Handmade Wedding Gift Ideas

By: Alexine

With a tight budget and big heart it is hard to figure out a wedding gift this time of year. There are so many beautiful things that you can buy, but they are not always in your budget. In order to help you brainstorm an idea for a handmade wedding gift I have come up with a handful of ideas you might want to try. Although it may cost less, the thought and love you put into the gift will make it priceless.

Pot Holders

These make a wonderful gift and are very handy in the kitchen for any household. They have important uses including taking pans out of the oven and a place to put hot dishes on to save the table and counters. Surprisingly they don’t take a lot of time depending on how well you can knit, crochet or sew.

For knitting you can do a garter stitch in a stripped yarn or use a few colors to make your own pattern. You can always match the colors to the dinnerware the couple is registered for if you are unsure of which colors to choose. This goes for the crochet and sewing ones as well. However, to sew you have to buy a center material that creates a heat barrier between the front and back.

My recommendation would be to make two or four as a set so they can use them to entertain and have enough to take a couple pans out of the oven. You can wrap them in a cute little box with pretty tissue paper and a little note tucked inside on how to care for the material you used that says they are handmade. It will make the gift very special indeed.

Potted Plant

If you know the bride and groom really well then you know their taste in home décor. If you go to your local craft stores or nursery you can find inexpensive flower pots. Find a large enough pot that would fit three or four pretty plants. You can either purchase a plain pot and paint it yourself with spray paint or buy one that is already glazed.

Once your pot is ready to go then you can take it to the nursery and pick out several plants that would look nice together. If it is winter time then you might want to do a mix of indoor tropical plants that may not all flower. However in the spring, summer and fall there are plenty of colorful plants you can get your hands on for the pot. Once you have picked out your plants grab a bag of potting soil to plant with.

When arranging the pot make it so the plants look nice from all angles. That way if the pot is viewed from any direction it looks nice. Then you can get one of the flower arrangement tag sticks and put a sweet note along with your handmade potted plant for the couple.

Scrapbook

Creating a scrapbook may seem like a difficult thing to do but the idea of this scrapbook is to give the bride and groom a template that they can print and stick their wedding photos to. This way they don’t have to spend lots of money to purchase one and it can be especially made by you.

The materials you will need are a nice scrapbook with about ten or fifteen of the twelve by twelve inch size pages. I recommend the slide in sheets because they are easier to add things onto later and more protected for a long term keepsake. Also you will want to get sheets of cardstock, a pack of corner stickers to give with the book for photos and any other specialty embellishments you want to use.

The best way to go about this would be to design each page to hold at least two photos that are four by six inches or one five by seven. If you get a larger scrapbook with extra pages left blank then they can always add more to it. However if you do the ten to fifteen pages front and back then creating up to thirty pages should be sufficient.

Something Sweet

If you are better at showing your love for someone through baking or jarring then possibly this is the best bet for your gift. Coming up with an assortment of homemade sweet treats or jarred goods is a wonderful gift that any couple is sure to enjoy. It is not every day that you receive some delicious homemade treats.

For jarring you can make jellies and syrups out of an assortment of berries, fruits and flavors. If you have some left over from summer than this would be the perfect use. To make the jars look prettier all you need to do is add a circle of cloth to the top and tie it on with a pretty piece of ribbon. Then all you need is a pretty gift bag and a card and you are all set.

However if you want to bake instead of jar then you can make an assortment of cookies and sweet breads. Banana and pumpkin bread are always an enjoyable breakfast treat while chocolate chip cookies are a great classic. Arrange the cookies in a beautiful tin or wrap the bread in plastic wrap and stick them in a basket. This is sure to get a smile out of the bride and groom.

Use Your Creative Side

While I may have hit on something you enjoy doing, there are many wonderful crafts out there that people enjoy doing that would be suitable gifts. Sign makers could make a custom sign of their last name and carpenters could create a beautiful birdhouse for the backyard. Whatever it is you do then create a special gift from your creative skills. I hit on several common hobbies that a lot of women I have met enjoy (knitting, crocheting, sewing, gardening and painting, scrapbooking, baking and jarring). I hope this helps create a memorable wedding gift for your friends or family.