Give the Perfect Handmade Gift With These DIY Projects
The gifts you make yourself are in many ways better than the ones you can get in the store. You can customize them for your recipients, showcase your skills, and often save some money while making a thoughtful and memorable gift. Here are some useful and personalized gifts that you can DIY.
Do-it-yourself docking station for charging your phone
If you have wood trimmings and can use a saw, you can make an elegant docking station for charging a smartphone or tablet that someone would be happy to place on their desk. The simplicity of this project is its biggest advantage, but you can also customize it (with a different stain, engraving, etc.) for your recipient.
Rustic wood-fired sign or other artwork
Speaking of personalization, if you have a clean piece of wood and a pyrography pen (which is used to decorate wood with burn marks), you can create a unique piece of art tailored to your recipient. Etsy is filled with examples of gifts that include the art of woodburning , but you can make your own motivational signs, decorative kitchen or table accessories, and more (even just initials on a wooden object) if you know the basics of pyrography .
Smart plant pot
Do you know anyone who loves plants but can’t keep them alive? (If not, do it for me.) This clever pot plants made their hands, sending an email, when it needs water, either too hot or too cold. All you need to create one is a few cheap sensors, a mini Wi-Fi controller, and a battery. This is an interesting project that can also save the plant from certain death (and help decorate the recipient’s home).
T-shirt with custom design and graphics
Anyone can buy a patterned T-shirt from Threadless and the like, but only you can make your own unique patterned T-shirt, whether you use a bleaching technique or learn to silk-screen (it’s easier than it sounds). Bonus points for designs that use more obscure, insider jokes or highly meaningful graphics for the recipient of the gift.
DIY Book Reader Recorder
Hallmark and other card stores sell books that you can write down as you read so your kids (or grandchildren or anyone else) can listen to you read to them whenever you want. Rather than being limited by the options available, you can make your own recorded book (and save some money) with a little soldering and sound recording know-how. So your child can hear you read Goodnight Moon for the millionth time, even when you are away on a business trip.
DIY arcade machine
I’m pretty sure that if you do this for someone, you will receive the Gift of the Year award if that person appreciates old school video games. To make this cabinet, you transform an old computer and an old computer monitor, joysticks and plywood into an arcade machine . You may want to do the second one, because when it is built, you will not want to part with it.
LED Wall Art
Whether you use Darth Vader for decoration or your own design, this clever wall painting that responds to the music playing in the room with a variety of effects and colors is an impressive gift. The project involves the use of an Arduino Uni, a sonic sensor, LED strips and various other parts behind wooden elements. The best part about this is that it is completely customizable, so your imagination is the limit.
Vintage book GRID-IT
The GRID-IT is one of our favorite travel accessories (so many we included it in our organizing tool gift guide). But with a little effort, you can make an even better, more personalized version using the recipient’s favorite book. It is both a personal and practical solution that enhances the gadget’s organizer design by neatly hiding everything. You will need a sewing machine and a book that you can rip apart for the holiday spirit and travel efficiency. A good version of the stocking filler is the pocket DIY GRID-IT , which only costs $ 2.50 to make.
Photo negative lamps
With a $ 7 IKEA lamp , decoupage glue, and old photo negatives you have, you can create a one-of-a- kind custom lamp . This will decorate the home of the recipient of the gift, encouraging him to remember. You can also make vintage slides !
Hopefully one of the above projects will work for you and your recipient. If not, check out our previous tutorials on handmade gifts .