Homemade Little/Big Gifts

[preciousjeni]

I've seen a billion threads on how to get cheap gifts but I was hoping that people could start posting how to actually create gifts.

(Also, I just started checking out Ebay stores and there are a TON of people who have Greek gifts for CHEEEEEAAAAP!!)

I'll begin (remember, we need explicit directions because some of us...well me...are totally craft inept)

Soap

6 oz of shea, mango, or almond butter
1 oz cocoa butter
1 oz beeswax
Fragrance oil if desired scent
Mica if desired for color

Soap Mold
Double Boiler
Container to hold the butter when you're finished

Add the beeswax in your double boiler and melt completely.
Add the cocoa butter to the double boiler and melt completely. Stir occasionally.
Add the shea, mango, or almond butter and melt completely. Stir occasionally.
Remove from heat. Add mica if desired and stir throughly.
Add fragrance oil if desired and stir throughly.
Pour the mixture into your container(s) and allow to cool.

*You can also use clear glycerin soap and put little foam sorority mascot into the soap or drizzle color into it!!

Candle

Pillar Candle
Decorative Napkins

Fine Scissors
Decoupage Finish (like Mod Podge)
Foam Brush

Cut out your motif from your decorative napkin. Keep only the top layer of the napkin with your motif. You can throw away the other layers.
Cover the surface of your candle with decoupage finish.
Press the napkin motif onto the surface of the candle. Smooth out any wrinkles with your fingers.
While the napkin is still wet, brush another coat of the decoupage finish over the whole candle to seal the napkin in place.

Luggage Tags

Card Stock Paper
Tag Holders

Create a design on your computer and use the card stock paper to print. Cut out the tag and simply slip it into the tag holder.

Mug

Pencil and paper
Pebeo Porcelaine 150 glaze
Brush
Mug
Paints/Pens/Other Decorations

Decorate mug
Apply glaze
Allow to set 24 hours
Bake at 350 for 35 minutes to seal

Vase

WHAT YOU NEED
• Clean, empty jar
• Acrylic or liquid tempera paints
• Paintbrushes or cotton swabs
• White glue
• Clear glaze (available at craft stores)
Time needed: Under 1 Hour
Mix paint with glue; keep paint thick
Use brushes to paint design on jar
Let paint dry, then seal design with coat of glaze

Velvet journal

• Blank hardcover book or notebook
• Ruler and scissors
• Velvet
• Fabric stamps
• Ironing board and iron
• Tacky glue
• Flat ribbon
Time needed: Under 1 Hour

Measure the cover of your book, then cut out a piece of velvet that's just slightly smaller.
Place the fabric stamp on your ironing board with the stamp side up. Put the velvet over the stamp, fuzzy side down, then spritz the back of the fabric with water. With the iron set on high, press down evenly for about 25 seconds (a parent's job). Carefully lift the iron, peel the fabric back from the stamp, and let the fabric dry. To add more patterns, repeat this process.
Put glue on the back side of the velvet and attach it squarely to the front of the journal. Cover the rough edges of the velvet by gluing a strip of flat ribbon on top of them.
Although cotton and polyester velvet do work, rayon and silk velvet make the best prints. Use fabric stamps (which cost about the same as rubber stamps) because they are tested for use with high heat.

Beaded Pic Frame

Wooden Pic Frame
Glue
Beads

Take a container that's big enough to hold the picture frame and put beads in it. Smear glue on the picture frame and, holding the frame over the container, start picking up handfuls of beads and dropping them onto the frame until it's covered.

[phisigduchesscv]

One gift that I gave to my Sapphire Sisters was a picture frame with letters on it. However I didn't buy it at a greek store, where I see them at $20 or more, I put it together myself.

I went to Target and bought a wood 4x6 picture frame for about $2. Then I went to the greek store and bought the mini letters/symbols used on paddles. I laid them out on the frame and when I liked how it looked I secured the letters on the frame. For about $5-$6 I was able to make a frame with our National and Chapter letters, our chapter founding date (we were founding sisters), and roses and hearts on the frame.

Carolyn

[Senusret I]

You know those 8x11 sheets that have a bunch of different decals with letters, the shield, name of the org and stuff?

