DIY Gifts Tips and Tricks!

Do you always struggle to figure out what to get your friends for their birthdays and/or the holidays? The best kind of gift is something that comes from the heart.

You can do this in a lot of different ways:

·Buy a present from a store that has a personal connection or shares a personal message between the two of you

·Spend some extra money and get a picture frame, necklace or some other sentimental gift engraved with a quote that means a lot to your friendship

·If you are crafty, then you can make a gift that will mean a lot and will cost you a lot less.  

If you have always had a vision of making your friend a great present by yourself, I can help you make that happen in just a few easy steps!

1)   Find what you think will be mean the most as a gift.  Stores like Michaels and AC Moore, both located in Natick and Michaels also has a location in Newton, have a lot of great crafts that are blank and that let you make it whatever you want.  Some of my favorite ones they sell are wooden photo boxes, jewelry boxes or glass boxes.  These stores are great sources if you can get there easily because you can also find paint, glue, sharpies, any other tools you will imagine needing. Stores like Target and sometimes even Walgreens or CVS has tools to make a great DIY gift.

2)   Personalize it! Use whatever you think represents your relationship best, get some photos printed, use stickers, or write quotes on it.  The best kind of gift is something that your friend will look at and see that you put work into and really thought about!

3)   Wrap it up just right! If you make a gift that is too hard to wrap, don’t fret. CVS on Harvard Street right off Main Street in Waltham sells premade bags with wrapping paper as well as a ton of other different color bags in all different sizes and decorations to go on the bag. Bags can be useful later on for people so getting those as an added gift is sometimes appreciated! You can even wrap a gift you buy up in a personal way using those bags!

Depending on what you choose to make for your friend or buy, what’s most important is that it comes from your heart! You don’t need to be crafty to give your friend a gift that means a lot to them!

My friend turned 21 this past week and for her birthday, rather than buying her a present which I knew she would love I decided to go the crafty route.  She is leaving next semester to study abroad so I wanted to make her something that she could bring with her as a memento and hang on her wall (she loves decorating her rooms!).  AC Moore had this great picture box that I was able to paint her favorite color, decorate it with fun scrapbooking paper and put stickers on it that refered to her upcoming adventure.  This had to be my favorite way to help her celebrate turning the big 21 and allow her to bring something with her when she leaves in three months for her adventure abroad!