I am having a blast making homemade gifts for my friends and family members this year!!!  How about you guys???  Well recently I posted a blog about homemade Christmas and how our family is cutting WAY back on gift giving.  Some of the reason of course is a tight budget and the seemingly always rise of cost of living expenses.  The other reason??? Because some (not all, don't think I am preaching, because I am not) store bought gifts are thoughtless, and think about it.  Is that person going to use it, or stuff it in a drawer and sell it at their next yard or garage sale?  LMSO

I wanted our Christmas this year to be filled with joy and not fretting over what to give.  I want all the presents we give to be from the heart and for us this year, alot of that means homemade.  I am putting alot of thought into each person's gift and I hope they appreciate all the time and effort I am going into making them as well!!

I had a commenter ask ifI had any homemade ideas for a 15 year old boy, and I thought,  sure, I will just right a blog about it!!

I have a few upper teen and lower twenties guys I am going to be making for, so here are a few of my ideas for them:

1.  A "special pillowcase" with lots of zippered and other pockets in it to carry stuff in.  An ipod shaped pocket of course is a must!

2.  An ipod cozy!!!  You can crochet these, sew them, make them from felt.  Google ipod cozy and you should find many ideas on this one.

3.  A  T-shirt quilt!  This is one I am using for my hubby this year.  He has a collecton of old (and very well worn, little pinholes in them, etc.) Christian T-shirts that he will not let go of.  I have bouught him new ones and he loves the new ones, but he still wears the ratty ones.  To get them out of circulation, I am going to cut the designs out, sew them together with fabric strips and make them into a blanket.  This one will be a 9 t-shirt quilt, but if your boy has many many t's....then make them into a twin sized cover or larger.  (This is an excellent idea for a boy going off to college to display his quilt on his bed at college!!)

4.  A fleece scarf or fleece blanket.  You can buy all kinds of fleece now, some with college team logos on them even.  Find out his favorite team and buy some fleece and sew up a scarf or blanket, or if you don't sew, cut you can blanket stitch or just cut and fringe the ends!  Let him show off his team spirit with a wonderful homemade gift.

5.  A blue jean blanket.  I am making one of these for my 22 year old nephew.  He recently married my neice and he is a farm boy through and through.  I think he will love the blanket and of course I am making it big enough so he and his new wife can cuddle under it together.  I have been collecting jeans from friends and family as they clean out their closets, and buying bags full at the thrift shop for only 10 cents a piece, so this is a cheap present. 

As I said before, some of these presents I have intentions in making before Christmas for presents, so when I get them done, I will post pics of them on my craft blog:  www.homesteadblogger.com/craftypudding

Feel free to visit my posts there anytime to get ideas or inspiration for your own craftiness!!!