homemade holidays: gifts of 2015

After counting them all up, I figured I made over 50 handmade gifts  this year.  Most of those gifts were small scale, but that added up to a lot of crafting hours, and not many sleeping hours in December.  :)  I promised my husband not to make anything for two weeks after Christmas, but luckily I have plenty of things to show you during my hiatus.

All of the projects in this post are lumped together because I only have fuzzy phone photos of them - sorry about that.  Guess that's what happens when you craft late at night and wrap/ship first thing the next morning!

I took advantage of the free house box printable by Polka Dot Prints for Design Mom and made a gazillion little treat boxes for friends, playgroup mommies, helpful ladies at church.  I paired as many as I could with an extra little gift, like a sparkly bird ornament or small pack of letterpress cards.

These houses were obviously designed for Christmas, but swap out that wreath, and you could definitely use it all year round.  A heart for Valentines?  Bunny for Easter?  I think I'll get a lot of use from that printable.

My L-Letterpress was working double-time, and I gave out a lot of notecard sets.   These were printed with the Ruffles Printing Plate, which I think is quite pretty.

For Oscar's preschool teachers, I made patchwork lanyards using the tutorial from the blog, Simply Cotton.   These are super easy to make, and only take 8 charm squares (5x5" cuts of fabric).  Just a note, if you are sewing them in bulk:  sew all 8 charm squares together first, then cut the long strip in half, essentially making two lanyards at once.  It speeds things up a bit.

Also speeding things up, use one kind of fabric and skip the patchwork.  I made a more neutral (wardrobe friendly?) lace print lanyard for my sister-in-law, BYU-Idaho's newest librarian.   Love you, Holly.  :)

I think these lanyards make a great, useful gift for anyone required to wear a name tag to work.  If I were having any more babies, I would make some for the wonderful nurses in the maternity ward.  I bought the lobster clasps from an etsy shop, twpmango (also got some cufflink backs ... but I'll show you those later).

Ok, last up in the terrible lineup of photos, I made three colorful clutches using Elm Street Life's Bow Clutch tutorial.  I love this little bag - it is the perfect size for the little necessities ... wallet, phone, chapstick, etc.  Anytime I don't want to haul my diaper bag, I grab my little clutch like this.  Admittedly, the pink one turned out a little wild (sorry, Megan!), and the polka dot clutch was somehow sewn backwards, but are still cute for a pencil case, make up bag, travel pouch ... 

Phew ... sorry again about those fuzzy photos.  I'll take better photos of the things I made for my kids.  :)

2015 Martha's Circle Holiday Gift Guide

Check out the Martha's Circle 2015 Holiday Gift Guide, which includes some Gifts for Crafters picked by yours truly.

There are great gift ideas in every category, but I especially like some of the Family Stocking Stuffer picks.

letterpressed gift tags and note card sets

Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you have a joyful celebration with your family and friends.

During the holidays, I tend to put my favorite crafting tools into overdrive.  Earlier this week I showed you a holiday project with my Silhouette Cameo, and today I'm sharing what I'm making on my L-Letterpress System.  First up, the cutest little Christmas tree gift tags:

All of the printing plates from this gift tag come from the Wintertide set.  First, I blind embossed the mini flat cards with the polka dot background.  Blind embossing means you use the printing plates without ink so it just presses the design into the card, but leaves it white.

Then I set up my roller with bright green ink and set up the tree and "happy holidays" plates.  

Simply ink the brayer, roll it over the printing plates ...

close the lid, and run the platform through the Epic Six.

Presto ... they come out looking practically perfect!  Just realized looking at these photos that I still need to punch a hole in the tag, but you get the idea.  :)

For small gifts and stocking stuffers, I also made several sets of these small note cards for various occasions.  Tiny note cards are my favorite when I want to include a card but don't have a long message to write.  I always feel awkward when there is tons of empty space left over.

