Gift Ideas from Defabricate

Looking for stocking stuffer ideas, or just simple presents that fit into this year's budget? We have some ideas:

FOR COFFEE LOVERS:

- 2oz. bag(s) of coffee [usually $1 each]

- a fabulous mug from the thrift store

- chocolate dipped spoons

- homemade flavored simple syrup

- a handmade/reusable coffee cup cozy

JULIA CHILD FANS:

- copy some of Julia's favorite recipes onto these free printable recipe cards.

- Not a Julia fan? Well, why not share your grandma's famous cookie recipe, with a sampling of cookies?

IDEAS FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES:

you can buy me on Etsy

1. Make Your Own Dolls / Sock Creatures

Have boys or girls on your list that appreciate odd little creatures?

Why not make your own dolls out of (old or new) socks, following these simple instructions. Instead of sock monkeys, make sock monsters, sock frogs, sock penguins, even sock Octopi, there are no rules.

Not crafty or just don't have the time? We have a few creatures wandering about our shop looking for a good home. They're ready to be packed up, just say the word.

2. Gift Cards

I was raised to believe that it was poor form to give money or gift cards as presents, but let's get real. There are just some people for whom it is impossible to find gifts... then there are those unexpected guests (or, horror of horrors, the forgotten ones). SO, if you're giving away gift cards this year, why not spice 'em up a bit and make your own gift card holders?  If you have old postcards (or other cool ephemera) in a drawer somewhere just taking up space, why not make these little wallets - perfect for gift cards, or a little cash.

Better, yet, hop over to our store and buy 'em for a buck(ish).

3. DIY Wallet
Speaking of wallets, why keep your teen or tween busy by crafting and recycling with these easy to make projects: tetra-pak wallet or juice pouch coin purse.

CAT LOVERS:
How about some nifty little felt mice. Hand sewn with absolutely NO catnip (none needed, the cats'll go nuts for 'em).

MUSIC LOVERS:
Make the music lovers in your life a good ol' fashioned mix tape or holiday mix and house it in one of our free printable CD sleeves.

WRAP IT UP:
And to top it all off, we even have vintage style wrapping paper and some swanky gift tags you can print out for free: Bird Lovers, Vintage Fruit Illustrations.

Some unveiling as we go...

What it looked like before:

... and after:

WHAT WE CHANGED:

We decided to use the folding table that was previously in this spot, as a cutting table, so we moved it out of the way. We bought peg board at Lowes for $7 & painted it Appletini Green (cost $14). We hung the board above the desk to utilize the vertical wall space. I hung most of my bookbinding and printing tools on the board (I already had all the peg board hardware). By doing this, I freed up a lot of drawer and bin space & now, not only can I see all of my tools, they're within arms reach.


My mother, so graciously, sent us a set of IKEA legs to match my other desk. (I think they cost her $12 each on sale). I love the look of these legs AND they have storage shelves! The table top scrounged from storage is a little smaller than I'd remembered, but still works.  I screwed little plastic hardware stackers (that I've had since college; I think they're sold in sets pretty inexpensively) to the underside of the desk to store my bookbinding needles, spools of waxed linen, pencils, and utility blades.

Instead of sending my coffee and tin cans to the recycling bin, I cleaned them out and repurposed them for tool & linen cord storage. (I covered the coffee can with a scrap booking paper we found on sale before Christmas).

Right now, the laser printer is on the floor next to the desk. When I can afford to buy some scrap lumber, I plan on making a small stand for it.


So, this is stage one. We still have much organizing to do, but we made HUGE improvements to this space for just over $20. not bad.


Here's a basic cost breakdown if you were to go out and buy all this stuff yourself:

Peg board: $7 for 4' x 4' particle board
Peg board hardware: $10-$20
Peg board hanging kit: $3
paint: $14 (add $2 for foam brushes if you don't have any)
Desk Legs: $16-$24 for the set
Desk top: $10-$30 (depending on size, thickness, & finish. Plain pine is cheapest)
Small hardware stacking bins: $4 for 3 bins


Total: $64-$102