Some of the most challenging gifts to give are those for friends or colleagues that we feel close enough to that we want to give them a gift at Christmas, but we aren’t close enough to know where to begin in choosing a gift. We also may struggle with balancing not spending enough or overdoing it.

Thankfully, the walls of gift cards available at many stores make this a one-stop shopping trip for all our casual gifting needs. But what about those times when that feels a little too “canned” – even for someone outside of our closest circles?

This year I stumbled on a gift combination that I will be utilizing this year and moving forward. I call it the HYBRID gift option. It’s a HYBRID because it includes a gift card of some value (this depends on the person and where they are in our circles) and some sort of hand made gift. After watching a number of YouTube videos, and considering a few existing ideas, I settled on this year’s “extra“: a fabric covered notebook.

The double-bonus for fiber artists is that gifting projects like this can be terrific stash-busting activities.

Most will recognize these books, as many of us used these extensively in high school (a while back, of course). These are available in many stores, but I picked these up in the local discount store for $1.00 each.

The next step was to find appropriate fabric in pieces big enough to cover the front and back panels, and to check on my supply of Heat & Bond. Having sewn for (many) decades, I have fabric galore, so I picked up some additional Heat & Bond, and got to work.

The first one I made as my “practice” piece, and figured I would use myself and see if this would be a 1-year thing, or something I keep as an option, into the future. I had material from a skirt I had made years ago – cotton fabric with a paisley print on a black background. It was perfect, so I got to work.

I attached the front and back panels, leaving the spine alone. This leaves a raw edge right before the spine, so I glued ribbon over the edge of the fabric, and then added a thin line of silver glitter glue down each side of the ribbon for some added glitz. I was feeling festive, so I also added small, mostly flat gold rhinestones in the middle of a couple flowers (there are 2 on this one), as well as tiny clear rhinestones in the centers of a couple other flowers (the blueish shimmer in the photo is easiest to see of these).

I was so pleased with how it turned out, I began to dig out more fabric scraps and ribbon.

As a dedicated thrifter, and having the great good fortune of living in a community with a Center for Creative Reuse, I have collected more than a few additional sewing and craft supplies, so I gathered those together as well and got started on more of them, now that I had the process down and felt it to be a viable gift option.

The coffee themed one was gifted casually and immediately embraced as “cool” while the holiday themed one was given as a formal gift, and accompanied by a Starbucks gift card. This recipient was even MORE appreciative when I shared that all of the supplies to make the gift AND the “wrapping” (the ribbons and yarn) were thrifted, aside from the notebook. She said that knowing this made it even more special.

NOTE: this friend is also a dedicated thrifter – mostly for ecological reasons; so I knew she would approve AND appreciate that aspect of her gift.

The 3rd one with the white cat outlines on black is still in the works, but coming along nicely. One of the things that makes these gifts so wonderful is that we can make them truly personal – plus no die cutting machine needed.

The coffee themed notebook went to someone who is well-known to love her coffee in many forms, and the musical one went to a professional musician. The cats are for someone who loves cats, and I have at least 3 more ideas that I hope to turn into gifts before Xmas Eve, which is less than 3 days away!

The ability to “shop my stash” and find the makings to complete a gift is as much fun as shopping, and without the added expense.

I’ve enjoyed these so much I am thinking about how to do this with quilted front panels; with appliqué where I’d have a solid or small print piece for the background, and a contrasting shape appliqued on top. The variations are endless, and will keep me working on that stash upstairs for a while past the holidays this year.

I am already thinking about how I can do some version of this with the mini Composition notebooks which come 4 in a pack for $1.25 at the other Dollar store. The target for those creations may be Valentine’s Day.

Finding the “perfect” gift can be stressful – no matter who it is – but we rarely go wrong when we give with intention, and include something that we’ve made, just for them.

Happy last-minute crafting to all!

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