The Creative Gift Giver
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"Love" Mini Frames

Here's another quick decorating idea for Valentine's Day.  After all, you deserve a little gift today, don't you? 




1. Purchase mini frames from a craft store.  These frames were purchased from Michael's for $2 each.

2. Take out the frame insert; trace it's shape on a piece of cardstock (in your desired color) and cut out.

3. Decorate each frame's cardstock.  We used heart shaped ribbons to spell the letters "L", "O", "V", and "E", one letter for each frame.

4. Insert the decorated inserts into frames. Assemble them in correct order to spell out the word "LOVE" and display on any flat surface.  Alternately, glue a magnet on the back of each frame so the group can be displayed on a refrigerator or other magnetic surface. 


Since all of these items were in my craft stash, I'm participating in Crunchy Catholic Momma's Stash Bash.  Check it out  here! 




I'm also participating in All Our Days' Finished Friday!  Check it out here!





Finally, check out all the great ideas on I Heart Naptime's Sunday Scoop -- here!






Posted by Creative Gift Giver at 2/14/2013 12:56 PM | Add Comment

"Love is Patient" Framed Print and Vase

Here's a little something I whipped up last Valentine's Day -- a framed print and decoupaged vase based on the "love" verse from Corinthians 13:1-13:


   Here's a close-up photo of the frame:



And the vase:




This would also be a good gift for an anniversary or wedding.  Here's a quick tutorial on how I put it together: 

1. I downloaded the "Love is Patient" printable from The Girl Creative website. 

2. I printed two copies of the printable--one on white paper (for the vase), the other on whate cardstock (for the frame).

3. I purchased an inexpensive frame from a craft store.  While there, I picked up a silver and red paint pens, red glitter, red dots, and red glitter hearts.  Be creative!

4. I repurposed a seldom used vase that was collecting dust in one of my cabinets.  (You could also pick up an inexpensive vase at a thrift store or garage sale.  I've seen them for as little as $.50!)

To make the frame:

5. I embellished the frame with the paint pens.  I colored in one section of a beveled edge with silver paint, drew little squiggly gray lines in another section and outlined another section with red paint.  I applied Mod Podge to one beveled section that sprinkled red glitter throughout that section.  After allowing it to dry, I sealed the glitter with a coat of Mod Podge.  After it dried, I applied red dots and red hearts.  

Be creative in your embellishing!  

6. I put the cardstock print inside the frame and applied magnets to the back of the frame.  The frame can then be displayed on a flat surface or hung on a magnetic surface like a refrigerator. 

To make the vase:

7. Cut the various sayings from the other print.  

8. Cover your vase with Mod Podge.  While still wait, apply the various sayings in a "collage" pattern, overlapping them slightly but still allowing some glass to peek through.  You might also consider sprinkling a bit of glitter on the vase. Allow it to dry completely.

9. Paint a layer of Mod Podge over the entire vase to seal it. 

10. Fill it with candy or flowers!

This was a quick and easy project, and a lot of fun to do! 



Posted by Creative Gift Giver at 2/14/2013 11:42 AM | Add Comment

Book Review: St Valentine by Ann Tompert




Looking for a fun book to read to your children or grandchildren about the origins of Valentine's Day? Hop over to my other blog, the Diary of the Sower, and read my book review of St. Valentine by Ann Tompert.  You can find the review here. 
Posted by Creative Gift Giver at 2/14/2013 10:07 AM | Add Comment

Ideas for St. Nicholas Day




 De Goede Sint

Rie Cramer  L. van Leer & Co. Amsterdam, the Netherlands 25 December 1929

The illustration was special for the Haagsche Post 1929 Christmas issue 


If you follow some of my other blogs you know that St. Nicholas Day (December 6) is a big day in our home. Thought I'd share some ideas on how you can celebrate this international holiday in your home, too.  But first, here are some posts about the holiday on my other blogs:


St. Nicholas Eve in Holland, Michigan




The main thing to remember about St. Nicholas Day is that it is not another Christmas.  This isn't the day to give $500 iPads!  The gifts should be kept symbolically simple.   Here is a photo of a few things that the good bishop of Myra "brought" to my kids last year:



Some things you might consider including:

Three small clementines - A favorite treat in our house, especially since they begin to arrive in the stores in early December.  Sometimes St. Nicholas is depicted holding three gold balls or bags, to represent the dowry money he gave to a poor widower with three daughters. The clementines represent the gold balls.

