homemade holidays: stocking stuffers for kids

There's still plenty of time to make homemade gifts for this Christmas.  Here are a few easy (and fast!) ideas for stocking stuffers:

Make a crayon roll using the tutorial over at Skip to My Lou.  It is a quick, easy project, and is the perfect size for a stocking.  I exchanged the tie closure for a button and ribbon (I've found ric rac or stretchy ribbon actually works best), which I think is a easier for the little people who can't tie things yet.

 

Make a ball (or two or three) using the free patterns at Grand Revival Designs (her free patterns are located in the right sidebar.  She also offers a free stocking pattern).  I like to add a jingle bell inside the stuffing of the balls I make - my one year old loves it.

sorry I'm M.I.A.!

I'm in New York on vacation and had every intention of posting this week ... but traveling is always a little more crazy than you expect!

Next week I'll be back with more homemade holiday gift ideas and updates on So You Think You're Crafty.  Tutorials on past projects are in the works!

Did you guess which project was mine last week?  I made the Glitter Wreath.  Thanks to everyone who voted!

homemade holidays: dishtowels and fabric coasters

Here are a couple of fast and easy sewing projects for the home that would make a great holiday gift.

 

In my new apartment, we are without a dishwasher.  It is slowly eating away at my soul.  But, I have found that pretty dishtowels make the dreaded task just a tiny bit more bearable.  I simply added a strip of fabric to these plain white dishtowels, but you can really go crazy and add some lovely patchwork, like in this tutorial at Sew, Mama, Sew.

 

Use your scraps to whip up some cute quilted coasters.  I just cut and sewed (mine are 4.5 inches square), but if you want full blown instructions there is a good tutorial at Make It From Scratch.

I think a cute coordinating set like this also adds a nice, handmade touch to a kitchen wedding gift.  (err ... Mitzi - these are for you!)

homemade holidays: black apple dolls

 

You know what I love about November?  It still feels like there is plenty of time to make homemade gifts.  Black Apple Dolls are one of my favorite little girl gifts to make.  They are a fast project, easy to customize, and oh so very cute (the free pattern doesn't hurt either).

My favorite in this bunch is the dark-haired twin with the blue flower brooch.  They could all use shoes and winter accessories, but I have to be somewhat realistic about my time.  :)

fabric travel high chair

There are a lot of sewing/craft blogs I really love, and near the top of that list is this mama makes stuff.  Recently Carrie posted a portable fabric high chair - so awesome!  I thought it would be just perfect for an upcoming trip Oscar and I are taking to NYC for a week of friends and NEW MOON!  wooo!  Yes, I am a Twi-mom, so sue me.  NEW MOON!  :)

Back to the fabric high chair.  I wanted one.  I needed one!  So far, Carrie has not posted the dimensions.   But, it looked easy enough.  3 rectangles of fabric and some velcro ... no biggie.  I estimated the dimensions and sewed one up.  Ta-da!

 

Like I said, it is three rectangles.  I cut my waist strap to be 6" x 43", but if I were to do it again, I think I would make it about 6 inches shorter (6" x 37").  It doesn't need to be quite so long.

The connector piece is 6" x 4".  The seat piece is 20" x 10".  There is a thin layer of batting between each piece, and a long strip of velcro on either end of the waist strap.

 

Piece of cake right?  I'm curious to see how my measurements match up to Carrie's.  Hopefully someday she'll post instructions so I can make this perfect!

S.Y.T.Y.C week 2

Have you seen the new entries for So You Think You're Crafty? This week's theme is leaves! And I have to say, the ladies crafted their butts off for this challenge. All of the entries are really cool! Make sure you stop by to vote for your favorite. Which one do you think I made?

Also, did you notice the new Giveaway section on the S.Y.T.Y.C. site? There is a giveaway from one of the sponsors, DECOmod Walls, this week. If you love vinyl decor, or just getting free stuff, check it out. :)

Congratulations to the ever-talented Dana, who won the week one challenge with her Harvest Dress and Dinner for Two.  Her tutorials are now posted.

Did you figure out which craft was mine last week?  Thanks to everyone who voted for my tractor!  :)

I did some serious sewing this weekend, and none of it is top secret!  I'll have new projects up very soon.

join the felt playhouses flickr group!

Hey ya'll. I have been getting SO many emails and comments from people who have made a felt playhouse. And they are turning out really
cute! I love seeing photos of what you all create.

Since I thought other felt playhouse fans might want to see them as well, I created a felt playhouses flickr group.

Share your photos and join the party!

variations on the gift jar

Here's a variation on the gift jar from my last post.  For a different look (and more instant results), you can use Elmer's Painters to draw a design directly onto the jar.  For the jar above, I printed these templates from Martha Stewart's DIY wedding section.  Tape the template to the inside of the jar and trace the design on the outside using an Elmer's Painter pen.

 

Have you visited the Daily Drop Cap yet?  Several times a week, typographer Jessica Hische posts a beautifully hand-crafted initial cap.  I printed mine out and used it as a template for this second jar, using the same method described above.  I was excited to see the little spirals on my initial, since they happen to be my signature doodle.  I drew freehand spirals to cover the rest of the jar.

Fill with a goodie, add a pretty gift tag, and you're all set to go.

Holiday Gift Jars and Tags

Thursday night I'll be demonstrating a little craft as part of a ladies' meeting at my church.  They asked me to come up with a holiday gift for a neighbor or friend - something simple that doesn't take much time or skill, is inexpensive to make ($2-$4), and wouldn't be embarrassing to give as a gift.  :)  Tall order.

I tend to give neighbors baked goods or treats for the holidays, so I thought a pretty container could be a good solution.  A mason jar is easy to dress up with a little bit of paint.  On this first jar, I stenciled the word Joy using frosted glass spray paint and contact paper to cut the stencil.   I'm working on another version of the gift jar using the Elmer's Painter pens, which I should have ready to show tomorrow.

Fill the jar with cookies, candies or other treats, and you have a pretty sweet gift.  Jars can also be filled with delicious baking or soup mixes, or spools of thread and other supplies for your favorite crafty people.

We'll also be making these festive holly gift tags.   They are my version of the Paper Treats tags, which I found instructions for on Martha Stewart.  The instructions call for lots of paper punches.  I don't know about you, but I don't have a holly leaf punch laying around ... but I do have scalloped scissors.  By simply using the scallop scissors upside down, it is easy to cut these little holly leafs.   They don't turn out as perfectly perfect as the Paper Treats tags, but that is fine by me.  Let the holidays begin!

S.Y.T.Y.C. Week One: Harvest

The theme for week one of S.Y.T.Y.C is Harvest.  This one really stumped me.  I don't usually do many seasonal crafts or decor (besides Christmas) so I didn't know where to start.  Voting for projects is anonymous, so I can't tell you what I finally came up with.  I guess you'll just have to vote for your favorite!

I am amazed at the variety of projects that turned out from this theme.  They are all so different!  Lots of creative ladies involved here...

Voting is open now until Friday night.  Please Vote!

P.S. In my last post, a few people commented that when they clicked on the SYTYC site, they were notified of a virus.  Missy had it checked out by Blogger, and no virus was found.  You shouldn't have trouble opening the site to vote, and it should be safe.