Jewelry
Jewelry is probably the most obvious handmade item to personalize, but there are so many non-obvious ways to do it! I love how unconventional this pendant, made from wire wrapped in embroidery floss and then hardened with varnish, is. The technique, while fiddly, is fine for beginners, and perfectly suitable for tweens on up. I think it would make an especially cute group activity! Let’s say that you’re more of a friendship bracelet sort of person. There are way more ways to personalize them than just store-bought alphabet beads that never have the ideal amount of the letters you need! Sculpey isn’t an eco-friendly material, but it does have a ton of color options. For a more natural material, use an oven-bake terra cotta clay. If you want a completely plastic-free personalized friendship bracelet, that’s possible, too! Check out this tutorial from The Neon Tea Party that shows you how to weave numbers and letters right into your bracelet. If you want to go in a different direction, you can personalize an item with your Dremel or other favorite rotary tool. This carved leather bracelet tutorial from Lil Blue Boo calls for a store-bought leather cuff, but you can make a similar bracelet from scratch by upcycling a thrifted leather belt.
Holiday Accessories
How cute are these Easter baskets that I made for my kid and her college roommates? All year I’ve been super into making them stuff in their school colors, personalized like they’re the triplets that I’ve always wanted. Christmas stockings are another easy holiday accessory to personalize. You can applique them the same way I did with these Easter baskets, or try this clever technique for chain-stitching a name onto a knitted stocking. For personalized gift-giving on any occasion, check out this tutorial for wire-wrapped gift toppers. I’m very curious to try these with narrow elastic, because how awesome would it be to be able to simply slip one around a wrapped gift and then move on with your life?
Sewn Stuff
Patchwork alphabets are my current obsession. I’ve been loving making tiny patchwork alphabet blocks to personalize zipper pouches, and I’m working on a table runner for next St. Patrick’s Day that will read “5% Irish”–thanks, Ancestry DNA! My favorite patchwork alphabet is the one in Spelling Bee, by Lori Holt–it uses clever techniques to create all the details without having to resort to Foundation Paper Piecing (which I have yet to learn, ahem). But if I want a simpler alphabet without lots of accurate piecing, the Moda Candy Alphabet is perfect, and it’s easy to resize. If you want to try your hand at DIYing your own patchwork alphabet, this tutorial from Sew Me Something Good is a terrific walk-through of the process.
Sometimes the Personalization IS the Craft
Because sometimes you want your personalization to BE the art! Projects that are all about the name are especially cute for a baby or for anyone who’s just changed their name. These cereal box letters, for instance, can be embellished to look just the way you want–you can even add marquee lights!–and they look lovely on a mantelpiece or a wall shelf. For something with less dimensionality that you can mount directly to a wall, you can embellish flat cardboard letters just as well. Instead of the store-bought (from Hobby Lobby, even–yuck!) letters called for in this tutorial, try cutting your own letters from mat board. You’ll need a craft knife and a steady hand, but mat board is sturdy, comes in lots of colors do you don’t necessarily have to cover it, and looks better on edge than corrugated cardboard does. Also, mat board has never trafficked in stolen antiquities! These yarn-wrapped wire words are the upsized cousins of the small embroidery floss-wrapped pendants, above. You might need to save them for gifting to older folks, though, because kids these days are terrible at reading cursive. P.S. Do you have a fabric way to personalize a handmade gift? Tell us about it in the Comments!
