Easy Homemade Holiday Gifts

To scrapbook records by hand, follow the directions for CDs. To scrapbook the larger records digitally, you’ll need a printer that is capable of printing out 12-by-12-inch sheets. If your printer can’t handle that size of paper, you’ll have to make them by hand. A regular printer should work fine for digitally scrapbooking 45s.

Homemade Picture Frames
There are many ways to create a personalized frame for a loved one. From pets to cars to family and friends, the options are endless.

When my dad’s horse, Sandy, passed away at the age of 24, I decided to make a memorial frame. I bought a 12-inch-by-12-inch frame, found a photo and a vellum quote that fit the occasion, gathered some rub-on letters and punches, picked out a pattern paper for the background, and found a couple of solid colors to use for matting the photo. (Matting is simply adding blocks of paper behind a photo to give it a layered look.) I put it all together, and it was finished in less than an hour.

For a friend who is expecting a child, a baby frame is a great gift. All it takes is an unfinished frame, scrapbook paper and a few stickers. Glue the paper to the frame, then attach the stickers. In less than 20 minutes, you have a completed baby frame.

Everyone has old family photographs they would be proud to showcase. Take one of those photos and digitally scrapbook it by adding a quote and scrapbook paper. Place the finished page in a wooden frame, wrap it in holiday paper, add a bow and a tag, and you have a special gift sure to please.

We all love our four-legged friends, and there’s no better way to pay tribute to their memory than with a pet memorial frame. Find a frame, a photo of the pet you’re honoring, and a nice poem. Then head to the computer and create a digital scrapbook memorial page. You can scrapbook it by hand, if preferred, just remember to keep the designed page flat, without a lot of layering, so the glass and cardboard covering will fit back in the frame.

A fantastic gift for a car enthusiast is a car frame. Years ago, my dad bought and restored a 1958 Pontiac Star Chief, and he wrote a poem about it. To showcase the poem and the car, I purchased an unfinished 12-inch-by-12-inch frame, typed up the poem, and printed it out on beige cardstock, which I antiqued using distressing chalk. I matted that onto solid cardstock using brads that look like screws for a masculine effect.

Using the same solid cardstock, I covered the frame, carefully cutting around the photo opening. Next I took beige paper with a distressed design and tore it for a weathered look. I glued it over the solid paper on the bottom half of the frame, with the torn sections running up the sides of the frame. Then I attached the matted poem and added a metal charm.

Along the left side of the photo, I used black rub-on letters for the title. On the right side, I attached hemp string to a metal charm and glued the charm to the page, then taped the string on the back. The frame is a precious tribute to my dad and the antique car he was so proud of restoring.