Are you looking for fun, inexpensive gifts that your kids can make themselves? Look no further! These DIY gift ideas are exactly what you need. Not only does creating handmade gifts help cut costs, but it can increase brain activity in children and help develop creativity. Check out these five simple craft ideas that you can try with your kids. They’ll love sharing their designs with others!

5 DIY Crafts and Gifts

1.     Photos with a Custom Frame

Photos never go out of style and are always cherished. Start by choosing a special picture (perhaps one with your child and the gift recipient), then search for a blank frame of any material that you can fully customize!

For example, decorate a premade foam or wooden frame with beads, glitter glue, and other decorations, or create your own frames from popsicle sticks and other materials that each child can personalize.

These added embellishments help you and your child create a gift that’s specifically tailored to the recipient, whether that’s a parent, grandparent, or a friend from school. The best part? This idea is great for any holiday or special occasion. Make a heart photo frame for grandma for Valentine’s Day or a special Fall photo frame for Thanksgiving. The ideas are endless for this project, allowing your children to dig into their creative designs.

2.     Coasters

Cup coasters are an easy and inexpensive DIY gift for kids to make, and can be a nice option for a parent on Mother’s Day or Father’s Day. Use a corkboard if you want to paint only, or use wood if you would like to engrave and paint your coasters. Here are the steps you need to follow to create these easy DIY coasters:

1. Using the mouth of a cup, create a circle on your corkboard. Cut the circle out.
2. Use acrylic paint to decorate the tops of the coasters.
3. Once the coasters are dry, spray or paint on a clear coat to help seal in your kids’ art designs.
4. If you use circular wood pieces, carve your designs before completing steps 2 and 3.

3.     Pincushions

Pincushions have been around for years. Share one with the seamstress in your family to add some homemade love to their crafting area. Make a pincushion out of quilt fabric scraps or old pieces of clothing. Here are five steps to making a pincushion:

1. Use the mouth of a cup to draw your circles for easy measurement. Cut two pieces of fabric in circles, and place the front of the fabric pieces together.
2. Sew the edges of the circles together, but leave an opening for the stuffing. Knot your string and cut it at the gap. Turn the fabric right side out.
3. Stuff your cushion with polyester stuffing until it feels full. You don’t want needles going straight through the cushion because there isn’t enough stuffing.
4. Sew the opening gap together.
5. Add some decorations to your pincushion. You can add string from the center around the pincushion—like you are cutting it into pie slices—and add a button to the middle.
   
   

4.     Painted Wooden Plaques

Wood design plagues are a home decor trend without an end in sight. These easy-to-do paintings are great for children of any age. This project requires pieces of wood, paints, and fun design stencils.

These are beautiful decorations for your child’s room, play area, game room, or as a gift for a family member. Tape the stencils on the wooden base and allow the children to paint as they desire. When you complete the designs, you can add a layer of clear coating or leave the paint as-is on the wood.

5.     Flower Clocks

Give Grandma a new flower clock made by her little flower. This piece will brighten up the room, give something to help Grandma remember the kids as time goes by, and help the kids learn time while visiting Grandma.

1. Buy a circular clock that Grandma can hang in her living room.
2. Add half-circle petals to the outside of the hand clock at each main number.
3. On the petals, write the number of minutes represented at that time. For example, number one would have a petal with :05, two would have :10, and so on.
4. Add a stem and leaves to the bottom of the clock to create a floral look.
5. Let the kids design the flower petals and color around the numbers. Cut different types of leaves to make them extra unique.
6. When you visit Grandma, hang the clock for her!

Add Love to Your Gifts

Fun homemade crafts can spur memories that will last a lifetime, and these five gifts make excellent home decor items for anyone to enjoy! You can tailor each gift to the particular recipient, adding their favorite colors and designs to the project. These kid-made DIY gifts are an easy way to share love with friends and family members, so start crafting today!