5 Easy Christmas Gift Tutorials

After yesterday's easy 2012 planner tutorial I wanted to remind you of a few of my other tutorials that would make great handmade Christmas gifts:

 Board Book Mini Tutorial

 Envelope Mini Book Tutorial

 File Folder Mini Book Tutorial

 Notebook Makeover Tutorial

Tea Tin Makeover Tutorial

2012 Pocket Calendar Planner - Easy Christmas Gift Tutorial

Now that Thanksgiving is over I know we are all starting to think about (and if you are like me - stress about) Christmas gifts for everyone on our list.  Personalizing a 2012 calendar planner makes a perfect gift for those tough to shop for friends - coworkers, teachers, extended family.  It's also a great craft for children or teens to make to give their friends! And best of all it is cheap and super easy and quick to make! 

2012 Planner Tutorial:

 

First you want to start with a cheap planner - I got mine from the dollar tree.  Make sure that the cover is removable.

 Remove the cover from the planner and measure it.  Cut paper so that it is exact size for the height of the book and about 2 inches (give or take) longer than the width.  In my case I left the paper at 12" across (this gave it close to 1 in on each side).  Discard the plastic cover and glue the patterned paper to the outside of the planner making sure to leave about an inch hanging off of each side.  Fold the hang over piece and adhere it to the inside of the planner. Measure and cut a piece to cover the inside cover (back and front) - adhere.

 Cut a piece that is the same height and about 2-3 inches wide.  Fold in half and adhere to the spine of the book.  Embellish with a funky border and a title.  I also embellished the inside title page with 2012 stickers. 

And there you have it - a cheap and easy handmade gift for the holidays!  Last year I did something similar with a pocket calendar - to see that project click here.

Week of Dollar Store Crafts - Sewing Kit

While I was preparing for my little blog project walking up and down the aisles of the dollar tree I was trying to find something different and unique to alter - something I hadn't seen before. Then I found this:

Week of Dollar Store Crafts - Notebook

It's day 3 of my week of dollar store crafts and today I am going with something pretty simple. I know this has been done before (my mom made my sister and I a bunch of these for Christmas) but I think its such a cute and fast project that it was worth including. These make great gifts or would be great project to add some personality to your child's notebooks before the first day of school!

Day 21 - Last Minute Gift Tutorial

We are only 4 days away from Christmas and if you are anything like me you still have a few people left on your list to get gifts for. Today I am going to share with you a super easy and cute last minute quick gift - I think this took me 5 minutes total to make! It's a 2011 pocket calendar:
Start with a cheap 2011 pocket calendar - this one is from the Target dollar spot - I like this one because there aren't pictures on the inside - a lot of times if you get the ones with the cats (or dogs or whatever) on the front they also have cats in the inside - this one is plain!Take the calendar out of the protective covering. Measure the calendar open and cut a piece of paper to those measurements. I cut mine a tad larger and then used mine scissors to trim down (this way I knew I had enough paper factoring in the curve) Adhere to the calendar - I used scor tape (it will be in a protective covering so you don't have to go crazy with the adhesive!)Put your calendar back in the protective covering. Use scor tape to adhere a piece of ribbon around the calendar - I put the scor tape on the actual calendar and then adhere the ribbon to it (trying to put scor tape on the ribbon and then on the calendar would be a nightmare - I've seen people try it - save yourself the headache!)Cut a square for the front of the calendar - because the calendar protective covering is tight I built my embellishments on top of the cover. I covered the square in mod podge to make it more durable.Cut a variety of circles. I then crumpled them up in my hands to give some dimension. Cover in mod podge to make more durable. Once the mod podge dries adhere the embellishments to the front of the calendar.As a finishing touch I adhered "2011" stickers on to the front and covered in mod podge. And there you have it! A perfect easy and quick handmade gift for Christmas!If this is your first time to my blog - Welcome! I would love for you to become a follower of my blog or my facebook page!(see link on right side of my blog!)

This post is linked at Vintage Pollyanna and Today's Creative Blog and here: