Crafty Gift Ideas - Part Two

Feeling like everyone's birthdays come up at once, and your pockets are always empty by the time you remember? Hey, I know the feeling!

I'm usually the ultimate planner, but sometimes things just dont get factored into the 'plan'. It doesnt mean you don't care about those you love, it just means you care enough to make something with your own hands!

Decorating a mirror or photo frame!

Plain cardboard or wooden photo frames and mirrors are available at Spotlight, ranging in prices from $10 upwards. This may be out of your range, and if that is the case you can have a go at making your own photo frames. You can buy heavy cardboard from a stationary shop (as well as some craft glue) and put a photo frame together yourself, usually for pretty cheap. To make your own photo frame you simply need a backing board, a frame in front wide enough to be decorated, and a easy way to get the photo in and out (like a slot at the top between the backing board and the frame to slid the photo down).

Next comes the decorating! Think about the person you are giving the frame to. You can use painted macaronie, beads or buttons, magazine cut outs €` maybe even some laser copied photos. You could cover the frame in coloured feathers, or drape golden chain and bling around the edge. You can papier mache shapes on the frame and paint whatever colour would suit. I like to buy bags of shaped confetti €` you can get all sorts of things, cats and bats, reindeer, words, and numbers. I made a fab one for a 1st Birthday one year covered in Winnie the Pooh and Tigger too, so cute!

Some of the decorations I have spoken about may seem quite dear, but if you invest in a few bits and pieces you will find you use these over and over again and can get quite a few projects out of one bag of confetti for instance.

Remember with crafting your own photo frames (and mirrors) you are only limited by your imagination.

Kymmage

Kymmage is a 26 year old editor/administrator/wife/cat 'mummy'/Master of Arts/daughter/sister/voter and moore living it up in H-town.