DIY wedding gift under $10

I have a large extended family which includes a bucket load of cousins. Save a precious few I do not happen to know many of them well at all, mostly due to vast geographical distances.

So when I received a wedding invitation from just such a cousin I was both thrilled and a bit stressed.  I knew we would not be able to attend the wedding (it being on the other side of the country) but I did want to send a gift to celebrate a wonderful milestone. But what can you gift someone for a wedding whom you really do not know, and on my tight budget?

My dear auntie, who does happen to live very close by me, is going to the wedding. So I get a win that I could send my gift with her and get around postage costs.  But I had to be considerate- the gift could not be heavy or bulky or take up much room in her suitcase.

So I thought on the gift for a long time.  Finally I remembered a set of pillowcases that  my parents have in their home. One of my mom's sisters had made the pillowcases for my mom and dad as a wedding gift almost 36 years ago.  Those pillowcases are still used, loved and cherished today. That felt like a good fit for this wedding too.

Down I went to the fabric store and bought two meters of white cotton broadcloth. After my membership discount the total fabric cost was only $6.  Then, using this tutorial I made up a set of pillowcases.  Yes, I needed a tutorial - I had never made pillowcases myself.  But let me just say, gentle readers, after making them I will never buy pillowcases again.  These are super simple to make, come out looking beautiful and professional and decent cotton ready made pillowcases (with a pretty trim) can cost upwards of $50!

My finished pillowcases using the linked tutorial.
Pretty, right?

 Next I took some of my freezer paper and drew two images on the paper side in pencil. Even lacking ALL artistic ability I was able to draw these simple pictures.  On one I did a cloud type thought bubble, and the other I made to be the little circles leading to the thought bubble. **Great news, gentle readers! You can now buy freezer paper in Ontario! Check your local Fresh Co. for it.  Remember, this is not wax paper and it is not parchment paper. One side is paper and one side is wax!**

I totally did take photos of the faux screen printing method I used for the pillowcases with the freezer paper and fabric paint. However, my camera is playing a trick on me and making the photos I took impossible to find.  So please go this link from when I did a  new-baby-gift for my nephew to see the method.


When it was all done, this was my result and I was pretty darn pleased with it.

"Screen printed" pillowcases

However, I was still a little worried someone might not "get" it, might miss the awesome factor of this gift. So I took this photo (which I doubled as a gift tag):

Love these kids!

Taa daa!! Adorable, whimsical wedding gift for under $10! Happy Thursday, gentle readers and have a beautiful, joyful wedding cousin of mine!