The back story- I am frugal to a fault. Come on, this can't be a shock to you, I've got a blog bragging up a $500 wedding. I do like to invest in something nice once in awhile and for Christmas this year, I wanted just one thing: An Amazon Kindle. My husband got it for me but because that was a splurge, no cover was included. I didn't care, who needs it? Well, after having it for a few months I realized that a cover is a good idea. For one thing, the amount of dust in our house is scary so if I put my kindle down (which you have to do once in awhile) it would get dusty almost immediately. Second, we have a lot of kids and I was always petrified that someone would spill something on it. Third, I needed a way to travel with it. What about roadtrips, airports, visiting relatives? I needed to keep this thing protected. But, we didn't have the extra bucks to buy the nice leather covers and protectors on Amazon so I winged it.
Supplies you'll need:
- Old mouse pad
- Some sturdy cardboard
- Some material for the outside, stylish stuff! (About 3 yards, 14 inches wide)
- Thick fleece (about 2 yards long, 12 inches wide)
- A water-resistant material (I used a place mat cut in half, an old cloth shower curtain or table cloth would work here too.)
- Needle and thread
- A hair band
- A button
- Basic white glue
- Scissors
Ok, I had this stuff around the house. None of it is unusual and if you do any crafts or have kids who have materials left over from a science project or a birthday party, you're probably set.
At first the idea was to cut the two place mats I had in half, sew them together to make a giant pocket, make a latch on the top. Since I can't use my sewing machine right now, I realized quick that this wouldn't work since I couldn't sew the material together by hand (it was way too thick for the needle I had).
So I went back to my original idea, use the place mat but as an inside protector. I only needed one, cut it in half and folded it around each of the mouse pad pieces (I had also cut the mouse pad in half) and the cardboard. Use your kindle or the half pieces of mouse pad as a template for how big the sturdy cardboard should be.
After these pieces were put together, I took the fleece and spread it out, put the two protector bundles on the fleece, folded it over so the fleece covered the protector bundles completely and sewed the fleece around these parts. Kind of like pillow cases except sewn all around the borders. Leave enough space between the two protectors so that it will fold easy, the kindle will slip in here, you don't want to squish it. You're not cutting the fleece either, you're sewing both protector bundles into the fleece. Sorry I don't have a picture of this but I do have a nice drawing for you below.
 |
| The pink part is the fleece, the brown squares are the protector bundles and the squiggly lines are where you should sew. Just make sure you've already folded the fleece over the top of these protectors before you start sewing. |
 |
| When the protector bundles are sewn inside the fleece, it should look like this. All one piece that folds in the middle. Again, that space in between the two bundles is important so that the Kindle isn't squished. |
Next, I did something similar with the outer stylish fabric. Sewed up a giant long vertical pillow case, cut off about 6 inches from the top, then slipped the folded fleece protector panel in the long pillow case, then stuffed the extra material down inside the pocket. That 6 inches you cut off is then sewed to the top, folded into a triangle (kind of like you're wrapping a present), and used as the flap to wrap up the cover. I grabbed a hair band, tied it in the middle so it looked like a figure-8 and sewed the bottom loop under the flap and sewed the button to the middle of the cover. To secure the material that had been folded into the fleece protector, I used a little glue on the fleece and re-stuffed the material (this step isn't totally necessary so don't panic).
What's great is that it's a little wider than the kindle so there's plenty of room for the charger cord and owner's manual inside the case. Plus, if I put it in top first, I can still keep it in it's cover and charge it at the same time. I love it!
So again, not necessarily a wedding idea, but I'm all about saving money and do-it-yourself projects so I thought I'd share my tutorial with you. Good luck!
Heather at 500dollarwedding.blogspot.com
Have an idea? Share it here by posting a comment below. Let's all help each other out.
For grandparents, a 
In my family, we don't buy gifts for aunts, uncles, cousins and so on. Instead, we put in $20 (maximum) per person, and we donate it to a charity. Last year we donated it to the Humane Society, and a few years ago we took all the money and bought non-perishable food for a local food pantry.
I make candles, some to keep, some to share. It keeps my house smelling great (think cinnamon, cookies, pine) without any calories!
I'm the family genealogist, and I update family members with scanned photos and family tree information every year. This year, after my mom passed, I discovered a stack of old scrapbooks and photo albums in the back of a closet; I'm scanning those and burning CDs for my cousins.
Look for photo coasters or a pretty picture frame, and slide in a nice shot of yourself or your kids with your parents or grandparents. They'll love it.
I love giving themed gift baskets. I spruce up garage sale baskets with fabric, then fill with homemade goodies and sample-size products. And there's no limit to what you can put in a gift basket: Bath and body stuff; tea and cookies; chocolate; a movie lovers' basket with popcorn, candy and a DVD; a pasta night basket with spaghetti, sauce, baguettes and a cookbook; and on and on. The simplest gift basket is my favorite: All the dry ingredients for your favorite cookie recipe, a couple of cookie cutters, and the recipe itself. Makes a great gift and it won't cost you an arm and a leg.
Nothing says holiday like bread, brownie or candy mixes in a large mason jar; soups, cookies, chili and even spice mixes are welcome gifts too.
I give gift certificates. Most of our family is out of town, so people can buy what they want and need, and I save on postage for parcels.
I like to bake, and I usually buy some cute little containers at the dollar store and fill them up with goodies. Last year we bought a bunch of Christmas tins from the dollar store and filled them with homemade caramel corn and peanut brittle.
A good gift for little ones: You can get them their own ornaments — either personalized with their names or with their favorite 