A candy cane 
Represent St. Nicholas' bishop crozier 

Several gold-wrapped chocolate coins
Nicholas was very wealthy but he gave all his money away to the poor.  

Nuts or hard candy  

A gingerbread cookie  or chocolate letter
St. Nicholas Center has some wonderful "bishop" themed cookie cutters. Maybe you could make a batch and include a cookie?  Another option would be a chocolate letter, which is a traditional gift for St. Nicholas Day in the Netherlands. 

A Saint Nicholas item
I've found little ornaments and statues on Ebay (use search term:  St. Nicholas), beautiful handmade puppets on Etsy; and buttons, pendants, ornaments and puppets at the St. Nicholas Center.   Some of my best finds have been at online stores featuring items from other countries, especially those countries that celebrate St. Nicholas Day.  For example, Dutch Village (in Holland, Michigan), sells some beautiful St. Nicholas ornaments and chocolate letters.  

Coloring Pictures are nice, too.  St. Nicholas Center has 19 different ones that you can download for free. 

Sometimes I give them a St. Nicholas-inspired ornament that I made myself like a wooden peg figure.  

One year I gave the kids some Perler beads and a pattern to make their own St. Nicholas ornament.   Keep it small and simple!

Other religious themed gifts

Other small gifts
I prefer to give small religious themed gifts on this holiday, but throughout the years it has become harder to find things that we don't already have!  So I've also given things like small cars, music CDs, card games, Polly Pocket accessories, etc. 

A small note
Our St. Nicholas bags always include a short note from the good bishop, complimenting the children on the good things they have done during the year (like helping without asking)  and encouraging them to improve in their weak areas (like bickering).  Here is a good example of a letter from St. Nicholas. 

A book about St. Nicholas
Over the years we have built up a wonderful library of books about St. Nicholas!  Some of our favorites include:

St. Nicholas: The Real Story of the Christmas Legend by Julie Stiegemeyer

The Legend of St. Nicholas by Demi

The Real St. Nicholas: Tales of Generosity and Hope from Around the World by Louise Carus

The Secret of St. Nicholas by Ellen Nibali

The Miracle of St. Nicholas by Gloria Whelan

You can find these and many other books about St. Nicholas at Books-A-Million



Presentation
After I've gathered the small gifts, I like to wrap them up in a piece of holiday themed fabric.  For example, in the photo above I used fabric printed with candy canes.  I cut a piece of fabric into a square with pinking shears, put the small gifts in the center of the square, then tie it all up a pretty ribbon.  My children always set out their shoes on St. Nicholas Eve, so I place the bag, along with the book (if it doesn't fit in the bag) next to their shoes. 





Posted by Creative Gift Giver at 11/28/2012 1:16 PM | Add Comment

Quick hostess gifts for Thanksgiving

Looking for a quick and easy gift you can make to thank the person who is hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year?  I have a couple of ideas:


 
Decoupaged patchwork candles
I purchased a half yard of four coordinating autumn themed fabrics (on sale at Joann.com) and cut each into about 1" squares.  Then I applied Mod Podge to a flameless candle (also available at Joann.com, or at other craft stores).  I applied the squares to the Mod Podged candle, alternating patterns to create a patchwork fabric. Alternately, I used just one of the fabrics to create the matching candles. After it was dried, I applied a layer of Podge over the fabric to seal it.  Here is the end result:





This project took me about 45 minutes.  I already had the candles on hand, so the only cost was the fabric, which was about $10.   It's a great way to give some style to those plain flameless candles.


Decoupaged patchwork pumpkin
This project took about 2.5 hours because I used a large pumpkin.  If you are pressed for time, you could use a smaller pumpkin. I purchased a medium foam pumpkin from Joann.com and decoupaged 5" fabric squares on the pumpkin, using the same method as I used on the candles above.  After it dried, I covered the fabric patches with a layer of Mod Podge to seal it.  Here is the result:




The key is to find festive fall fabrics in a variety of coordinating patterns and colors.  It almost makes the pumpkin look like a fabric pumpkin instead of a foam pumpkin.


