Tag Archives: for him

Top Handmade Gift Ideas For Your Loved One This Christmas

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With Christmas now only a matter of weeks away, it’s time to finally get started on the mammoth task of the Christmas shopping – time to traipse through every single store on the high street and attempt to tick off every item on your wish-lists as quickly and as easy, as physically possible.

All-in-all, everyone in your family is pretty easy to buy for; the kids know exactly what they want, your mum has given you a strict set of instructions and your dad is happy with any item that’s either a book or a CD. Sorted, right? Not quite. Because there’s one last person you need to buy for; lovely other half. And, you have absolutely no clue what to get them.

If I’m talking to all of you females out there, you know that no book, CD, aftershave or even stylish jumper is going to solve your problem, after all, you’ve already bought him hundreds of these. And, if I’m talking to you boyfriends out there, well, you’re guaranteed to get the jewellery wrong and flowers don’t quite cut it for Christmas. You’re in dire need of some help.

Well, it’s time to get creative. Because, if you’re dab hand at being  creative, then making your own Christmas presents is the perfect way to surprise your loved one this year. As well as helping to cut down the cost of Christmas, they’ll also add a bit of sentiment to your gifts that no shop could ever provide.

So, grab any craft materials you get your hands on and take a little inspiration for some of the ideas below:

For Him : An iPad Cover:

So, you may wonder how on earth you’re going to tackle making an iPad case for your man, but believe me when I say that it’s actually relatively simple.

All you need is a bit of felt, cotton lining material, some wadding, a needle and thread, some Velcro.

Method:

1. Cut out rectangles measuring 11¼in (28.5cm) x 16½ in (42cm) from the felt, cotton and wadding. Layer the wadding, felt and cotton (right side down), lining up edges.
2. Machine-sew (or, if you don’t have a sewing machine, use your needle and thread!) the three layers together with a ¼in seam, leaving one short edge. Clip corners and turn right side out by sliding your thumbs between the felt and the cotton.
3. Press and turn in the raw edges by ½in and sew a ¼in seam on outside.
4. Then using any leftover felt, cut out a small piece measuring 9in (23cm) x 6in (15.5cm). You can use a contrasting to colour to make it look more professional.
5. Fold this small piece of felt in half lengthways and sew a 1/4in seam all the way around, leaving one short edge.
6. Turn this small sewn piece right side out, turn in raw edges, sew a ¼in seam on outside and press. Pin and sew to outside of felt cover, 4in (10cm) in from one short edge.
7. Pin one side of Velcro to end of tab and sew in place. Fold cover in half and bring tab from back to front to work out where other piece of Velcro should be. Sew to body of cover.
8. Blanket-stitch top and bottom edges of cover together using embroidery thread.

And there you have it, a lovingly made iPad case that he’s bound to use everyday!

For Her: Customised Photo Frame: 

Right guys, some of you may prefer to just go and buy your other half a present from the shop, because in your mind, it’s ten times easier to do. But, making a present for your loved one really will surprise them and add a whole new meaning to the gift you give to them.

So, if you’re not the creative type but fancy doing something different for your loved one, making a customised photo frame  is the perfect thing to do – us girls love all of this kind of sentimental stuff, so it’s guaranteed to put a smile on her face.

I bet if you take a look around your home, you’ll have plenty of materials kicking around that’ll be perfect your customising your photo frame with; from buttons, ribbon, patterned paper, glue, glitter and marker pens are good places to start. If not, you can always invest a few bits and bobs from craft shops, such as craft supplies uk, to help you on your way.

Simply start by buying a plain wooden frame. Then gather up all of the items you’ve managed to find (or those you’ve bought from the craft shop) and simply decorate it in anyway you like. Spread on some glue and dust it with glitter, cut out material hearts and stick them around the frame, or simply write them a little love note around the wooden edge. Then all that’s left to do is find your favourite picture of you both, maybe change the colour settings on the computer to make it a little bit different (sepia or greyscale are always a good option), press print and place it in the back. Perfect!

