by Jessica Fayth

Created on: January 15, 2009

It sounds cheesy to make your own gifts. However, that simple task can turn out to be the best present you ever gave to someone. This past Christmas, my husband and I, like most Americans, were on a tight budget. Our two families combined makes for a lot of presents to buy. To make some money, I decided to do a Christmas fair. The unique gifts I made turned into presents for our friends and family. We did buy actual gifts in the store, however, we also made some. The thoughtfulness, time and effort put into making a homemade gift will put a smile on any one's face. And you will impress your friends and family with your creativity.

I wanted to create a beautiful and unique hostess gift. I saw that Horchow.com was selling designer dishwashing gloves for $35.00! I thought to myself, I could make something like that. I then bought several pairs of rubber dishwashing gloves in black from IKEA. I went to Michaels and bought Christmas ribbon, tiny gold bows and red rose embellishments, and a sewing kit using coupons to avoid paying full price. (I try to avoid paying full price for anything). When I got home, I sewed the ribbon around the end of the gloves and then sewed the gold bows and red roses onto the top edge of the ribbon. It looked absolutely gorgeous. It took a lot of time and effort. But it paid off. I created Christmas dishwashing gloves that look stylish and fabulous. It was truly a unique gift. I got numerous compliments at the Christmas fair. I even sold three pairs on ebay.com. I made quite a few pairs and gave them to my mother, sister, aunt, sister in laws and mother in law for Christmas. They loved them and said I should start up a website and sell them on the internet. I smiled and appreciated their compliments. I was glad that they liked their gifts. I did give them other gifts, but this one was that special something from my heart to theirs.

All you need is a little bit of inspiration and you can create the perfect gift for anyone without having to spend alot of money. I find inspiration by searching the internet for homemade gift ideas or recreating actual products sold at stores like the gloves I made. I was inspired by painted wine glasses to design my own Christmas and Thanksgiving wine glass candle holders. I bought glitter pens, rhinestones, Christmas scrapbook stickers and a hot glue gun from Michaels, (using coupons). At Ikea, I purchased red candle sand and red scented tea candles. I then went to Bed Bath and Beyond and bought a box of

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