Making Gift For A Teenage Boy

Ok, so next month my besfriend Ben is having his 15th birthday, and although we're very close I'm at a lack of ideas for making him a present.
At first, I wanted to make him a wallet, but he bought one in brighton last time we went that he still absolutely loves.
Then I wanted to stencil him a t-shirt, but I know t-shirts and general clothing are a hit and miss realy.
I can't knit or crochet and I don't have to time to learn.
Id say he was a little bit camp, but hes still worried about his 'image' at school so I can't realy do him anything to girly.
He's not realy interested in sewing or crafts.
He loves Cheryl Cole, and listens to bands like Owl City.
For his party we're doing a murder mystery but we haven't asigned characters yet.

Id apprieciate any ideas, thanks! ^-^

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7 replies since 1st April 2010 • Last reply 1st April 2010

Reply #1:

omg, wish i could help! i still have this problem with my best friend/boyfriend, and we are 23!

what are his hobbies and interests? does he wear man jewelry?

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Reply #2:

You could try making him some kind of wall art, or maybe even a plushie of a favourite cartoon/movie character.
Or if all else fails make him some cupcakes or cookies. =P

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Reply #3:

look up on this site how to make a duct tape tie... very cool... very manly... and shows off your talent... go for it!

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Reply #4:

how about a t-shirt. Also something like a courier bag type thing if your good on the sewing machine. Also blokes are wearing more jewellery these days so you could do a pendant which is on thong.

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Reply #5:

you can find a messanger bag and take some freezer paper to stencil out (his fav, band album, animal, movie character, cartoon character or a saying) and use arcrylic paints and use an iron to set it....this way he can put his favorite cd's, mp3 player or ipod and books in. Happy

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Reply #6:

The bag idea is a good one, I've done that for a guy friend before now and it works well. I've never used acrylics like sugarlishes suggested, always fabric paint, but it's never been hugely expensive and I find that one pot lasts me for lots of projects. Pebeo do a good 'setacolour' range with matte and metallic/shimmer opaques which work on dark and light fabrics (the silver is particularly good), and dylon do paints as well. All of these can be set with an iron (although if you're doing a huuuuuuge design it can take the best part of two hours - speaking from experience here!), but you're supposed to wash the item first to prep it for the paints. If you're going to do a bag the best way to wash it is a bowl of soapy water and a sponge, but it's a real pain. I think tshirts are good too, I've made lots for my boyfriend (and they're easy to wash!)

If you're worried about the design element, I'd suggest sticking to simple geometric shapes and/or lineart. I've done stuff like city skylines, cloud outlines, clouds raining arrows (no idea where this one came from but it worked), shrooms, trees.... The other advantage of this is that it doesn't gobble up all your paint Happy

Also, Autumn Asylum is right - you can't go wrong with food. Especially if you put it in a nice box and cover it with writing icing Happy

PS. Sorry about the slightly exhaustive answer. I get excited when people talk about fabric painting...

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Reply #7:

what about a cell phone/i-pod cosy? or some set of themed desk storage/organizer? boys are always messy :p

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