Fall Subway Print
I downloaded this subway print from here.  If this doesn't match your color scheme, you can find other designs by simply typing "thanksgiving subway print" in an image search engine. (You will find some wonderful images.)  I printed the image on heavy card stock  and then put it in a frame that I decoupaged with the same fabric squares.  Here is the result (I'm including a larger image so you can see the graphics on the subway print and the detail on the frame):




You could give any one of these items to the hostess, or combine a couple of them to make a nice tableau that s/he could reuse to decorate her home every Thanksgiving. 


Linking up to these websites/link parties this week.  Check them out for more creative ideas!











Posted by Creative Gift Giver at 11/18/2012 8:20 PM | Add Comment

Getting back to business...

I've been away from this blog for a while.  But have been itching to get back to it.  There's no better time than the present, right?  You can look forward to 'lots of creative gift ideas for the upcoming holiday season.  We're going to earn the title of "the world's most creative gift giver," aren't we?

I thought I would start by blogging about some of my favorite online stores and highlight a few of their unique gifts.  We'll then move on to gifts with creative themes, imaginative wrapping ideas and much more. 

Let's start the fun!

Creatively yours,
Cheryl Schroeder

Posted by Creative Gift Giver at 11/11/2012 3:59 PM | Add Comment

Free and low-cost Easter basket fillers

Every year around this time, I receive email notes from people asking for free and low-cost items that they can add to their Easter baskets.  This topic was also one of the most popular ones on the old Creative Gift Giver website.  Although most of us have tight budgets, we still want to surprise our children and grandchildren with nice Easter baskets.  Consider some of these ideas for this year's baskets.

1) Beadie animals 
One of my favorite crafting websites, MakingFriends.com, has patterns to make a variety of different animals from pony beads. You could create a pony bead Easter bunny or chick, or select your child's favorite animal, like a dog, monkey or cat.  These pony bead characters make cute accessories for your child's backpack or suitcase.  If the recipient is a young child, you could make the beadie animal yourself. If the child is older, create a craft kit with directions and necessary supplies so she can make the beadie animal herself. Pony beads can be purchased inexpensively from dollar stores and craft stores.

2) Personalized Books on Cd or cassette 
In her SimpleMom blog, writer and mom Deborah Taylor-Hough suggests recording yourself on audio tape or CD while reading your child's favorite book.  I did this for my son when he was three years old; he still plays the cassette books from time to time even though he is 11 years old.  What makes this gift special is that you can add your own funny voices and commentary to the books.  I secretly think my son likes the "good night, I love you!" comment at the end of the audio recording. (But don't tell his friends that!)  My daughter giggles when she hears some of the silly voices I use when telling Curious George stories.

3) Coloring Pages and new crayons, markers or pencils
It's easy to find free downloadable Easter-themed coloring pages on the internet. Try websites like Free Coloring Pages or DLTK Holidays, or use keywords like "Easter coloring pages" on a search engine.

To make this extra special, include pastel crayons, metallic pencils or markers that change color like Crayola's Color Changeables.

If you can sew, why not whip up one of these Easter Egg crayon holders? What a cute way to give crayons!


4) Paper models
There are some amazing downloadable paper models available on the internet. For example, Canon Creative Park has a printable Netherland dwarf bunny, a Jaquar car model, a puppet stage and puppets to put on plays like the Emperor's New Clothes, and landmarks like an Egyptian sphinx and the Statue of Liberty. PaperModelz has a canary in a cage, a firetruck, a bear with an ice cream cone, Hello Kitty, a Lego Man and much more.

You simply download the files, print them out, then tuck them in your kid's Easter basket.  They can then cut, fold and paste to create some wonderful paper toys!  Some of these are quite challenging, making them a perfect basket filler for that tween or teen who thinks he's too old for Easter baskets.

