Econundrum: Last Minute Easy DIY Gifts

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Part two of MoJo‘s greener gift guide: Step away from the mall. Here are two easy DIY projects you can do with stuff you might even already have on hand. I spent a nice few hours on Saturday making custom cards, chatting with my roommates, and listening to music all the while. Cheaper than shopping, and much more pleasant.


Project #1: Custom Greeting Cards

You’ll need:

Blank cards and envelopes
Wrapping paper, wall paper, old magazines—anything with images you’d like to cut out (I used some old ads for ladies hats that I found at a vintage store).
Glue
Ribbon

Simply cut out images you like and glue them to the cards. You can package the cards and envelopes together in groups of three to five, and tie each bundle with a ribbon.
 
Project #2: Key Hangers

You’ll need:

Small picture frames (you can get cheap wooden ones at a craft store)
Wrapping paper or wall paper
Stapler or craft glue
Key hooks (hardware stores sell ’em for cheap)

Wrap the picture frame like a present, creating a smooth surface over the front where the picture would go. Staple or glue the edges to the back. Screw key hooks into the bottom of the frame. Hang like you would a picture.
 

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THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.

It’s the most important month of the year for our fundraising, with upward of 15 percent of our annual online total coming in during the final week—and there’s a lot to say about why Mother Jones’ journalism, and thus hitting that big number, matters tremendously right now.

But you told us fundraising is annoying—with the gimmicks, overwrought tone, manipulative language, and sheer volume of urgent URGENT URGENT!!! content we’re all bombarded with. It sure can be.

So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?

The upshot? Mother Jones does journalism you don’t find elsewhere: in-depth, time-intensive, ahead-of-the-curve reporting on underreported beats. We operate on razor-thin margins in an unfathomably hard news business, and can’t afford to come up short on these online goals. And given everything, reporting like ours is vital right now.

If you can afford to part with a few bucks, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones with a much-needed year-end donation. And please do it now, while you’re thinking about it—with fewer people paying attention to the news like you are, we need everyone with us to get there.

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