More kids b-day parties coming up and then more in January and so I am still working on ideas. I was thinking of giving a kit for something like this. This funky house (love shack?) is an unpainted wooden CD holder from a chain craft store (don't even know which one) and was $5. Everything else we had on hand to make it look like this. Trims, paint decorative paper, etc.
Sadie and I painted the outside during 2 nap-times of Miss Delia's and then we got smart and used paper for the inside. Much more forgiving. Sadie was really big on making rugs out of small pieces of paper. The ball fringe, pom-pom balls, and little mirrors were added later under Grammie's supervision, who is the ultimate craft guru, obviously.
Sadie is so into this house. We finished it months ago and she still talks about making it. She really got to paint it, you know? We just did one color, and then the trim later, and she really went for it. She is really comfortable with the glue sticks and white glue, glue in general. It's all about the glue. I really like this kind of thing that actually involves parents or grandparents, etc. and it was great for Grammie during babysitting. It would be a great gift for Grandparents come to think of it. You could cover the outside of the house with paper too, if the paint thing is a turn-off.
So, as a gift, I am thinking the unpainted house (cd holder) and then maybe a clear baggy of trims, paper, fabrics, doo-dads, and possibly 3 paints in primary colors and brushes, maybe some stickers. and glue stick. Easily all for under 10 bucks (well, maybe if I don't include paint) and this would lighten my craftroom stash too. I think it's a winner as a gift. I don't know if little boys will dig it, but why not, huh? It could be a fire station house, right? You could put a hole in the floor between levels and add a pole to slide down. Sweet.
Hey, thanks for the sales too! Now I can buy a bunch of handmade stuff from everyone else to give as gifts. Love that paypal account and handmade is where it's at, right? Yup.