Sweet DIY Gifts for Under $5!

Do you like receiving handmade gifts?

I do! Some of my favorite things are made by friends, each one telling a little story- like a ceramic bird that rests on my fireplace or an embroidered tea towel that I made into a cafe style curtain. Each handmade gift is a little treasure. Sure, making things takes time but adds so much value, not to mention it's often budget friendly~

Maybe it's the cold weather moving in, but I've found myself in a very crafty mood in the last few weeks. It started with a hand sewn patch for a baby blanket, which inspired me to make some new napkins in time for Thanksgiving, which led to an insatiable desire to decoupage!

My plan is to make a variety of yummy sweets and fill these boxes for a little holiday joy-making. I'm always looking for nice containers for gifts of all kinds and decided to try making my own. This way, it's like receiving two gifts since the box itself can be used for other purposes. I also like the fact that you don't have to wrap it, and there's much less waste involved.

For this project, I chose sturdy cardboard boxes with lids and wooden boxes, with a few little wooden purses for children. Both the boxes and the wooden containers cost between $1-$4 a piece at Michaels, although an old hat or cigarette box would be cool to use, too. I purchased sheets of craft paper at Micheals on sale for only 16 cents- making this project very easy on the old pocketbook. Children's art, old maps, wallpaper, and even fabric would work as well. I also incorporated some of my art and my daughter's art into these pieces because the stuff is too precious to throw away, yet we have mounds of it!

These little gems are super easy to make. Just grab your box, glue the paper and use Modge Podge (which you can get at any craft store) and gently brush over the whole thing to complete. A medium container of Modge Podge is about $8, which goes a long way. But, if you want to get super thrifty, you can make your own glue like we did.

This Homemade Glue Recipe is just made of flour, water, sugar and vinegar. There's no chemicals, and you can even eat it (don't recommend it, but OK for small children who tend to want to taste everything!) We used the homemade glue to glue the paper to the box, then used a light layer of Modge Podge over the top to keep it sealed. You can choose glossy or matte finish.

Now we just need to make the cookies- any favorites recipes you'd like to share?
xo- Happy Crafting!