DIY gifts: making ideas and step-by-step instructions

We all love to receive gifts from childhood, and if earlier various things and souvenirs were a novelty, now it is very difficult to surprise someone, because shop windows literally explode from the abundance of various goods that differ not only in appearance, but also functionally.

Real and genuine emotions can only be caused by a surprise made with special love and awe. And what, if not a gift made with your own hands, can become such a surprise? Let's take a closer look at the various ideas for making gifts and get acquainted with step-by-step instructions and process features.

There are many different ideas for making original, unusual, beautiful and stylish souvenirs that will be a great gift or a wonderful addition to it. For example, in memory of a dear person, you can make with your own hand a beautiful frame for a photo. You only need a wooden base, and then it's a matter of imagination: you can decorate it with small pebbles, beads, beads, using the decoupage technique, and even using ordinary buttons.

A creative option for replacing a banal bouquet of flowers can be topiary, in the manufacture of which there is nothing complicated. Topiary is a kind of ball on a straight or curved long support located in a small pot.

For those who have long been fond of creativity, there is nothing difficult in coming up with and making cool interesting gifts. You can even be puzzled and make a souvenir that will symbolize the nature of a particular holiday. For example, A surprise for the New Year may contain spruce branches and have a tangerine scent, and for a birthday it may reflect the appearance and filling of the character of the birthday person.

A great gift idea for some individual holidays would be polymer clay craft, in the manufacture of which you can take into account all the important nuances. For example, you can make a beautiful vase in the form of a female figure, the parameters of which will correspond to the parameters of the figure of a beautiful girl for whom this gift is being prepared.

When there is no time to create a large unusual gift, but you really want to please a person, you can choose an easier option for making a suitable surprise. It will be no worse than others, but it will be much easier to execute.

A small quick surprise can even be crafted from scrap materials. It could be a beautiful basket made of soap, satin ribbons and sewing needles.

Armed with permanent markers or paints and white utensils, you can create a very creative a couple of tea or even a whole set... But you should know that after drawing the pattern, the dishes will need to be burned in the oven so that later the inscriptions are not washed off with water, but are fixed under the influence of high temperatures.

A homemade gift will be appreciated not only by adults, but also by children. For example, little girls will definitely like mini-figurines or small pendants made of salt dough. Especially such a gift will be dear to the heart of the child if it is made together with the parents.

Undoubtedly, everyone is pleased to receive a handmade gift, but it will be good if it becomes useful and really necessary. Indeed, it often happens that various things, souvenirs and other gift options simply gather dust in a box on the top shelf of the cabinet, since they have absolutely no functionality, but only take up space.

The necessary gifts are good not only because they will benefit this person, but also because each time, referring to this or that donated thing, he will remember with warmth and gratitude the one who made such a wonderful gift with his own hands.

Many other factors should be taken into account when making gifts that are useful and necessary in everyday life.

• For manufacturing, high-quality materials must be used that can last a long time, and will not deteriorate in the first weeks of operation.
• In addition, the materials must be hypoallergenic, so you should ask the recipient of the gift in advance for any allergic reactions to the selected product or material.
• If this is a piece of clothing or any thing that will be constantly in sight, attracting attention to itself, it must necessarily be neat and very neat. Otherwise, the person to whom the gift was intended will simply be embarrassed to use it in public.
• A gift made from hard materials should have a smooth surface and well-rounded corners, since various irregularities can easily scratch or damage other personal items.
• You should not try to make any intimate personal items with your own hands, since not everyone is able to appreciate such surprises.
• And, of course, it is worth remembering that no matter how original, functional and useful your gift is, you still need to take care of the appropriate packaging for it. It can be a bag, a box or simple wrapping paper, the main thing is that the composition as a whole looks stylish, elegant and organic.

An excellent material option for a homemade gift is leather, best of all natural. A lot of nice little things and very useful things can be made from leather.

At first glance, the process of making a belt may seem very simple, but do not rush to rejoice. Definitely, everyone will have such a handmade gift indescribably, but in order to make a really high-quality thing, you have to tinker.

