DIY Life

If you have quite a few paper grocery bags taking up space in your house, waiting for the perfect use to come around, why not use them to wrap Christmas gifts? Of course, not all paper bags are pretty, so you would have to get the kiddies to decorate them and actually get the bags ready to use as gift wrap. After all, there is a difference between being frugal and being tacky.

Apartment Therapy has step by step pictures that show us how to recycle paper grocery bags into gift tags. What an excellent way to use up paper bags! There shouldn't be much waste, especially if you use the whole paper bag. Kids will be happy to decorate the gift tags for you too, so all you should have to do is cut the tag shape, punch the hole if you are going to use ribbon, and write the name of the gift recipient. Cheap, frugal, and downright environmentally friendly!

Before you decide to throw away your old t-shirts, skirts and pillowcases, why not think about using them to line reusable shopping bags? Families.com gives us ideas on how to sew shopping bags from linens and jeans.

Using towels, jeans, pillowcases, old belts, and whatever else you want to recycle into the shopping bags will help to save the environment, simply because you won't be throwing away the endless supply of plastic bags that you come home with from each shopping excursion. Pure genius!! With a little sewing know-how, you can create as many shopping bags as you need, and maybe make some cool reusable bags to give your loved ones as Christmas gifts.

Are you still looking for the perfect Christmas gift to give to that hard-to-buy-for person? Does said person like to wear t-shirts? Maybe they have a dresser full or closet full of every color and design of t-shirt ever made.

Even if that is the case, you can still surprise them with a unique design you made yourself, with the help of Instructable user FreshPineSent. The step by step instructions and pictures provided make stenciling a t-shirt with freezer paper look like an incredible easy and simple last minute Christmas project.

I think it would be much more fun to make your own design, using the paint colors you want for that perfect t-shirt gift. If you decide to find a design from the web, you'll still have the perfect handmade Christmas present, because your unique t-shirt will be crafted by you.

I procrastinate when it comes to buying gifts. I love the people I am buying for, but I just don't have the time to stand in a store aisle wondering whether or not the recipient would like such a gift. I think that is why I am determined to make all my gifts this year.

The recipient of a handmade gift will be very pleased that you thought of them enough to take the time to make something special, rather than wandering aimlessly down store aisles. JournalStar.com has a list of eleven handmade gifts to make before Christmas arrives. These eleven gifts, including domino magnets, dog biscuits, oven mitts, shaker ornaments, and personalized candles, will be sure to make someone on your gift giving list very happy.

With the list, you should be able to find something handmade to make that will please even the most hard-to-please gift recipients. Seriously, who doesn't love candles, nuts or chocolate?

[via:Curbly]

Winter is not my favorite time of the year, as I have a metal rod attached to my backbone. Now that the cold weather is here,my husband has to hear me complain on a daily basis about my aching, tired and sore back muscles.

Sore muscles are no fun to deal with, but Tipnut tells us how to make microwave heating pads that will soothe all of our aches and pains. You can sew two pieces of cloth together and fill with rice, corn, flax seed, or barley. In addition, you can add different scents and spices, such as lavender, rose petals, ginger, nutmeg, or mint to help ease your aching, sore, and tired muscles. You can use a sock, or even a plastic zipper bag if you are in a pinch and need comfort now.

Experiment with the scents and fillers that work well for you and your aches and pains. Making homemade microwave heating pads is nicer than buying them, though, as you get to choose the filler, fabric and scents that you need. If you're so inclined, you can make them as Christmas gifts too, and give them to the pain sufferers in your life.

Many businesses use Styrofoam to cushion the items they ship to their customers. I save the Styrofoam pieces I receive and reuse them to ship fragile items to my online customers. They do tend to pile up sometimes, as I sell more clothing than I do fragile items.

Rather than let your Styrofoam pieces accumulate or send them off to the garbage, DIY Maven gives us a step by step tutorial on how to make wall art out of Styrofoam. She received a promotional package from Dow Chemical with all the necessary supplies to make cool wall art.

If you happen to have scrapbook paper, glue, ribbon, wall hangers, and lots of Styrofoam, then Curbly.com's project will be right up your alley. Consider making wall art for your trendy friends and giving Styrofoam wall art as Christmas gifts. Your friends and loved ones will be awed by your creativity.