STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

blubirde · Chanel

Homemade Christmas Gifts

hotcocoa · Kate Spade

ooooh, handmade gifts are the BEST! what about handmade lip balms or body scrubs etc.? i did this last year and it was a huge hit. i'm sure there are others but i ordered supplies and got recipes from this website:

http://www.thesage.com/

i like your tank top embellishment idea too.

blubirde · Chanel

hotcocoa wrote:

ooooh, handmade gifts are the BEST! what about handmade lip balms or body scrubs etc.? i did this last year and it was a huge hit. i'm sure there are others but i ordered supplies and got recipes from this website: http://www.thesage.com/ i like your tank top embellishment idea too.

I thought about this too. I read an article on it on a craft website (I forget which one at the moment). Did you make give out one lip balm as a gift or a lip balm and a scrub? How much would you estimate each one cost? What kind of time commitment is involved?

hotcocoa · Kate Spade

blubirde wrote:

I thought about this too. I read an article on it on a craft website (I forget which one at the moment). Did you make give out one lip balm as a gift or a lip balm and a scrub? How much would you estimate each one cost? What kind of time commitment is involved?

i didn't do the scrub, actually. i wanted too but i ended up doing peppermint soap and peppermint lip balm and then packaged them together. i made about 30 sets and i'd say it cost about $100? (i cannot quite remember the cost) i made a lot but i had enough to give away as hostess gifts, to neighbors to my son's teachers etc. they were fantastic to have on hand. the lip balm was easy, easy to make (and quite cheap), the soap was a little messy and took a bit more time because i layered white and red. if you're considering either i can go back to the site and tell you exactly which products i used and i can send you my recipe for the soaps.

this year i'm making reed diffusers, which is going to end up being more expensive but i'm not making quite so many. i'm crossing my fingers.

-- Edited by hotcocoa at 09:43, 2005-11-14

Elle · Hermes

I have an extremely easy and super yummy fudge recipe if you'd like to supplement your gifts with a treat

, too.

bex · Chanel

one year i did homemade soaps. you can find all the makings at a craft store (i purchased mine at michael's). it wasn't too bad- maybe $30 for all the stuff? and i made gifts for 5 people from it (about 4-5 soaps each).

also, one year i bought yards of fleece, serged the edges and embroidered my friends names on it. they were flabbergasted when i told them i made them and each one only cost me about $5! of course, my mom has a serger and embroidery machine so that helped in the cost. but i know you can hand stitch the edges with a larger embroidery type thread as well. and these are super nice gifts.

blubirde · Chanel

bex wrote:

one year i did homemade soaps. you can find all the makings at a craft store (i purchased mine at michael's). it wasn't too bad- maybe $30 for all the stuff? and i made gifts for 5 people from it (about 4-5 soaps each). also, one year i bought yards of fleece, serged the edges and embroidered my friends names on it. they were flabbergasted when i told them i made them and each one only cost me about $5! of course, my mom has a serger and embroidery machine so that helped in the cost. but i know you can hand stitch the edges with a larger embroidery type thread as well. and these are super nice gifts.

Ooohhh!!! This is a really good idea too. My mom has a sewing machine at home and I can do the embroidery by hand (thanks Grandma!). This one would be perfect for family members and friends.

So here are my options so far:

1) Old Navy scarves and/or boy beaters with appliques on them (I have a $50 ON gift card, so this could be handy) - good for friends

2) lip balm/soaps - great for acquaintance/office/hostess gifts

3) throw idea - good for family and possibly friends (and the boys - throws are better than lip balms and scarves for them)

jacL · Coach

I love scarves, so I think the scarf idea is brilliant!

gruiz · Kenneth Cole

Tons of crafty ideas here:

http://www.craftster.org/

Cortney1982 · Chanel

I like making gifts sometimes as well. I have a few books on making gifts too. One year I went through Martha Stewarts website in the crafts section. They have a homemade gifts section with lots of good ideas. So I did the ice cube glycerine soaps. You use an ice cube tray as your mold, easy!

Here is the link Martha's page: http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml;jsessionid=DQHG0DYRL43RHWCKUUXCGWWYJKSS0JO0?type=learn-cat&id=cat266&navLevel=3&rsc=bottomnav

I want to try the beaded coasters this year:

lynnie · Chanel

omg, that is too cute!

blubirde · Chanel

Cortney1982 wrote:

I like making gifts sometimes as well. I have a few books on making gifts too. One year I went through Martha Stewarts website in the crafts section. They have a homemade gifts section with lots of good ideas. So I did the ice cube glycerine soaps. You use an ice cube tray as your mold, easy! Here is the link Martha's page: http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml;jsessionid=DQHG0DYRL43RHWCKUUXCGWWYJKSS0JO0?type=learn-cat&id=cat266&navLevel=3&rsc=bottomnav I want to try the beaded coasters this year:

Awesome - those are both really good ideas. Thanks!

laken1 · Hermes

What are you going to embroider? This site has the coolest patterns & you can get 4 packs for $10

http://www.sublimestitching.com

blubirde · Chanel

laken1 wrote:

What are you going to embroider? This site has the coolest patterns & you can get 4 packs for $10 http://www.sublimestitching.com

Isn't that stuff great? They sell it at a few local boutiques too. I've always wanted to buy them and try them out but I never really had an occasion. Hmmm... maybe this is it!

laken1 · Hermes

Oh, that's right, I forget she is based there! I think she's great - it's all i've embroidered since I picked it up again.

blubirde · Chanel

laken1 wrote:

Oh, that's right, I forget she is based there! I think she's great - it's all i've embroidered since I picked it up again.

How long does it take you to embroider her stuff? What do you put it on? I was thinking a tee or a boybeater. Any ideas?

shopgirl82 · Chanel

i saw this when searching through www.crateandbarrel.com and i thought of this thread. i thought it would be cute to put fudge in a bag like this. for LMonet or anyone who makes fudge.

i make tea and give a witty mug to people like my hairdresser, etc..i posted the tea recipe in the food section a while ago. it's called friendship tea if anyone is interested.

laken1 · Hermes

blubirde wrote:

laken1 wrote:
Oh, that's right, I forget she is based there! I think she's great - it's all i've embroidered since I picked it up again.
How long does it take you to embroider her stuff? What do you put it on? I was thinking a tee or a boybeater. Any ideas?

I have done it mostly on the ribbed beaters from Old Navy, and I think they are 2 for $10 right now! It literally takes me one night of watching tv maybe? But I do pretty easy stuff, like flowers, I did that pinup girl, some of the stuff off the crafty one, basically stuff without a lot of details (like the mermaids, which I love, but am scared of). I have read that tshirt material is hard to work with, but I didn't have issue with the beaters. If you do tshirts, they make stablizer that you can secure on the back of it, but that irritates me. If it's that much trouble, I'd rather not do it!