A Super CHEAP, Quick, CHEAP and EASY Valentines Day Gift

With Valentines Day right around the corner, I decided to post a super CHEAP, quick and EASY Valentines Day gift suitable for friends, teachers and/or co-workers.

We are going to make mini Valentines Day Buckets. For this project you are going to need the following items:

1. Small cheap(a word near and dear to my heart) bottles of lotion, hand soap, shower gel, shampoo and/or conditioner. It really doesn't matter what products you use...in this instance ONLY...size matters! These items need to be small, sample and/or purse size. Below is a sampling of the MANY small items that I purchased from Bath & Body Works recently. Being true to who I am...I recently purchased 30 bottles (they were $1 each and I had a coupon for $10 off a $30 purchase) and with tax the total was $21.40 which means the price per bottle was $.73.

2. You will need some paper shreds (I had these from a previous project but you can get a bag from the $1 store) preferably in Valentine colors or an iridescent shred would work, small cheap little buckets that I got from Deals (there were 4 in a pack for $1 which equals $.25 each), suckers (these heart shaped ones were 6 for $1 which is $.17 each) and some other small candy (preferably chocolate) these also came from Deals and there were 15 in a bag for $1($.07 each).
3. Although there is no picture, I also purchased a bag of Valentine themed treat/goody bags from Deals. There are 20 bags in a pack for $1($.05 each). The treat bags come with metallic twist ties but I like to use curling ribbon.

The assembly of these buckets is SUPER simple and EASY.

1. Place both of the lotion/soap bottles in the bucket first.

2. Add enough of the shreds to fill the bucket.

3. Insert the sucker where ever you like.

4. Place a candy heart where ever you like.

5. Sit the bucket inside the treat/goody bag, cinch the top and tie it off with the curling ribbon.

6. Trim the top of the bag and curl the ribbon.

The finish un-bagged product looks like this...

The finished bagged product looks like this...

Cost Analysis:

So far, not counting all of the stuff that I already had, I have spent a whopping $2.00 per gift!! Not bad...if I do say so myself!!

Although $2.00 is not a bad price...the Cheap in me (henceforth named Che-Quita)thinks that this same concept can be carried out cheaper (I am nothing, if not frugal).

Hints/Tips/Suggestions:

1. If you know someone who sells Mary Kay or Avon or ANYTHING that gives/offers FREE samples, you can always fill your bucket up with that instead of buying samples.

2. Do you have left over Halloween candy?? Most candy can out last a nuclear war, so as long as it is not decorated with Halloween stuff, you can keep it and use it in your bucket.

3. Leftover Christmas candy?? As long as it does not look to Christmas-y...it is probably already wrapped in red or silver and you can use it too.

4. Sometimes you can get free samples of "good stuff" from bridal shows and other free community events. Do a themed bucket...free samples from a bridal show paired with plastic champagne flutes (Dollar Store) would make WONDERFUL gifts to bridesmaids from the bride or nice goodies for a bridesmaid luncheon. Use a permanent marker, put their names on the cups and then they become place cards for a bridal brunch.

5. Taylor this project to ANY event/holiday by using seasonal components. The Dollar Store ALWAYS has a large selection of seasonal stuff that is ALWAYS CHEAP!!

6. Instead of using paper shreds...after Easter, you can often get pink and purple Easter basket grass for $.25 per bag from the Dollar Store.

7. The mark of a dedicated crafter is buying ANYTHING that is on sale, rather you were looking for it or you need it. A dedicated crafter will buy things today for crafting in the future! So, while you are out and about shopping...ALWAYS check the sales section of the store that you are in, good things come from odd places at odd times. A good example of this would be: I was in Walmart and found sample packets of Watkins paprika, oregano and dry mustard. These packets normally cost $.59 each, they were on clearance for $.25 each, so I purchased SEVERAL of them. Did I need them??? NO!!! Will I use them YES!!! So always be on the lookout and ready to buy!! I have a few friends who like to cook...so I am going to make a special Spice Valentines Day bucket for them. A bucket full of spices would also be a GREAT hostess gift.

8. Thinking about doing this for a group of kids??? Go SUPER cheap by buying a sleeve of Valentine Day 8oz disposable cups instead of buckets, fill them with shreds/grass, add candy and/or a small toy, put it in a treat bag and ...BAM...gift extraordinaire.

9. If you know someone who is a coupon FANATIC...clip some of their FAVORITE coupons and put them in the cup/bucket instead of samples.

This is a very FLEXIBLE craft that can be personalized and "Che-Quita-ed" to meet your needs/goal/purpose!

Enjoy...

~Che-Quita