Handmade Sorority Gifts-Made 25 Years Ago

Ideas for Sorority Awards and Gifts
The following photos feature historic sorority gifts made 25 years ago for Chi Omega, Delta Zeta, Alpha Delta Pi, Phi Mu, Zeta Tau Alpha and Kappa Delta...hand-painted plaques, brown jugs, & paddle.



These sorority gift items were made in 1983. I only have pictures of the items since all of these sorority items were either special orders or were sold at the Chatter Tree craft & gift shop in Statesboro, Georgia to sorority girls from Georgia Southern College (which is now Georgia Southern University). Perhaps this blog will connect to some of the girls that actually bought or received these items as gifts. That would be so cool!

As far as I know, these were created before Greek Licensing came into being. That was back in the day when artistic ideas flourished for unique, one-of-a-kind sorority gift creations.

Perhaps, just viewing the pictures of these sorority items will inspire some of you to make something similar.

Lion Mascot on a Gift Bag for Alpha Delta Pi or Phi Mu Sorority Sisters

Make your sorority gift extra nice with a gift bag or wrapping paper that is decorated with your sorority's symbol, mascot, or flower.

Be on the look out for special gift packaging like this lion gift bag which would make a perfect presentation of a special sorority gift for a Alpha Delta Pi sister of a Phi Mu sister. Wrap your gift in white or colored tissue paper allowing extra paper to fluff up the bag and stick out of the top. The tissue paper (like a fancy bow on a wrapped present) somehow beckons to the gift's receiver, arousing her curiosity and adding to the sheer delight of receiving a special gift from her friend.

Handmade sorority gifts are extra special because the giver puts herself into the gift that she gives. If crafts or artsy design is just not your thing, you can buy ready made items and add your Greek letters or personalize with your lil or big sister's name using paint pens or a permanent marker like a Sharpie.

Phi Mu Lion with Special Necklace

Here is an easy way to make a stuffed animal such as this lion into a very special representative of your sorority, in this case, Phi Mu. Make a necklace with a ribbon chain and a charm from a foam star.
Simply
1. paint your Greek letters on the foam star
2. punch a hole with a regular hole puncher
3. thread the ribbon through the hole
4. Tie necklace round the neck
5. Add a pretty pink ribbon bow
Now look what you have made! So easy....

And by the way, other foam shapes will work well, too. A heart would be beautiful.
Check out these:
Teddy Bears for Kappa Delta
Turtles for Delta Zeta
Pandas for AOII
Lions for ADII, too.
Owls for Chi O (though stuffed owls are hard to come by) I plan to create a pattern for making a stuffed animal OWL very soon.

Also,
Dolphins
Frogs
Poodles
Unicorns
Ladybugs
Hannah Dolls
Penguins

Please send me a picture if you use this idea. I would love to see your results. (email link in sidebar)
Thanks,



Julie

Alpha Delta Pi and Phi Mu Lion Gift Bags

I was so happy when a saw a beautiful LION stencil at my local craft store. I often paint lions that are cute, but this lion stencil is regal. The blue bags are not the right color blue for ADII (Alpha Delta Pi) but the result is very pretty.

I stenciled some white bags for Phi Mu.

Though the picture doesn't show it, I finish gift bags by punching 2 holes at the top of the bag with a hole puncher. I take a length of ribbon, run the ribbon through the holes and tie a pretty bow to seal the bag with a gift inside.

Instead of stencils, bags can be decorated with stickers, markers, or simple painted designs. The possibilities are endless. These bags are lunch bag size, but you can purchase solid colored gift bags with handles for 50 cents and make them truly beautiful with a little decoration. Gifts that you put time and effort into mean the most!!