Christmas Present Idea: Upcycled Chair

I was in a chairty shop the other day and overheard a discussion about Christmas presents - the lady in the shop thought that Christmas presents were all a waste of time and money. Her reasoning was that if you buy something for £5 for someone, they could easily have afforded it themselves and got themselves something they actually wanted. Which is probably completely true!

This inspired me to have a go at a 'handmade' Christmas present - something with a little bit of thought and that cannot be bought elsewhere. I bought this rather worse-for-wear chair for a mere £2 (then carried it all the way through town back to my house, trying not to laugh, haha). Then I got some leftover glossy white paint and some spare material to cover the seat, and got cracking on upcycling the chair!

I wanted it to have a 'shabby chic' look, so as the paint was drying I used a slightly damp sponge to rub bits off.

This is going to be my mum's present - we were having a discussion the other day about the huge lack of decorative furniture and ornaments in our house, and I thought it would be a good start on adding a bit of personality to the rooms!

What do you think about giving upcycled or handmade things as presents? Is it stingy, or are they better than conventional gifts?

Sadie xxx