So you made your gifts, but now what? Traditional wrapping can be expensive and often involves a great deal of waste. If you have ever looked in the trash after Christmas morning the amount of paper, bows, and other wrapping is depressing.

In the past I came up with a few creative ways to wrap gifts, including using old maps, which turned out really well, and plain white paper (which my brother and I may have glued macaroni onto to create a winter wonderland scene… last year). I also really like to use linens as wrapping. This year for my mom’s birthday I used a kitchen towel (that she picked out) to wrap her new pie plate. We have also used baby blankets and wash cloths to wrap a baby shower gift.

But this year I was feeling particularly uninspired, that is until I stumbled across a few ideas. I prefer things that can be reused (like towels and blankets, or pieces of fabric that can be tied into a tote bag), but recylced/upcycled materials are really nice too:

For our birthdays we always have a homemade cake and dinner of the birthday person’s choosing. This year I went all out on the cake for my mom’s birthday.

Every year my mom gives me my birthday or Christmas gifts before the actual date, or at least tells me what they are. She and I have some sort of gene where it is nearly impossible for us to keep secrets. This means that I often get my gifts a few days before Christmas or my birthday because my mom can’t wait to give it to me. This year she gave me a book this week that was supposed to be in my stocking. It is a book from a local San Francisco based bakery, and we picked out the cake that was on the cover to make for her birthday.

Image courtesy of Miette

This cookbook is absolutely incredible. It is beautifully designed, from the adorable scalloped edges to the stunning photography and page designs. It is a great book to leave out on the coffee table or on a shelf as a piece of art and interest. The recipes in it all look incredibly delicious, and if I had more time I would probably try to make them all before the end of break, but I will restrain myself for now. It was such cool gift that my excitement about it will last until at least Christmas. (I plan on going to visit the shop in the Ferry Building in downtown San Francisco – it looks incredible in the book.)

With my inspiration from the book I set off to make the cake on the cover, the Tomboy. It is a moist, amazing chocolate cake with a raspberry buttercream frosting. My cake however, does not look much like the one of the cover… turns out I am terrible at piping. But I will work on that by making many more cakes like this one… once I get over how hard this one was. This is truly the most difficult thing I have ever set out to bake. I love the size, it is a 6 inch cake with 1 inch layers. It is absolutely adorable on the small cake stand my mom bought. All in all, even though I spent 3-4 hours on it, it was rewarding and worth it.

It may not be beautiful, but I am definitely proud of it.

You can find the whole recipe here.

I live in California, so tie dye never died here, but for the rest of the U.S., tie dye is back, and it could lead to a fun, homemade gift. Tote bags, shirts, pillow cases, and just about any other natural cloth item are great options. There are tons of instructions online for everything from your basic t-shirt to intense, complicated patterns. You can make anything from the flash-back to your youth camp shirt to chic clothing or household decor. 

I was at the mall today (I know, it was horrible) and I was shocked at the prices of gifts that are modeled after homemade gifts. Cookie mix in a jar was $17 and hot chocolate mix was just as expensive as well. It’s nice to know that corporations see the value in homemade gifts, I just hope that people opt to make them instead of buy them. 

It seems like everyone is good at something, whether or not they embrace it is a whole different story. When looking for ideas for a homemade gift it helps to think of the things you are good at. Especially if you can find an artistic outlet you are good at. I am terrible at painting or drawing, but I can do a few crafts well. 


However, some ideas you can make work even if you are not all that creative, and I feel like this is one of them. It is a mix of craft and art that leads to something quite interesting:

Things that appear simple can be meaningful and interesting art/gifts. You can also make digital versions and have them printed out in addition to the examples on canvas above. The hardest part will be deciding what you will say – consider an original phrase or a quote from a song, literature, or someone famous. Embrace your creativity and make something unique and interesting. 

I doubt anyone knows this, but I keep little, random keepsakes in boxes. I have the tickets to every concert I have ever been to, a piece of lava from Hawaii, the sticker from the skating rink from my first date, birthday cards, movie tickets, and doodles from friends all piled in boxes in my closet. This year instead of shoving them in a box only to be forgotten, I think I might turn them into a book like this:

After eating a cookie from a batch my dad tried to make today, I realized I needed more gifts that did not involve baking as well as a wider variety of things, that way more people can find a gift they can easily make. I don’t go anywhere without a journal or something to write in, so this post is something that caught my eye. Currently all of my journals are covered in fabric, and I love them.

I typically avoid anything that has sewing involved, not only because figuring out how much material you need can be confusing, but also because I am terrible at sewing. However, with Katie’s clear instructions, this laptop case seems easy to make. It would be a great gift for girls and guys, as long as you pick the right fabric. Organic, cotton fabric is always the best. Also, try to pick something sturdy that won’t show dirt.