Make it or buy it?

Being a stay at home mom there is this weird cycle of having a decent amount of free time and then all of a sudden you have heaps of creative projects cluttering up your counter or desk space and no time to finish them properly. I found this especially frustrating during the Christmas season as I undertook gift making projects. I thought I would share some of what I learned. 1. Consider the cost of the supplies you need. This means being aware of how much money you are putting into the project. If your whole reason for making gifts is to save money you need to chose projects that have inexpensive supplies and/or supplies that can be used for more than one project. If you have several different crafts you are going to be making and each has a separate set of supplies that can really add up fast. I chose projects that overlapped the more costly supplies. For example; I made coasters and photo magnets. Each craft did have items that were specific to them but those were not too costly while the glue and paper were. I purchased an 8oz jar of Mod Podge and used it for both crafts and still have some left over and I can assure you-I will find uses for it. I stayed away from projects that required different kinds of Mod Podge (like glitter, matte finish etc.) so that I didn't end up with 5 bottles of stuff that I might not use again. Card stock paper can be used in pretty much any craft and I already had some on hand so that was money well spent months ago. 2. Consider the timeline on the craft. Is this a craft/project that you can start and stop or is it one that requires constant attention or effort from start to finish? Having young children, 2 in diapers and 1 nursing, I needed projects that I could stop at any time without ruining the whole thing. That meant no candle making for me because while melting the wax you have to be right there the whole time or you might end up with a mess (or a fire). I also nixed any plans for large scale cookie making as once the oven beeps you have to get those things out of the oven. I opted instead for no bake items like rice crispie treats and haystacks. 3. Consider HOW MANY of each craft you can make at a time. This is important too because if it takes you an hour to make one item and you have several people on your list that is a lot of time spent that you could be spending with your kids, keeping up on housework or catching up on your Netflix que. The coasters I chose to make were simple to mass produce. With a good paper cutter you can cut several photos or pieces of cardstock to size at a time, it takes seconds to glue it down and add one layer on top and then you have to wait at least 15 minutes until you add another coat. It worked great! Once I was finished with the 3 layers recommended, I laid them all out (all 20 of em!) and using a clear acrylic gloss spray, I sealed them off nicely. The most time consuming part was adding the cork pads to each corner but that was something I could start and stop at anytime and realistically only took about 15 seconds per tile and that was me trying really hard to make it look even and professional looking. Here is a link that started me on my craft making for the holidays: http://www.the36thavenue.com/2011/11/25-handmade-gifts-under-5.html The tile coasters are #5 on the list. I also tried the Jersey knit bracelets. They take a little more time and not as much fabric as you might think. I got a yard of jersey knit and made 6 bracelets for kids plus 3 for their little dolls (like an American Girl size)and had enough left over to make a few scarves! There is no sewing and I love the feel. I think I will make more but in more spring/summer colors instead of the Christmasy red. All in all I was pretty pleased with my choices. We save a lot of money by making these and I even had supplies left over so I got to make a few extra for family and friends out of state! The coasters were my favorite as they can be made to be very useful or they can be made to be more like wall art. I made a set for my Husband but instead of using cardstock I used photos of our kids and embellished them with cardstock underlays and glitter letter stickers spelling out each childs name. He decided that he could not use those to hold his coffee cups and instead wants to hang them up on our walls. That led to me using more expensive glass tiles for a relatives birthday present. Instead of spending 20 cents on a tile (or cheaper if you go to a resale store) you are looking at spending $2-$3 a piece. Dear hubby was of the mind that the colors were nicer looking, the edges were smoother to the touch and the backs were not the rough stone of traditional tile. I still put pads underneath but it was more to keep them from sliding than to protect any surface it would be placed on. The lesson I learned-you CAN save money crafting gifts if you keep the above things in mind, especially when making several items. Good luck and happy crafting!!