I make jam every summer....just about to get started as the organic strawberries at my favorite farm will start coming in in July. I keep a stash and collect nice small bags to deliver them in.

We spent a week at a cabin in VT last week and in between books and crossword puzzles, I made those silly loop potholders we used to make when we were kids. It was very satisfying, working with the colors, and completing something in under an hour. I may give them away with the jam, but only to close friends who understand they are not to be taken too seriously... :-)

Your pillows sound very nice, Oceanna.

I'm crocheting afghans for family members this year. (My only claim to fame, lol.) I've picked out some patterns that are quick to work up and then personalizing them with decoration, color and yarn types. My problem is everyone in my family have birthdays between the middle of September and the middle of December. If I make these for Christmas, what do I do for birthdays? This is the first year of retirement so I have time and limited funds so keep the ideas coming so I can come up for something for the "other" holiday.

I have one of those bags I got at a craft fair at the VFW hall. I do not know what she put in there but it smells divine and holds heat forever. Someone had given me one with corn in it (smells like corn muffins when heated) and I've tried the flax ones, but none work as well as the one I got. I can't wash it, tho...and it's gotten so grungy. I suppose I could make a new bag and pour the contents in it...gee! What a concept!

I baked homemade goodies this past holiday season. I never do that, but it was so rewarding for me, and everyone enjoyed the treats tremendously.

I love receiving home made gifts. But I have to admit, my younger DD just sent me a box of 'crow goods' for my birthday. A sparkly rhinestone bracelet, sparkly rhinestone ring, and sparkly rhinestone key chain. (Sensing a trend here??). And this month's Vanity Fair with Johnny Depp on the cover. Ahhh, the kid has great taste!

I've painted plain terracotta pots with bright pastels in fun patterns to give as gifts to outgoing board members of an organization that I was president of. Everyone loved them and they were very inexpensive. I have a friend that puts miniature lights into wine bottles and paints the bottles with grape vines and leaves.

Oceanna,

I've made the neck pillows before and usually added lavender. Never, ever thought of tea so Thank you!!!

Some great ideas here....I'm going to be keeping my eye on this thread for sure. Money tight....an understatement in our house right now.
It's usually tight and I'm accustomed to it after all these years but this time..wowzer. Things kept popping up that were soooo unexpected this past 4 months and well, you know the rest.

I've already been planning ahead for the July, August and Sept. family/friend birthdays coming up.....and we have sooo many of them and I am very active with our Neighborhood Watch and have gotten pretty close to a few of those who have gone above and beyond and their birthdays are coming up.

I got Nine 4" terracotta pots at Goodwill for 39 cents each....they look brand new!

I also picked up several (5 bags, I think) bags of pretty stones and glass jewel globs (in mesh bags) at a yard sale a couple weeks ago for 50 cents a bag.

I had already started propagating some of my mint, chocolate geranium, kalanecho and Fiber Optic plants.

At gift-giving time I figure I'll put a new plant with fresh plant soil/time-release vitamins into a new pot and cover the top of the soil with stone or glass.
I'll make a little gift-card holder from thicker wire, stick it in the soil and make a little card on my computer and put it on card holder.
Instant gift, inexpensive, and I know all the recipients like plants and flowers so at least it's something they will enjoy.

After that, I'm stuck....that's why I'll be watching this thread for more neat ideas like the ones already shared.

I so wish I would receive all those homemade gifts, no one I know is crafty.

I think this thread will be very inspiring, specially now when it's a good time to get started on crafts and such.

On the receiving end, I worked in a school system for many years. I treasured the homemade gifts the families of the often poor families offered at holiday times. Drawings by the kids, and home baked goodies were a million times more meaningful to me that the cheap junk holiday gifts one can buy in stores.

I've started making Christmas cross stitch ornaments- I bought several kits and work on them when I am watching TV at night. The kits were inexpensive- about $4- $6.00 each.

Also, this past winter I started thinking about what I could do to earn some money in the off-growing season. I made an end grain bread board and ended up giving it away at a bridal shower. I think the bride was pleased. The only other hand made present was a bag where the sides were of fabric that somehow had pictures of the bride and groom on them. It was very cool.

DH gave an edge grain bread board that he made to a new college grad that was moving into her first apartment. I don't have a picture of that one, but it was easier to make then the end grain one.

I definately think we will be making more cutting boards. They aren't that hard, and you can find instructions on You-tube.

End grain board:

That's lovely barb! I don't think anyone would consider that a "homemade" gift. That's a beautiful treasure to have whoever makes it.

Barb, that bread board is beautiful.

I'd much rather recieve a gift like that than something 'store bought'.

When I used to crochet, I'd often give the outfits I made as shower gifts. Today, I can't think of any crafty things I do. Maybe I need to take up a hobby. :)

My husband's nephew has been doing home-made gifts for years. Year before last, we each got two kids of salsa (red and green). This past year, we received beautifully scented, colored candles.

amy: I really want to do my own strawberry jam this year. Do you have any tips you could share with a novice? When I was growing up we always did the "freezer jam" - basically strawberries, sugar and jello. Tasty, but I don't have a freezer and would like to be a bit more natural.

Last winter my second grader needed a homemade project to share with his class. I remembered seeing a link posted here before for Furoshiki bags. He only had to learn a couple of folds and how to tie the knots. He was the hit of his classroom. He gave his homemade bags to several of his teachers. I shared the video with my SIL and she made some gifts too. For some reason I can't get the link to work I hope you see the video on you tube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC7MH3EzBWM

I am doing cross stitch pillowcases. I made some for my aunt last year, and she raved, so I figure I'll do some more of that!

