Pat and I are looking for some ideas that can be made in mass but individually personalized for friends and family.
Anyone else out there tackling this quest?
Would like your input...a pulitzer prize winner would be perfectly acceptable!
We're thinking along the lines of something that can be used over and over during the holidays over the next years...or maybe not!
Suggestions are more important than details but we're open to all ideas.
Thanx in advance...
Posted by Kathy Joiner (Member # 1814) on :
Christmas toilet seats! Get the $9.99 ones. (not a full time use item) Snowman on lid with name, open it and his mittens are covering his eyes.
I found some great looking wine flutes at Dollar Tree. Going to put snowflakes and monogram on them with etchmark. You and pat could etch, guild, and or glue chip serving platters.
Yard cards are hinged MDO or PVC "Seasons greeting from the "...." family.
PVC ornaments or tree top star smalted.
Cut out snow shoe, sled, Santa, snowman, or whatever and personalize for a holiday door hanger.
Have fun!!
Posted by Lotti Prokott (Member # 2684) on :
I'm making a WANTED poster for my brother. Scrap piece of 2mm Dibond, roughly (very roughly) cut with the jigsaw, and some bent edges. I'm making the thing look like old stained paper, and paste his mug in the middle (I'll try to print it in sepia). I'm still having fun trying to decide on the text: Wanted for riding drunk? Shooting off his mouth? Well, maybe both Posted by Ken Henry (Member # 598) on :
Just for the kids, we made up some popcorn Christmas Trees. First, pop some corn and make up a Caramel/butter glaze using corn syrup, butter, and coloured green with food coloring.Coat all of the popcorn with this mixture. Next make a cone from fairly heavy card, and line this with wax paper. Press the popcorn mixtire into this cone to give the Christmas Trees their shape. Decorate the trees with colored Smarties, M&M's etc and some sparkly cake decorations. Dust lightly with icing sugar, and insert a stick into the base to form the trunk of the tree, and double as a holder, when this treat is being eaten.
They're really inexpensive to make...and the kids love them!
Posted by Jane Diaz (Member # 595) on :
One year we did aprons. We got some canvas aprons and Bill airbrushed personal cartoons of everyone's interest on them..."Farmer-outstanding in his field" that kind of thing. We make most of our gifts every year. One year we made carpenter-like wooden boxes with handles. Then we painted them bright colors and put the family's name on them. Some used them for magazines or garden supplies or tools. Even the kids liked them for toys. We do sandblasted glass signs for weddings and graduation presents. The name and the date of the event are in a fancy border or a clip art item like a guitar if that is their "talent". Those are VERY popular. They would work for Christmas too. We have also done house numbers for a new home owner. A small sandblasted foam sign or just a painted sign to match the style of the house. A mailbox is another idea for rural use. Enjoy it though. Put the Christmas music on and pretend you are an elf!
Posted by Joe Cieslowski (Member # 2429) on :
Monte,
In the past, I've carved multiples of a Xmass (or Holiday) ornament. For tree, wall or door. Incorparate a ribbon in the design to hand paint the date, or names......or etc. They could also be molded and cast with a metalic resign....cast em, pop em, yer done!!!
Do a different design each year.....folks LOVE em!
Whatever you do, I'm sure they will be cherished!!!
Happy Holidays to you and yours, Monte!
Joe, Makin Chips and Havin Fun!
Posted by Mike Pipes (Member # 1573) on :
You can buy blank wreaths and tree ornaments, and decorate them.
Makes them personal and they can definitely be used over and over during the holidays.
A couple years ago I was in St Louis during Christmas and when my dad and I dug out all the ornaments, I realized that nearly every ornament on the tree was handmade by me and my sister when we were little - some of these things are over 20 years old!
Posted by Amy Brown (Member # 1963) on :
One year we bought pie plates and reverse etched them on the underside with the year and Merry Christmas.
We did the wine glass things too.
Posted by Chuck Peterson (Member # 70) on :
I make small sandblasted signs with sayings personalized to fit the persons. Welcome to the...., or any saying I know they like. Thay can go on a door or a small post for the garden. I get to use ideas paying customers hardly ever let me do so I enjoy it. I'm doing some now with rows of tiles inlaid.
Posted by DianeBalch (Member # 1301) on :
We have taken Corian counter top material scraps- sink cut outs- and routed a beveled edge on them and glued on some rubber feet. They make great cutting boards or counter protectors for putting hot pots on them.
diane
Posted by DONALD THOMPSON (Member # 3726) on :
I usually do alot of mailboxes for customers at Christmas time. Most people just have a plain mailbox with individual stuck on letters they get at Wal-mart. We incorporate something of interest to the people(horses, flowers, butterflies, masonic emblems, dogs, etc.) I am also doing them for family this year. The mailboxes are only about $9 at Lowes or Home Depot.
