I know I've suffered from it: the dreaded present block (which is very close to writer's block), in which you cannot figure out what to give to someone. It can be a co-worker, a friend, even family members and no ideas can be forthcoming!
Well, I'm here to help and maybe inspire some different gift giving ideas than the traditional ones! After all, a homemade gift can mean a lot, it shows you really care and wanted to take the time to make something special.
So these are two little cotton print bags my mother stitched together from scrap fabric. She then put loose leaf tea into two little plastic bags and put them into the cloth bags. I made the tags for her, using basic scrap-booking materials, including tag bases (you can buy packs of these at Michaels) and decorated them with complementary colors. It was my Aunt's birthday, so one of them says Happy Birthday.
Cost: Nothing, we had the tea, fabric, ribbon, and scrap materials. Of course, this could be altered for whatever goodie you want to put into a bag (you could even buy the bag) and do the tag to match.
Take a themed book box (like this one), and turn into a personalized keepsake:
I themed it after the cover, which is Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. I cut out paper pieces from an old gift bag, wrapped a little address book with paper to make the Case Notes file (and used a bit of leftover black velvet ribbon and misc. buckle), printed out an old time table from the Orient Express, used a Tim Holtz clock face, snow texture (from Michaels), purchased a little train pencil sharpener and adhered it to the box, and viola! You have a mystery in the making, Also, Poirot's little lapel vase belonged to my grandmother, I didn't glue it in, only pinned it so it can be removed and worn again. But just some paper scrap, snow texture, a mini train, and an old clock face in a book box can become WOW when combined correctly. Imagine making one for Castle, or Sherlock Holmes, or whoever you like! You could even do some miniaturist thing with it, if you're good at that.
Cost: Probably $15. The box was on sale and all I had to buy was the train, snow-tex, and clock face. Everything else was already in my scrap bag.
These little papercrafted teacups were the result of a die-cut punch, heavy double sided scrap book paper, bits of Christmas floral, and odds and ends (like an old penguin tag and an embossed poinsettia). Obviously, people who don't have access to a die cut like this wouldn't be able to do quite the same, but it also wouldn't be so hard to trace out a teacup and saucer design and cut it by hand. This might seem like a lot of work, but if you're only making two or three, it would go quickly. Use hot glue to assemble and adhere decoration. Fill with sweets (I did cocoa or tea, mini candycanes, and a small box of chocolates). Affix tag and present. Of course, these are Christmasy, but you could do them for whatever time of year you need!
Cost: For the cup alone it was under 50 cents. With sweets it might run $2 - $3.
These sweet little felt partridges were super easy to make. Just cut two body pieces for each bird, and two wings from complementing colors. I then embroidered them with some floss (though, you could use fabric paint or glue jewels on) and stitched around the edges to close. These were very pretty and would work for a Christmas present, though with some color changes could be Spring-ish.
Cost: Under $10 for felt, floss, and fiberfill.
Artist Trading Cards done two different ways. These were both Birthday presents for coworkers and I used scrap-booking stuff for them. For the owl one, I cut an owl out of a magazine and glued it onto thick cardstock before using it on the doorhanger. Both can be personalized easily and are nice, small gifts people can use (hanging from a door or sitting in a guest bathroom, etc.).
Cost: Probably under $10 each. I have a lot of scrap-booking stuff so I never have to buy something for these types of presents. With one pack of Artist Trading Card backs (Hobby Lobby), one sheet of scrap paper, one pack of wooden stands, one pack of scrap, and glue and foam tape the $10 is probably about right. But once you have those supplies the cost lessens.
And finally, two mini canvases decorated and placed on a small wooden easel (painting supply section: Hobby Lobby). I used a small gold locket and silver bezel holder that I already had and used scrap-booking supplies (again). How I make stuff like this pop is by using dimensional foam tape behind scrap to give it some lift. I also used bits of patterned paper, ribbon, stickers, dimensional flowers, and saved Victorian themed pictures. These were made for my supervisors. One was leaving and I gave her the pink one as a thank you for hiring me, and the black and white and red one was a gift to my new supervisor (I've always wondered why the new person never gets any gifts? I think giving a gift to a new supervisor is very appropriate and shows that you support them.
Cost: $15-ish, depends on what needs to be purchased.
