DIY Gifts That Don’t Cost a Single Penny

Heart Folding

Heart Folding

Jessa Lopez, Staff Writer

Christmas is just around the corner and people are going back and forth shopping areas and spending quite a large sum of money. To those who are low on budget or has no budget at all, here’s a list of gifts that doesn’t cost you anything.

1. Book Carving

1.Get any old book you wouldn’t use anymore. It needs to be a very thick book for a better result.

2. Open the book and flip open a couple of pages that you want for the covering of the inside of your book. Make it only 5-7 pages.

3. Get an old paint brush and a bottle of glue. Put two to three coatings of glue on the top, right side and bottom side of the book. Place anything but paper between the pages you just glue and didn’t glue. Do not let them stick to each other.

4. Close your book and place a heavy object on top of it. Keep it there for 10 to 15 minutes. Make sure the glue is completely dry when you remove the object.

5. When it is dry, open your book and get a cutter. If you do not know how to handle sharp objects,ask someone for help. Get a ruler and make a square in the middle on the top of your glued pages. The size of your square can be how big you want it to be. I made mine with half an inch on four sides.

6. Now, the rigorous and tiring part. Cut the lines you made on four sides. Do it until you have reached the depth of your liking. And you’re done!

2. Heart Book Folding

1.Get a book of your liking and it doesn’t matter how thick it is but a thicker book looks much better for this project. A hardcover book gives best result in displaying this project.

2.Open your book in the middle and count 40 pages in total. Set these pages apart from the other leftover pages.

3. Use a ruler to mark your pages. The measurements for each page differ for the heart shape to appear. Double check the markings on each pages to make sure you didn’t mess it up. ( See measurements here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Folded-Book-Art-Best-most-clear-Tutorial-available/ )

4. After marking every 40 pages, fold each page according to the markings you made.

3.Christmas Jar

1.Get a mason jar and clean it inside and out.

2. Draw or use a paint to design the outside of your jar. It could be anything you like, but since it is christmas show some Christmas love right there.

3. For the inside of your jar, use white paint to put dots all around it to resemble snow.

4. This step is optional, but put treats or a candle inside your jar to make it more special and meaningful for that special someone you’re going to give it to.