easy gift ideas with frogtape®

‘Tis the season, and since we love handmade gifts, we’re so glad you’re tuning in today. Especially if you love that handmade element of the holidays… this post is for you! We’re thrilled to team up with FrogTape® and share three easy gift ideas to create for the season. 

Since you’ve seen our fancy pants teen room design, we thought this was a great opportunity to keep it oh so simple with the pattern of smaller projects. 

From dry erase boards and serving trays, 

To desk organizers… here are a few simple gift ideas you can whip up in no time for just about anyone on your list!

So without further ado, easy gift ideas with FrogTape®. 

Easy gift ideas: The desk organizer!

It’s perfect for adults and kids alike, made from simple materials, and our favorite part? It’s really great for anyone and all things practical storage. You can definitely put your own spin on it, but we love how easy it is to dress this idea up with stripes galore. 

Here’s what you’ll need for these desk organizers: 

• FrogTape®

• Food canisters of your choice with the outside labels removed
– these were old cashew and oatmeal containers for varied heights 

• Paint colors of choice + brushes 
– note: I used a small roller for my undercoat, in white. This is because the removed label areas tend to soak up paint. Then we added the rest with brushes, as you’ll see below. 

Add a few coats of white on your desk organizers. {Or whichever color you choose.}

Once the initial coat is dry, add tape to the one end, and wrap carefully all the way around. Make sure your FrogTape® is straight because this is how you will make your stripes. 

When you’re finished with the first, move on to the next. You can do this two ways: 

‘Leapfrog’ the tape as you go, {apply about three sections and remove the middle so that the spacing is even} or use smaller pieces of tape as spacers as you go. While we usually use the ‘leapfrog’ {or totally covered in tape} way, we found that on a circular shape the spacers approach was easier as shown above. 

When you’re finished, you should have {roughly, since you’re eyeballing it and we’re skipping the maths, here} even spaces to apply your stripes of choice. 

Here’s a confession: the vertical stripes you see here are trickier. These are actually not evenly spaced, but still look pretty cute. You can either monogram the bigger stripe you’ll have at the end, or turn it on the desk/shelving/display area of choice. Your littles can even add their own special message to these organizers. So just a heads up if you’re going vertical. 

Choose your colors and get started.

Tip: It helps to paint away from the edges of each stripe, to ensure that the paint is locked in under that amazing FrogTape® seal. 

Remove the tape when your paint is mostly dry. Tada! Your stripes are ready to go. 

Except ignore the in-process photos, since I changed my mind and added a navy stripe later.

Sometimes it happens that way, and if it does for you, just tape it off again in that one area to change your colors. Creating pieces like this is really an in-process kind of thing, and things can turn out a bit differently when you’re finished with the entire shebang. 

It’s a good thing paint is the most forgiving medium because I change my mind a lot. ;} Just know from my ramblings that these gifts don’t have to be perfect to be amazing. 

These little canisters are great for colorful paperclips, large and in charge paint brushes, pencils and pens and so much more. You can even keep the tops of  your containers for storing goodies on your desk. 

Healthy ones since maybe the idea of Candy Cane Joe Joe’s on my desk is a bad idea this time of year, unless I’m hoping to gain twenty pounds. I have zero self-control when it comes to minty chocolate treats. 

Easy gift ideas: How to make a simple tray.

So many versatile ideas for this one, and such a great, one of a kind piece to give as a gift! You’ll love making this easy project. 

Here’s what you’ll need: 

• FrogTape®

• Wood
– these are actually stair treads from the home improvement store but make a great option
– you can have said wood trimmed down before you even leave the hardware store,
so a saw is one less tool you need

• Stain or paints and brushes of your choice

• Handles of some sort – we love D.Lawless as a great source

• Drill to apply the hardware
– note: we initially included trim here, but with our own paint and stain application, decided to keep it simple. Trim is also optional, because each one is unique to what you choose to make. 

Stain or paint your piece of wood with your color of choice.

For this one, we chose a gray-ish stain so that the stripes had a high contrast and were interesting against the woodgrain.

