Have you made handmade gifts before?

[kork13]

I'm not totally certain what you mean by a 'rabbet', but I assume that is the lip on the front side of the frame which holds the glass/photo/matting in place? Because I'm in the military, I am able to do my own framing at the base's hobby/crafts shop. I normally purchase 10' lengths of pre-fab framing from them, then cut and assemble it with the tools/equipment they have there. A 10-ft section is normally enough for two 8x10's, maybe with an extra foot or two. I don't remember off-hand (it's been a few months since I've done some framing), but I think it cost me $4-$10 per foot, depending on the style of frame and if they had it in stock.

The real cost savings for me is in the labor and being able to use scraps. I only pay $2.50/hr of shop time instead of $10-$20 or more in labor fees. Also, they often let me use scraps of glass, matting, and frame that they have used on customer drop-off projects. Alot of times there is still enough usable material there that I can use the 1.5-foot ends of extra framing from a few 10' strips, and they don't charge me for using it -- in fact they thank me for clearing the storage space and using up what they may or may not use later on. In the end, I typically have paid less than $10 per photo to frame them myself. It goes up quickly when I buy everything (~$30-$40/photo), but that's still less than most framing shops will charge, and besides that, I can attest to the quality of the framing.

All this is not necessarily an option available to alot of people, but at least for me, it works really well.

[msi56]

I like to make handmade gift cards and christmas name tags

[Granite]

wow the molas are unbelievable !! love that !!

I have taken to making gift baskets with homemade sourdough bread, cookies, teas, mugs, etc.

I also have started making soap and candles.

Homemade is the way to go !

[cptacek]

I'm making some baby bibs for my soon-to-be-born nephew, and I'm going to make a burp cloth as well.

[Mike75]

I haven't made any gifts since I was a kid. But my wife likes to give personalized presents to people.

[1milliondollarchallenge]

I make gifts alot. I sometimes do baked goods like brownies, cakes, slices, cookies. Sometimes preserves like salsa, lemon curd, drinks etc...
Sometimes I sew gifts like quillows (a quilt that folds into it's own pocket to make it pillow) etc...

I'm a hairdresser and beautician so sometimes ppl just ask for facials, hair colours etc... instead of a present.

Love the ideas and those mola's are awesome.