Ideas to stretch your creativity muscles
This week's What's In My Hand idea comes from the December, 1988 issue of St. Nicholas Magazine and was written by Elizabeth W. Champney. In order to use this idea, I think you'll need to do some adjusting of the images below, using a photo/imagine program of some sort. I enlarged them a wee bit, edited a tad, and reduced the yellowing, but I am far from an expert and am not at all sure I have the right sizes.
When you need to give a gift and you don't have much in your hands to give, sometimes spicing up the presentation a notch makes the gift itself more special without requiring you to redirect the diaper money to the gift giving funds. Spicing things up, and, indeed, working on the what's in hand principle, requires a touch of creativity, but don't be scared. Many people think they are not creative, when what they are is unpracticed. Your creativity muscles can grow stiff and inflexible if you don't use them enough. But just as there are limbering up exercises for gymnasts and other athletes, you can flex, limber, and loosen up your own creativity muscles by using what you have, however small, as often as possible. Mama Squirrel recently had an admirable post on this flexible mindset.
This flexible way of thinking allows you to see that when you need a 'filler' for a gift basket, to keep things near the surface for better visual appeal, you can use paper plates and napkins and improve the value of your gift at the same time you improve its appearance. It allows you to see the fun in using a 'boring ' reference tool for a fun family game. It may be as simple as looking at the flip side of what's bothering you.
It may require a printer with a scanner or some nimble fingers-
When I saw these ideas while browsing my vintage St. Nicholas, I just knew I had to share. you could use these ideas to jazz up the tooth fairy (if you do the tooth fairy), give a small reward to a deserving child, thank the paper boy, and to stuff a stocking at Christmas.
These are "Paper dolls" (but don't run off, there's an awesome one for boys). You can print these out (resizing as necessary) or use them for models for making your own.
To make your own use stiff cardboard for the body (cardboard from a cereal box, a shirt or package of tights, an old gift box, etc.). Make the dresses using colored tissue paper or scraps of cloth- or just color the clothing on. Use a clean, crisp dollar bill (or larger, it's up to you) for the shawl on this lady.
If you're giving this to a child who likes this sort of thing, the 'baby' in this woman's arms could be real tiny baby or her gown could be made from a real small handkerchief.
This lady, shockingly, has no head. That's because you supply her head, cutting out a suitable illustration from a model in a catalog, an old tattered book or magazine, or a picture of a member of your family.
You can use a coin for her tray, and fold paper money (one dollar? Five?) to make the skirt behind the apron.
You don't have to use money for these. If you have some gift certificates to give away, you could incorporate them into the costumes of these vintage paper dolls.
This version is made for giving coins- a Susan B. Anthony could would go nicely here.
Make a slit in the cardboard and give her a tray to carry made out of another coin.
You can accompany these with little couplets or longer poems. The poem Miss Champney offers for this, which was originally intended for use with 'Liberty dollars." goes like this:
"I'm sure you're glad to see me,
Hard--featured though I be;
And if you wish to take my head,
Why, take the Liberty!"
In this version an old silver certificate was used for both eh apron and the face. You could try dressing up George Washington, 0r just cut the face from an old catalog (getting rid of the face in this picture)
The poem used here is:
Take off my cap,- cut off my head
Just underneath my collar!
Although you would not think it,
'T is worth a silver dollar!"
This is my favorite. You use the 'eagle' side of a coin. add some tinfoil to his armor, stick a feather in his cap (the original article suggests using a feather from your feather pillow) to give him a plume. The poem for this one says:
I am a proud Knight-Templar,
As you can plainly see,
And none but one more brave than I,
Can take my shield from me!"
I know several little boys who would be tickled with such an offering.
You could print out half a dozen or so if you like and give several quarters and a small squadron of noble knights to a little boy in your life.
You could make his tunic three dimensional by using a coupon, either one of your own making or a gift certificate purchased from a favorite store.
This would work for a girl, too. I think it would be charming to use him in a card for a girl who may need some small financial assistance- rite in the card that this very parfit and genteel knight is eager to render aid to a damsel in distress.
In this way, says the original author, these paper dolls serve 'as an ingenious medium for conveying a gift of money, in a way which is sure not to offend.'
If you have some unique packaging and presentaion ideas that make your frugal gifts seem creative and thoughtful rather than cheese-paring, I would love to hear them.
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2 Responses to “Ideas to stretch your creativity muscles”
December 14th, 2007 at 1:43 pm
What a wonderful idea. I have the perfect cardboad for this project. I might try making the dolls this weekend. Hope they look as pretty as yours!
December 16th, 2007 at 9:42 am
Great idea! Thank you so much for sharing!
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