Okie Dokie
I have $0 and Christmas season is here. So far presents I have thought of are.....

-friends- apron, gifts in a jar,cookies, personailized address books and mixed tapes, little wooden box

-Dad- a "hunting kit" (drawstring bag with toilet paper, hard candy, and a book to read)

- little brother- a joint gift with my older brother

This leaves
1. best friend Natalie, college student in a dorm, not a prissy girlie girl at all, doesn't use purses, candles, etc...

2. my older(24) sister Amy, just bought a new house and is in the process of decorating etc... has neveer really been into my artwork, was thinking about making her an apron, some gifts in a jar and then buying some cheap dish towels to match her new kitchen(which I painted:)) and putting it all into this pretty tin oblong bucket like container. Problem with this gift is it is from both me and my older brother(because he did younger brother), so it needs to be good

3. Then there is my mother. I have no clue. last year I made ner picture frames out of old wire hangers. I am clueless on what to do now.


Okay now the clincher, here is what I have to work with...

- lots of scrapbook paper
- some rectangles of bright felt
- some plastic beads
- lots of fabric
- bright feathers
- bright pipe cleaners
- some old jeans
- an old teddy bear
- some old holey sweaters
- some yarn( from when I decided to try to learn how to knit...I don't want to talk about it ;(...)
- and some other misc. stuff...

Also I want to make draft dodgers for my brother. Those rolls that you put at the bottom of your door to block the draft. If anyone knows where there is a pattern on the internet.

I know this is a huge post, but I AM DESPERATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PLease help all you can. I would love referalls to sites, etc......

THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOU

Katy

okay, katy, i'm going to try to cover at least one, maybe two of your questions. i'll post more when i think a little longer...

draft dodgers:

my mom used to make the simplest kind by rolling newspaper very tightly to to correct length and width. i think that you might want a measurement of his door for this. but you could also guesstimate. then you cover it in any fabric you have. you can also put a plastic garbage bag lining around the newspaper to make it waterproof, if necessary. my mom used to crocket covers for them.

i'm betting you could also make it out of rice, if you had enough. it would be more weighty then.

for your sis who has a new place. if you're worried that she might not want your artwork, then give her things that will let her decorate herself. you could give her empty picture frames (i find that i always need another), towels are great. the best towels for the kitchen are those flour sack ones--plain white and super cheap. you can never have enough. also, house things like a nice duster, electrostatic maybe (b/c when you have more space, you have more to dust), storage containers for the closets made from cardboard boxes covered in cool fabric, refrigerator magnets, heat resistent trivets made from old jeans.

i can't think of anything for the feathers right now. maybe use them on the personalized address books for friends. you might also be able to use the beads, pipe cleaners and feathers to make some sort of window hanging, light catcher thing, or even (if you have enough) a sort of door curtain like the hippie ones made of beads. but your could be made of feathers.

well, gotta run, i'm at work.

i hope one of these helps,
heather

This has been mentioned on another thread, but a good free gift is a certificate for doing something for the recipient...it can be pretty personal b/c you know exactly what kind of things they value or need. It can really be anything: car washes, going out to dinner or shopping when you have more $$, cooking dinner and doing the dishes, organizing or cleaning things, stuff like painting, refinishing furniture, or sanding a floor, hooking a rug, sewing (my Mom used to give me the option of picking out something for her to sew me when I was little, and it was great)etc etc.

I totally agree with the gift certificate thing... my sister just moved into a new house too with her fiance and her and i don't see eye to eye on decorating so i don't want to buy her anything for the house cos i just know it won't match. make a gift certificate for your sis thats like "one full day of helping you organize and decorate your new house" or something like that. my sister needed alot of my help when she first moved in. i'm actually gonna have some cash from my xmas job so i'm gonna give my sis a gift certificate to target so she can pick out things to decorate with, buy shampoo, a leather jacket, or whatever she wants. some people say gift certificates are impersonal and don't require alot of thought but for tough people to shop for they are a blessing. i love gettting them too; i rarely shop at "new" stores so when i get a gift certificate i get to have a little shopping spree!

i've done lots of stuff with feathers -decorated frames, lampshades etc. depending on the colour these can be really funky additions to any house

for your sis maybe cover a lightswitch cover in feathers - you can get covers really cheap from hardware stores.

Picture frames is a good way to go.
cut some cardboard into frames.. as in a rectangle with a cut out rectangle or any other shape in the middle.
Then use your felt to make the back of the frame.
Glue it onto the back of hte cardboard but only on THREE sides so that you can slip a picture inside.
THen cover the fron with your feather, yarn triming and beads or whatever.

PS
Use the pipecleaner as a stand in the back of the frame to keep it upright

one thing that I am doing for presents that is super cheap and super personal is making zines. I am making a zine all about my best friend just full of personal stories and pictures and stuff, just for him.. like a little scrapbook only better..
and so cheap..

For dad, don't forget to include the little shovel.
For college friend, if she is nearby, how about laundry use? or a real meal? or midterm/final destress kit with mellow relaxation type things that suit her personality (book, music, munchies, etc)
For sister, maybe a family picture frame type thing? That was what my cousin just adored when she moved out on her own. You could probably find a frame at a thrift store cheap and make a matting for it with your scrapbook supplies.
For mom, how about some scented sachet type things made with herbs or cinnamon clay thingys that smell good? Or flavored vinegars or oils? Or a layered soup in a jar type thing to look pretty with different colors of grains and stuff. Or a coupon type event thing with her great daughter?

andrea