SUGGESTED SUPPLY STASH - it doesn't have to be elaborate or take up an entire room!!!! Purchase all or most on sale when possible. Never purchase anything that you wouldn't use yourself. Who knows, you might just decide to keep it!!! And NEVER EVER make a gift for someone who may not appreciate it -- go out and buy them a gift card!!!! Make sure they know your gift is to be USED and not stored because it's pretty!!!! Build your stash slowly depending on how many gifts you may need and of course what you find on sale!!!
If I have these on hand I am NEVER without a QUICK GIFT!!!
(Depending on how many gifts you may give out, this may be more than you'd ever use. I tend to use a lot because I often provide gifts to others to give out!!!)
1 Dozen Hand Towels
Use for the obvious, hand towels with appropriate design. Men like hand towels also, especially bachelors, use with a block type monogram, nothing frilly. Hand towels an also be used for bibs, place mats, burp cloths and are very child friendly as a dresser scarf. You can even put 2 together and make a rather sturdy tote bag, especially nice for the beach. If you think about the towel as being a piece of fabric rather than a towel I'm sure you'll come up with a lot more uses. These can be made into a gift for just about anybody depending on your design used. Depending on the price I paid for the towels, I would sell the towel projects at about $5.50 each, and I'm pretty conservative on pricing.
6 Yards (or more) of Huck Toweling OR 12 Ready Made Solid Color Towels
I like using huck for kitchen towels, and sometimes even hand towels. Kinda of expensive but if you use a coupon from Joann's for 40% off on one cut of fabric it's workable in a budget. Besides it'll last forever and gets softer after each wash. Quick and easy design for huck is a simple redwork type design. My personal preference is not to have a design that is too dense in stitches. Wash huck before using or cut about 4" longer than you need because it will shrink. Fold under eash side and top stitch and hem the top and bottom. Time permitting I'll do a bunch of these up and have them ready to apply embroidery when I need them. My favoriate design is redwork in the 7 days in a week or the 4 seasons. And they are accepted with great pleasure. Think I got the designs either from embroiderylibrary.com or marthapullen.com. These really come out very expensive looking. If selling, I'd price a set of 2 (good size and buying huck on sale) kitchen towels out of huck for about $20.00 per set. If cutting for smaller fingertip size for a powder room I think I'd sell for about $13 per set.
6 to 12 tote bags - Ready made or Buy Fabric to Make
Now, here's really a gift for everyone no matter what sex, age, etc., again, depending on your design. These are especially popular for grocery shopping. If making your own (Iwhich is easy) they can be made in any size. You can never have enough totes. Pick sturdy fabrics because they will be used and washed over and over again. Kids especially love them with a cute design and love to have their name embroidered on them. These could actually be the wrapping for a gift - a gift inside a gift. Use a summer type design and tuck a beach towel and lotion inside. Use a bookworm type design and fill with childen's books. Make the right size, embroider a simple monogram on the front and add 2 bottles of wine for a wine bag. There will be directions in the tuitorial section of the site (in a few weeks) on constrution of a tote with dividers inside for using as a wine tote. Depending on what size and type tote you make I'd say the price would be a minimum of $8.00 up to $20.00. If making my own I normally tend toward duck or denim and use webbing or self fabric for the straps.
4 travel tumblers or sports bottles
Yet another gift for any age. I tend to think of these more for femals than males, but I've been wrong before. Use insert of either fabric or cardstock. Again using an appropriate design. If using cardstock and you have a cricut or other vinyl cutter, simply cut your letters out of vinyl. I recently did 3 of these up as a quick gift and it took about 20 minutes. I've seen these on sites for as much as $20 each for a simple monogram. Again, I'm conservative in pricing, but think I'd charge maybe $10 - $12. If selling, I'd rather sell 2 at a cheaper price than 1 at a higher price. Now if you want to get inventive you can include several different inserts for different occasions, such as July 4th, New Year's, Easter, etc., and charge so much more per insert. These make WONDERFUL teacher gifts, just don't put #1 Teacher on them -- teachers have a live outside of the classroom and might appreciate something personalized for them. I was married to an educator for years and I can't tell you how many coffee mugs, etc., we had with teacher or coach written on them that ended up in a drawer.
