DIY gift ideas homemade handmade presents inspriatoin thrifty save money

30 DIY gift ideas

Christmas is coming, which can be an expensive time of year. Just because it is the season to spend, doesn’t mean you have to! Why not have a go at these thrifty, homemade, DIY gift ideas and save money whilst creating something beautiful.

If the slideshow above is not displaying correctly for you, you can visit it directly here: 30 DIY Gift Ideas slideshow

Enjoy clicking through the 30 DIY gift ideas in the slide show above, for some homemade gift inspiration.

Why make DIY gifts?

Making your own DIY gifts can be a fun and creative project. There is something quite satisfactory about making something yourself. Not only is it good for saving money, it’s also great for your self-esteem! So, go on, have a go!

Repurposing materials that you already have, will save you from buying something new. If we can make what we need, out of what we already have lying around.. we have another way to help the environment by living sustainably.

Getting into a thrifty mindset, it is a good idea to make and prepare DIY Gifts all year round. Why not create a little stockpile of beautifully-made, special presents – ready to give to your loved ones, family and friends.

DIY gift ideas christmas chutney yummy tomato apple diy home made gift gifts thrifty sustainability making relish

Homemade Christmas chutney

Making your own gifts can also save you a small fortune at Christmas. Because of advertising and media pressure, we can get swept up in the commercialism of Christmas and of gift-giving. It’s easy to believe that the more you spend on a present, the more the recipient will feel loved. The truth is, the more thought and time you put into a present, the more your friends and family will KNOW they are loved.

Why not have a go at making some of the DIY gift ideas, in the slide show above, this year. You will probably decide to make homemade presents every year, once you realise how enjoyable it can be. A friend might like to join you for a gift-making evening or perhaps a family craft day might be fun.

Finally, some of the DIY gift ideas show recipes and how-to guides, that have been featured in previous blog articles. Below you will find links to those related articles.

Making and DIY gift ideas:

Sloe Gin, Toffee Vodka, Tomato & Apple Chutney, Caramalised red onion & chilli chutney, Dandelion Jam, 3D embellished glass jars, Upcycle inspiration & ideas

Enjoy making beautiful homemade gifts this year and please do post any DIY gift ideas that you have in the comments section below.

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Make it: DIY Gift Ideas – 3D embellished glass jars

Making & DIY

Getting into a thrifty mindset, it is a great idea to make and prepare DIY Gifts all year round so that you have a little stockpile of beautifully home-made, special presents – ready to give to your loved ones, family and friends. Making your own gifts can also save you a small fortune at Christmas. Have you ever received a DIY gift? How did it make you feel?

If you get swept up in the commercialism of Christmas and of gift-giving, it’s easy to believe that the more you spend on a present, the more the recipient will feel loved. The truth is that the more thought and time you put into a present, the more the recipient will KNOW that they are loved and that you consider them worth the effort, of making something especially for them. With this DIY gift idea you can put even more thought into the design by personalising the jar with the name of the person that you are giving it to.

You will need:

First off you will need clean, dry, glass jars. You can shop around kitchen stores or supermarkets during the sales to find cheaper mason and storage jars, or you can save even more money by recycling your empty coffee jars or by using any glass object that you care to decorate, such as wine glasses or recycled jam jars.

You will also need a tube of 3D paste – For this example ‘Pebeo glass & metal paint relief paste outliner‘ has been used as they have a very effective metallic gold paste, which is fitting if you are considering making Christmas presents. If you shop around online using sites like Amazon and Ebay, you can find a tube for about £3 – a small tube will last you for a lot of projects, as a little goes a long way.

How to make 3D embellished glass jars:

This is the easy and fun bit! Hold your jar steadily in one hand and use the tube of relief paste to carefully doodle and swirl your design onto the glass. You don’t have to be a great artist here, less is more so here are some suggestions:

the recipient’s name
a simple heart shape
easy to draw geometric shapes like squares and rectangles – dotted around the jar
a spiral
a sunshine or stars
an outline of a spoon and the word sugar / coffee / tea
the word sweets / biscuits / treats
an outline of a cat or dog or the word miaow or woof
an outline of a leaf or tree

Just use your imagination when drawing out your design and remember, that it is the thought that counts with this DIY gift, and whatever you create it will be wonderful for the recipient, because you made it for them.
Once you’ve added your design to the jar, you must now leave the jar to dry in a safe, out of the way, dry place for at least half a day, to ensure that your design sets solid.

Once dry you will notice that you can run your fingers over the design and it has created a 3D effect on the jar. It looks really interesting and as is pretty durable too, so your design will endure a few knocks and bumps and last for years.

If you want to get really creative, why not take things further by experimenting with glass paints too!

The finished jars are beautiful as they are and you can always fill them for an extra surprise.

