Unique, Personalized DIY Gifts

Personalized, do-it-yourself gifts are always appreciated, especially in a world full of generic gift cards. They tell your recipient that a lot of thought was put into them, and that alone will make them feel special. Next time you are stumped for ideas on what to get the person who has everything, consider these unique do-it-yourself gifts.

Premade scrapbooks make wonderful gifts because they offer the recipient the ability to create a beautiful scrapbook album without having any supplies or prior experience. With a premade scrapbook, all the work has been done for you. In fact, all that is left for you to do is adhere your favorite photos to the provided mats and enjoy!

There are so many programs available to make custom slideshows and many of these programs are free (Windows Movie Maker, Slide.com, PhotoStory, etc.) Choose your favorite photos and add meaningful music to create CDs and DVDs your recipient can cherish for years to come.

Make personalized bracelets by shopping for beads your recipients’ favorite colors or birthstones. Add to the effect by using letter charms to spell out your recipient’s name.

Shadow boxes make wonderful gifts because an endless amount of personal items can be added. Shadow boxes can be bought at any local craft or custom framing shop. All that is left for you to do is place inside all of your momentos and keepsakes.

Photo sharing sites such as Snapfish, Zazzle and VistaPrint offer personalized gifts based on your uploaded digital photos. Among these offerings are photo calendars which serve as wonderful remembrances of all your special events from that year. These calendars can be kept and transformed into memorable keepsakes to be cherished not just for that year, but for all years to come.

Create personalized photo quilts by transferring your favorite digital photos onto transfer paper which can then be ironed on to fabric blocks to create an entire quilt. These quilts can be used for baby cribs, as bed quilts, or as wall hangings.

Custom made cross stitch patterns can easily be created with software programs such as PC Stitch. PC Stitch will enable you to upload any of your favorite photos and will transfer them into a cross stitch pattern for you to create the project of your choice. Though these projects are time-consuming, the effort put into them is undeniable and will undoubtedly be highly appreciated.

Nowadays, digital music is readily available and users are able to download specific songs without having to buy entire albums. Pick and choose 10-20 songs that are most meaningful to your recipient and record them to a CD. Add a personalized CD case to finish the thought.