8 coasters - enough for 2 sets of 4
Again, a gift for just about anyone. Yes, even children!!! I did one each for two of my grandaughters with a winnie the pooh design on them and they actually use them!!! These are about a 5 minute project. Simple monograms normally work best. These can have interchangeable inserts made for them. Use fabric or cardstock for your insert, or even plain old paper. Once inserted you'd never know it was paper. If I were selling these I'd sell them for $10.00 per set of 2, with monogramed embroidery. If I were simply cutting cardstock or paper circles either by hand or on a cricut I'd charge probably $8. If providing extra inserts simply price accordingly for the extra inserts. These actually make really nice place cards at a table with each person's monogram on them for a rehersal dinner, bridal shower, etc., everyone goes home with a personalized coaster.
12 water bottle can koozies - 12 can koozies
Okay, another gift for any age, sex, occupation. Using simple monogram probably a 5 minute one of a kind gift. Use appropriate embroidery for the receiver of the gift. Remember that these are foam and if your design is too dense in stitches it could distort the shape of the koozie. If you are sewing a ribbon trim/ribbon around the top or bottom of the koozie, I would suggest you only sew it down on one side, preferably the front. If you sew it around the front and back it will take the stretch out of the koozie and the soda can won't fit inside. The koozie is made to stretch the trip prohibits the stretch. Don't forget, the koozies can also have a heat transfer applied to it and it can be screen printed. Someone recently emailed me if vinyl letters could be added, they can, but they can also be pulled off easily. I've seen these on ebay, etsy, and other sites at about $12.00 each. Typically I think I'd charge about $6 to $7 for a simple monogram (taking into account paypal/ebay fees, etc.) Thinking outside the box and think of the koozie as a piece of fabric, you can easily turn it into a cell phone case, eye glass case and even a coin purse. (directions will be put on site in about 2 weeks)
4 child size tumblers
This is pretty much a repeat of what I said for the tumblers earlier. Use child friendly design or their name....kids normally aren't into monograms. If they're into the girl scout daiseys, etc., they would love to have something with that insignia on it. Unless you're putting a very elaborate design this shouldn't take you more than 10 minutes, tops. If using cardstock and vinyl letters even less than that. Individual pricing? I'd say if selling probably $8 to $10 each.
12 "nice" wash cloths
Okay, pure luxury is having monogrammed wash cloths!!! My grandmother would have died for monogrammed wash cloths, come to think of it I don't even have them, of course all the stuff I make I normally away, I don't have much for myself except for coasters. These would probably be used only in a guest bathroom. I'd say a single one letter monogram. Five minutes tops!! Depending on the price of the wash cloth, I'd charge 3 times the cost of the wash cloth.
Thinking outside the cloth (so to speak). Fold it in half lengthwise to get an idea of what I'm talking about, to make a bath mit for kids. Put your design in the center of the half you folded over. Right sides together fold in half and sew top and side seam to have a bath mit. Actually adults might like these also. Price to sell? I'd say about 3 times the purchase of the cloth and 3 1/2 times if making a mit out of it. If selling use only high quality wash cloths. Kids love a kid friendly embroidery on their mits.
4 sets of "nice" high thread count pillow cases
or make your own out of a king size sheet
4 to 6 sets key fob hardware
4 or 5 split key rings
6 checkbook covers/credit card-debit card holders
12 solid color plain napkins (3 sets of 4 each) OR fabric to make your own up ahead of time
4 or 5 Candles - I like the tall pillar type
GOOD OLD STAND BY - TOWELS/HAND AND/OR KITCHEN and TOTE BAGS- Good for anyone, any age, any sex, any profession with appropriate design. Yes, even men like hand towels with appropriate design, especially a monogram. (not a frilly flowerly type - standard block type works nice for men) And I don't know of anyone who couldn't use another tote bag with appropriate design. Especially popular now are totes to use at the grocery store. Children (at least my grandchildren) love tote bags with cute designs and/or their names on them. You can take a regular hand towel, add a gromet to the corner and a good old shower curtain hook (if you don't have a ready made sports towel) and make a very nice golf/sports towel.
I use huck toweling for my kitchen towels because I like it better than terry. And they're easy to make up, turn under sides and top stitch and hem top and bottom. My favoriate is to use redwork designs for huck towels. It's a very quick design to sew out and I just like them better on kitchen towels.
