Christmas can be fun on a budget :D

I know financially, most of us are in the same boat. Christmas gifts cut down to the bare minimum. (By the way that's my dog waiting for Santa Claus) lol :D

Well here's a couple ways to save some money this Christmas without taking the fun out of it. For one thing, take advantage of your local dollar store.

My nieces started a new tradition with my brother. He takes them to the local dollar store, and they buy 1 gift for each of their family members. They take a list with all of the names on it and pick out something that would be just right for each one of them. It was really funny to see what they came up with last year. We had like 6 of my male family members sitting there in cowboy hats opening up presents. (so funny) :D The kids really look forward to it.

In my immediate family alone we're up to about 27 members now so this year we're trying something new. All the little kids get gifts from all of their aunts and uncles etc, but everyone over 18 picks a name of a family member and buys them a $10 gift. Yes, $10. At first they said "What can you get for $10" ? Well I don't know about you, but I'm a bargain hunter so I told them relax and just be creative. The're really having fun with the idea now. It will be fun just seeing what everyone comes up with.

Don't forget to read my blogging about 3 cheap and easy crafts to make for Christmas presents too!

CHEAP BUT AWESOME DO IT YOURSELF GIFTS

So many people have been hit hard with this terrible economy and my family has been hit hard. So this year is the year to be creative with Christmas gift giving. Here are just a few ideas that I've actually tried.

( Pictured are a pillow I made from my daughter's favorite outgrown guitar T-shirt.

A no sew fleece scarf because she loves anything zebra print, the stretchy bracelet my daughter made for me for my birthday and a bracelet I made from beads I found in my grandmother's button box. (there over 50 years old).

HERE'S THE HOW TO'S:

T- SHIRT PILLOW - Get a favorite outgrown T shirt and cut 12" square or so from the front of the shirt. Put the right sides together and sew the sides leaving an opening for stuffing. Turn it inside out and stuff with polyester fiberfill. Sew up the hole and there you have it. A pillow made from a favorite T shirt.

NO SEW FLEECE SCARF - The selection of printed fleece material in JoAnns is so awesome. All you need to get is 1/4 of a yard. ( I wait for the $5 per yard sale)

You just cut the desired length and width. The scarf I made is 60" long by about 8 1/2" wide (Be careful when cutting so you have a straight cutting line). Sometimes I tell whoever is cutting the material to make sure the fabric is straight because I need the full 9" in width. Then most of the time they add on a 1/2" or so.

Snip up about 4" on each end at about 1/2" apart to make the fringe and there you have it. An awesome fleece scarf in just the right print.

BEADED STRETCHY BRACELET - Beads can be so inexpensive. You may even have some old beads around the house from old forgotten jewelery.

Just get some stretchy beading elastic, (It's about $2.00 for like 80 feet). I like stretchy because it takes some of the guess work out of wrist size. I also like them because there comfortable.

Just cut about a 10" piece of elastic, knot one end and add your beads. Figure how big you need your bracelet to be, and knot the two ends together. (Bring the 2 ends together, make a loop, and bring the 2 ends through the loop). Make at least 2 knots and pull kind of tight, but being careful not to knock off your beads, which I always seem to end up doing at least once.

Well there's 3 ideas for now, I'll try to come up with more as the holiday approaches :) Good Luck!

Tiny Christmas guinea pigs

Here's my latest guinea pig friends.

I have Tiny Santa guinea pig and the Tiny Christmas elf guinea pig. Sold with or without a little Christmas guinea pig basket.

Did you ever try making a hat for a one inch stuffed guinea pig? Not too easy. Especially since I almost always resist the dreaded glue. Hand stitching is what adds value to the craftsmanship of all my creations.

So I got past the hats. Not too bad until I decided I needed to put some elf shoes on my ONE INCH tiny guinea pig. Well that's where I drew the line. Even though I really wanted to put shoes on the little guy, it just didn't happen. O well I think they turned out very cute even without the little turned up points shoes. LOL

My little Christmas Elf finger-ling baby

I've added a new little addition to my finger-ling collection. This little elf comes with a little blankie drawstring bag with a little felt baby bottle. Great for a stocking stuffer :)

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=34365081

We can do it :D

I took a short vacation from creating and now it's time to get on the" Oh my god it's almost Christmas" band wagon.

Today I'm working on a tiny guinea pig candy shop. Which means I need to come up with very tiny pieces of candy to decorate the walls. And yes I will accomplish this and yes I will post it when it's done.

So far I just have 3 really Christmas items in my shop. A finger-ling snowman, A Christmas Wish fairy hanging from a gold tone stand and 2 tiny Wish fairy ornaments in Christmas sparkling red and green.

Now here's what's in my head hopefully posting next week. If your not familiar with my famous glove dogs, there dogs made from 2 cotton garden or utility gloves. I want to make an elf dog with bells on his little elf shoes, and a dog dressed in a snowman costume. Ambitious yes! but I can do it :o

Then in between my business, of course with the terrible economy, and my husband being an ex mortgage broker, still looking for a job, I'm making lots of Christmas gifts myself.

Yes! you too can be this ambitious. The secret is to take a deep breath, take lots of mini breaks, (Hot chocolate breaks are particularly relaxing ) and most of all be organized. Collect everything you need for whatever project you have in mind. Just put them in little piles and just relax and get started when you find the time. I know it sounds easy, but we have to do what we have to do.

I'll soon be working on a post with some great inexpensive Christmas gift ideas for those with a limited to just about nothing budget. Stay tuned :)