Christmas Crafting 2011

I didn't do much crafting this year because we have a lot on our plate right now. My hubby took a job away from us and I'm having to solo-parent most of the time now. That along with trying to pack to get ready to join him have made it impossible to get all the fun projects done that I had planned. But, I did have some things I made a little while ago and never sent along with a couple of new projects. Here are links to the projects we did and a couple of crappy pictures too. ;-)

Here's a cute stuffed dog I made for my niece. No link for this one. The pattern came out of a wonderful Waldorf craft pattern book lent to me by a friend.

For my other niece and my 6 year old daughter, I made pencil and drawing paper holders. I love this tutorial! I've made it several times now. As you can see, I've changed it a little. I like to use a contrast fabric on the front and a velcro closure. I love that Target pads of paper fit perfectly too.

For my nephews and my boys, I made these miniature marshmallow guns. Seriously fun! So fun that my daughter insisted on having one too! I wish that all the boys lived closer because I'm sure it would have made for a fun and crazy Christmas day activity. We haven't made the goggles yet but plan on trying to make them soon.

We also included in the cousins' box some homemade gingerbread play dough. It smelled so good! We kept half here to play with too.

Every year I try to make sure the kids have a new Christmas tree ornament. At first I bought them ornaments. But, a couple of years ago we switched to making them ourselves. This year we made model magic snowflakes. Here's the post that inspired us. It was the first time we've used Crayola Model Magic and the kids had a lot of fun with it.

I also made the Eleventh Hour Scarf from Purl Bee for one of my sisters. I used Wool-ease Thick and Quick yarn in an off-white color. I wish I had taken a picture. I liked how it turned out so much that I almost kept it for myself!

I also knit a scarf for my mom. It was a light-weight lace pattern called Falling Water. I used a pretty blue bamboo blend yarn.

My dad got a Classic World War II Watch Cap made out of wool in black and red. My oldest kept trying to take this hat since it's been hanging around the house waiting to be finished for awhile. I think I'm going to have to knit him one soon too!

I put together a little gift package for my sister-in-law that had an earwarmer, coffee cup cozy and fun porcelein travel mug. I used this pattern - Blue Leaf Headband. I also made my daughter one out of a lighter weight yarn and smaller needles. It still needs a button but also came out cute. The coffee cup cozy started life as these fingerless mittens. I loved the pattern but I wasn't happy with the yarn so I frogged it down to coffee cup cozy size.

There was also a failed attempt at homemade Almond Roca. But, I don't really want to talk about it. It makes me too sad... :P There was success for Christmas Eve dinner though with a Snowman Pizza. I think we have a new Christmas Eve tradition.

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday filled with love and laughter!

LEGO Soap

We had a birthday to go to for a wonderful friend turning 9 years old. We weren't sure what kind of gift we could make and then remembered that he is crazy about LEGOs just like my boys. I had a LEGO ice cube tray I bought a few years ago for a LEGO themed birthday party. Since then I have been collecting silicone ice cube trays in fun shapes whenever I see them for my soap making. I hadn't tried making soaps in that mold yet, but thought they would come out super cute. This project was something that all the kids could help with too. We used a melt and pour soap base that I melted in the microwave. Then the kids added food coloring and a scent of their choice before we poured it in the mold. The result was a colorful assortment of yummy smelling mini soaps! I especially loved that the kids all got to be a part of the crafting this time.

I had to show off this awesome pop-up card my oldest made for the birthday boy. He used this tutorial. I thought he did great! 

Goldilocks Finger Puppet

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine asked if I could knit her a Goldilocks finger puppet. She had a bunch of knit animal puppets that included bears, but wanted a Goldilocks to go with them. We found this free pattern for a farmer, and I thought that it wouldn't be too hard to turn Old MacDonald into Goldilocks.

I didn't have to make very many changes. First instead of 15 stitches, I cast on 30 stitches and used a very girly pink yarn (Lamb's Pride Worsted Strawberry Smoothie.) Then for the second row, I knit 2 together across the entire row. I was trying to make a little bit of a ruffle to look like a skirt. Then I forgot to switch to stockinette and continued with garter stitch for the next 2 rows. Uh oh. But, it ended up making a nice edge for the skirt. After that, I switched to stockinette and followed the pattern for the increases and decreases. I didn't have to switch yarn color to make overalls, so that ended up being easier. I followed the pattern for the arms and face, but gave her yellow braids instead of farmer hair. I think she came out pretty darn cute!

