Hello friends!

I’ve been collecting homemade gift ideas for a while and wanted to share a few cute ones with you in today’s post. A homemade goodie adds a touch of thoughtfulness and meaning to a celebration. These ideas will be a joy to create as well as give if you’re into gardening, cooking, painting, or writing.

Enjoy these 8 special gift ideas with a cottagecore aesthetic.

PAINTED/PRESSED FLOWER CANDLESTICKS

This is one of my favorite ideas. Candles are nice gifts because they can be used up and don’t add to clutter – although these beauties might be too pretty to burn! 

HOW TO MAKE IT | For the pressed flower candles, find some pretty herbs, weeds (like buttercups), or wildflowers to press under heavy books for several days. Using a tweezers if need be, carefully coat the back of each bloom with glue and press onto the base of the candlesticks. Flowers don’t burn well, so keep them near the bottom if you don’t want to impede the use of the candle. For painted candlesticks, I used acrylic paint and carefully brushed on some whimsical patterns.

WHAT TO PAIR IT WITH | Pretty candlesticks, a cute matchbox or lighter, a beautiful edition of a classic book, or a mug + some of your favorite tea.

propagated houseplants

Lots of houseplants, especially pothos vines, wandering jew plants, and hens and chicks, can be easily propagated and shared with friends.

HOW TO MAKE IT | For best results, look up your specific plant and find a dedicated tutorial. Many vining plants, like this pothos, can be propagated by cutting off the end of a vine a little below a leaf node and sticking the stem in a jar of water for a couple of weeks. Once you see a good amount of roots in the jar, transplant the start into a pot filled with soil and voila! A brand new plant. My sister also likes to grow avocado plants from the pits or seeds. Mine is flourishing as you can see in the bottom right corner.

WHAT TO PAIR IT WITH | A lovely flowerpot, a glass prism for the window, or a macrame plant holder. With some appropriate rope and Pinterest tutorials, I made both of these holders myself – it’s not too difficult!

custom-filled journal

This one is more in-depth and is best for very close friends or family, but it’s also a super personal and thoughtful gift.

HOW TO MAKE IT | Years ago I filled a leather journal with letters, memories, stories, sketches, and pretty collages for my long-distance best friend and gave it to her right before she got married. It was such a special gift for me to create and her to receive. I wrote a whole post about it, so if you’re interested, check out this post for more details. Since then I’ve filled a couple more journals for myself, including the one pictured below.

WHAT TO PAIR IT WITH | These journals are special enough that you don’t really need to pair it with anything. Wrapping it up nicely in a pretty box is a great way to enhance the experience.

embroidered clothing/tote bags/etc.

Embroidery adds a lovely touch to even very plain clothes. You can try a pair of jeans, shorts, a blank t-shirt; or other items like tote bags, pillowcases, wall hangings, etc.

HOW TO MAKE IT | I looked up a tutorial on Pinterest for this daisy stitch and then repeated it all over an old pair of jeans. (They look wrinkly here because I sun-dried them after the last wash, haha.) If you’re a beginner to embroidery, I recommend starting with just the pockets or adding a few flowers to the hem lines rather than going over the whole thing because this took forever, phew! I really love how it turned out though.

WHAT TO PAIR IT WITH | Fun printed socks for embroidered clothing or books/magazines/art supplies filling an embroidered tote.

Clay Mushroom terrarium

You can make many fun little gifts with polymer or air dry clay, but these mushrooms are my favorite idea. Use them in terrariums or on their own.

HOW TO MAKE IT | I used air dry clay for these mushrooms, but I’d recommend polymer clay since the air dry variety can get wet again when exposed to moisture. Sculpt mushrooms – small and domed for terrariums or large and flat for candleholders – and follow the package directions for drying/baking. Paint with acrylics and seal.

WHAT TO PAIR IT WITH |  Fill a flower pot with moss, rocks, and your mushrooms. Or gift as part of a terrarium kit if the gift recipient would enjoy creating their own.

Favorite Things art print

I originally made this as a Christmas gift for my husband while we were dating. Now I sell custom prints in my Etsy shop, so you can order one if you don’t want to paint it! (Note: custom prints will not be available until mid-June when I’m back from vacation.)

HOW TO MAKE IT | First, compile a list of the gift recipient’s favorite things, foods, objects, music, places, etc.; as well as inside jokes and special memories you share with them. Start with a rough sketch to fit everything together. Then make a final piece with watercolor and pen or your favorite art medium. You could also create a digital art version)

WHAT TO PAIR IT WITH | Their favorite candy. If this is a finished art piece, you can frame it and gift it. You could also make a small version as a card to accompany other gifts.

Rose jelly

Harvest rose petals from your backyard for all sorts of fun concoctions, including delicious and beautiful rose jelly.

HOW TO MAKE IT | Use the jelly recipe on your Sure Jell packet – I followed the recipe for mint jelly but substituted the same amount of rose petals for mint leaves. Basically you boil rose petals to get “rose tea,” to which you then add sugar and fruit pectin, creating a fruity, subtly floral spread.

WHAT TO PAIR IT WITH |  A loaf of homemade bread (sourdough!) and maybe homemade butter too. You can also bottle some of the rose water after boiling and before adding sugar to use as a facial spray.

flower Bouquet

A simple but lovely idea, especially for a hostess gift or a “get well soon” present.

HOW TO MAKE IT | Use homegrown, wild, or locally picked flowers if possible. Add greenery to make it look extra fancy. I used herbs like mint, rosemary, and sage in this bouquet from my mom’s garden. I’ve also used foliage from my backyard many a time: forsythia, honeysuckle, azalea, privet, and lots of other greenery and bushes work well.

WHAT TO PAIR IT WITH |  Arrange in a pretty vase or a mason jar tied with ribbon. Gift it with flower seeds or a cute watering can.

If you liked these ideas, pin the graphic below to save them for later!

I hope you enjoyed those fun craft ideas. 🙂 I’ve quite enjoyed making or gifting all the things on this list and hope you do too!

Which gift would you most want to make? What are *your* favorite DIY gift ideas?

Thanks so much for reading, my friends, and have a lovely day!

***Allison***

P. S. WordPress informed me that today is my 9th blogging anniversary. Wow. 9 years is a long time. Let’s get to 10, shall we? Thanks for coming along for the ride. 🙂