The most important part of Christmas shopping is obviously the gifts. At times ideas do not really spark in our mind. There is another real constraint – the budget. However, if you are looking for great Christmas gift for him without breaking the bank, I hope, these ideas will definitely help you.

1. Magazines: A cheap and impressive gift idea for Christmas; under $10, you can consider one full year subscription of any popular magazine for him like Men’s health, Field & Stream, Motor Trend, Family Handyman and many more. The selection should be made keeping in mind his personal preference.

2. DVDs: Besides popular movie DVD, you can consider fitness DVDs as the Christmas gift for him. Within $10 – $15, you can find wide array of fitness training DVDs exclusively for men. These DVDs have step-by-step instructions and these are intended to meet various fitness aims including weight loss training, muscle development, or just to stay fit.

3. T-shirts: Gift him a designer t-shirt. Priced $20 and up, there are websites, which also feature handmade custom designed tees to create unique gift for him.

4. Games: Indulge in his enthusiasm for gaming this Christmas. Consider popular games like Super Mario Bros, Halo 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, and many more. Priced around $25 and upwards, games are perfect gift for teens and young males.

5. Beauty & spa gift for male: There is no reason to presume that he will disregard your choice. Let him pamper … Read more

What Is The Cricut Imagine Machine?

The Cricut Imagine machine, announced by ProvoCraft at the Craft & Hobby Association Summer Convention and Tradeshow (CHA) is one of its kind. It’s currently the only machine that allows the user to both cut and print using the same device, saving a lot of time and money. Featuring inkjet print technology by HP, you choose a design from an extensive library of cartridges, have it printed and than cut in one go.

But What Does It Mean To Scrapbookers?

The use of cutouts and shapes in various colors are a great way to improve and add pizzazz to all kinds of arts and crafts projects, including scrapbooking and card making.

These also called diets may be of a myriad of materials, like paper, card stock, vellum, thin plastics, foils and transparencies.

With most of manual and electronic cutters on the market today, such as the Sizzix and Cricut Expression, you have to plan ahead and choose the color of your die-cut before cutting. In other words, the color of your design will be the color of the paper (or fabric, or stock) you select.

In addition to that, when creating complex or intricate designs, you may need to change paper colors frequently.

Other systems, such as the Wishblade, allow you to print your desired shape using an ordinary inkjet printer, than run the printed page through the machine to cut. The biggest problem with that is that it’s a two step process, using … Read more

I’ve been exploring other crafts lately, mostly sewing and decorating T-shirts. Hand sewing a crocheted item onto a T-shirt can be time-consuming. As a result I’ve been looking at sewing machines. I have no prior experience with them.

I’m naturally (or unnaturally) analytical when it comes to spending money. With bigger expenses, I rely on decision-helping spreadsheets. Down one column goes a list of sewing machines I’m considering. Across the top are the features I’m looking for. This includes everything from price to the weight of the sewing machine (will you be hauling it to classes?) and from automatic threader to whether it can handle thicker fabrics. One article I read said there are about 248 models from about nine recognized manufacturers. No wonder my head is spinning.

I started with Sewing Machine Ratings.com and focused on machines rated above the score of 90. I also listed how many folks rated the machine. That exercise showed me that most crafters don’t like to invest a lot of money in sewing machines, so those brands with the most reviews are the cheapest models, i.e. Brother and Singer. The better quality and more expensive machines, i.e. Janome and Juki, had at the most 30 reviews/comments. The latter two brands are considered medium in terms of overall quality and are often available only through dealers. The purchase price through a dealer often includes classes and a place to go to trade up or to get other equipment or gadgets for the machines.

For … Read more