Not shown in the process photos: don’t forget your edges. 

When it’s dry, apply your FrogTape®.

The easiest way to do this is in strips, butting each piece against the other, from one end. {We have a photo example of this below, in the dry erase board how to.} Or in a leapfrog motion with each piece. Simply remove the tape one at a time after you’re finished, and paint. 

When it’s dry, add your handles on each end by measuring where you want them and lining them up on top. 

This makes such a great table topper, from serving trays to coffee table additions, breakfast trays and centerpieces… I could keep going but I’ll spare you. 

Super simple and amazingly functional, if we do say so ourselves. 

Easy gift ideas: DIY dry erase boards. 

We’ve made big ones before, {check out this fun idea with FrogTape®} and absolutely love the look. But our kiddos love drawing them so much, we thought… how about small ones for on the go or around the house?

We have a bit of a dry erase board addiction at our house.

So we came up with this little idea, and the kids are in love. 

Seriously the cutest little stocking stuffer I ever did see, or for someone on your list. Especially when combined with colorful markers, they have a blast creating. 

Here’s what you’ll need: 

• FrogTape®

• 8 x 10 acrylic piece {or whichever size you wish}

• 1/4 inch MDF cut to size at your local home improvement store – these will be the same size

• paint + paintbrushes
– note: we went with lighter colors so that even though they’re personalized, the kids can still create on top of the designs with their markers – I also used a small cabinet roller for the initial smooth coat

• screwdriver + gold 1/4 inch screws

• templates
– note: we used old templates we have at our house for the letters, but you could print any letter out to size on cardstock and cut around the letter for tracing. We also used the top of one of our cashew containers {from the desk organizers above} for our little monogram circle. You can also use bowls and cups from around your house, whichever size is best, works. 

Once you’ve given your pieces a coat of white and it’s dry, measure the center and add a small circle to trace.

I went a little higher so they weren’t dead center. 

Add your FrogTape® as seen here, lining your initial piece on the edge. 

You can either leapfrog, or take the faster approach which is lining them all up, side by side. 

Then remove them, every other one, depending on where you want your stripes. 

Once those are ready, paint your stripes on, avoiding your traced circle.  

When those are dry, paint your circle. 

When both of these elements are dry, add a little more white, by dry brushing some white, or waiting until it’s almost dry and then rubbing it off to give it that fun, distressed look.

This also helps quiet the design so that your little artists can have fun with their boards. 

When all of this is dry, add your template to the center, and paint. 

And when these steps are all finally dry {we recommend waiting 24 hours for the paint to completely dry} it’s time to add your acrylic to the top. Dry erase boards, here you come. 

We started by measuring and then adding four holes in the corners of the acrylic. {You’re going to want a protected surface for this step.} Careful not to drill too close to the corners because of cracking, we used a thicker piece to avoid that problem. 

Leave the protective plastic on the acrylic, during these steps. 

Next, place the acrylic on top of the board, and line up your holes.

Mark the holes with a pencil on your board. Remember how you placed the acrylic and carefully set it aside, so it will not be hard to place your plastic in the correct place again. 

Drill the holes into your MDF and clean off your surface. Remove the plastic from the UNDER side of your acrylic, and carefully place it back down again. 

Your holes should line up with the holes in the acrylic.

Add your screws, careful not to tighten too much to avoid cracks. 

Finally, you can remove your last piece of protective plastic, and your dry erase board is ready to go. 

Our kids love these for some good old fashioned fun!

These are perfect easy gift ideas gifts for some happy, simple creating.

Our younger two thought Christmas came early this year, and created for hours after I handed them over. 

Bonus: for bigger projects with FrogTape®, check out how we added some awesome to the walls of our son’s room…

And sprucing up frames! – Another great and easy gift idea. 

Happy gift making for all your loved ones and as always, let us know if you make any of these easy gift ideas. 

We always love hearing from you. 

Have an inspired day!

:: Some products in this post have been provided through our partnership with various brands. We only put products in our home that we personally stand behind and would recommend to our own moms. All opinions are 100% ours. Please read our full disclosure pertaining to partnerships here ::