To do this, you will need special tools for cutting leather, a hole punch, a ruler and a tool that will help shape the edges of the product.

You will need to carefully perform all the measurements, after which they will need to be transferred to paper or directly to the skin, drawing the approximate shape of the future belt. After that, you need to cut out the part, arrange the edges properly, fasten the buckle and make several holes at an equal distance and at the same level. If desired, the belt can be dyed, and the edges can be treated with a special agent that creates a sealing effect. Such a gift will not only last a long time, but also pleasantly surprise the person to whom it is addressed.

Perhaps not a single modern person can do without notebooks, notebooks and diaries, so a homemade gift of such a plan can be a real find. But the process of making it is not at all simple, however, subject to certain rules and detailed instructions, you can easily cope with the task at hand.

First you need to make paper blanks. It can be either regular white sheets or printed pages with beautiful graphics and stylish ruling.

Then the stitched blocks must be glued together using reliable paper glue and the most common fabric patches. On top of these paper blocks, you will need to glue the base of the future cover, made of thick cardboard. While these parts are glued, you can start making the cover.

To do this, you need to cut out a large rectangle of a suitable size from dense leather, as well as two small ones that will serve as connecting parts. The cardboard backing sheets are fully adhered to the large leather rectangle from their outside. The inner side of the cardboard pieces is glued with the remaining small pieces. If necessary, the edges of the cover can be stitched.It is worth noting that immediately after gluing the cover details, the future diary will need to be closed and pressed with something heavy so that it takes on the desired shape and appearance.

Covers for documents made of genuine leather are very popular. Such an item can become a worthy gift, especially if you make it yourself. In addition, it is quite simple to perform and does not need to use any complex techniques.

Next, you need to decide for which document you will make the cover, and think over its dimensions. Everything is simple if it is a passport, student card or grade book, since such documents have a single standard of parameters, and you can make a cover for them using your personal passport or record books as an example.

After everything becomes clear with the dimensions, it will be necessary to prepare the material by applying markings to it. On the sides you need to make a couple of indents, they will subsequently be folded and form special pockets into which you tuck the edges of a regular passport cover.

When making such a gift, you do not need to glue anything, you just need to carefully stitch the edges on a special sewing tool or using special needles. Threads should also be used strong, with a high degree of wear resistance.

Nowadays, everyone has a smartphone, tablet or laptop, or even all at once. Therefore, handmade covers for gadgets can be an excellent gift option. As in the case of documents, it is necessary to know the dimensions of the phone and other electronic assistants, but, unlike the first case, you just need to remember the brand and model, and all other details can be found on the Internet.

The principle of making the simplest covers has nothing intricate, since they are a kind of bags with fasteners and ties. Rectangles of suitable sizes must be cut out of leather and stitched on three sides, leaving the fourth free so that the phone can be folded into the resulting purse.

It should be noted that for the reliability of such covers, you can add soft foam or hard cardboard insertsto help protect your phone if dropped or otherwise bumped.

Although gifts made of metals look very unusual and original, they can be quite difficult to make. Not every girl will be able to cope with this kind of process, and some manufacturing features will only be able to be done by men.

The simplest option for metal crafts will be the manufacture of various things and souvenirs from a bendable metal wire. For example, you can make an original stand for your phone, a stand for hot dishes, a decor for a photo frame, a beautiful keychain, or just an unusual figurine.

For those who know how to handle a soldering iron and have other special attributes for working with metals, there are many other options for making beautiful gifts.

Look very cool coasters for glasses, made in the form of a sitting, running or dancing man. The originality of this idea is that such a stand does not just have arms and legs, it also displays even the smallest details in the form of laces on shoes or fingers.

Perhaps, romantic gifts deserve special attention, because everyone wants to please their soul mate with something special, original, created only for a loved one. Therefore, many strive to create gifts of this kind with their own hands, taking into account all the preferences and wishes of their second half. A romantic surprise can be presented not only for some big, significant holiday, but also in the process of courtship, on a date, or even for no reason. Making a beautiful cute gift is not so difficult, there are many examples and options for both girls and men. The main thing is to carefully study the step-by-step instructions.

In addition, it is worth noting some of the nuances regarding romantic gifts.

• In surprises for girls, there should always be flowers that she especially likes.
• Gifts for both girls and men should be dominated by soft and warm pastel colors. These colors have a beneficial effect on the emotional background and cause tenderness.
• Even the smallest gift, made with a soul, can please a loved one. Therefore, you should not be smart, inventing something super-original.
• There doesn't have to be a reason for a romantic gift, but it's better to present such a surprise in a suitable setting.

Let's take a closer look at the options for romantic gifts and the peculiarities of their manufacture.

All girls love flowers. Despite the fact that taste preferences regarding species differ, in general it is very difficult to find a representative of the beautiful half of humanity who would not like flowers. In addition, it is flowers that are a purely female gift, since it is not customary to give them to a man.

You can make a wonderful surprise from the flowers by combining them with large strawberries. Such a composition can be combined into a bouquet or placed in a shallow gift box.

Figures in the form of animals, hearts and other cute objects made of flowers look original. The basis for such a composition should also be a floral sponge that absorbs moisture and nourishes flowers with it. Without water, they will die very quickly and the composition will be spoiled.

Besides, flowers do not have to be live, because to some, such a gift may seem trivial. You can surprise your beloved girl by forging a metal rose for her with your own hands and making a beautiful bright bouquet of paper flowers and toys. These types of gifts do not have an expiration date, so they will delight you with their appearance for a long time.

Romantic gifts from napkins will become a very unusual idea and, at first glance, it is very difficult to come up with something original made from such material. But do not despair, since napkins do not have to be used in a single version, they can always be combined with other items.

For example, they can be used as a beautiful wrapper for a main gift. To do this, you need to choose the type of napkins that looks like wrapping paper and beautiful satin ribbons.

In addition, you can make the desired functional thing using napkins and make a beautiful box for little things for a girl or a guy, decorated using the decoupage technique. The peculiarity of this technique is that to apply an image to the surface of various objects, paint, glue, napkins and glossy varnish are used.

And, of course, we must not forget about the simplest options: you can always make beautiful paper flowers from napkins or make an unusual table setting for a romantic dinner.

Usually, various ribbons are used to wrap a gift or as a decorative element, but few people think about the fact that ribbons can be used as the main decoration of a gift or even as a surprise itself.

For example, you can wrap bottles with ribbons in a special way, creating a feminine and masculine outfit on them. Such techniques are often used at weddings.

Small but pleasant surprises in the form of roses can be made from ribbons. You need to start making such a rose by folding one edge into a tube, which you need to fix with glue. Further, the remaining piece of tape will be wrapped around this tube and fixed with glue. The tape will need to be turned in the opposite direction from you - so the petals will look voluminous and more natural.

It would be nice to complement and decorate a wooden basket with ribbons, which can be used for any occasion. The main thing is to choose the right shade of ribbons. For a romantic event, pink, white and red shades are suitable. Bright colors are ideal for spring holidays, and burgundy and green for a Christmas surprise.

Beads are a truly unique material that can be used to make absolutely any gifts, including romantic ones. For example, you can make a cute animal figurine out of beads, which will be perfect for a girl, or in the form of an airplane or a car, which is perfect for a man as well.

An openwork beaded necklace will look very impressive on a graceful woman's neck, and what delight your lady will be when she finds out that it is made by your own hands - words cannot describe it!

A beaded brooch will look beautiful and unusual. It can be of any shape and size. A brooch can be made in the form of a flower, an animal or even an inscription - it all depends on your imagination. In addition, when making a brooch, you can use not only beads, but also various large beads, decorative stones.

A beautiful decorative beaded tie can become an original gift for a man. And although the addressee of the gift is unlikely to use it in his everyday outfit, he will still be able to complement them with some original festive image.

It would seem that this can be done as a gift to your soulmate from the most ordinary threads? You will be surprised how many original ideas there are for making gifts from this material!

