Crafty Christmas Pt. 2

Phew! I have lost count on how many things I have made, but I have made it to my first deadline. Wrapping and shipping happens tomorrow. I did have to cut a few things from my original list, but I figured I would have too. They were more along the lines of being bonus gifts.

Little chocolate pops to put on top of gifts. To be fair, I made the little snowman and the others were made by friends. I did make 6 snowmen though.

Hackey sacks for Luke. Just one more to make and then they can be juggling balls as well.
http://dorfmunder.wordpress.com/2009/01/26/hackey-sack-pattern-crochet/

3 sets of the fishing game for Max, Greyson, and my secret santa. Each kiddo will get one pole and twelve fish.
http://zitzmanfam.blogspot.com/2010/07/felt-fishing-set.html

Dinosaur hat for Jaden

http://crazysockscrochet.blogspot.com/2010/09/crochet-pattern-dinosaur-spikes.html

Owl hats for Ben and Nate.

pattern by Inner Hooker on Etsy.

Owl hats for Noe and Ellie

Memory game for Jaden

http://theadventuresofroryandjess.blogspot.com/2009/09/memory-game-tutorial.html

Memory game for Ben

Messy Masterpiece for my mom, painted by Ella. The intent is for it to be a family tree, and I will also give them an archival pen to write in names and birthdates. Or they can leave it as is. :)

Messy Masterpiece for Jen and Ben, painted by their daughter, Noe. They don't know about it though, so shhhhh!

Messy Masterpiece for Mike and Zina, painted by Ella.

How many days until Christmas?

Crafty Christmas Pt. 1

Here is what I have accomplished so far in my homemade Chirstmas gift list. I am almost half way there!

Pillowcases for the boys. x3

http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/2008/07/novelty-pillowcase-tutorial.html

Pajama pants for the boys. x3
modified Simplicity pattern
Pillowcase for Ella

http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/2008/07/novelty-pillowcase-tutorial.html

Pajama pants for Ella

Simplicity pattern

Slippers for Ella

http://sew-ing.com/make/slippers.html

Pajama pants for Luke
Simplicity pattern

Dishcloths for my BFF's. A Set of 4 x3.
http://www.designspongeonline.com/2009/03/diy-wednesdays-crocheted-cotton-dish-scrubbers.html

Owl hat for Elora or Ellie. I think this one is too big for Elora, so I will try a smaller size.

Dinosaur hat for Greyson

Car Caddy for my secret santa

http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/2009/12/cozy-car-caddy-tutorial.html

The inside of the car caddy

Sock bunny rattles for Ellie, Elora, Thea and Nate

http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/2010/05/sock-animal-rattle-tutorial.html

Crinkle taggie squares for Ellie, Elora, Thea and Nate

http://www.joyshope.com/2009/05/baby-crinkle-square-tutorial.html

Reversible belt for Ella. I made 2, but she has already swiped one of them.

Reversible belts for Luke.

So, 35 things made! Not too shabby. :)

Easter Bonnet

There was a local Easter parade that had an Easter bonnet competition. Ever the one to jump on board with the opportunity to put something ridiculous on my childs head, I was pretty excited! :)



I had never made a bonnet before, and I was trying to stick with what I had on hand. This bonnet is made from white felt. I embellished it with 2 coffee filter roses, some little white silk flowers, embroidery and ribbon.

I should have taken a picture of of the bonnet not on her head, so I could show the detail better, but oh well. I used my Making Memories hole punch/eyelet setter to punch holes in the scallop edges of the bonnet. I layed pink ribbon underneath to show through the holes. I also trimmed the scallop edges with pink floss, in a blanket stitch. I was trying to make it so the detail showed up better then white on white.


You can't really see the little white silk flowers, but I put them on to help hide the stems on the roses.
Watching the parade with her big brother.

And with Grandma. :)

Unfortunately, we only got an honorable mention, but based on the number of people who stopped to comment on her bonnet before/during and after the parade - I would say that it was a winner!

Quiet Book

Last Christmas I made Ella and the boys a quiet book. I need to do more pages for them now, but here is what I did get done. :)

Ella opening her book Christmas morning and playing with it

The dolls have clothes to dress them. Ella likes putting the clothes on and then taking them off to find the belly button.

Each shirt has the first initial of the kiddo the book was for.

The first page of the book. Obviously, the boys had their names, not Ella's. ;)

The "E" could be buttoned on her name.

The clothes for the doll can also be hung on the clothesline or stored in teh basket. This basket was wonky, so that one became Ella's.

Ella's doll.
To make the doll, I used a gingerbread man cookie cutter and traced.

It's difficult to tell, but there is a little french knot in the middle for a belly button.

Her doll dressed.

And the last page is a lace up shoe.

Tutorial/inspiration found here...

http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/2009/06/finished-quiet-book.html

Several of her pages are ones that I will follow to add to the books.

ATC's

ATC stands for artist trading cards. The cards are the same size as a baseball card, 3.5"x2.5". There are quite a few online communities out there devoted to atc's. The one I am a member of (swanli) is ATC's for All. Besides making miniature pieces of art (which is really satisfying when you need an instant creative outlet), you can trade with other artists or participate in swaps. These are all cards I have made for swaps. When I got pregnant I stopped, hopefully soon I will be able to start up again.

Make Me Happy Swap

Lady Bug

The Snow Queen Swap

"her cloak and cap were of snow..."

"The flake of snow grew larger and larger..."

"She was sitting in the Mirror of Understanding..."

"It was a lady...It was the Snow Queen."

Make Me Happy

"Whimsical Tea Pot"

Mosaic Madness (I am missing one)

Sparkle and Shine

"sweat, tears, or the sea."

"The Bride"

"I scream"

Christmas Tree

"Charlie Brown Christmas"

"Corona Christmas"

Vintage Postcard

Matisse Collage

Sticker (you had to create a background around a sticker)