Handmade Holidays: Book Mark It

Oh it was a week of trials, the hardest being one of the dogs was severely injured yesterday. She will be home tomorrow from the vet and I will post the story and a couple of before and after pictures.
It's horrific. Thank goodness she survived.

I have also started a rather difficult quilt, well difficult for me. It's a paper piecing quilt that I took a class for this week. I hope to have a few blocks ready to show you all by Monday:-)

Now let's move on to another gift idea. This is for those friends and family who read REAL books....the kind with REAL paper pages. I know that even with the era of electronic devices for reading, there is still something extra nice about an actual object with real pages to turn.

                          ***  Seriously horrible photo, I apologize***

All you need is a piece of velvet ribbon, about 9 inches long, two ribbon clamps and a charm.

I bought my ribbon from M&J Trim and the ribbon clamps I bought from Twilight's Fancy . Make sure you buy one set of clamps with a loop on it for attaching a charm. You might find these items at a local hobby or craft store, but I was having difficulty and they were inexpensive enough to order online. Finally get a charm, something that will make this bookmark more special.

Attach the clamps to each end and smoosh them down gently with pliers. I used needle nose pliers, taking caution not to scratch or dent the clamp. Add your charm( you might need a jump ring) and ta-da!

These would a great addition to a book gift. My oldest got a new, popular book for her birthday.

 

This book is a great gift for a teen who loves to read!

 

 

Maybe you are in a book club and need a good gift for the other members. This is affordable and practical and lovely.

Feel the need to browse  another blog for ideas?

Go check out Domestic Anarchy and her Crap Free Gift Ideas. After all, who needs more plastic crap cluttering up the house? Give something meaningful, something hand made, and something crap free.

Till Monday........

Handmade Holidays: Washer Necklace

Personalized jewelry is what we are making today! This project was a popular one around this house and so I made a necklace for each of the girls to show you all how simple and lovely this handmade gift is for giving this year!

To start you will need to buy ball chain (I bought mine on a roll at the craft store) and some charms. I suggest you shop around for a sale as these often do get discounted in sales ads or you might use a coupon to grab these supplies at a deal.
The stainless steel washers are at the hardware store and only cost about ten cents each. Get extra because there is a little learning curve to metal stamping.

You will also need metal stamps. I bought mine from Artbeads but I have since learned that they are cheaper at Harbor Freight PLUS their set includes numbers. You want the 1/8 inch size.
If you are a local friend, you may borrow my stamps if you ever want to, just send me a text or email.

You will also need a stainless steel block like this one to hammer upon. Trust me...you need the block. Use a coupon to buy it. Now, I used something different. We live near a railroad track and I found a steel plate  (it's really heavy). I use the gigantic steel plate! I'm a cheapo sometimes.

First you will want to tape your washer to your block so that it will stay in place while you hammer the stamp.

Next you will want to be sure your stamp is on the washer correctly so that the letter is right side up. This is the tricky part, getting the letters spaced correctly. It took me three tries on one washer, so buy extra!

Try and only bang the hammer down one time so as to prevent the stamp from shifting.

All that is left is to loop the chain around the washer and add your charms with jump rings.
 If you want the letters to show up more just color them in with a fine tip sharpie and wipe off excess ink.

 

I bet you can think of a few people who would love one of these!

Go ahead and make some. Let me know if you do and send me a picture. I would love see what creative ideas you all come up with for your necklaces!

 

Hope you all have a great weekend! We will be celebrating 2 birthdays on Saturday!

 

See you Monday!

Handmade Holidays: The Sharpie Plate

Sometimes you want to personalize your gift. You want something easy, simple, and yet personal.

I'm sure you have seen these on Pinterest.

Well, it is a great gift idea so I am going to tell you how you REALLY make these.

Get a plate or platter or coffee mug that you want to personalize. Once you have that, you will need a Sharpie.

But you will need the Sharpie Paint Pen. It is oil based. If you use a plain Sharpie that is water based the writing will wipe off...even after you bake it.

