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!