dorm gifts?

[krazykt1286]

i wanna make presents for friends here @ school and some @ home...but alas, poor college student...i need ideas for cheap-ish presents i can make. ones that could be made in bulk would be especially appreciated. i'd like to be able to give girls on my floor a little something, but i may just go w/ cards...

i def. need actual presents for the boyfriend and roomie and a couple other girls on my floor...

if details about the people would help, i'll definitely add, i'm just super sleepy and attempting to study chemistry right now. not good.

THANKS in advance for any help! it's VERY much appreciated!

[Meginski]

I was thinking of filling little Chinese food boxes or gift bags with peppermint bark,chocolate covered Oreos or vanilla wafers and other treats i can make in my microwave for my dorm neighbors. I can't really help you with your boyfriend or roomie without knowing what they like, but my boyfriend has been asking for framed pictures of me and handknit mittens (a boy who appreciates knitting! It's true love!) and my roommate love's Jimmy Stewart so I'm thinking of either buying her a movie poster, or painting my own version of the Vertigo poster with Kim Novak and Jimmy Stewart kissing, but replacing Kim Novak with my roommate. Depends on how many papers i have to write.

[veganmom]

Go to your nearest walmart and in the craft aea buy:

bags of potpourri
1-2 yards of tulle at 57 cents a yard dpending on how many you are making.
1-2 spools of ribbon.
1 pack of clear pony tails.

Cut the tulle in 8 - 12 inch squares. You can make this as big or small as you like.

Stack 2 layers. Put some potpourri in the center. Bring the corners up and tie the bundle with a clear ponytail.  Then cover the pony tail with a fancy ribbon bow.

Tada! Almost instant sachets.

And if your budget and inclination allow, you can add extra frou frou like wire flowers, tassels, jingle bells, etc to the ribbon.

HTH!
V.

[ebeth]

the year my first child was born...i started my presents in december...i made everyone scarfs...i think i used a skein of yarn for each and i just garter stitched them...i used a chunkier yarn (i think it was lion brand homespun) i think its like $5 a skein...i dont know if that it is too pricey for your budget or not...everyone seemed really pleased with the scarves...

[talmina]

The chinese food boxes idea is a cute one for the girls on your floor.  Just make sure you allow for dietary issues etc 

I think we will need more info on the BF, roomie and other friends though.

[craftADDchick]

If you have access to a mega-craft store (like Michael's or AC Moore), you could buy a bead mix that has color coordinated glass accent beads with a bunch of seed beads (the kind that comes in a plastic box with dividers) and a bit of memory wire. You could very easily whip up a bunch of bracelets (and if your budget allowed, some matching earrings!). And, if you wanted, you could pick up a bunch of nice "focal" beads (Blue Moon Beads has some decent prices on small {4-5 beads} strands of lampwork beads, for example) to give each bracelet an extra dash of style. If you used a coil-and-a-half, you could probably get a bunch of bracelets out of one pack of memory wire.

Or, instead of making all of the bracelets yourself, (since studying is important and time may be limited!) you could give each girl a little bag with a length of memory wire and enough beads to make a bracelet...type up some instructions...and then either have everyone get together before they scatter for the holiday break to assemble the bracelets...or when the semester starts up again, have a "showing" of the bracelets that everyone made over the break!

For tools, you'd just need some decent wire snips (memory wire can be tough to cut) and a strong pair of pliers to bend the ends of the wire into a loop

Everyone would not only make a bracelet, but a fun memory, too!

[CraftyCoug]

One of my RAs made us little winter/finals gifts last year - 1 packet of hot chocolate mix w/ marshmellows and a candy cane to stir with.  Maybe grab some cheap-o coffee mugs at Shopko or WalMart.

You could get little journals at the Dollar Store and decorate them.  Very cute if they even just have a brown paper bag cover.

As for "definite presents," I usually find something that my bf thinks that he couldn't continue life without and get that.  Like 2 years ago his palm pilot crashed in November so I grabbed one on Ebay for $84 (I had a job, so I wasn't a totally broke college student, but that was spendy for the times!).  Last year I got him a set of Star Wars legos because he loves both.  I did crochet him little bears for V-day last year, too.  That was a big hit

As for roomies, I usually did something like pictures or some kind of hand knit.  What about a little decorated storage box?  I know I always had loads of crap taking up space on my desk and a little box would have been a great thing.  OOH! *Spontaneous thought*  what about one of those cute ribbon bulletin boards that you don't need tacks for?  You can get 12" squares of cork most places and with some glue and upholstery tacks, that is a fun project!  Even if you were to just buy supplies and have a little crafting party!  (We did that as a program once and it was a total blast, bought the "assorted" bag of ribbon at JoAnns and 1/2 yds of several different fabrics)  Just be careful to use glue that will hold, white glue's not good and cool melt hot glue isn't great...

[ebeth]

i have another thought....decorate d picture frames...my friend did that one year for a bunch of people...he bought them from ikea... for super cheap...and painted some...and glued stuff onto others (feathers, googly eyes, glitter, etc)...whatever supplies we had laying around....


oh...here it is...ikea link (3 for $1.99)....
http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10103&storeId=12&langId=-1&productId=11197

[me57132]

for the girls, some home made lip gloss would be cool, and mabye some holiday cookies.

I got an idea for the people you are going to make gifts for...Pjay pants! Get some cheap fleece if it is cold where you live, or if it is kinda warm, some regular fabric will do.

[jellyfish8706]

there's a pattern floating around craftster for some 20 minute crochet slilppers.  They actually took me 20 minutes/slipper... but that's besides the point.  I made the slippers and then decorated them all fancy and i'm giving them to my sister.  It was fast and free because I already had the yarn (less than a skein) in my room.