out the tutorial over at MarthaStewart.com.
Last Christmas, I used a tutorial I found on Craftily Ever After to make frames covered with wrapping paper and filled them with a family photo for my parents. Since then, I’ve adapted the process a bit and used some different materials to create fun frames that add a bit of character to any room. They’re great to give as gifts, and only cost about $2 each to make, assuming you have some of the materials (they’re even cheaper if you buy materials in bulk and make multiples to have on hand).