They're just from kits from joannes, but they are very pretty. I have some patterns that I'm going to try on higher quality pillowcases.

I also so smaller seasonal cross stitch projects...that way the receiver doesn't feel obligated to keep it out all year!

Bumblebeez and Parma,

Thank you for the compliments. I can really see why people get into woodworking. I'm getting over my fear of saws, but what I really have come to love is the sanding and finishing. That is where the beauty of the wood emerges.

I'm thinking hard about taking a furniture making course this winter.

Rolled beeswax candles are so idiotically easy to make that I don't know how on earth candle shops get so much money for them. Seriously, a 7 year old could make these things. I buy the wax sheets in 60-sheet cases so a pair of 1x8" dinner candles or an 8" pillar costs about $1.50 to make but the candle shops get $20+. (Here's my favorite source for wax and wicks.) I package them wrapped in a "collar" of heavy kraft paper tied with a strip of raffia or hemp twine, with a pretty calligraphy label I make up on my computer and print on Avery clear labels.

I haven't done any since we moved but I hope to get back into making cold-process soap. If ingredients are purchased from a wholesaler it's a cheap hobby. I never sold it, except for casual sales to acquaintances, because the market is glutted with home soapers' products and I wasn't up to managing a business. One year we had a ginormous gift list (dang office and family politics) and not a lot of money so we purchased nice baskets at Goodwill for about 50 cents each and filled them with an assortment of nicely packaged soaps and handmade toiletries. I even learned to shrinkwrap for a professional experience. I tailored the contents to the recipients - for instance, the athletes on the list got invigorating and deodorant soaps, antifungal foot powder, muscle rub (packaged in deodorant stick containers, ain't I brilliant? LOL) and stinky-shoe savers (charcoal, cedar chips, and lavender in double-layered cloth bags for stuffing into smelly shoes). When DH was delivering them at work someone stopped him and offered him $200 for one large basket that had maybe cost me $25 to put together because I had made everything in bulk and worked hard on locating inexpensive but still professional-looking packaging. (I don't think he'd have offered that much if it hadn't been last-minute and right in front of him so he wouldn't have had to go shopping.) DH called home but I didn't have enough materials to make another basket.

Amysrq - I also make homemade jam. I pick strawberries in June, blackberries in July, and raspberries in August. I usually make 75 to 100 jars of jam each summer and give it to family, friends, and neighbors at Christmas. I love it all - the picking, the cooking, the giving, and the eating!

I typed a long response and then my electricity went down for about two minutes. grrrr

Barb, your cutting board is gorgeous! HUGE pic. But gorgeous. A furniture making course -- wow, good for you! I hope you do it.

Amity, getting your clay pots at Goodwill was a great idea. You can paint them with house paint, decorate them with craft paint, and seal them inside and out with spar varnish. If you saw my thread about curb appeal projects, that's how I did mine. You can use stencils, and make polka dots with a q-tip, and checks with a flat brush. I'll put a link in for you.

Nan, loved the Furoshiki bags video. I'll bet your DS was so proud of himself!

Hats off to those of you crocheting and embroidering. We want pictures, please.

Mari, thanks for that link! $200 for the basket? You've got a great 'Plan B' there. Tell us more about how you filled the baskets, please.

I was wondering if there is a way to make slippers with rice-filled or whatever soles that can be stuck in the micro for cold tired winter feet.

A super gift for a baby or toddler is buy a Raggedy (Ann or Andy) and enhance all the features and the heart by embroidering over them with red and black floss. This makes the features just pop. Then embroider the baby's name and b-date on the tummy. Very appreciated. I think some of them have music boxes in them.

The Best Present Ever for grandparents is a calendar you make yourself. Use 8.5x11 card stock and get it comb bound by your local cheapie print shop. Put a 5x8 glossy photo of your kid(s) for each month. Dec on Santa's lap, Jan playing in the snow, Aug at the beach and so on. Leave a blank page between each month so if grandma writes appointments on her calendar it won't go through and damage the photo. At the end of the year she'll have a record of the kids growth. Make one for you too!

You gals making the jam, are you doing the parafin seal on it? Or is this freezer jam? Please be super careful when pouring a big heavy pot of that hot, hot stuff!

Here is a link that might be useful: painting pots

Mine is more like homemade gift wrap- when I'm giving a smaller gift, I'll buy a plain photobox at Walmart or Target because they cost the same as a gift bag and I'll decorate the outside. Place my gift inside with tissue paper etc, and then tie a bow around the outside of the box.

I don't have to mess with wrapping paper, and the gift wrap becomes a second gift as a keepsake photobox.

It's great to do for specific occasions as the box can be decorated to hold pictures from that event like a wedding or a new baby, Christmas etc.

For Christmas my daughter will be making fabric holders for kleenex. You cut three pieces of fabric slightly bigger than the pack of Kleenex. Take 2 of them and fold them in half and then sew. It will look like this:

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She is making them for the grandma's to keep in their purses.

You can also use O's filling to make mug mats to place under your hot coffee mugs or use the filling to make trivets, just sew channels for the filling to keep it from shifting.

Barb! Wow! That cutting board is fabulous! I would love to get a gift like *that*!

I just sewed this for my dog-crazy friend whom I went to support at her first dog show. He's a Weim that she named "Tebow" after the Florida Gator quarterback. She wore Gator colors this morning at the show, lol. I found this fabric online and made him a little tie that velcroes over his collar---it's so easy. This is my dog modeling it for me: