I was racking my brain trying to come up with what to get my parents for Christmas this year.
Gift card?
Na.
Pictures of Izzy?
Too predictable (since I do that for everything for them).
For my mom:
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Izzy was desperate to get in the photo 🙂 |
I had made some pillows for myself a while back that my mom had taken a liking to so I thought I’d make something similar for her. I bought a 4×5 piece of painters drop cloth from Lowes, less than $5.00, and had more than enough for both pillows. Before sewing them together I used leftover paint from around the house to paint over my penciled in sketches, which I printed off from the computer to use as a guide. Once everything was dry I sewed them up and stuffed them. $2.99 for a bag of stuffing at Hobby Lobby. I made them reversible – one side for everyday use and the other for Christmas. More bang for your buck that way 😉 So, total for custom pillows – $7.99!
For my dad:
I’ve been eyeing some of the subway art that I’ve been seeing all over design sites lately. My dad has a favorite quote from his grandmother and I thought that would make a neat piece of art. So, I bought a precut piece of wood from Lowes on clearance for $12.99. Used leftover black paint for the base coat. To create the quote I used Microsoft Publisher and created a page the same dimension as my piece of wood. I typed in the quote and then messed around with font sizes until I came up with something I liked and printed it off. I used this technique to get an outline of the letters onto my piece of wood and pained it in with a white paint marker from Hobby Lobby for $2.99. Looked good, but thought it needed a little something extra. After the quote was dry I took a piece of sandpaper and roughed up the whole thing, even going over the words, and went to town on distressing the edges. On the edges where the wood was showing I rubbed in some leftover dark stain with a paper towel so the wood didn’t look so new. Then gave the whole thing a coat of satin poly. Once again, it was leftover 🙂
Total for custom art – $15.98!
Even though this was the least amount of money I’ve spent on Christmas gifts for my parents, I think they’re my most favorite gifts for them so far.
Proof that it’s not in how much you spend, but the thought that counts!
Totally impressed! You are my HERO!!! I want to do both of those projects…does it insult you or flatter you that I am a total copycat?! LOL Love you!
It flatters me! I'm a total copycat myself 🙂
love it! love the crow pillow too!
wow those are beautiful! love the sign
http://inthehammockvintage.blogspot.com
great gifts!
love the idea to look for clearance wood at lowe's…
and I am swooning over your zebra chair.
Need. That. Now.
🙂
thanks for linking up to Creative Juice!
I absolutely love that saying! I hope you don't mind if I copy it. I've been needing something to go in my stairway. You did a fabulous job!
This chair is awesome;)