Posted by Stephen Faulkner (Member # 2511) on :
That's the spirit Monte!!!... 'round here I prefer to give hand made goodies... my 15 year old daughter asked me to do a pinstriped panel for her... that's all she wants! I am having a wicked run on the Beer Vaults this year... www.restoart.com/BeerVault lots of locals have seen them and now it's crunch time! A mailbox with a magnum of champagne stuffed in it is one old classic... for wood workers carved cigar box or cottage signs,or a Celtic Love Spoon. Tole(?) painted watering cans with thier name on it... for the hot rod guys a "shop Sign" like a vintage logo and a name for the backyard mechanics shop, pinstriped tool box or a custom shop clock. Kathy Joiner's Kustom Rump Kusions are great for people who can appreciate toilet art I have several on my walls!(check your local zoning laws) Unlike a store bought gift you sure can have fun with making these and it is something that you will always remember yourself.
Posted by Stephen Deveau (Member # 1305) on :
Buy cheap wall mirrors at Wallyworld. Do decor borders and family name on it.
Sometimes I use vinyl etchlite and other times I will use chemical etch! Posted by Ryan E Young (Member # 2325) on :
I custom painted about 6 mailboxes for my wifes family in Indiana I had hours and hours in them I would work on them as i was painting a bike or a helmet. All House of Kolor base and clear jobs hand pinstriped!! They loved them. Her uncle and dad keep saying I should sell them I could make a fortune.My reply was naa I like doing the bikes and helmets. They said " you should paint up a bunch and take them to a flea market and they would sell for at least 35 bucks" Man it killed my pride they have no idea what I do for a living or how much was in those stupid boxes HAHA!!! But its the thought that counts I guess.
Posted by Kimberly Zanetti (Member # 2546) on :
Every year, my father painted glass ornaments for family and friends, even one for my cat (that's the MAX one).
I remember when I called one of my best friends to tell him that my dad died (in Dec 2001), the first thing he said was...I just hung my ornament up on the tree last night and was thinking of him.
[ December 03, 2003, 05:40 PM: Message edited by: Kimberly Zanetti ]
Posted by Bill Cosharek (Member # 1274) on :
For the little ones who still like to color in coloring books, you can put your plotter to good use and make some large scale coloring pages. Dig out some appropriate clipart or make your own. Last year I took digital pics of familiar surroundings and with a little tracing, made some nice pages for my niece to embellish.
Posted by goddinfla (Member # 1502) on :
For somebody who likes to bake I always thought it would be cool to sandblast their name (backwards, of course) into one of those marble rolling pins. When you roll the dough it would imprint their name into it. Do the name several times in a spiral around the pin.
Posted by Pat Jumper (Member # 2248) on :
soooo many great ideas (so little time! lol) i am trying to get monte to drag out the new/old lathe we got at an auction last year and let me turn a few redwood scraps into ornaments. y'all have given us alot of inspiration here, i really like the idea of giving Christmas theme presents.... Posted by bill riedel (Member # 607) on :
Happy holidays Monte, years ago I wanted to make something for the holidays for my children(now all grown and married). I cut 5" circles of light weight wood and painted a Christmas scene on them. Now they looked forward to one each year. I have done wood burning pictures and even carved pictures. This is about the 10th year.
Go for it!
Posted by Gail & Dave Beattie (Member # 572) on :
one year I did the grandkids faces on t'shirts for them to wear on xmas day from digital pics and wrote Santa's little helper on them
I made them all a pillow case with their faces for use instead of stockings to hang on xmas eve one year
last year I realised that it was our first xmas away from the whole family and so suddenly thought about the old decorations
each year we got together 2 weeks before the 25th for the family birthdays that fall in December (5 of them) and after the cake is cut and the special gifts dealt with we all decorate my house for santa time
the girls do the inside and the boys take care of the outside
last year I realised that they would all be without the special decoration that I (and them) have made over the years and so I built them a simple set for each of their houses
it was so easy to take a picture of santa and put devo's face on it, some elves with the twins faces, reindeer with the grandkids faces etc. then print them out, laminate them and add a ribbon to tie them to their trees or where ever they want them to go
now each year the 'big kids plus grandkids' have us all with them for the season, no matter that we live 15 hours away... I did a set for my mum and Devo's mum too so they didn't feel left out!
