Creative suggestions for Father's Day

If you are like me...coming up with a Father's Day gift is uber-hard! For my husband...for my dad...and Grandpa's (tho sadly this is the first Father's Day I won't be making anything for my PopPop :( I miss him!) I don't know what it is. Mom's are easy to shop for...they don't mind the sentimental gifts! I could make my mom a scrapbook every year and she'd be happy as ever. I've made/given James a scrapbook before and it just doesn't feel as exciting as if I got him a new golf club or a new shirt. But you can only buy a fella so many shirts and ties! And, of course, money doesn't always allow big expensive gifts...

So you have to get creative!!

One idea I came across....in the Friend, of all places....is this mini-tie keychain.

(Ok, I can't lie...James saw this idea first...in sacrament mtg he and Bella were flipping thru the Friend and he passed it to me and said I needed to make it...nice, huh? DO IT.)

We went and picked up some 99 cent ties from the thrift store....and my lucky day, they were 50% off...so I got them for like 49 cents! lol. Can't beat that.

And yes...that's a cow tie...I thought it would be cuter...but they're all upside down!

Anyways...here is how you do it

(please forgive the horrendous directions and just look at the pictures!):

Get the small bottom part of the time and slip it thru the keyring.

Bring it down and a bit to the right.

And then flip it across the front....

Then bring it around the left side of the keyring, and in thru the back....tuck the end thru the back of the keychain...and then down thru the little loop.

Pull that small end thru and tight....I had to go and adjust the length a few times before I got it perfect.

You'll cut the rest of the tie off in the back.

To keep it together...especially if you have a silk tie...I added some glue to the back.

Before you add the glue, you'll want to make sure you can move the keyring back and forth.

So there you go! You could also use the same concept and glue a magnet to the back? I dunno...I have a secret magnet obsession (you'll see later...can't post it just yet b/c it's for my dad and I want him to be surprised! Cause I just KNOW he sits around reading my blog everyday...haha! That and I forgot to take a picture of it....and there are already enough pictures on this post!! )

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Other ideas!

We did this for James' birthday, but it would work wonderfully for Father's Day, too. Fill it with candy if you have a sweet-toothed sweetie....or sunflower seeds and pistachios!

It's very easy to put together...all you need is:

clear bottles, preferably in a holder (that way you can dress it up!)

scrapbook paper

candy or munchie of your choice

See....easy peasy!

We added a front little pocket, too...to hold a gift card. Makes the gift twice as sweet!

Hand-printed ties!

We did this last year for Father's Day for my dad, James' dad and my PopPop.

It was a big hit!

For this you'll need:

Ties! (we got ours from the thrift store, of course....they have very "colorful" selections)

Acrylic paint mixed with textile medium (tho just plain acrylic will work, it won't wash off)

And I absolutely LOVED the poem that wentt along with it, so we are using it this year for the bookmark ties we did in Primary for Father's day. (Bookmark ties...courtesy of JAMES, yet again...I asked him what would he want to get from his kiddos that could be made in Primary...and he suggested a bookmark tie...crafty wife is rubbing off onto crafty husband Ü)

Good luck creating something fabulous for those men that make your life just a little sweeter!