Gifts Crafts Ideas For Your Family And Friends
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed
If you’re an artist or crafter, then no doubt your special projects make perfect presents for your loved ones. Nothing shows how much you care more than sharing something close to your heart. Whether you paint, knit, do woodwork or love doing a variety of art and craft projects, people love the uniqueness of handmade items. In this article, we’ve got some ideas for gifts crafts that your friends and family will love.
More and more people are getting into aromatherapy, and everyone wants their home to smell clean and sweet. You can make beautiful potpourri holders without spending a lot of money. Save your empty jars or look for decorative bowls in discount stores. Many dollar stores now sell bowls made of frosted or cut glass that look quite beautiful. If you’re making the potpourri holder for a special occasion like Christmas, then you can get bowls that are already festively decorated.
Simply fill the jar with sweet potpourri, cover the top with a lace doily and secure the doily with a pretty ribbon or an attractive elastic hair band. Don’t use a floral potpourri like eucalyptus, as some people find the scent too strong. Go for something sweet like vanilla or cinnamon. If you use a cream or ivory colored doily, these crafty gifts will have an antique feel and will look attractive in any room.
Mulled wine is a delicious and easy to make beverage that people can enjoy when the weather gets cold. It also makes your home smell absolutely scrumptious. You can whip up a batch and pour it into wine bottles for unique, crafty gifts for the grown ups on your gift giving list. You’ll need 1, 750 milliliter bottle of full-bodied red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz (something fruity works best), 1 cup of clear apple cider or cranberry juice, 4 tablespoons of honey, 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, 3 cinnamon sticks, 3 pieces of whole star anise, 3 whole cloves, 3 peppercorns, and a large sliced orange.
The star anise will add the flavor of licorice, the peppercorns will add a bit of spice and the rosemary will give the drink a familiar holiday taste. Slowly bring all the ingredients to just below a simmer and leave it at that heat for about 20 minutes. Some of the alcohol will cook away, so don’t worry about it being too strong. Remove the cloves, star anise, rosemary, cloves and oranges. Once the mulled wine has cooled, pour it into sanitized wine bottles and decorate it with a homemade label that advises the receiver to heat and add a shot of brandy before serving!
Candles are a gold mine for crafters making a large number of gifts crafts. They’re inexpensive and they are very easy to work with. Tall pillar candles can be engraved at an engraving shop in a design of your choice. The artwork and text can come in different colors. If you are artistic, you can even buy candle-engraving kits online and do it yourself. For professional looking gifts and crafts, get some votive candles, cellophane bags and colored ribbon from a discount store. Wrap the candles in the cello bag and tie it up with the ribbon and add a personalized tag. These candles can also be engraved.
In these tough economic times, we all have to cut corners every way we can. Even if you’re on a strict budget, you can still give beautiful gifts to your loved ones. With a little imagination, you can make lovely, thoughtful gifts crafts that everyone will appreciate.