Here are a few ideas of what you could pop inside:

Sweets
Biscuits
Small party-favour toys and games
tubes of glitter / googly eyes / beads / sequins and other crafting items
a rolled up message on a piece of coloured paper, that you have written especially for them
a rolled up tie or pair of colourful socks
Small make-up items and bottles of nail varnish
tea bags / coffee / sugar
Dried fruit / nuts
herbs and spices
a candle

You could fill your jar with anything you like, or leave it looking empty and elegant, it’s totally up to you as it’s your creative project. You can’t go wrong and your DIY gift will make someone’s day because you have made it for them yourself!

Enjoy… and if you have any design tips or ideas for filling the jars – let us know in the comments below – thank you!

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thrifty sustainability make Pizza do it yourself DIY pizza toppings save money on takeaway food cheap

Make it: Home made pizza

Cheap Food / on a Budget, Making & DIY

Let’s face it, pizza is the food of the Gods and you’re thinking… no way can I make a pizza that tastes as sublime as my usual take-away favourite. Well, not only can you make your own perfect, divine, exquisitely delicious pizza, but you’ll have the added satisfaction of knowing that you’ve saved yourself a tenner (this recipe only costs £1.50 – £3 per pizza) and you can be as picky as you like with the toppings.

Save at least £10 – every time you make your own pizza from scratch

If you are interested in healthy eating, making your own pizza allows you to have total control over the ingredients, perhaps use whole-wheat organic flour instead of plain white flour, use gluten-free flour if you are a celiac and choose toppings which are in-line with your dietary requirements. If you are vegan, use vegan cheese or just a tomato sauce based topping and forget the cheese. Further topping suggestions below.

If you are interested in thrifty living because you are trying to clear a debt or save money, this could be an excellent opportunity to do just that. Every time you crave a takeaway pizza, take the time to make your own and put the £10 that you save in a ‘pizza savings’ jar and after 10 home-made pizzas you’ll have £100 to put towards paying off debts or to put into a savings account.

Yes it’s more effort to make it yourself.. but yes, it’s so worth it! Give it a try and have fun with it. If you have children, this can be a fun, messy and creative family activity!

If making your own pizza seems daunting, or a bit complicated, just give it a go, stick with it and after a couple of times you’ll get used to it and… you’ll get to love it.

Simple pizza base ingredients

375g Plain white flour
1 tablespoon of caster sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
7g of dried active baking yeast (you can buy these in a box of 8 x 7g sachets to save further pennies)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
225ml (8fl oz) of warm water

How to make the simple pizza base

1) put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix until you get a dough
2) knead and stretch the dough for a minute or so
3) spread or roll out the dough into a pizza shape on a large pizza pan or baking sheet (avoid a sticking pizza base later by sprinkling a little flour onto the baking tray first)
4) add your pizza topping (details below)
5) put your pizza in a pre-heated oven at 190 degrees or Gas mark 5 and bake for 20-25 mins

If you want to mix it up a bit when you make your base, you can swap whole-wheat flour for the plain flour, you can add herbs such as oregano to the dough and you can get a real take-away pizza style if you roll your dough out for an extra few centimetres and put chopped up mozzarella around the rim and then pull the dough back over the mozzarella to form a stuffed crust. Yum.

Pizza sauce

If you’re in a hurry, you don’t need to make pizza sauce, you can just squeeze tomato purée onto your pizza base and spread it all over before adding your toppings.

But, if you want something a little tastier, here is a really great recipe:

Pizza sauce ingredients:

½ tin tomatoes (or equivalent finely chopped fresh tomatoes)
small onion finely chopped
Get creative! – who says a pizza has to be round

2 garlic bulbs finely chopped
pinch of salt and pepper
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon basil
tomato purée to thicken

How to make the pizza sauce:

1) Fry the onions and garlic until soft
2) Add the tomatoes, sugar and herbs
3) Heat through and simmer for 10 mins to thicken, or add tomato purée to thicken
4) Spread it all over the pizza base

Pizza Topping ideas…

mozzarella and spinach or rocket or fresh basil is delicious and simple
chopped onions, mushrooms and peppers with grated cheddar cheese and… yes… tinned anchovies!
cheddar, mozzarella and red Leicester cheese
tinned pineapple pieces with chopped up ham and cheddar cheese
mozzarella and pepperoni
slices of cooked sausage with red onion chutney and cheddar cheese
goats’ cheese with red onion chutney

Be creative with the toppings, this is your chance to put your own stamp on things.. make a pattern, write your name, make a smiley face, or create your own weird concoctions and flavours. No-one said a pizza had to be round..

Have a think about what other favourite takeaway meals you could make for yourself and save yourself a small fortune!

Enjoy!

Have you got a great pizza topping idea or recipe to share? Let everyone know in the comments section below…

A few self-sufficient, thrifty or off-the-grid selections, including Solar Panel Chargers. Toys and tools that I’m saving up for!
As an Amazon Associate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases which helps me with the running cost of this site – thank you 🖤

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