The most popular of them is a heart, for the manufacture of which, in addition to threads, you will also need a wooden base and small nails. The essence of this gift is that nails are hammered into a wooden base, forming a heart shape... They do not need to be completely hammered, about one and a half centimeters should remain between the cap and the base. Further, threads are wrapped around the nails diagonally, from one nail to another. The threads can be wrapped in a random manner. At the end, a beautiful applique is formed.

You can make a volumetric figure from threads using glue, balloons or a conical base. To do this, it is better to choose woolen or just thick threads, which will be dipped in glue and attached to the base. Thus, you can get a beautiful volumetric heart, ball or Christmas tree.

Foamiran is a kind of foamy material that is very often used to make decorative souvenirs and gifts. It is very pleasant to the touch and comes in a variety of shades, making it truly versatile. In addition, it is very light in weight and very flexible to work with.

The most common option for homemade gifts made from this material is flowers. Anything can be made of them. For example, complement a headband by combining flowers with lace, beads and ribbons. Any girl will be delighted with such a gift. By the same principle, you can make decorative hairpins, small brooches, earrings or rings, and other accessories.

Perhaps, we have all recently seen decorative bears made of small foamiran flowers in the windows of souvenir and flower shops. Such figures can be made independently, in the form of not only bears, but also other animals. In addition, beautiful flower bouquets and unusual compositions from artificial berries and fruits can be made from this material.

A few years ago, various gifts have become very popular, in the manufacture of which food products are involved. These are bouquets, baskets, and other varieties of different sizes and shapes. Such a gift will not only be a beautiful reminder of the holiday and the donor, but will also delight the whole family of the recipient of the gift with goodies.

However, there are many important aspects to consider when making edible surprises.

• First of all, you need to make sure that all products are fresh and have a good shelf life, allowing you to keep the gift for some time.
• When working with open products such as sausage or cheese, all health regulations must be observed. The manufacturing process must be carried out strictly in disposable gloves and in a special cap on the head to protect the product from getting hair.
• In addition, it is strictly forbidden to start making an edible gift if you suffer from any diseases that can be transmitted through the air or touching food.

A sweet gift doesn't have to be difficult to make. It can be beautifully arranged sets of sweets, honey, glazed nuts, syrups and cookies. In addition, you can create a sweet gift by wrapping each item in beautiful paper with an original signature. For example, on a bar of chocolate, you can safely write "a remedy for sadness", because we all know how chocolate improves mood.

But if you want to really surprise the person for whom the gift is intended, you can think about creating a whole craft from sweets. For example, do a beautiful box decorated with paper flowers and chocolates.

For this we need:

• corrugated paper;
• glue gun;
• scissors;
• box;
• candies;
• beautiful packing tapes;
• beads or rhinestones for decoration.

At the first stage, you will need to glue the perimeter of the box with corrugated paper and trim it with sweets. For this, it is best to choose small or oblong-shaped chocolates. They are glued vertically, rather close to each other, forming a kind of "fence". Thus, you need to trim all the outer side parts of the box. This composition looks most successful on round and oval boxes.

Next, we move on to the decor of the lid, which also needs to be pasted over with beautiful paper. On the lid there will be beautiful flowers, the petals of which are made of corrugated paper, and in the middle between them is hidden a round or dome-shaped candy.Two or three small flowers will be enough to decorate the lid, and decorative small details will help to complement the composition.

You will see a master class on making a candy box in the next video.

A very original idea, suitable for a gift for a man, is the making of bouquet compositions from sausages and cheeses. Let's take a closer look at what products are more suitable for such a gift than it can be supplemented with, and how to fix everything in a bouquet.

The main part of the bouquet will be smoked hunting sausages, which have a thin, oblong shape and different sizes. Small ones can be left in their original form, and long sausages will have to be cut into several parts, as long as they are all equal.

As for the cheese, it is best to choose a smoked product with a small round shape. All details should be strung on wooden skewers and assembled into a bouquet, and to make the composition look brighter and more unusual, you can supplement it with green onion feathers, cherry tomatoes, small pieces of fresh baguette and alcoholic beverages.

In the center of the bouquet, you can place a can or a bottle of good beer, cognac or other drink, which will be preferable for the recipient of the gift.

For an overview of DIY gift options, see below.