I found a multi pack of these paint pens at the craft store and used a 40% off coupon to get them for a deal.

Wash your dish well, plan what you want to write and then go for it. If you mess up, use a cotton ball with some rubbing alcohol on it to wipe it off well.

Bake your plate or mug in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes. Place the item directly on the rack in  the cold oven. Turn the oven on and bake. I allowed my dishes to cool in the oven as well overnight. Take them out and you now have a personalized dish for a gift. Add some yummy cookies to that plate or hot chocolate to that mug and you have one great gift!
I bet you have some teens at home who would love to make some mugs for friends and at just a little over a dollar a mug....you've got a great gift idea and craft project!

This would also be a great gift for a wedding or anniversary or birthday. Guests can write something on a platter.

Let me know what you are making with this handmade idea!

Next week we will throw some handmade jewelry into this gift giving mix!

Need a recipe for Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix? This one is fabulous!

Have a fabulous week!

Handmade Holidays: Drawsting Bag in Minutes!

My intentions were to post this yesterday but....

The fall weather is here and we just had to start a backyard pit fire and make s'mores. It was fantastic.

But let's focus on the holidays now because those days are right around the corner, and if you are like me you will be making several gifts.
This means you must get started now, right? At least you should be making a list and deciding what you might want to craft.

Well, this idea is simply to take an inexpensive gift and make it more special and personal.

Example:  This lip gloss will be great gift, but it looks rather plain. A nice handmade bag would make this gift more special PLUS the recipient will not have to bother with ripping open the cardboard packaging. It's a win-win situation! (excuse the terrible picture....my lens is on the fritz and needs to be calibrated.)

So, this gift will go from the plain packaging above to this:

Here's what you need:

2 pieces of fabric cut into squares. Mine are cut 7"x 7"
2 pieces of ribbon or string that is twice the length of the fabric
 a sewing machine and basic sewing skills:-)

 Place the two fabrics together WRONG SIDES TOGETHER and mark down from the top 2 inches. Put a pin there so you do not sew from the 2 inch mark up. This will be an area you will later make a casing for the ribbon.

Sew the pieces together (on all 4 sides) WRONG SIDES TOGETHER using a very small seam allowance, such as 1/8 inch. We are making a French seam so that there will be no raw edges on this bag.

Now, turn the bag wrong side out and press.

 Now you will fold those top 2 inches in at the side just a tad and press.
Then sew  a straight stitch to keep that tiny fold down. See? Looks a little messy but trust me.

  Now to make the casing you need to fold the top down about an inch and press.

  Next press the top of that under just a enough so that it can be sewn down.

 Sew the 1 inch fold down on the edge there. You will not have a raw edge on the casing now.

Now, to make a French seam you need to sew along the edge using a larger seam allowance than what you used on the front side. (DO NOT sew past the casing!!) Doing this will enclose that raw edge within the seam allowance. Use your finger and feel where the seam is and sew past that edge. If you used a 1/8 inch allowance the first time then a 1/4 inch allowance this go around should do the trick.

Remember you will be sewing on the wrong side and using a larger seam allowance than before. This will enclose that raw edge.

Turn the bag right side out and press. Voila! You should have a bag with no raw seams! Now you will need to feed that ribbon or string through. I use a large yarn needle but you can also use a safety pin. Feed the ribbon through one side and all the way around. Repeat with second ribbon on other side.

Tie a knot in your ribbons and pull them to cinch the bag closed!

I bet these cars will look better in a handmade gift bag!

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This is a simple and quick way to dress up those little gifts that could use a little dressing up! In fact, these bags can be personalized with applique or a favorite character fabric. You can also make larger bags by just cutting out larger pieces of fabric.
For kids you could make bags for marbles, army men figures, little farm animals, playing cards, and anything else you can imagine!

I think some adult friends would love a bag of chocolate truffles or homemade goodies!

What small gifts will you give in a handmade bag this year?

If you like to gift a bottle of wine, then check out my past post on a quick and wonderful wine bag!

