Graduation Gifts

This year I am friends with two special girls that are graduating from high school. Both of them are planning to move to college later this summer. I struggled with what I wanted to get each of them as a graduation gift. I always like to make something hand made and always want to give something that is useful. I know most people give money for gifts, but I seldom give cash or gift cards.

One of the girls is decorating her dorm with pink and black and her name starts with a K. I took an 8 by 10 canvas and used scrapbook paper to completely cover the frame. Scraps of various papers torn into random shapes were glued to the frame using mod podge glue. When using mod podge you coat the front and back of each piece of paper with glue. Slap it on the canvas, over lap the pieces, and make it to suite your fancy. You can't go wrong! We have made some similar gifts but used pictures along with the scrapbook paper to cover the canvas.

Your hands get kinda messy...It reminds me of the end of the year when our teacher sent our school supplies home and on the long bus ride we would pour our Elmers glue on our hand. We would let it dry and see if we could get it to peel off in one piece. (Ok fess up - Did you ever do that?)

I used my Silhouette Machine to cut out the K monogram out of pink scrapbbook paper and glued in on top. I finished the wall hanging with a black satin ribbon for hanging on K's dorm room wall. I added a personel note on the back of the canvas to remind K we love her and wish her well with her college adventures.

I added the decoupage project to a laundry basket full of some of the items the girls are going to need when they move away.

In the basket I placed:

an iron

laundry detergent

fabric softener

starch

stain remover

wet wipes

hooks for hanging items on the wall

an over the door hook for hanging clothes or wet towels

towels

wash rags

box of kleenex

lamp

mess laundry bag

a roll of quarters for laundry

 I knew these items would be needed and not necessarily going to all be thought about before they moved on campus. In the basket I made last week for C, I place a hammer and nails for hanging pictures on the wall. (K can't use nails at her dorm) I remember my first week of college and having to buy a hammer and nails to personalize my room. I still have that very same hammer that is covered in lots of splattered paint. I really wasn't sure if C would appreciate her gift, but she loved it. I've even had two of her coworkers tell me how she has been going on about the basket for a week! I'm glad my dollar store items were as impressive to her as designer name brand gifts she has been getting from others. All items for these baskets were easily obtained from Wal-Mart and the Family Dollar.

Some tissue paper tucked in the basket and I'm ready to give K her basket at graduation Friday night!

We wish K and C the best for their future as they move away from our small town and enter college!