when we were in the shop we made house names when they got their own homes and christmas cutouts for their yards after that
when our kids turn 16 we buy them old cars to learn to drive in and then on their 17th birthday if they show me a license they get the keys for keeps, but usualy the xmas that falls between those b'days they get a paint job for their old cars so that they look cool
boxes to store potatos and onions in, made from pine, stained and decorated to suit their kitchen are another easy gift to make and soooo practicle I love mine!
specialty clocks are another great idea
we used to make sand blasted timber panels with corporate logo's on them for our bigger customers and put clock mechinisums in them for their foyers or main offices
which in turn lead to a range of harley clocks for bikers because blokes who had their bikes airbrushed saw the clock that Devo had made for himself in our shop
but one year my clock in the kitchen died just before xmas and so I got the boys to cut me just santa's head shape out of perspex and I airbrushed it while I was doing all the other cutouts
it already had the hole drilled in the center and so a $5 clock unit later and it was indeed santa time!
from then on each year the little kids would say 'is it santa time yet nana?" and I would check the calender and say almost
the looks on their faces when the santa clock went up on the wall was priceless because they knew it was almost xmas!
I agree that making gifts is so much more personal for those we love and a lot less likely to break 2 days after xmas
this year I have bought stainless steel hip flasks for all the big boys and am going to engrave a design and their names on to them to personalise them
my son-in-law needs a box to store his drum sticks in and so I am going to build a small coffin shaped, flamed box and line it with velvet for his presouse! just like the bigger one we made for my other son's dagger collection
there is no end of great stuff you can make that puts the spirit back into the season
cheers gail
Posted by Kissymatina (Member # 2028) on :
My stepson moved out and into his first apartment with a buddy, November 2 years ago. That christmas, I bought a bar mirror at walmart (long & short, had hooks on bottom edge) and I put beer logos on it out of etched vinyl. He loved it. It's in his living room with coats hung on it.
I'm waiting for his girlfriend to bring me over pictures they took of his car so I can do a dye sub keychain for him this year.
She graduates college this summer, I figure next year I'll be doing a house sign for the 2 of them.
For his girlfriend's 21st birthday, I etched her name & a nice rose into a beer mug for her. She loved it.
Posted by John Lennig (Member # 2455) on :
It's not really a Christmas present, but people like them....we used to cut up 3 mil sintra offcuts to about 4"x6", corner round them with the ..corner rounder, screenprint shoplogo,etc, and something humorous... Digital Ice Scraper, or? you could just vinyl or edge some small decals for them too.
just a giveaway to customers when they're by the shop. You can never have to many ice scrapers this time of year! plus, they have 8 edges, last forever.
John Lennig / SignRider
Posted by AdrienneMorgan (Member # 1046) on :
Last year I went out to Cost Plus and picked up several nice heavy glass mugs, applied friends' names and a celtic knot with computer cut vinyl and acid etched them, filled them with tea bags, coffee beans or candy, put them on a small wood tray i got from the Dollar Tree, added a small bag of home made biscotti and wrapped the whole thing in pearlesant celophane tied with gold ribbon. My girlfriends loved them!
For the guys I did the same mugs with an image of a bass with the saying: "Kiss my Bass!" and filled them with candy....
I'm going to do something similar again this year, but on glass boxes or jars with cork stoppers and wine bottles (cheap wine, soak the lable off and etch a design on it)
A:)
Posted by Ray Rheaume (Member # 3794) on :
Monte,
Over the years I've had fun at the local dollar store roaming around looking for stuff to paint on for Christmas gifts. I tend to grab stuff that I think someone would like or might make a good joke gift and personalize it. Mailboxes, mirrors, plastic flower pots, wooden door signs, etc.
Some of the stranger stuff over the years include a circular sawblade with a mural for a logging friend, mailbox with a semi on it for a truck driver, monogrammed candle holders, and several engraved "Skyy Vodka" bottles done with my Dremel and some diamond tipped bits. (Really nice shade of blue on those!)
Vanity plates are always fun, too.
Have fun and happy holidays, Rapid
[ December 09, 2003, 07:44 AM: Message edited by: Ray Rheaume ]
Posted by Bill Diaz (Member # 2549) on :
Monte, We're having a few Central Illinois letterheads over to our shop this Saturday for a free gathering to do just that -- make Christmas presents. I'm supplying the 1 Shot. I'm wearin' a Santa's hat. Sorry we can't invite everybody -- our space is limited. We may even take the city trolley for a tour of our beautiful little town. Santa may also make a surprise entrance.
I will keep you informed of any projects people bring to work on as some of these artists are not on the BB, I don't believe.
Kathy, I fogot about toilet seats. Good idea, it's something you're sure to look at!
Posted by Monte Jumper (Member # 1106) on :
Thanks for the great ideas...Now to find the time before Christmas to try some of them.
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