Category: Handmade Gifts

A house-warming gift is a great way to welcome someone new to the neighbourhood, whilst making a positive first impression. Here’s one we found that makes us wish the Smiths were our neighbours! 

• I don’t know many people who wouldn’t love receiving a bottle of wine, but even if they don’t drink, it’s always handy having a bottle of wine in the cupboard to offer to guest or friends that pop around. 
• This is a particularly thoughtful drink for new neighbours that are also renovating. 
• The addition of the hammer is funny, but also practical – something you’d definitely use after moving into a new house and need for the odd repair job or putting up pictures. 
• The little note included with this gift looks lovely and natural and personal since it’s handwritten. You could use any type of gift card here, but the ‘swing-tag’ type with a string work particularly well. 

Why we love it:

• This is a great way to re-purpose old cars you might have at home or pick up from a market, garage sale or second hand shop. 
• These look great on walls of a little boy’s room
• They are a great way of turning old ‘favourite’ cars you can’t bring yourself to throw away into something beautiful, interesting and unique. 
• Play around with the colour of cars and frames that you choose – you could go for contrasting colours to make a bold statement, or tonal colours that match each other or existing decor. 
• Don’t limit yourself to cars – this type of display could be done for any type of object – anything from dolls for a little girl’s room to Nanna’s spoon collection to ceramic figurines. Precious object d’art will also be protected from kids/pets/life when displayed behind glass on the wall like this. 

This is one handmade gift idea that’s made it to the top of my ‘wish list’ – who wouldn’t love receiving one of these little bulbs of joy?

• They look simple to make, and inexpensive with limited materials: bulb, plant, growing medium and string. A word of caution though, choose your bulb carefully. You want a good quality one that doesn’t look like it’s going to crumble in your hand as you’re working with it. We would also recommend wearing a pair of gloves to protect your hand when handling the glass, in case it shatters. 
• Who doesn’t love plants? This would be a great gift for anyone – men, women, children. You can select your plant and growing medium to suit your recipient. Plain white Perlite or little rocks would be suitable for an adult, but maybe brightly coloured stones and the inclusion of a little toy, like a fairy would make this magic for a child. 
• You could make a few and cluster them together, like a living mobile in your home or children’s bedroom. This takes the concept of hanging plants to the next level!
• Terrariums have made a revival lately, so this is a very ‘on trend’ gift and home decorating idea. 

A bottle of wine is a popular gift that many people will appreciate. However, the trick to gifting a memorable bottle of wine (apart from buying a wine that tastes good) lies in the way it’s presented. This handmade ice bucket would be a wonderful host/hostess gift for a party during the warmer months…

• It’s easy and inexpensive to make – you just need to allow a little time between each step for the ice to freeze. Here are the instructions on how to make it. 
• You can choose any combination of flowers, herbs, fruit, or anything else you think will freeze. You could use bright, contrasting colours, or tonal pastel colours, depending on the occasion. 
• This makes an impressive (and practical) table centre-piece. Imagine this on your Christmas table with gorgeous Christmas colours. If you’ve got time, you could even make two or three to hold different bottles of wine. 
• You can make any sized bucket – even one to hold multiple bottles. The only limitations are the buckets you have available, and the size of your freezer!

There is an abundance of second hand books at markets and in charity shops these days. The good news is that even the ones that aren’t best sellers can be put to good use – and not by reading them. Here are a couple of crafty ways to turn the pages of old books into a unique handmade gift that your recipient will treasure forever…

• These artworks are stylish and timeless
• This is a great way to recycle old books, or even newspapers
• You can customise and personalise each artwork, depending on the shapes and colours you choose.
• Experiment with different coloured/shaped frames – white, black, natural wood, bold red, etc. 
• How beautiful would these creations look as gift cards and gift tags? The options are endless and limited only by your imagination!