5) Word finds and mazes
Many educational websites have free Easter-themed mazes, crossword puzzles and word finds for grade school children. Check out these sites:

Kaboose Funschool

Apples for the Teacher: Christian Easter Word Search

PrintActivities: Printable Cryptograms and Word Scrambles

6) A CD filled with Easter and spring songs
Why not burn a CD filled with Easter music that you have downloaded for free from the internet? That Holiday Spot has 48 different Easter and spring themed songs that can be downloaded at no charge. Songs range from religious tunes like Christ the Lord has Risen Today to secular music like Peter Cottontail.  I recommend printing out a personalized label that includes important information like the date it was given, the names of the recipient and giver, and the titles of the songs on the CD. This extra touch will help your child remember when he received the CD and began listening to the songs on it.

Posted by Creative Gift Giver at 4/3/2011 8:08 AM | Add Comment

Let's start with Easter ideas! Duck and Bunny Baskets

Hi everyone,

I apologize for taking so long to get this blog up and running!  Several new writing projects and homeschooling have kept me hopping!  I've also been sharing ideas about catechism and faith formation at my other blog, Diary of a Sower.  If you're looking for religious craft ideas, please stop by and check it out!

Several of my long-time readers have asked me to republish some of the craft ideas that were previously featured in the Creative Gift Giver newsletter and on the old website.  I thought I would start with the popular Duck and Bunny baskets, which were featured on my website several years ago. 

These small baskets are made with nut or potato chip cans, some chenille stems and fun foam. You can fill them with little Easter trinkets, jelly beans and chocolate eggs. They would also make nice favors for an Easter brunch. Or have your kids surprise an elderly homebound neighbor with one of these filled with homemade candy! 

Duck and Bunny Baskets

made from potato chip and nut cans

Make these adorable little baskets in minutes!

 

 

 

Supplies:

1. Small potato chip or nut can 

2. Fun foam in your choice of colors 

(we used orange and yellow for our duck and 

white, pink and black for our bunny) 

3. Chenille stems (also known as pipe cleaners)

4. Hot glue or tacky glue

5. Cotton ball (for bunny's tail)

6. Scissors

7. Permanent marker

 

Instructions:

1. Measure the length and width of the can and cut out a piece of fun foam to fit around the can.  Glue it onto the can, lapping ends in the back and leaving two gaps at the top for the basket handles.

 

2. Hand draw (or use a coloring book pattern) the wings, beak, eyes and webbed feet for the duck;  or ears, eyes, 4 paws (two for "hands" and two for "feet") and a nose for the bunny.   

 

3. Trace each piece on fun foam and cut out with scissors.  If desired, trace an outline of the wings and webbed feet, or the paws, with a black permanent marker onto the fun foam.  Allow ink to dry completely

 

4. Glue each piece of fun foam onto the can.  (For the bunny, make whiskers out of black chenille stems and glue them behind the bunny's fun foam nose.) Allow to dry completely. 

 

To make the bunny's tale, glue a cotton ball on the backside of the can. 

 

5. If desired, use a permanent marker to draw additional details on the face. 

 

6. Take two or three chenille stems and twist them around each other, then shape them into a handle.  Place each end of the handle on different sides of the basket, anchoring the handle between the fun foam and the can.  Secure in place with glue. 

 

7. Fill with shred or Easter grass and add candy or small trinkets. 

Posted by Creative Gift Giver at 4/2/2011 2:37 PM | Add Comment

Blog update

I've had some delays in beginning this blog, but we will be starting soon!  In the meantime, you can check out my other blog here:

http://www.diary-of-a-sower.blogspot.com

I am currently working on some cute and clever ideas for Easter, so please check back!

Creatively yours,
Cheryl

Posted by Creative Gift Giver at 3/31/2011 9:09 AM | Add Comment

Unrolling a new website soon!

Hi everyone!  I am currently updating CreativeGiftGiver.com and will be launching a new website before Thanksgiving 2010.

Please subscribe to updates on this website by clicking on the "subscribe" button in the left hand column of this page.  You will then know when we have begun publishing our new website.  You can also stay updated by subscribing to one of the RSS feeds, also listed in the left column.

We have some truly unique ideas for the upcoming holidays!  This year, with the tight economy, our emphasis will be on being creative without spending a fortune. 

Creatively yours,
Cheryl Schroeder
Posted by Creative Gift Giver at 11/8/2010 10:44 PM | Add Comment
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