 

Eco Presents For The Ones You Love

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With all the shiny techno toys around, we’re all probably a bit geeky once in a while. But if you have the genuine article on your gift list – someone who’d camp out overnight to get the latest iPhone or who could expound at length on every minor character in the original TV Star Trek – then these snazzy gadgets could bring a teary smile to his – or her – face. Frost got the people from energyrethinking.org to give our readers some gift ideas.

Ten Top Eco Gadget Gifts For Geeks

1. Enviroplug This mobile phone energy saving adaptor fits between the charger and the powerpoint, notices when a phone is fully charged and turns off the useless “vampire drain” of power into the charger. It can save up to 90% of the energy wasted by the charger and about £50 a year.

2. Motion-Activated LED Outdoor Light Very cool, bright solar powered light only switches on when it senses someone about. So the solar charge it has built up all day lasts much longer. And what a surprise to a would be intruder. The five LED bulbs are rated for 30,000 hours.

3.Standby and Remote Starter Kit Leaving devices on standby wastes money, and contributes to carbon emissions. But sometimes, the on off switch at the wall socket is difficult to get to – hidden behind furniture or under beds. Plug in up to 3W worth of devices to this clever standby socket and then turn the power completely off or on by remote control.

4. Ecobutton You’re on the computer and you get an important phone call, or get up to make a cup of tea, or to accept a package for a neighbour. While you’re away from your desk, your computer is still eating up electricity and pumping CO2 into the environment. With this handy USB device, you can put your computer into sleep mode with the touch of a button. And when you wake it up, the Ecobutton software tells you how much money and CO2 you’ve saved, today and to date. Have a look to see how it works:

5. Solar Briefcase It’s called trickle charging. This solar charger looks like a briefcase, but open it up and it’s a generouse sized, two panel solar charger that can produce enough power to top up a car battery while you’re off on holiday, or provide winter maintenance power for a boat or caravan.

6. H2O long life Atomic Clock We love this water powered atomic alarm clock. It runs on water, with perhaps a dash of salt – something to do with electrolytic activity. It displays date, day and temperature, as well as time and is adjusted to the Atomic Radio Signal every day. It’s rated for a refill (a splash from the tap) every two weeks, but some users have reported it still runs perfectly at least a month after filling.

7. H2O Shower Radio The water rushing through your shower powers this H2O radio. And in case you get carried away and take a longer shower than you should, it has a shower timer that fits in line with the showerhead to remind you when enough is enough. And you can still keep singing along because it builds up a charge and continues to run for quite a while. If you want to wait until next year, they’re planning a model that will tell you exactly how much you are spending on your shower.

8. Ventus Spin EcoMedia Player Wind up technology just keeps getting better. Your favorite geeks can listed to all their favourite music, watch dazzling movie clips, tune in to popular FM radio stations, thumb through photo albums, and read text files for up to 45 minutes on the charge from one minute of winding. Plus it will charge a mobile phone. For a longer charge, plug it into a USB computer port for 55 hours of play time.

9. Solar Powered Digital Tyre Pressure Gauge The PowerPlus Pelican Solar Powered Digital Tyre Pressue Gauge helps you maintain correct tyre pressure – essential for safe and fuel efficient driving – even in the dark. It includes a tyre tread depth gauge and a back up battery for a brighter read out at night.

10. Stirling Engine Kit A Stirling engine uses low temperature heat differentials on a volume of gas in an enclosed space. That’s the science part; your Geek will get it. This Stirling Engine kit comes flat packed and it’s almost entirely made of cardboard, except for some laser-cut aluminium and a few PVC ball bearings. It’s fiddly to assemble but will run on a cup of tea or a glass full of melting snow. A really interesting example of engine power without internal combustion.

Eco Christmas Presents for Him http://www.energyrethinking.org/lifestyle-leisure/10-eco-gift-ideas-for-him/ and Her http://www.energyrethinking.org/lifestyle-leisure/10-holiday-eco-gifts-for-her/


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