ETA: So, my sweet husband told me that she reminded him of the Joker. What?! It was bugging me that her hair was too far back on her head anyway, so I went ahead and added some more hair to her head. I think (hopefully) that she looks less like the Joker and more like Goldilocks now. I posted a new photo with her new hairdo.

Christmas is coming!

Here's a sneak peek at one of the Christmas projects I'm working on right now. It's my first time making a doll and I can't wait to see it finished. Bet you can't guess who it's for. ;) This month will be a busy month of Christmas crafting. We are trying to do mostly handmade gifts this year so I really need to get to work!

We're FINALLY ready for the Tooth Fairy...

Ok, so I'm only about 2 or 3 years late. My oldest has now lost 8 teeth and has been using plastic ziploc baggies to put his tooth under his pillow. Pathetic, I know. So, when I saw this cute Tooth Fairy bag on the Purl Bee, I thought that maybe I had a chance to redeem myself. Maybe.

The instructions call for wool felt and I would have loved to use wool felt. But, the closest fabric store only carries real wool felt in the ugliest of colors. I even asked the manager if she had any plans for carrying more wool felt, and she said that she doesn't sell very much so probably not. Of course, me with my big mouth replied that maybe if they didn't carry ugly colors, it might sell better. Oops, that probably wasn't very nice. I went ahead and got the plastic felt so that my kids could pick out their favorite colors.

I loved that this project was so simple. It took me so little time to finish them, although I did learn that I need to work a little on my hand stitching. Three Tooth Fairy bags completed! My younger two haven't lost any teeth yet, so at least I'm ready for them.

Handmade Birthday Gift : Dishtowel Apron + Cookie Decorating Kit

One of my daughter's good friends, had a very special birthday last week - 5 years old! I really wanted to do something special for her. I knew her mom said she didn't have an apron, so that seemed like a good gift. But, I wanted to include something else with the apron. I thought about some cooking utensils or maybe a mix. Then I started thinking, what's every kids favorite part of making cookies? The decorating! So I decided to include some homemade sugar cookies and frosting along with pink and purple sprinkles!

Although the apron is very similar to the apron I made before, I did change a few things. Instead of using bias tape along the sides and for the straps, I turned over the seam and used a very long ribbon for the straps. I had to make the neck wider to accommodate the bigger seam. Instead of 6 inches, I made the neck 9 inches wide centered. I turned down a 1/4 inch seam, pressed it and then turned it about 1 inch to sew the casing. I threaded the ribbon through the casing and it was done!

My daughter was even able to help me with the apron this time. I added beads to the end of the ribbon to try to keep it from pulling out of the casing when putting it on. She painted these wooden beads especially for her friend. It was so much fun to work together on a project!

Handmade Birthday Gift : Pencil and Paper Case

The flame version was my first attempt at a paper and pencil case. I made a few of these about a year ago for my boys and for a couple of gifts. I thought they came out pretty cute, but they had some major design flaws. First, the ribbon to tie it together was frustrating for my guys that couldn't tie bows at the time (not to mention the bow is just a little bit feminine looking.) Also, there was nothing to keep the pencils and pad of paper from falling out if the case was ever tipped over. And, at least with my kids, they had a difficult time keeping it in the upright position at all times. The last frustration was that the pad of paper had to be taken out of the case to draw. In the car, that meant juggling the pencils still in the case (but constantly falling out) with the pad of paper separately. In the end, these were tossed to the side because they just weren't very functional.

As I was searching for ideas for a birthday gift last week I stumbled on this paper and pencil holder at the Skip to My Lou website and blog. The blog is really wonderful! It's full of all kinds of ideas including a great list of handmade gift ideas. Since her design solved all of my design flaws, I decided to give it a try. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I used an old pair of jeans for the denim in the inside as well as a short section of the jean waistband for the closure. I used some scrap floral and lavender material for the cover and pencil pocket. Instead of a snap or button, I used iron-on velcro. I think the velcro will make it really easy to open and close. This one was obviously a gift for a girl, but I think it could very easily be made very boyish with different fabric. I'm really excited about that, because I sometimes struggle with handmade gift ideas for little boys. All three of my kids have already requested them too!

Soap

Awhile ago, I bought a fun melt and pour sampler kit from Brambleberry. I used most of it already, but still had some hemp soap and white soap left along with lots of fragrances to use. We were out of all of our homemade soap, so I thought today would be a good day to make some new fun soaps.