Things that are both pretty and practical make great gifts, don't you think?  

Lifestyle Crafts has some nice deals going on for Black Friday:  

• All borders, boxes & bags will be 40% off
• The Holly Jolly Craft Kit will be only $39.99
• Free shipping for orders of $50 or more, plus a free Sticky Thumb dimensional

Plus, you can use my code, HOMEMADE, to get an additional 20% off!  Happy shopping. :)

Wee Wonderfuls Mermaiden Doll

A (long) while back, I received a copy of the book, Wee Wonderfuls, 24 Dolls to Sew and Love.  It is a very charming book - I immediately bookmarked a bunch of projects.  Somehow, they got knocked down the to-do list, but with many toddler birthday parties in the coming months, I pulled the book out again.

Last night I made the Mermaiden Doll.  Hello, beautiful!

It is a small-sized doll, only about 7 inches tall, perfect for little girls who like to take things on the go.  All of the stitching details add a lot of personality.

If you are planning to make dolls for holiday gifts, this book is a great place to start.  I love how diverse each of the projects is.  There really is something for everyone (even little boys!).

Up next on my dolls to make list are the Hansel and Gretel wooden spoon puppets, doxie necklace, and Little Miss Storybook (pictured below, left to right).

This little mermaid was hard to say goodbye to, but she'll be in good hands.  The birthday girl has such a love of swimming, she is practically a fish.  I'm sure these two will get along nicely.

Have you started thinking about handmade holiday gifts?  What is on your to-do list?

apron in an hour

Next month, the woman's organization at my church is having a retro-homemaking themed evening of activities.  Among the classes, I am leading a sewing class to make an easy apron.  These are my test runs ...

We are using the Apron in an Hour tutorial by Stop Staring and ... Start Sewing.  True to its name, it really only takes about an hour and is so cute (love the long sash for a front bow!). 

These two aprons are made with quilting weight cotton, so they are more for looks than function.  I'm going to look for some heavier fabrics for the real aprons.

Speaking of fabric, I can't tell you how much I love this print.  It is called Spring Street by Carolyn Gavin. 

If you are looking for homemade gift ideas for this Christmas, this apron is a great place to start -   thanks, Jona, for the fun pattern!

father's day idea: desktop planter

Need a last-minute Father's Day idea?  How about a desktop planter?

We got together with friends today to make these easy succulent planters for Father's Day.   Start with a simple container and fill it with a layer of rocks (for drainage), soil, a few small plants and wood chips or more decorative rocks to top. 

I printed small pictures of the kids (about 2 inches tall), laminated them so they wouldn't get wet, stuck them on a toothpick and hid those little sweeties among the plants.  I think it will make a cute addition to daddy's office.

Oscar loves gardening, thanks to his awesome Aunt Holly, so he was all over this project.  Although, I think he would have filled the vase to the top with rocks, had we let him.

We've been participating in Summer Camp Adventure Club for June, and this week's theme is Growing & the Outdoors.   Just for fun, my friend Sonja bought a tub of ladybugs at the nursery today and we released them into her garden ... all 1,500 of them!   The kids were (mostly) delighted, and we mamas thought it was a lot of fun.  

The Summer Camp Adventure Club is wonderful and has been keeping us so busy.  I'll show you more of what we've been up to towards the end of the month.  In the meantime, you should check it out!  July is quickly approaching, and there will be new themes and new fun to be had.

I-Spy Bags

I-Spy bags are nothing new, but I thought they would be the perfect addition to my kid's Easter baskets this year.  After all, there is only so much candy a mom can hand off to her toddlers in good conscience, and we can bring them to church for a quiet activity.

The construction was simple - I cut a 6 inch square of clear plastic and 2 inch strips of fabric, and sewed them together in a log cabin quilt block.  The resulting block measured approximately 8 inches square.  For the back, I cut 3 8-inch squares: 1 for the lining (so the inside would look pretty under the filling), 1 for the back, and 1 for the pocket (fold in half).  I also interfaced the back piece with fusible fleece.   When sewing the plastic, insert a piece of tissue paper underneath so it doesn't stick to your sewing machine.

