The 10 Best Handmade Gifts for a Best Friend Because Store Bought Just Isn't Good Enough (2020)

DIY Desktop Organiser

• Cereal Boxes
• Toilet Paper Rolls
• Design Paper
• Coloured Paper
• Ruler
• Glue
• Pen
• Cutter
• Cutting Mat
• Scissor
• Bone Folder

• For the base: Pick a cereal box to serve as a base and remove the lid. Take your pick of design paper and mark it where you need to fold it. Fold it along the lines and use the glue to stick it on the box.
• For the first compartment: Take the biggest box of the lot and mark it at 6” from the bottom of the box. Then, cut along the marked lines. Using the design paper, cover the insides and the outsides of the box. Using the glue, stick it on to the base.
• Repeat the last steps and make sure each box is smaller than the previous one.
• If you have toilet paper rolls, add a couple at the last to be pen stands.
• Decorate the desktop organizer as you wish.

Monogrammed Mug

• White coffee mug
• Vinyl alphabet stickers
• Oil-based Sharpies

• Place the vinyl sticker in the centre of the mug. Since it is a gift for your best friend, choose her initials or the first letter of her name.
• Use a metallic sharpie like gold colour and mark the edges of the letter with small dots. The dots should be concentrated on the outline of the letter and sparse as you move out.
• Remove the sticker once you are done.

Phone Case

• Leather or Faux Leather
• Transparent Case
• Scissors
• Knife
• Super Glue

• Trace the shape of the transparent case to the back of the leather.
• Cut out the shape using scissors.
• Use a sharp knife to cut out the camera hole.
• Use the same colour or contrast colour leather and cut out triangles for the textural design.
• Use a super glue and paste the triangles to the main leather piece in a neat line.
• Once its dry trim the edges where ever needed.
• Use the super glue to affix the leather to the transparent case.

iPad Clutch

• Drawer Liner
• Scissors
• Velcro
• Washi Tape

• Measure the length of the iPad and mark the same in the drawer liner.
• Fold it to make a pouch for the iPad. Add about 6 more inches of liner for the flap.
• Use the washi tape and wrap it around the length of the pouch but not the flap.
• Stick a piece of velcro to the pouch and the flap.

Little Birdie Plush

• Your choice of felt and fabric
• Medium size buttons - 2
• Small beads - 2
• Tiny scraps of black and red felt
• Scissors
• Needle and Thread
• Fiberfill
• Pins

• Check out the images as in here and draw them on a piece of paper. Use that to trace the shape on to the back of the felt and cut it out.
• Cut out 2 pieces of the bird’s body, 4 pieces of wings and 4 pieces of legs. The bird’s body is made of fabric and the rest out of felt.
• Stick the belly and the head to the fabric with a pin as shown in the image. Use a needle and thread to stitch it to the fabric which makes the birds body.
• Cut out small circles out of the black felt and use it along with the beads to make the eyes of the bird. Cut out a small square out of the red felt to make beak of the bird and sew it on.
• Turn it inside out and stitch the front and the back portions of the bird together leaving a small space at the bottom to insert the filling.
• Stitch the wrong sides of the wings together to form two wings. Repeat the same for the legs.
• Turn the bird to the right side and fill it with fiberfill.
• Stitch the wings and the legs to the bird. Use the buttons to stitch the wings in place.
• It's optional to add a keychain to the top of the bird to make it into a keychain or a charm.

Twig Votive Candle Holders

• Votive Candles - 3
• Glass Votives - 3
• Gold and Silver Spray Paint
• Twigs from Craft Stores
• Hot Glue Gun & Glue

• Break the twigs roughly the length of the glass votives. Make 3 different piles with 25 twigs in each pile.
• Using your spray paint, paint one pile with gold, the other with silver and the last pile unpainted.
• Using the hot glue gun, apply glue to one side of the twig and press it to the side of the glass votive immediately. Hold it together until it adheres completely.
• Repeat the previous step for all the glass votives and place the candles inside once dry.

Bow Pouch

• 9 inches fabric for outside
• 9 inches fabric for lining
• 9 inches duck cloth for interfacing
• 1″ of 1/4″ wide elastic
• 7″ zipper
• Needle and Thread
• Pins
• Pattern Piece - downloaded

• Print the pattern as shown here and use it to cut out 2 pouch pieces of main fabric, lining and interfacing, 1 rectangle of measurements 5” by 10” and 2 rectangles of measurements 1 ½” by 3 ½”. Both the rectangles should be cut from the main fabric.
• Stack the right sides of one main piece and one lining piece together. Place one interfacing fabric on the main fabric and sew them together ½” from the top.
• Press seam toward lining and topstitch and again in half.
• Repeat steps 2 and 3 again with the remaining pieces. Now you have two pieces of your bag.
• Take the small rectangles and press ½” on both the sides of the rectangles and again fold in half.
• Take the zipper and cut off ½” of the either side to make it the same length as the bag.
• Pin the rectangle pieces to both the sides of the zipper and pin it in place. Once it is held together by the pins, stitch it in place over the zipper.
• Place the zipper on the bag pieces so that the right sides are together. Pin it and sew it at ¼”.
• Repeat the same on the other side.
• Open the zipper and pin the right sides of the bag together. Sew it in place at ½”. Make sure to sew it all the way around.
• Trim the seam allowance and if possible serge it.
• Pinch both the bottom corners of the bag and stitch 2 ½” from the corner.
• Fold the long rectangle longwise and stitch one long end and one short end on the wrong side.
• Pull the right side out and fold it ¼” from the unstitched edge and stitch it close.
• Thread the elastic through the zipper pull and stitch the ends together.
• Thread the rectangle through the elastic and tie it in a knot for the bow.

Rhinestone embellished scarf and gloves

• Scarf and Gloves
• Rhinestones
• Glue

• Lay out your scarf and gloves and place the rhinestones in any design you want. Let your imagination run wild. Make sure to take the picture of your design for future reference.
• Take each stone one by one and use the glue to stitch it to the fabric. If any excess glue is present, wipe it using a tissue.
• Repeat the previous step on the gloves as well as the scarf.

Bath Bomb

• Baking Soda - 8 oz
• Cornstarch - 4 oz
• Epsom Salt - 4 oz
• Cream of Tartar - 4 Tbsp
• Water - ¾ Tbsp
• Essential Oil - 2 Tsp
• Vegetable Oil - 2 ½ Tbsp
• Food Colour - 1 or 2 drops
• Plastic Fillable Ornament

• Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.
• Combine the wet ingredients separately.
• Mix the wet and the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients little by little and keep whisking.
• Pack the mixture tightly in a transparent plastic ornament and close the ornament to get the round shape.
• Let the bath bombs dry overnight.

Scarf Camera Strap

• Scarf
• 2 Chain Closures
• 2 Split Rings
• Needle and Thread
• Scrap of Leather
• Scissors
• Pen

• Draw the shape in the leather as in this image with a pen. The smallest part should fit in the ring and both the sides should be a mirror image of each other.
• Cut out the leather on the lines traced.
• Repeat the steps above to create one more leather piece.
• Connect the split ring to the chain closure.
• Slide the leather in the ring so that the ring is settled in the smallest width of the leather. To slide the leather in the ring, fold the leather lengthwise.
• Place the scarf in the leather and stitch along the edges of the leather.
• Repeat the steps 4 - 6 for the other leather piece and make your scarf camera strap.