Homemade christmas gift #1

I don't mean to alarm anyone, but did you know it's only 10 weeks till christmas? Gasp! Are you picking yourself up off the floor right now? I am... 

With this unsettling piece of information in mind, I've started a mental list of gift ideas the boys can make for friends, teachers and relatives. Nice idea? I think it is. I like the concept of them putting in their actual own time and effort to make a personal gift for the people who are important to them. I figure it might go some way to reinforce some of the ideals we were raised with that are sometimes forgotten in our over-commercialised world... I want them to think further than a department store when it's time to give. And if that way of thinking is a bit holier than thou for you - the fact that home made presents are easier on the hip pocket might appeal more...

Sooooo, each week between now and christmas I'm going to bring you one homemade gift idea. This is the first...

#1. The illustrated ceramic...

For very little cash, a trip to the Hot Dollar store can see you able to stock up on decent plain white ceramic pieces that you can easily decorate yourself at home. We found some lovely little white French Cafe style bowls for only $1.50 each. They'll stack really nicely and a set of 3 for each gift will be more than generous from 2 little fellas.

We picked up a Pebeo Porcelaine 150 ceramic pen from Spotlight or the local art supply store for under $9. Such a clever invention! It's basically a marker pen with special ink inside it that you can use to write and draw on ceramic pieces, bake them in a moderate oven and presto! It's permanent! Genius! The pens come in a range of colours but our art store only had black in stockso black it is. That's fine by me anyway, I'm all about monochrome. 

So that tally's up to a total of around $5 per gift, and I know that these gifts will be the most treasured gift the grandparents will get this christmas. (and we all know those kids of presents earn us parents lots of brownie points that can be used for babysitting at a later date - if you know what I mean....). Check out the full tutorial over here, and then set your wee ones loose on the crockery!