Melt and pour soaps are insanely easy. I don't even know why I put off using what I had left until now. Just melt the soap, add in the fragrance or essential oil you want, add color if you want and pour into a mold. My playgroup mama friends taught me how to do this a couple of years ago when we all got together to make Christmas gifts for our families. We made soap, lotion bars, bath salts, lip balms. It was so much fun!

I decided to use a lavender fragrance that I had in my sampler pack from Brambleberry. It seemed like a good choice for summer. Since the hemp soap already had a greenish tint, I decided not to add any color this time. I have a silicone mold made by Wilton that I love to use as a soap mold. The soaps come out so easily from the silicone. I've also found silicone ice cube trays that I've used for smaller fun shapes too. I couldn't find my spray bottle for rubbing alcohol to spray the soaps after pouring them into the molds. That helps to get rid of the bubbles. These ones aren't gifts, they're just for us. I didn't bother searching too hard.

Here they are out of the molds. I can't wait to try the hemp soap. I promised the kids we could use the white soap for some fun fish and summer shapes. I'm going to let them help with those and I'm sure it will involve some fun colors.

The next step is to try cold process soap. I've been nervous about trying it. But, the more I've read, the more I want to give it a go. Here's a great website for recipes and instructions for soaps and lotions - TeachSoap.com. 

Handmade Birthday Gift : Drawstring Backpack

Here's another birthday gift I made recently. Unfortunately, we missed our friend's birthday party because it was in the middle of all of us having the flu. Hopefully, we'll catch up with our friends soon so that we can deliver this gift.

I found this adorable fabric on the clearance table at JoAnn Fabrics. I really should not go into that store! I went in for some lace trim for the apron I made and walked out with a couple of yards of fabric. I just love the strawberries. I thought it would work great for a drawstring backpack. I used these instructions.

Since this backpack was for a little girl turning 3 years old, I thought I'd make it a bit smaller. I used an 8.5 x 11 piece of cardstock I had as my template. I think that size is going to be fine this time since she's so young. But, if I make it again, I'm definitely going to make it a bit bigger. It was a little too small even for my 4 year old. Next time, I think I'll try making it 10 x 14 inches and maybe even bigger for an older child. The instructions call for 13 x 17 inches.

We filled the backpack with some sidewalk chalk and some fun colored pencils.

I just love the red and yellow! I'm really happy with the finished product. I'm trying to decide now what to do with the rest of the fabric. I definitely think some kind of clothing set for my daughter. I'm a little nervous about sewing clothes. I have no idea why. I just feel more comfortable with crafts. I think it's time to get over that!

Handmade Birthday Gift : Little Girl's Apron

We've had a ton of birthday party invites over the last month or so. This week alone, we have 4 different kid's birthdays. We're also on a really tight budget right now. (Can you call it a budget when there's no income?) ;) So, I've had to get creative with gift giving. I like to make handmade gifts anyway, so it's actually been kind of fun. I've made aprons from tea towels before for gifts. They are super simple and fun to make. I'm always on the lookout for inexpensive and cute tea towels to use. These two towels I found at Target on clearance and stashed them away a couple of months ago. I pulled them out this week to make an apron for a friend of my daughter who was turning 4 years old this week.

I used these instructions as my starting point. I cut off the bottom section, 17 to 18 inches from the top. In the past, I've just turned that shorter section around and used it for a pocket. But, this time I wanted to use the coordinating dishtowel as the pocket so I set it aside to use for something else.

Then I cut the top corners off. I measured 6 inches centered on the top and marked the towel. Then I measured  10 inches from the bottom on both sides and marked the towel. Using a straight edge lined up with the two marks, I cut off each corner of the towel.

Next, I cut out the pocket from the second towel. I wanted to use the pattern with the stripes going in the opposite direction so I had to measure out what I needed (plus some extra for the seam on one side) and cut that out. I actually forgot about the seam when I cut it out. Thankfully, I was pretty sloppy and had enough.

I added some lace trim along the edge of the pocket when I finished that edge. Then I sewed the two sides of the pocked to the apron. Then I measured 4 inches in on both sides and marked the towel. I sewed along my markings to divide the big pocket into three smaller pockets.

I used extra wide double fold bias tape to finish the bottom seam. I also used the bias tape to finish the sides and create the straps. I had wanted to use Velcro or a "D" ring for the neck strap, but my Velcro was too wide for the bias tape and the "D" ring was too big. So, I ended up just making straps, about 15-16 inches for the neck straps and 17-18 inches for the back strap. 

Voila! Finished Apron! I think it turned out pretty darn cute and for less than $5. I threw in a small whisk and spatula to complete the gift.