Christmas under $75

That's my goal -- to spend less than $75 this Christmas. I'm up to $34 and have finished gifts for almost everyone: brother, sister, BIL, SIL, FIL, FIL's wife, MIL, brother's GF, and mom. I'm a little stuck on my dad and Sean.

I have a couple of reasons for setting this goal:

1. We're on a SUPER tight budget

2. I've got a lot of supplies and the know-how to make gifts

3. I think homemade (at least partially) gifts are more meaningful

4. I planned ahead and have plenty of time to get them all finished

5. I'm really trying to work on showing love for those around me in new and creative ways

Although I don't want to blog about my crafts until they have been opened on Christmas, here's a couple of budget-friendly ideas that might help you out this holiday season:

1. Freezer paper stenciling. It's AMAZING! If you haven't tried it, you must. It's super fast, inexpensive and if done right looks great! I've used it for t-shirts, tote bags, kitchen towels and onesies in the past week alone. :) Here's a good tute on the process.

2. Look around your house for inspiration. Do you have a tote bag lying around that doesn't get much use? Use some fusible interfacing to spruce it up with a fun fabric for a friend.

3. Use the reusable totes you can buy at stores for fabric. TJ Maxx and BB&B both have super fun prints. Turn it into makeup bags, pencil pouches, lunch bags. That $1.99 can go a long way!

4. Find ways to use up the scraps you already have. Maybe some fabric note cards like I gave away a couple of weeks ago, a customized headband, cup cozie, or fabric blocks for a little one.

5. T-shirts make great base fabrics -- turn them into a dress with some elastic around the waist, make them into a tote bag or even a pillow cover.

Sorry for the lack of pictures in this post. I'll post each of my homemade gifts after Christmas. I hope this was a little helpful in generating some ideas. Blogland is full of them! I especially like the website www.oneprettything.com because they scour blogs so I don't have to!