Between family, friends, kid’s teachers, neighbors, and those other special people in our lives, there are a TON of gifts to go around. I don’t care who you are or what kind of money you make, everyone has a budget. So today, we are putting together a few crafty Do It Yourself gifts that won’t break the bank!

Ornament:

christmas ornament

This ornament is for the kids, from the kids, for the teachers, for the friends…whatever you want it to be. Get creative! We got everything from Michael’s. The plastic ornament balls with coupons came out to just under $.49. From there, we bought a couple packs of fine glitter, Elmer’s Glue, Tensile, Crystals, and Sharpies!

We evenly distributed the glue around the top of the plastic ornament ball and made a scalloped design. Be careful not to use too much glue or it will be too heavy and will result in a glitter runner. Once you have your glue in place, sprinkle all over with glitter. Let dry. Once dry, push tensile into the balls or whatever else you deem appropriate. We then glued a few tiny crystals to the ornament to add some bedazzle {we used glue specific for crystals found at Michael’s}. Depending on who the ornament is for will be dependent on what you write, but we used gold, silver, and red colored Sharpie’s to write the year for the ornament as well as any other personalization.

Photography Ornament:

I love this ornament — and it’s fun to make *just* for yourself. I know, I know, this is supposed to be gift ideas. But when I started to think about it, I thought — do we do anything for ourselves anymore? One of the things I love about Christmas is looking at all of the ornaments on our tree and remembering their stories. Of course, this is perfect for grandmother’s as well! Tie it to a bow and use it as part of the wrapping!

This ornament is pretty easy … but it does take some patience.

Fun image of a do it yourself ornament by Katie Eaton

 

You’ll need:

1. A medium sized glass ornament that you can fill. You can use a round version, but I prefer a flatter one.
2. Acrylic paint in white
3. Sharpies in red, green and black
4. Filler for the glass — white beads, white glitter — anything that looks like snow
5. A photograph of your child that’s 1X1
6. A small paintbrush

How to make it?
1. Clean the ornament so it’s not dusty but make sure it’s dry.
2. Paint your child’s four fingers — lightly enough so that you can see the size and lines in their fingers. Too much and you’ll lose the effect. The good news is that these ornaments usually come eight to a box so you can mess up and start again.
3. Press all four fingers at once to the glass
4. Let it dry — overnight is best
5. When dry — Draw on different Snowman outfits with your sharpies
6. Fill with fake snow
7. Put in a photograph that faces the other side (make sure the back is 100% white — or make sure you fill your ornament with enough snow that it covers the back of the photo.
8. Write the date and their name on the back

You can also, for a gift for a neighbor or teacher … get the small (one inch) iridescent round fillable ornaments and fill with three colors of acrylic paint and swirl them. I do this each year with my daughter and it’s easy and makes for beautiful ornaments. Plus, she can do it herself — she just puts in waaaayyy too much paint. But — it dries … eventually!

 

DIY Hot Chocolate & Bailey'sCocoa & Bailey’s in a Mason Jar:

This is as easy as it sounds. Get pint size Mason Jars {$1.49 at Michael’s…you can probably find even cheaper}, spray can chalk paint {you can use this over and over and over again for multiple projects}, Hot Chocolate Mix, Mini Marshmallows, Bailey’s {I got a larger size 4 pack for just under $12 at Specs, but they also have the mini’s for $2/bottle}. Spray the lids of the mason jars with the chalk paint and let dry. Fill about 1/2 of the mason jar with Hot Chocolate Mix and fill the remainder of the jar with marshmallows. I hot glued my mini Bailey’s to the side of the mason jar and finished with some brown jute. I wrote the directions on how to make hot chocolate on the lid with a chalk pen, but you can write any message you want! Voila.

DIY Body ScrubVanilla Sugar Body Scrub:

This is another super easy one. I use the 4 oz mason jars {under $1 at HEB} for this gift, spray can chalk paint for the lids {AGAIN}, White Sugar, Brown Sugar, Olive Oil, and Vanilla Extract. In a mixing bowl, mix together 2 cups of brown sugar, 1 cup of white sugar, 1 cup of olive oil, and a tablespoon of vanilla extract. Mix it together well {if it seems too dry, you can always add more olive oil…this is really a personal preference}. From there, just pack it into the mason jar, write a cute message on top {Brown Sugar Body Scrub Merry Christmas!}, and call it a day.

 

What is your GO TO gift of the year? I just received this gorgeous and fresh candle on my doorstep from our favorite neighbors so I know there are more out there!

elf on the shelf

 

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