Many couples are opting to incorporate creativity into their anniversary gifts. Read on to learn new (or revisit some old) ideas.
Your anniversary is looming on the horizon and, this year, you and your spouse have decided to "make" each other's gifts, rather than buying "something." Crafting gifts for anniversaries, or any other special event, is an excellent opportunity to express your love and appreciation for your loved one through creativity.
1: Create a love journal. Find (or make) a journal that depicts a "love" theme (flowers, hearts, country settings, etc). If you choose to buy one, you could also purchase a journal with a blank cover and embellish it as you desire. Fill the journal with love letters, poetry, quotes, written memories, pictures, ephemera from events you've attended together and collages about the years you've spent together so far. Don't forget to create a dedication page in the beginning of the journal. Making this out of an envelope book would produce the best results. Examples of envelope books can be found by doing a google.com (or any other popular search engines) search.
2: Make a picture frame. Have a candid picture taken of the two of you (this could be recent or a picture of a memorable event the two of you enjoyed). Visit your local craft store and purchase a "blank" frame (this can be defined as a "board" frame you can embellish or a decorative frame with a mat). Embellish the frame using items that match what the picture is depicting. Use decorative stamps or stickers for your anniversary date. Scrapbook stores (or other carriers) also have a lot of interesting embellishments for projects like these.
3: Create a photo collage. Visit your local craft store and pick up a fairly large piece of canvas or foam board. Find pictures of events the two of you enjoyed together, favorite pictures, magazine cut outs of places you've visited and so on. If the majority of your collage is going to contain photographs, consider taking them to your local copy center and creating color copies. That way, you'll still have these pictures for other projects and photo album enjoyment. Cut out pieces of text to place emphasis on the theme you're creating. Use decorative stickers for your anniversary date.
4: Create a gift tin filled with goodies and collections. You can use a tin from a craft store or any tin you might have in your house for this project. You'll need a really good adhesive, a collection of "love themed" pictures, cut-out's, die-cuts, stickers, papers and so on. Embellish the outside of the tin; consider placing a wedding picture in the center with your wedding date. Inside, wrap "trinkets," gifts and candies in pink, purple and red tissue paper.
5: Embellish a tray or breadboard. This project is very similar to creating a scrapbook page, only instead of paper, you're using a tray or breadboard. Examples and ideas for specific craft projects can be found by doing a google.com (or any other popular search engine) search. Be creative by using strings of miniature pearls, ribbons, rub-on's and photographs. Scrapbook stores (or other carriers) have very interesting embellishments for projects like these.
