I'm going to use this blog as a way to show you how to create things out of next to nothing. There will be no spending on things we don't need-except things like glue for glue guns, wire for attachment of stuff to other stuff, the basic things needed to make the project come together. Here is how you figure out how much your project will cost to make:
I decide to make paper flowers. I'm going to make coffee filter paper flowers this time. I go to the cupboard and retrieve my coffee filters. I need wire to hold them together, and I need hot glue sticks for my glue gun. The wire is 3.99, the glue sticks are $3.69. The cost of the coffee filters was $3.28 (I bought white ones) and I need eight of them. (Actually less. I found I can make some of the petals just a tick smaller than the pattern calls for and they will fit on the upper portion of the filter. The lower part is used for another shaped petal, leaving room for the longer ones above.)
You now divide each part of your project into the total amount purchased of that item for the cost per material used. There are 100 filters in the package I bought for 3.28. How many times does 100 go into 3.28? Then how much is 16" from a roll of 230' @ $3.99. Then how much is 1/4 of a glue stick? This is what I came up with and it is a rough estimate, as math is not my thing at all: 5 cents per flower.
I used some watered down yellow, orange and red paint, dry brushed on some, completely soaked the flowers on others, to create both Peace and Tropicana roses. These were my Grandma's favorites. The results were quite beautiful.
Later, I made several more plain white roses and added them to several paper cone creations. Again the results were beautiful and cost pennies. Here are the instructions and the patterns for the coffee filter roses:
Bridal Musings
Gorgeous doesn't have to cost much at all. And if you are at all crafty, you probably have the stuff in your craft room already. I just needed to replace the wire and glue as I ran out. I made a couple dozen of these roses over the holidays and they were a big hit with those receiving the gifts.
My goal is to have enough projects with instructions on this site to give you a huge variety of options for very little money. Here are some tips:
The quality of your projects should be impeccable if you are giving them as gifts.
Never apologize for your gift. The time and effort it takes to create something for someone is part of the gift. These things are of immeasurable worth.
Your gift may be simple or elaborate, it is entirely up to the giver as to what the gift is and how it is presented. It is not the receivers decision as to cost or any aspect of the gift itself. A gift is a GIFT, not a requirement.
If you have a poor response from a homemade gift, remember it is your choice to give a gift from your heart and your hands. That is both special and meaningful. If the recipient doesn't take it that way it is their problem, not yours. Don't give it a second thought, other than to re-think ever giving them another gift in the future.
And, lastly, remember this: if you have reasonable goals you are trying to achieve financially and you are living your life frugally in every other way, your gift recipients should have no problem understanding your frugal gift giving tendency. If, on the other hand, you spend lavishly on yourself all year long and then buy a second hand item from Goodwill as a gift for someone, you can rightly receive some surprised responses. Being frugal in all spending will give you a much better opportunity for success in frugal gift giving.
And by starting right now, immediately following the holiday season when credit card bills will start rolling in, you can make sure next season won't result in debt and anxiety when it's all over.
Debt free in 2015!
I decide to make paper flowers. I'm going to make coffee filter paper flowers this time. I go to the cupboard and retrieve my coffee filters. I need wire to hold them together, and I need hot glue sticks for my glue gun. The wire is 3.99, the glue sticks are $3.69. The cost of the coffee filters was $3.28 (I bought white ones) and I need eight of them. (Actually less. I found I can make some of the petals just a tick smaller than the pattern calls for and they will fit on the upper portion of the filter. The lower part is used for another shaped petal, leaving room for the longer ones above.)
You now divide each part of your project into the total amount purchased of that item for the cost per material used. There are 100 filters in the package I bought for 3.28. How many times does 100 go into 3.28? Then how much is 16" from a roll of 230' @ $3.99. Then how much is 1/4 of a glue stick? This is what I came up with and it is a rough estimate, as math is not my thing at all: 5 cents per flower.
I used some watered down yellow, orange and red paint, dry brushed on some, completely soaked the flowers on others, to create both Peace and Tropicana roses. These were my Grandma's favorites. The results were quite beautiful.
Later, I made several more plain white roses and added them to several paper cone creations. Again the results were beautiful and cost pennies. Here are the instructions and the patterns for the coffee filter roses:
Bridal Musings
Gorgeous doesn't have to cost much at all. And if you are at all crafty, you probably have the stuff in your craft room already. I just needed to replace the wire and glue as I ran out. I made a couple dozen of these roses over the holidays and they were a big hit with those receiving the gifts.
My goal is to have enough projects with instructions on this site to give you a huge variety of options for very little money. Here are some tips:
The quality of your projects should be impeccable if you are giving them as gifts.
Never apologize for your gift. The time and effort it takes to create something for someone is part of the gift. These things are of immeasurable worth.
Your gift may be simple or elaborate, it is entirely up to the giver as to what the gift is and how it is presented. It is not the receivers decision as to cost or any aspect of the gift itself. A gift is a GIFT, not a requirement.
If you have a poor response from a homemade gift, remember it is your choice to give a gift from your heart and your hands. That is both special and meaningful. If the recipient doesn't take it that way it is their problem, not yours. Don't give it a second thought, other than to re-think ever giving them another gift in the future.
And, lastly, remember this: if you have reasonable goals you are trying to achieve financially and you are living your life frugally in every other way, your gift recipients should have no problem understanding your frugal gift giving tendency. If, on the other hand, you spend lavishly on yourself all year long and then buy a second hand item from Goodwill as a gift for someone, you can rightly receive some surprised responses. Being frugal in all spending will give you a much better opportunity for success in frugal gift giving.
And by starting right now, immediately following the holiday season when credit card bills will start rolling in, you can make sure next season won't result in debt and anxiety when it's all over.
Debt free in 2015!