How to Make Re-Usable Wooden Place-cards

These place-cards are great for dinner parties.

Because they are made with chalkboard paint they are re-usable.

Cut a hardwood tree branch at about 1/8 or 1/4 thick with a miter saw.

Make sure they are dry before you paint them.

Sand one side if you want to, but that is not necessary.

Use chalkboard paint (a quart goes a long way) and a small craft brush to paint on two coats, letting each coat dry completely.

I made these, tied them together, added chalk and they made a nice gift for friends who practice a lot of hospitality.

These were for a Christmas dinner party so I just tied a string on and hot glued a couple acorns on and slipped a small piece of greenery in. All can be removed for other occasions.

Easy and Safe to Make Bow and Arrow

Hop on over to Skip to My Lou and see how to make this cool bow and arrow. It would be good for someone who is not ready for a real bow and arrow. Make it as a gift or maybe make it with the kiddos.

Gifts that Encourage Real Life Skills - DYI

I am all about being practical and I love gifts that encourage real life skills! Here is a great tutorial on how to turn an old desk into a workbench.

A visit to the thrift store, some creativity and a days work you can make this!

I love all the kitchen sets I’ve seen on Pintrest!

I will be making something similar to these for Peach!

Do you have any other DYI-Upcycle projects that encourage creativity and skills?

Don’t forget that our instructional DVDs are also great real life skill gifts!

Giving Generously: 40 Hour Emergency Candles

Here is a practical gift. Add a ribbon and a clever note and this would be a great gift.

Place a book of matches and add a lid on it and you’ll have about 40-50 hours of light. These can be made for less than $2.00 if you are buying new jars, but less than $1.00 if you are recycling jars.

You could sell these for $5.00 easily, especially if you market them as “emergency” or “survival” candles.

Go here to see how to make them (super easy), be sure to read the comment section, lots of great ideas.

Here are other frugal giving ideas!

Giving Generously - Personalized Scrabble Gifts

I can’t wait to hit the thrift store to find Scrabble tiles!!! Think names. This would be great not only for the tree, but also as name tags for gifts.

See the tutorial here.

I think I will paint the backside rather than use paper.

Here are other frugal giving ideas!

If you have frugal Christmas gift ideas feel free to link up!

Building a Family Economy - Selling Sweets/Food Cottage Laws

This is the best time of year to make some extra cash by selling sweets and other baked goods for the holidays. With busy schedules and so many people not wanting to be in the kitchen, it is the perfect time to strap your apron on and profit from people willing to indulge their sweet tooth over the next few weeks!

There are 13 states (Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, and Utah) that allow home-based baking and food processing for low-risk foods.

Here is a good article that explains the Food Cottage Law and licensing.

Here are a few suggestions:

What you sell must be REALLY GOOD, bread, cookies, pie, etc…
Master 2 or 3 things and stick with them , or even just 1 thing!
Pies delivered the day before Thanksgiving is a good selling point.
Try to target offices where there are a lot of women that work; they
are usually more likely buy something fresh and homemade.
Think of family and friends that work in an office that might be able to give you a foot
in the door.
Make a flier and let all of your friends, family and neighbors know!
Word of mouth is your best advertisement!
Take a bunch of samples on your first visit and get orders.
Make deliveries on the same day each week.
Fudge is a great Christmas item.
Presentation is everything! Be sure to package them nice, it makes a big difference.
Offer to ship your goods as gifts, package them well and charge a shipping fee.
Fall and Christmas festivals are a good place to sell, but you will have the expense of your booth.
Let your children make the sales pitch, perhaps dress them up with an apron or something…be creative!
Browse Pintrest and Martha Stewart for ideas.

Also posted over at The Legacy of the Home.

Giving Generously - Soldered Jewelry - video

I LOVE this idea, let your imagination run! Think of keepsakes, small pictures, lock of baby’s hair, small map of a special place, special date, names, finger print, etc… Make them smaller for charms on a bracelet, to hang from a pin, or to attach to a ribbon as a bookmark. How about make them a tad bit larger as a Christmas ornament?

Change the size and shape up.

You could spend one day and make gifts for all the women on your gift list.

These could also provide you with some extra income if you made them to sell.

To be a generous giver and not break the bank it usually takes a little of your time, but no more than if you were out shopping all day. Think of the time and gas that is spent shopping, and in all reality your gift will be forgotten within the year.

When you choose to be a generous giver, investing some of your own creativity and labor, it increases the value of your gift even more!

You CAN give great gifts even if you are not very creative.

Planning now will save you a lot of stress later!

I posted a page with ideas on how to Give Generously without Breaking the Bank. I will be adding to this regularly along with a link up party so you too can add your ideas for giving generously!

So come on…share your inexpensive gift ideas! When you link up I will add your link/idea to the Generous Giving page.