Grad Gifts: Coast Guard Academy

6/23/2016

With summer officially in full swing that could only mean one thing- graduations (and grad parties)! And like me, I know that there are many college students who have high school friends graduating. So I'll be sharing some grad gift ideas in this new mini-series.

I hope that these posts will inspire you to create something personal and unique that you're graduating friend will appreciate (while making sure that you don't spend a pretty penny).

Let's get started!

For The Friend That's Moving Away

While you may have several friends moving away for college, there's something special about someone going to a training academy- not just because they'll be serving our country but also because they'll be deployed or stationed in multiple locations post-graduation.

So I decided to give my friend something to remember home by. This project was inspired by others on Pinterest but I've put my own twist on it.

(Note: As always, this project can be personalized for other academies such as West Point or Navy.)

I really wanted to give my friend something that will grow with her as she moves from place to place and something that makes cute dorm/room decor! So I decided to go with an "air mail" theme because not only is it simple to recreate (even years down the road) but also because I plan on sending additional ones to her over time as she moves. This theme also allows me to include her current address (blurred out for privacy) which I thought was a cute, subtle touch of home.

Gifts on A Budget: Dollar Store Finds & More

Believe it or not- this piece cost me less than $1.50! This frame/shadow box happened to be in my local dollar store and I just knew it was the perfect compliment to the personalized wall art I had created.

The original piece had some writing in Spanish but I easily replaced them with my friend's name and "swab" class.

I can't get over how perfect this is for someone attending the U.S. Coast Guard!

In the name of thriftiness, I put all these gifts together in none other than a repurposed gift bag!

By reusing a gift bag I received, I saved even more. It was just my luck that the tissue paper I had complimented the small yellow details on the bag.

Then, I cut up card stock, threw it on twine, and there you go- a simple, affordable gift tag!

I can't wait to give this to my friend tonight! I hope she likes them and is reminded that home (family and friends) is never far away.

I hope that this post have given you guys (broke college students or not) some thrifty gift ideas that's perfect for a graduate that's attending a training academy (or simply moving away from home)!

Let me know if you would like to see a step-by-step tutorial of the "HOME is where the anchor is..." wall art by leaving a comment below. Thank you for reading- I can't wait to share my other ideas!

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