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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Semi-handcrafted Christmas gift


What do you do when Christmas is just a week away, you're running short in the time department, and you want to give a gift with a personal touch? 

Me, I start with something already made, then add my own creativity to it.

In the background is a teal and black scarf that I picked up on sale for one of my daughters, on Black Friday. The hat and mittens are dollar store items. They were plain black. I bought some gold and teal sequins, and embellished the hat and mittens. They are just glittery enough for this daughter's taste.

To sequin, I worked about 2 inches at a time, knotting then cutting off the thread, so that the stretch of these items would not be compromised.

Other possibilities for embellishing mittens and hats include, jingle bells, ribbon bows, fabric flowers and inexpensive costume jewelry pins. 

My little project took me about 1  1/2 hours total. Jingle bells and some grosgrain ribbon bows might just take 20 minutes to complete. And a piece of costume jewelry would take seconds to add. (Thrift stores usually have a box under the glass counter, filled with vintage brooches. Many years ago, I put one such brooch on a hat of my own, and the brooch remains the sole ornament for that hat.)

Total cost for my hat and mittens -- $1 for the hat, $1 for the pair of mittens, $3 for the sequins, total $5. (The scarf was $5 on sale, as well, so the total cost for this gift is about $10.)

4 comments:

  1. Good idea. I'll have to think along the little personal touch idea. A few years ago, I was into knitting and I supplied just about everyone on my Christmas list with a hat and scarf. Some people got more than one. So, I won't be giving out knit hats anytime soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi live and learn,
      I burned out on knitting a few years ago. I now look for every shortcut I can find! Good for you for knitting everyone on your list both scarves and hats. That sounds like a lot of effort.

      Delete
  2. Nice - I wish I was as creative as you :) My creativity is limited to the kitchen! Just one question - do your daughters read your blog? Will this post spoil their surprise?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Economies,
      They do read it, but have been told not to read this week. I had to think about that before I posted. But then I figured telling them not to read for the week wasn't much different than telling them not to look in my closet!

      Delete

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