December 2006
Taking a break from Q&A this month for CHEAP BUT THOUGHTFUL GIFTS!
Make cards. Not hard, especially if you head to your nearest craft store and pick up colored cardstock and a few stamps. You can also get creative and use ribbon, which tends to be a cheap and fun way to dress up a card.
Need card ideas? Head to Stampin' Up! Website and check out their online catalog. Not to buy anything, but just to look at their examples for ideas on how to make your own cards.
http://www.stampinup.com/
Do your friends wear barrettes, combs, clips? Buy a few plain ones and decorate them with flowers, ribbons, beads, feathers, whatever! All you need is the decorations and a cheap glue-gun from your local craft store.
You can have a theme for each girlfriend--Asian, or Texan, or butterflies, or sunflowers--and make unique hair accessories for each one.
Do you knit or crotchet? Make winter scarves! Nowadays there's really cool colored and textured yarns you can use. You can also personalize each scarf for each friend with an applique or decoration like a silk flower or feather or whatever.
Make a picture! Use scrapbooking techniques on a photograph, or maybe write out a verse or a poem. You can also make a collage of things cut out from photos or magazines that represent your specific friendship. Frames are cheap at Target or Walmart.
Do you do beading? Make cell-phone trinkets, necklaces, bracelets, or anklets! You can buy beads at your local store or online. Pick beads that are fun and special for each individual friend.
Are you a writer? Write a cute short story starring your friend(s)! Print it out or have it copied onto nice heavy-weight paper. You can have your local Kinko's bind it for you, too. If you're feeling adventurous, illustrate it or design a cool cover.
Buy books! (You knew this was coming, right?) Mine isn't out yet, but there are lots of great and inexpensive Christian fiction books at your local Barnes and Noble or Christian bookstore.
Steeple Hill/Love Inspired books and Heartsong Presents books tend to be cheapest (they're the small mass-market paperback sizes) but you can also buy anthologies of romance stories published by Barbour in trade paperback sizes that are also relatively inexpensive.
If your friends like horror or suspense, there are lots of great Christian authors like Brandilyn Collins (suspense), Colleen Coble (romantic suspense), T.L. Hines (thriller/horror), Ted Dekker (suspense/thriller), Robin Parrish (thriller), Eric Wilson (horror), Robert Liparulo (horror), Chris Well (mystery), Wanda Dyson (suspense), Rene Gutteridge (romantic suspense/mystery), Randy Ingermanson (suspense). Books tend to be anywhere from $12 to $20 (if it's a hardcover)--a little more expensive, but do-able for a good friend.
For Christian chick-lit, I have a whole slew of titles on my website:
http://www.camytang.com/chicklit.html
You can also get books autographed by the author at Signed By the Author website:
http://signedbytheauthor.com/
Have a happy holiday season!
Camy
Do you have a question for Camy? E-mail us!
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