Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Handmade Gifts part 3: Teenagers (Girls)

First off, let me say that Skip to My Lou has a fabulous list of handmade gifts. Which includes a terrific section for teens. Including a hammock!


A second invaluable resource is the Sew Mama Sew Handmade Holidays list from last year. Unbeatable.

These lists are so great that it seems silly to attempt my own. But I like futile activities -- I have four kids. So here we go.

Hair stuff: headbands, barrettes, curlers, etc. Sew Mama Sew has a great list of hair items to make. I don't need to repeat it.

Cocoa lip gloss. How could any teen girl resist? How could any adult mother resist? Seriously, I want some! Make a lip balm cozy too! (Although, these fit standard lip balm, which is probably not the shape your home-made lip gloss will take).

Scented or sparkle-y body lotion. Here's a recipe for body glitter. And one for shimmering body lotion.

To make an all-natural, high quality body lotion:

1) Sterilize your blender by blending boiling water (or some rubbing alchohol) in it.

2) Put about 1/2 cup oil into the blender (choose an oil that is good for your teen's skin type -- olive oil for dry skin, soybean oil or hemp oil for oily or combination skin, coconut oil for anyone).

3) Cut open 3-6 Vitamin E capsules, and the "juice" to the blender. Vitamin E is a preservative, so the lotion won't go rancid as fast.

3) Mix in a bottle of some clear Aloe Vera gel. (Sold with the lotions or with the sunscreen).

4) Add a teaspoon of vodka or grain alcohol to it.

5) Add a few drops of your favorite scented essential oil.

Mix it all together in a blender until it looks all creamy (blend,
then whip).

Not only is the lotion better than what you buy in the store, it's cheaper too, and it's shelf stable. I put it into small canning jars.

The monsterA Scarf Hood. I guess these are called snoods? Or scoodies?

A Painted Hoodie or Tee shirt.

Handmade jewelry. This can take a lot of work. Here's an easy idea. Buy or make one nice pendant (you can buy them at Hobby Lobby or Michaels, even some Walmarts). String it on a ribbon. Done!

Plushies. That's the new, hip, term for stuffed things. They're somtimes animals, other times monsters, etc. Make a big one and have it double as a pillow. I like this pattern.

A portable art case. Totally cool.

I'd better quit and get working on my gifts!

I have a lot of little girls and boys this year too on my list, so next week we'll do a little girls edition.

In case you missed them, here's a list of gifts for teenage boys (all of which would also be fine for girls), and a list of things kids can make. The Crafty Crow also did a list of gifts that kids can make, and it's much better than mine!

These ideas are fast, cheap and they work for me!

3 comments:

  1. The scoodie is really cool! I might make one for my daughter (she's 24), if I can fit it in with all the other handmadies I'm working on, LOL!
    BTW, a snood is a sort of little net worn around a bun--you see them a lot in pics of ladies from the 1940s, although I wore them when I was younger, back in the 70s. We had little crocheted ones.

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  2. Nifty ideas. Thanks! My three nieces who will be getting these gifts thank you, too. :)

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