Shopping Tips for the 25 Days of Christmas: Tip #20

I received some great emails regarding my shopping tips about making gifts (and not really doing all that much shopping!) and shopping handmade. Of course I network with other artists and creative types and those kind of gift-giving tips are ones that are near and dear to us!

It then dawned upon me that there is a fantastic Holiday shopping/Holiday gift-giving tip combines a "Do-It-Yourself" aesthetic and creating something "Handmade" with what you already have in your possession...

HOLIDAY SHOPPING TIP #20:

Look to what you already own that you can embellish or improve upon to re-purpose and give as a one-of-a-kind gift!

This is not "re-gifting" or doing any kind of "White Elephant" type gift. I once had a circle of friends and we passed around this really ugly (in our humble opinions) purse that one of them had received as a gift from their grandmother. Of course it was done tongue-in-cheek, but it almost became a gift of "hot potato"...who could get rid of that purse the quickest?! This is not getting rid of a fruit cake or some other odd gift you have received!

Instead, this tip is about re-purposing, and creating something completely new and different out of something that you may already own. I have a friend who is giving people on her list scarves that she has beaded and embellished. She has taken smaller scarves and pieced and sewn them together into large wraps, then crocheted borders and painstakingly beaded accents onto the silk. She has taken something that she already owned, but did not use (and that she acquired from ebay, garage sales, vintage finds, etc.), and made these items into something extraordinary. What an amazing gift!

Think of how you can re-purpose items that you no longer use that can make them special and unique for friends and loved ones!

Shopping Tips for the 25 Days of Christmas: Tip #18

To accompany my last Shopping Tip #17 (DIY this holiday for gift-giving!) I thought it would be important to also pass along another related shopping tip that is certainly near and dear to my heart...

HOLIDAY SHOPPING TIP #18:

Buy HANDMADE gifts this holiday season!

I love handmade gifts. I love that someone took the time to make something by hand. I enjoy that passion for their talent and gift. I really dig the idea of supporting an entrepreneur and not a huge corporation. Of course I love some really amazing brand products, however, I also truly appreciate how hard an individual works at creating something that is often one-of-a-kind or something that simply cannot and should not be replicated in a factory somewhere!

So, support an artisan this holiday season, buy local, buy handmade!