The holidays are upon us and now is the perfect time to begin thinking about your Christmas list and begin working on your DIY gift ideas! Handmade gifts are an affordable and meaningful way to show all of the important people in your life that you care; however, finding the perfect handmade DIY gift idea can become overwhelming. Never fear, I have compiled a list of some of my absolute favorite do it yourself Christmas gifts for you. Below are a collection of 29 easy-to-make DIY gift ideas!
***Click on the number that you are interested in underneath each picture set to be taken to original tutorial.***
DIY Gift Ideas: Fabric Crafts
If you are handy with a sewing machine, a world of easy DIY gifts awaits you! You can purchase inexpensive tea towels or hand towels and customize them for a memorable gift. Quality bedsheets from the thrift store can turn into adorable, ruffled grocery totes and customized gift totes. With the help of transfer paper you can create personalized designs on your fabric to give a one-of-a-kind gift they are bound to treasure!
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DIY Gift Ideas: Unique Food Gifts
Everyone enjoys an edible gift during the holidays, but not everyone enjoys the results of eating all of those sweets and baked goods! Try some of these unique ideas that are easier on the waistline and just as simple to create.
- Decoupage clothespins and attach to a cardboard ring (covered in scrapbook paper) to create a beautiful wreath. Clip tea bags, hot chocolate packets, spice packets, or seed packets to the clothespins for a truly unique gift.
- Try your hand at making your own vanilla. All that is needed is a quality vodka, vanilla beans, and a pretty glass bottle. The vanilla requires 8 weeks of “brewing” before use so get started today!
- You can find a bunch of spice-rub recipes on the internet. Combine your spices in a pretty jar with a suggested use for a quick yet thoughtful gift.
- If you want to take the homemade spice gift a step further, include the spice packet in a decorative basket along with some fresh herbs, a loaf of bread, some olive oil, and balsamic vinegar for a quick dipping-oil hostess gift.
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 DIY Gift Ideas: Photo Gifts
Photo crafts make excellent gifts that are personal, customizable, and often most cherished. Here are some unique ideas for you:
- Make a picture frame wreath. Find small picture frames at the dollar store or craft store. Print out your favorite pictures on photo paper, fill the frames and attach them to a grapevine wreath using floral wire.
- Create a custom throw pillow using canvas (drop cloth) and photo transfer paper. Print out your favorite photo on the transfer paper and iron it onto your pillow cover.
- Replace the glass in a pretty frame with a coated piece of galvanized metal (found in the plumbing section of your local home improvement store) to create a small magnetic picture frame. Attach your favorite photo to customize the gift.
- Did you know you can create a 3’x4′ black and white photo for around $5? You can! It’s called an engineering print and your local office supply store should offer it. Print out your favorite photo and attach it to a pre-cut piece of particle board or painted plywood with spray adhesive. I love this gift idea because it’s huge and inexpensive ;).
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DIY Gift Ideas: Dish Gifts
Flea market, dollar store, or other inexpensive dish finds can become personalized and cherished gifts with the use of stencils, etching cream, and ceramic paint. Follow all of the directions on the bottle’s label to ensure safety when working with etching cream. I utilize this gift idea year round!
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DIY Gift Ideas: Coasters
Coasters are practical and pretty to give and receive! In early December, visit a fresh Christmas tree stand and ask if you can collect the discarded tree rounds. Sand each side of the tree rounds and coat with a few coats of polyurethane to create tree round coasters. You can also cover circles of cork or thrift store coasters with jute or old maps using mod podge or glue. Another quick coaster can be created using inexpensive tiles from a home improvement store. These can be stamped or mod podged to create beautiful gifts. Lastly, a thrift store game of scrabble can turn into some fun word coasters with a little creativity.
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DIY Gift Ideas: Bath & Beauty
For the special someone in your life that deserves a little pampering, how about creating your own bath and beauty gifts? Sugar scrub recipes, lavendar sachets, hand-carved soap, and lip gloss recipes are easy to come by on the internet! Did you know that colorful powdered drinks mixed with petroleum jelly will create a tasty and colorful lip gloss? Place your mixture in a cute tin and stuff in someone’s stocking this year for a gift they are sure to enjoy!
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No more excuses! The perfect handmade gift is obtainable this year with a little preparation and planning. Do you have any favorite handmade gifts that you love to give or receive? Do you see any pictured above that you think you might try? I’d love to hear about it!
margie says
I am new to pinterest and want to get the directions for the for the canvas work the branch is great
marie says
What type of bottle on the flower canvas tree did you use because when I did it it did not work
Beth says
You can click on the link that corresponds with the number in the picture to be taken to the original tutorial which should have the details for you.
marcia wark says
thanks for sharing these great ideas. I love the picture frame wreath and am going to make it for my daughter. and the coasters are a great idea for a small house warming gift for a friend of mine that is
s moving across the country.
Carmel says
What a great round-up – thanks for all the inspiration! I need to narrow things down now – that’s the hardest part of gift giving for me. 😉
Athena at Minerva's Garden says
So many wonderful ideas here, Beth–thank you so much for sharing them with us! I love the coasters and the lip gloss in particular.
Holly says
Love these ideas! Check out my gold figurines that are a perfect little accent gift for the home!
JP says
Great ideas, Beth….I like the photo wreath idea, very much. Have a wonderful weekend!
Leen says
Nice job putting this together, Beth! I am going to use at least a couple of these great ideas this weekend 🙂
Michelle@Faith, Trust & Pixie Dust says
What a great group of ideas. Thanks for the inspiration Beth.
Warmly, Michelle
Beth says
You’re welcome Michelle! Thanks so much for stopping by and taking the time to leave a comment :).
anonymous says
Thanks for the reply and email. After looking 3x I did see the numbers below the pictures. Sorry for the confusion!
Beth says
Kristen, I seriously don’t want anyone to be confused :(. I’ve updated with instructions and made the numbers under the pictures larger to make it easier to find the links. I hope that helps.
anonymous says
Do you have links to the actual sites these are from? If not, I’m surprised you didn’t give credit to the original designer. I love these ideas, but am disappointed.
Beth says
I would NEVER not link back to an original source. If you know me and my blog at all then you know that I am passionate about linking back and giving credit where credit is due. All of the projects above are numbered with the corresponding number listed underneath each group with a link to the original tutorial. You are right that I typically link by name but with 29 projects it looked much cleaner to organize and link by number.
kirstin @ kojo says
What a terrific round up, Beth! I love the scrabble coasters, and my mom and MIL would both adore any of the photo gifts!
ps- Thanks for putting the tea wreath in there!
Beth says
Hi Kirstin! I pinned your wreath ages and ages ago and think it is absolutely BRILLIANT!!! I’m a huge tea drinker so of course it caught my eye, but I love the simplicity and versatility of this gift. Even kiddos could make this one with a wee bit of help. Thanks for sharing your brilliance with us :).
kirstin @ kojo says
I share your tea love, friend! 🙂 And YES, kiddos could definitely help with this one!
Beverly {Flamingo Toes} says
Thank you so much for featuring my Christmas towels Beth!! This is such a great round up – I found several ideas to make!!
Beth says
Bev your towels are adorable! I only wish I were better with the sewing machine :). You create such amazing DIY gifts girl! Thanks for sharing your tutes with us!