Have a great week and enjoy this fall weather! I will have another gift idea next week!

Hand Made Holidays: A Gift Your Kids Can Make Part Deaux

 FIRST!....keeping it real........

For the record, my infant (who is actually 15 months old) still does not sleep through the night. Go figure.
It's perplexing and sometimes down right frustrating. last night I ended up sticking him in bed with me and we both got some sleep...well until he started rolling and kicking me in his sleep at 2 am. I must mention that he was wearing those footed pjs with the textured soles on the feet. That adds a whole new dimension to the pain of a baby kick on your face.

This weekend we actually bribed the kids to watch and play with the little ones for a couple of hours so we could go back to bed! Shameful? Not one bit! I offered $5 to the children but they wanted a 2 liter soda instead. The scene at meal time was crazy.

One day I hope to have them all drinking from a glass! Yep, we have great table manners here. We look like true health nuts!...it was worth the couple hours of rest though!

I say all of this to say that I woke up feeling a bit overwhelmed with my schedule for the next few weeks. There were too many *things* on it. Too many appointments. This is when my smart self realizes that it is my own fault. To remedy the problem I simply called and moved all of the eye and dental appointments to January. Done. My calender looks better and I feel better. Now I can focus on Christmas and family...NOT a kazillion appointments!

That is my pearl for the day:-)


Here is my craft for the day.
Truly your kids can make these up quite quickly.

Jelly Jar Pin Cushion

 Gather a jam jar with a lid, some scrap fabric, poly stuffing or cotton balls, and pins or sewing supplies such as buttons. You will also need a glue gun.

 Cut a large square from the fabric and tuck it down into the band and start stuffing some poly filling  in it.

 Put the lid down into the band and trim the fabric and also pull it tight.

 You should have something like this.

 Now glue the excess fabric down with your glue gun.

 It will look a little messy, but it should be all glued down.

 Gather some sewing supplies or buttons to fill the jar and then screw the new lid on.

 Place about 10 or so pins on the top.

 Show off your new gift you made!!!!!

 Make another one with a smaller jam jar. Fill this one with pretty buttons!

How's that for fast and easy? Who can your child make one for?

******

Hope your week's not too crazy ya'll!

Random on Friday

Today I have had a little baby clinging to me. Literally. He hangs and fusses and clings.

 This is life with little ones and hopefully he will be better tomorrow. It was still a good day and I was inclined to celebrate with a yummy drink in a pretty wine glass.

High fructose corn syrup and caffeine always tastes better in a wine glass. It was a simple way to celebrate the day while cooking dinner. *Cheers*

Celebrating the small things. Sometimes the best gifts are the small ones. This week I made a few small gifts and wanted to create a lovely wrapping for the gifts.  

 This was perfect and so easy. In fact, this has been one of my favorite wrappings to sew to date!

It closes up into a pretty flower like pouch. You can find the wonderful tutorial HERE!! You need not be an expert seamstress to make these either:-) Wouldn't you love to get a small gift in one of these beauties?

 Speaking of beauties, Journee found this little guy last night near our chicken lot. He has injured his wing so she brought him inside and has been nursing his wounds.

He is a winter ruddy duck. A male, and boy is he feisty! We hope to rehabilitate him and set him free. If the wing does not heal, we will keep him around the property with our other ducks. He's sure a soft little fella and we are enjoying him.

Finally, in lieu of crafting another gift this week, we decided to make some ornaments. The girls had a friend stay over for the night and so we whipped up some good old fashioned salt dough.

 The girls rolled the dough out and used cookie cutters to make ornaments.

 Even Zeb had a great time rolling his dough out all by himself.

 Tomorrow we will pull out all the craft paint to color them and add some yarn to hang them on the tree.

Need the recipe?

Salt Dough

1/2 C salt
1 C flour
1/2 C water
Mix well and knead. Bake at 200 for about 2 hours.

It's a Christmas memory for the making.

Have a beautiful weekend!