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Gifts for Teens

The teenage years can be wonderful and difficult at the same time. It's harder to find the perfect gift for teenagers because their tastes and interests are so diverse. Hopefully, these handmade presents will give you some ideas for your teenager.

Scrunchies

Girls with long hair can never have enough scrunchies (hair holders). Make a bunch of them from your leftover fabrics or check the remnant box at a fabric store.

Present Pointers

You might want to place the scrunchies, some barrettes, a comb, a brush, and a mirror in a plastic cosmetic case to complete your gift.

Time frame: One to two hours

Level: Moderately easy

What you need:

  1. Cut a piece of material to 16 x 4 inches. Fold the material in half with the right sides of the material together to form a tube that's 16 x 2 inches.

  2. Sew the tube together leaving a 1⁄4-inch seam along the length (16 inches) of the tube. Turn the tube right side out.

  3. Cut a piece of elastic approximately eight inches long. Pin the safety pin onto the end of the elastic, and use the pin to thread the elastic through the tube. Gather the tube around the elastic. Pull the ends of the elastic out of the tube and sew them together using a 1⁄2-inch seam.

  4. Pull the ends of the tube together to cover the elastic. Turn each raw end of the tube inward about 1⁄4 inch. Pull one end of the tube over the other end, overlapping them by about 1⁄4 inch. Sew a line down the overlapped edges to keep the ends together. Reinforce the stitches by sewing over the first line.

Sports Equipment Crate

The sports enthusiast will appreciate this decorated wooden crate to stash his or her sports equipment. You might want to make two or three so they can be stacked in a room.

Time frame: Two to three hours plus two nights to dry

Level: Moderately easy

What you need:

  1. Sand any rough edges off the crates with sandpaper. Paint the crate with oak stain. Allow it to dry overnight.

  2. Place the sports-related stencils on the crate and stencil in the appropriate colors. (I used a pattern of stencils on either side of the crate.) Allow the stencils to dry.

  3. Spray the crate with clear acrylic finish spray and allow it to dry overnight before using it or giving it as a gift.

Captured Memories

Get your favorite teenager into the scrapbooking craze. Kids accrue many happy memories on their way to adulthood and will appreciate a new scrapbook and scrapbook packs to keep their mementos safe.

Present Tense

Scrapbook packs are tablets or packs of paper used in scrapbook making. The papers are acid free and contain print designs, backgrounds, cutouts, and patterns for enhancing a scrapbook or photo album.

Time frame: One to two hours

Level: Easy

What you need:

  1. Gather all the materials and place them in a storage box. The teen can keep his or her mementos in the box in between working on the scrapbook.

  2. You might want to include a book on the art of scrapbooking with your gift.

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Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Making Great Gifts © 2001 by Marilee LeBon. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

To order this book visit the Idiot's Guide web site or call 1-800-253-6476.


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