The Best DIY Wedding Gifts for the Non-Crafter

The old saying “April showers bring May flowers” should probably at this point be changed to “April showers bring June weddings. And July weddings. And August weddings.”

The minute the weather warms up, wedding season kicks into high gear. If you’re in your 20s and 30s, you might be going to more weddings this year than any other year before.

Between finding an outfit to wear, making travel arrangements, and finding the wedding gift, the price of all those weddings can climb.

When looking for inexpensive gifts for the brides and grooms, you aren’t stuck choosing the cheapest item on their registries.

Instead of picking something off the registry, try giving your favorite couples DIY wedding gifts.

You might claim that you lack the crafting skills needed for DIY wedding gifts. But don’t worry, I’ve scoured the web to find you some easy ideas for inexpensive gifts from the heart.

Tea Towel Wedding Cake

This idea for a wedding cake made of tea towels and packed with kitchen utensils comes from Beja of the blog Howdy Honey . She made a pseudo-layer cake out of fabric tea towels and claims that the entire project cost her less than $20.

The amount you spend will vary, depending on what types of utensils you tuck into the “cake.”

She made the form for the cake by cutting up an old folder, like the ones kids use for their schoolwork, into two long rectangles. She then shaped each rectangle into a cylinder and hot glued the ends together.

If you’re not handy with a glue gun, I’m sure you could use tape or a glue stick instead.

The larger cylinder was glued to a cardboard round and a tea towel wrapped around it. She then wrapped a tea towel around the smaller cylinder and tucked it into the first cylinder.

The cake was finished by tucking the utensils between the cake layers.

Dates by the Season

This next idea for a personal wedding gift comes from C at Oh, She Dabbles . For a wedding for a friend, C and another woman partnered up to give the newlyweds a date night for each season.

Her gift is tailored for a couple who lives in Massachusetts, but you could easily make changes to make it suit your area.

For example, for the fall date idea, she and her friend gave the couple a gift card to a local orchard where they could go apple-picking together. The card was packaged in a handmade envelope.

Your date idea could be tickets to a local fall music festival, Oktoberfest or a visit to a local corn maze.

The type of dates you plan for the wedding gift can vary based on your budget. If you can’t afford to give the couple pricey gift cards for each date, plan dates that don’t cost much money.

For example, give them a pretty picnic blanket and a bottle of inexpensive wine for a spring picnic date.

Rock Collage

If you are seriously deficient in the crafty skills department, this gift idea from Lu at Just Lu might be right up your alley.

She gathered a collection of small rocks and pebbles and glued them to the back of a deep frame. The rocks were souvenirs from a family trip to Oregon. Her version features a piece of thread shaped to form the word “Oregon.”

You can make a much simpler version by skipping the thread word and simply writing a message with ink. You could also choose to fill the entire frame with an assortment of pretty pebbles.

You don’t have to find the pebbles at an exotic location either. Head to the craft store and pick up a few bags of decorating stones. You can also trade the rocks for shells if you prefer.

Personalized Plate

Liz at Naptime Decorator provides us with another simple yet creative and personal wedding gift idea. She personalized a basic dinner plate with the last name, last initial, and wedding year of a recently married couple.

You can do the same by spray painting an inexpensive dinner plate and letting it dry. If you have good handwriting, write the couple’s new last name along the top rim of the plate.

Along the bottom rim, write Est. and the year of the wedding. Use stencils if you don’t trust your handwriting. Carefully fill in the letters and numbers with acrylic paint.

In the center of the plate, draw a big, block letter for their last initial. Fill the big letter in with paint and let the plate dry.

The finished plate probably isn’t suitable for use with food, but will be great way for the couple to decorate their new home.

Have you come up with any inexpensive yet creative ideas for wedding gifts? Share in the comments!

“The Best DIY Wedding Gifts for the Non-Crafter” was written by Kelly Anderson.