I have stuck those on plenty of things from the dollar store, like a candy jar, picture frame, etc. Since the decals are clear around the edges, they really flow seamlessly into the item you stick it on.

[HollisterDXiChi]

Though it can be tasking, I think its a lot more fun to put gifts together. When Im out shopping or whatever, I'll pick up random things that I think I can use to make say pledge gifts or gifts for sisters. I have fun putting it together. Great ideas too

[adpiucf]

Create a Gift Box
Materials-
Shoe Box (if you've recently bought a pair of boots, this is a great size!)
White Spray Paint
Sponge
Second color paint (I'm an ADPi, so I chose azure blue!)
Wooden hearts (purchase cheaply at any craft store)
glitter
Glue Gun
newspapers

Go OUTSIDE. Spread your newspapers and spray paint the outside of the shoe box, it's lid and the hearts white. Let it dry.

Next, take your second color paint and squirt it onto some clean newspaper. Take your sponge and soak up some of the paint. Blot it a couple of times on another clean area of newspaper.

Now, take your sponge and blot against the box and lid. Gently dust with glitter. Let it dry.

Hot glue your wooden hearts to the four corners of the box. Little clusters of different sized hearts looks very cute. (You might want to put a small layer of elmers glue on them and lightly dust with glitter too).

When everything dries, if you are feeling adverturour, take a black sharpie, or a colored paint pen and write your sister's name on the lid in bubble letters. You might also write "XYZ" "Heart" "NAME"

Fill the box with raffia, candies, and place your sister's gifts inside.

Aside from the lavaliers and letter shirts, I made all my diamond sister's gifts by hand! I also found that writing an "I am thinking of you note" or sticking a poster on her door that "XYZ Loves NAME... and so do I!" was always greatly appreciated!

[PhoenixAzul]

my mom taught me how to knit before I moved to college, and she showed me how to make scarves. Ya know those long, skinny scarves? I found white and blue fabirc (verrigated...meaning it flows from white to blue to white to blue) and knitted my big and I matching scarves! This year I'm going to make my little a scarf...i've allready started! Except this one is going to be big and fuzzy. The total cost ends up being like 5 bucks (or whatever a scane on yarn costs).

[PhiSigCoco]

At one point, I decorated a Ty beanie baby for a sapphire sister... it was right after they came out with those "color your own" ones. That went over really well.

[RUASTgrrl]

I've made TONS of stuff. A great crafty site for the crafty type folks. Tons of stuff that can be suited for sorority. Most recently I went to michaels and I'm working on a door hanger and a little picture holder. they have tons of things you can paint. One tip. When writing out youe letters, use a paint pen instead of a brush and paint, that way it's idiot proof!!

[tunatartare]

I've gotten really into making chocolate lollipops and candy. You can get the stuff you need to make them from places like Michael's or A.C. Moore. If they come with molds of your symbol or flower (I know they have rose and teddy bear molds) you can make them and decorate a candy jar with paint pens and put them in it, or decorate a mug and put a bouquet of lollipops in it.

[honeychile]

I'm getting into the candy bit, too! We had an Autumn party, so I made sugar cookies, separated the dough into 4 parts, and dyed one green, one orange, one red, and one yellow. I rolled them out so they would mix (or "marble"), used leave-shaped cookie cutters to cut out the autumn leaves, then baked & cooled them.

Then, using the chocolate disks & the smallest squeeze bottle I could find at a craft store, I piped the "veins" of the leaves on them. Everyone LOVED them!


Our "thing" was pillows, though. Everyone made each other pillows in some fashion - by fusing letters & names onto the pillow, then using fabric paint to "seal" the edges, or even sewing them from scratch. Some were embroidered very elaborately!

[WCUgirl]

When I was in college, all we needed were some paint pens from Wal-Mart.

We would decorate EVERYTHING with those suckers. Picture frames, posters, [drinking] cups, glass jars, clocks, mirrors, of course posters, pillow cases, candle holders, pin boxes, rose jars, garbage pails, bowls, picture frames, wine glasses, cups, posters....you get the idea.

[PiPhiGirl2005]

Amen on the paint pens from Wal-Mart! My chapter is located in the world's smallest/jankest town and its all we have to work with.