I found many of the trinkets around the house, but supplemented by purchasing a grab bag from High Pie Supply.  They sent me a great mix!  The poly pellets can be found at your local craft store, usually with the poly-fil stuffings and pillow forms.

I took a photo of each bag's trinkets and printed them on a little card to stick in the back pocket.  The cards are also backed 2 pieces of cardstock, so they are nice and thick.  To make the cards even more durable, you could laminate them.

I made three bags total, each with a different variety of items to find.

With any luck, these bags will keep my kids occupied (and quiet!) during our Easter church service.

(fabric from Riley Blake's Wheels and Summer Song collections)

astronomy club t-shirts

My husband and father-in-law are total astronomy buffs - on a clear night, they haul their giant telescopes into the back yard and search the skies.   Oscar likes to "help" by touching things he shouldn't and shining the flashlight in grandpa's eyes. 

I couldn't resist making the guys some matching t-shirts (using my silhouette, what else?) so I can pretend they have an official club.  Now if I can only convince them to put the shirts on all at the same time for a picture!  :)

Everything is cuter toddler-sized, don't you think?

oven mitts, big and small

I made big girl and little girl oven mitts as Christmas gifts this year.  This cupcake set was for Oscar's BFF, Audrey, who also received a brand-new play kitchen from her grandparents.  Audrey's mom made her an adorable apron with this cupcake fabric, and I contributed matching oven mitts. 

For a pattern, I traced one of Oscar's mini oven-mitts from a Melissa and Doug set.  But I also did a little research and found a kid-sized oven mitt tutorial at Ikat Bag for you to reference if you'd like to make some.  Of course, toddlers should never handle hot pans, but these mitts have a layer of Insul-Bright (a heat-resistant batting) inside.  You know, just in case.

Grown ups love new oven mitts, too.  I made a set for my mother-in-law using the tutorial at The Crafty Cupboard. 

I love this pattern!  It is the kind of oven mitt with the thumb on the front instead of the side.  Easier to use, in my opinion.  I'm also a huge fan of this fabric.  It is a home dec fabric that I found at JoAnn's, and it wants me to buy more and sew it into throw pillows for my living room.

Are you intrigued by the bag?  It is the first mass-produced project that I've made in a long time - tell you more later this week.

Simple CD Wallet

 

  

Jumping on the Valentine craft bandwagon, I made this little CD wallet for someone special and filled it with my favorite tunes.  

No tutorial for this one, but it is easy to make.  You'll need two pieces of fabric measuring 12 1/2 x 6 inches (the outside and inside of the wallet), and one piece that measures 12 1/2 x 4 inches (for the inside pocket).  Back them all with fusible fleece interfacing for a nice, soft wallet.  I topped my pocket with a strip of double fold bias tape and added a elastic and button closure.

The CD labels are from Chronicle Books.

Happy Valentine's Day!

valentine cookie bags

Tonight I am having a little Valentine activity with the ladies at church.  We are decorating heart shape cookies and making these little cookie bags to go with them.  Nice and simple.

The bags are just a white lunch sack that is punched along the top using a Martha Stewart scalloped edge punch (decorative scissors would work, too).

I cut the tags on my Silhouette.  It is a two piece tag that I designed myself (although, I'm being liberal with the word "designed" - the software is so easy to use). If you want a copy of the files, just email me!  homemadebyjill@gmail.com

Do you love my background today?  I have a new craft tool.  :)  It is fun, easy to use, and makes beautiful things.  Check back tomorrow and I'll show you more.

In other news, I was diagnosed with shingles yesterday.  Boo hoo for me.  I am accepting all forms of pity.  :)  Pray for me that it will pass quickly?  Thanks.