by Jen Nolan

Created on: January 23, 2007   Last Updated: May 06, 2011

Between birthdays, anniversaries, Mother's Day, weddings, Valentine's Day, graduations and every other celebration, my college budget for gifts gets used up very quickly. So I've learned to be creative and make a lot of presents for my friends and family. Here are some of my favorites:

Flower Pot Pens

Supplies: Cheap capped pens, 6" flower pot, green floral tape, 6-8 large silk flowers, a hot glue gun, bag of whole coffee beans

Carefully cut the flower off the stem, leaving only about 2" of stem attached to the flower. Use the hot glue gun to attach the flower to a pen, so that the flower rests on the end of the pen and the piece of stem runs along the side. Once dry, wrap the floral tape around the entire pen, from the end to just before the tip (take the cap off). Use a tiny bit of hot glue to make sure it's secure. Once you have done 6-8 pens this way, pour the bag of coffee beans into the flower pot. Then arrange your flowers in the pot. You could also paint the flower pot if it's Terra cotta, or use glass beads instead of coffee beans. Make it yours!

Cork Board

Supplies: Small piece of corkboard(I used 6"x6" but whatever works for you is fine, ribbon, paint or paint marker, decorative wooden cut outs and/or letters, glue gun

Basically, you can use any or all of the supplies to decorate the corkboard to match the recipient's personality. When my friend Katie graduated from college, I used ribbon that matched the college's colors and a wooden cutout of the mascot. I placed the ribbon horizontally about an inch down from the top of the corkboard, then used wooden letters to spell out her name. I glued the mascot to the bottom right hand corner and included a couple of fun push pins with the gift. It's totally personalize-able- I also made a sailing themed one for my mom and a wine theme for my brother and his fiance.

Glass Marble Magnets

Supplies: small flat bottomed clear glass marbles, clear glue that is designed for use on glass, small round magnets, magazines, paper, gift wrap, etc.

Cut out small images or designs from the magazines/paper/gift wrap. You can spell out words (one letter per marble), or just pick images or designs that fit the recipient's personality. Cut each piece so it's a little smaller then the bottom of the marble. Place a drop of glue on the bottom of the marble, then press the paper into the glue. Make sure no bubbles or wrinkles are visible from the top. Let dry, trim the edges, then attach the magnet to the back.

That's it for now... more to come later!

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