DIY Gifts for Your Athlete

Whether you do a good luck gift before each competition or it's an end of the season surprise, gifts for athletes are hugely popular. I found some great DIY gifts for athletes, along with the Etsy version for those of you like me, who would rather just pay someone else to do it!

1. Hair bows

Image and tutorial from www.southernplate.com

 I know this one is pretty gender specific, but it is also incredibly popular. This tutorial for making bows results in cute and not too difficult bows for your athlete. Follow the tutorial and use your team colors to create a matching bows for each member of the team.

Or, if you're like me, and would rather pay people to make your bows for you (we own over 125 different hair bows - I have a problem), check out one of my favorite Bow-tiques, The Trendy Owl. She did R's competition season bows for me almost a year ago (I ordered them early because I was super excited, of course), and they are completely gorgeous. 

2. Water Bottles

Image and tutorial from vickiodell.com

Water bottles are an item your athlete shouldn't be without. There are lots of great ways to customize them, including vinyl cut-outs, stickers, and makers. This tutorial is for a simple way to decorate boring stainless steel water bottles (in an effort to go green and avoid plastic) with Sharpie Paint Markers. This could include athlete names, mascots, mottos, and more with very few supplies beyond your own artistic ability. However, if you are like me, and have zero artistic ability, I recommend checking out The Posh Diva or CustomDesignsBotique on Etsy.

3. Heat Packs

Image and tutorial from Cherry Street Cottage

If you have an athlete, you have bumps and bruises. These DIY heat packs (or cold packs) are awesome to throw in the microwave or the freezer for headaches or aching muscles. This tutorial makes it seem fairly simple, although for a boy version of the gift you might think about maybe using eucalyptus instead of lavender. Or not, either way. Use fun fabric, team colors, or sports themed designs, and these make a great gift for your athlete!

Owning my shortcomings again, I totally don't sew, so you could also check out these custom heat packs from WildflowerBathBody that come in different prints and sizes!

4. Subway Art

I'm kind of obsessed with subway art, and I've actually given it a short. I was able to create some collages pretty successfully using Google Draw. This tutorial from Tempting Thyme uses PicMonkey, which is an awesome photo editing site, and is actually the one I use to create the photos of my kids for this page. I've created the subway art, but never actually put it on a board or canvas, so if you're not up to trying it yourself, I found great reviews for HDVinylDesigns (photo on right is one of their designs). However, if you're looking to purchase instead of DIY, my recommendation would be to check out Jori, who creates amazing works of art at Heartfelt Designs. It's always great to buy local, and I have many friends and family who have been incredibly happy with her work.