One of the traditions around here is to make your little a family tree pillow with iron-ons.

Family Tree Pillow

Materials:

- one $4 pillow from Wal-Mart (any kind of pillow, really).
- cute fabric
- iron on sticky stuff
- paint pens

Directions:

- Pick a fun shape: my little's pillow has lavender stars, one of my friends' family does angel shapes.
- Cut enough of those shapes out for your family tree
- Write the name of a family member onto each shape
- Iron them onto one side of the pillow in family tree arrangement
- Iron letters or something else onto the other side. My little's just says "Pi Beta Phi" in purple with lavender stars around it.

For extra solidity/fun, trace around the edges of each shape with puffy paint.

Other things I made for my little and other friends: shower caddy decorated with paint pens, Nalgene bottle with Pi Phi bumper sticker on it, one of those bulletin boards with ribbons decorated with paint pens, large clear candy jar decorated with paint pens, small Rubbermaid container decorated with paint pens (we all use these to store our paint pens in.... MI Alpha loves paint pens! ), etc. Almost all these items are available at Wal-Mart.

[roqueemae]

One of my favorite gifts I had ever seen was a clock that the plastic cover was popped off and a Phi Mu sticker was placed over the name brand. It just looked like a Phi Mu clock-even if wasn't set to Phi Mu Time

I also make flower pens. You need bic stick pens, silk flower bunch, and floral tape. The flower is cut about the length of the pen then the tape is wrapped around, overlapping because the tape sticks to itself, twice from top to bottom. They are so cute and it is always easy to find them.

All of the big sis's in the chapter make most of the little's gifts. We use fabric that the little would like (animal print, pink polka-dots, ladybugs...) and use it to decorate a bunch of stuff for her room. The cutest ones are the scrapbook (take an inexpensive one from Wal-Mart and cover it with the fabric using a hot glue gun) and the bulletin board (glue the fabric on the face of the board, decorate the edges with ribbons and make tacs by gluing buttons or something similar onto plain tacks). Before Big/Lil week you could always find the Bigs running around a craft store with hot glue sticks because that is how we make everything. And my mom just got me a new one-after I graduated.

[wanderersarah]

I made my little a box for her pledge pin that turned out really well.

Materials:
Small cardboard box (that you'd find at walmart/craft store)
Acrylic Paint in your color(s)
Alphabet Stickers
Flower/Mascot Stickers
Spray can of glaze/ sealant
Cotton Batting

Directions
1) Paint the box with acrylic paint, let dry
2) Put name/pledge class on box with alphabet letters
3) Decorate box with flower/mascot stickers
4) Go outside, use spray glaze to finish (make sure not to hit the stickers directly, or they’ll start to fall off/run – I found that out the hard way)
5) Put a little batting in the bottom of the pin box, and ta-da you have a cute pin box.

[nauadpi]

Let me see.. what all did I make over the years...

Cork boards are great... again you just buy a cork board at walmart or michael's or where ever... and you use paint pens to decorate it...

Someone already mentioned door hangers...

pillows have been mentioned as well...

Photo albums are great... You buy a really cheep ugly photo album... then you cover it in batting (the stuff used in quilts that you can buy at walmart or any place that sells sewing stuff)... then you cover it with cloth... to attach the cloth and batting just use a hot glue gun.. they work wonders... then do the iron on letters on the outside of that... it looks really nice and fun...

bucket... just use a paint pen to write letters on it... then you can put all the other gifts inside of it...

I draw pictures for presents... so if you can draw that is great... and then you just put it in a dollar store frame...

For a pin box I usually would pick up a wooden box from any craft place (walmart, michael's, etc)... then I would paint the outside, and write letters on it with a paint pen... then on the inside I would take some cotton balls or scrap fabric and place it in the bottom of the box...then take a piece of cloth and cover the cottom balls/scrap fabric and hot glue it in... it makes a great pillow to attach the pin to so they really can't loose it...

Another thing is picking up a travel coffee mug that has an area on the outside to put pictures in... then you can go on the computer and print up a design or pictures and slip it in... I did a fun design with a picture of a lion and our letters...