It's time for my annual fantasy post about what I'm making for the holidays! Every year I get so excited about making homemade gifts for Christmas, especially when Sew Mama Sew begins the Handmade Holidays series. I make a huge list and then start surfing the net for ideas, tutorials, patterns. It is at this point that I usually run into a problem. I see so many fabulous handmade things on the internet, I can never decide what to make! My list gets so impossibly huge that I don't even finish a fraction of the projects.
This year will be even harder. In January I joined a wonderful scrapbooking site called Scraps of Color. I have always loved scrapping and making cards, but since meeting these crafty folks, it's all I want to do! I've been a card making fool this year! When October rolled around, the time I usually begin thinking about sewing gifts, I felt strangely conflicted. My neglected sewing machine was calling me, but my stamps, punches, markers, papers, ribbons and all things scrappy had a hold on me already! What's a creative girl to do?! What I always do of course, pack it all in!
So for 2010 I am making Christmas cards for friends and family as usual. I am involved in a couple of holiday card and tag swaps with the SOC group. I am making a few paper gifts - bookmarks, note card sets, gift card sets. I am also making several handsewn gifts. For the kids there are snuggies, tic tac toe sets, doll clothes, doll changing sets (diapers, changing pads, wipes), fabric food, superhero capes, tents and mail carrier sets. For the adults there are aprons, coasters and place mats so far.
How am I getting this all done you ask? It is time to reveal my secret identity....
I AM Supermom!!!
No seriously, I've been getting together with a few friends once a week after the kids are in bed. We all bring our sewing machines and have been encouraging each other to get it done. During the rest of the week, I do the papercrafting late at night, after finishing the housework and work for my job. I'm not sure that the entire list will be accomplished, but I believe that exactly what needs to get done will get done.
How about you? Are you making anything for the holidays?
Showing posts with label sewing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sewing. Show all posts
Sunday
Saturday
Gifts
It's time for my yearly ritual of making a huge list of gifts to make and waiting until the last minute to begin. I know it is so stressful to wait until the last minute but it always seems to work out that way. Even if I start making my gift list in March or June, I can't get myself to actually begin sewing until December! Oh well, here is my list for this year and links to the tutorials I am using to make them!
Checkerboards for the boys
Cloth Napkins and coasters for the grandparents
Felt Foods for the younger kids
Bookmarks for the tweens and a few friends
Shoe bags for my dad
Fabric Hopscotch mat for the girls
Apron and Chef hats for the godkids and a couple of aunts
Fancy rubber gloves for some friends
I can't list what I'm making for hubby and my mom because they occasionally read my blog!
Whatdya think? Will it all get done by December 24?
Thursday
Handmade Holidays III
I can hardly contain myself! Handmade Holidays is here again! This is the third year that Sew Mama Sew is doing this and it's just beyond wonderful. Every day for the month of November there are tutorials of great things you can make as gifts for the holidays. There are projects for every kind of gift recipient - kids, adults, crafters, students, you name it. In addition, there is a giveaway each day, which you can enter just by leaving a comment!
Last year I made several Christmas gifts using ideas I got from Handmade Holidays II. This year my list is hopelessly long. I'm hoping to make things for my nephews, godchildren and my own children, as well as gifts for my parents, grandparents and of course, hubby! However, I don't think I'll ever get started actually making anything because I've been spending so much time looking at all of the fantastic handmade tutorials!
I do hope you get to check it out and add some handmade items to your gift giving this year!
Sunday
Recovery
I am slowly getting my footing back from all of the holiday madness. Not madness really, but just lots of work that I suppose I created for myself. It really wouldn't be Christmas to me without all of the baking and cooking and sewing and crafting and company and visiting and giving of handmade gifts! I made a few things that I am quite proud of. I don't know how they'll look online in these photos, but I am sharing anyway!
Now that all the sewing is done, sort of (I still have a couple of little boys I'd like to make something for), I can get down to the business of nesting! We spent a lot of the holiday break working on the nursery - putting the crib together, sorting through old baby clothes, etc. I have quite a bit of washing to do, especially getting all of the cloth diapers in order. I would REALLY like to try my hand at making some cloth diaper covers with my serger, but I haven't figured out how to use it properly yet. I tried it on one of my Christmas gifts and just made a big mess. If anyone has any tips, I'd really appreciate them!
These are tutus I made from this no sew tutu tutorial. You do have to sew just a bit, for the waist, but the rest was easy. I made one for each of my goddaughters and one for Lil' Miss. It's hard to see how cute, colorful and poofy they are from these photos.
I made a little "scrap pocket" for my mother. I saw a woman at a scrapbooking retreat using one and just fell in love with it. It was so cute and adorned with little buttons. It was also bigger than the one I made for my mother.
The top is filled with fish tank gravel encased in a ziplock bag, surrounded by batting for softness. The gravel keeps the top on the table while the pocket part hangs down off the side of the table and mom can just throw paper scraps in it while she's making cards.
I made a "cobbler cozy" for my father. He loves making peach cobblers and will often make them as gifts for people or bring them to events and gatherings. I thought it would be nice to have something to keep it warm and easy to carry. The outside is a 
black denim material with black and white gingham lining. You place the casserole dish in the center, the sides come up and snap shut, then you pull the other sides up and hold them together by the handles (made out of pvc pipes - didn't have wood dowels on hand).
Now that all the sewing is done, sort of (I still have a couple of little boys I'd like to make something for), I can get down to the business of nesting! We spent a lot of the holiday break working on the nursery - putting the crib together, sorting through old baby clothes, etc. I have quite a bit of washing to do, especially getting all of the cloth diapers in order. I would REALLY like to try my hand at making some cloth diaper covers with my serger, but I haven't figured out how to use it properly yet. I tried it on one of my Christmas gifts and just made a big mess. If anyone has any tips, I'd really appreciate them!
Busy Little Elf
I've been working away, though it seems as if everything that could happen to keep me away from my tasks has happened! My cold has lingered on, making me really exhausted by the time the kiddos go to bed (and it's hard for me to make gifts while I'm sleeping). Friday I was determined to at least get the things that needed to be mailed finished. A big storm was supposed to start Friday around noon, and I was furiously sewing and cooking away while keeping one eye on the skies (looking for snow) and one eye on the kids. Yes, your math is correct, that didn't leave enough eyes to have one on my sewing machine. As I was rushing, I sewed one of my reverse applique letters right to the collar of the t-shirt! It was a nightmare to take out because I used a really close stitch. It was also my first time doing reverse applique, so it took me quite a while to complete the project. I hope the boys like the finished product - I wanted it to have a rough, boyish look and I think I acheived that, though their parents might just think it looks messy. Oh well, messy sure was a lot of work!
A bit after 12:30, Lil' Miss announced, "The snow is coming down Mommy!" It came down fast and hard and by the time I finished the shirts, there were several inches on the ground. I ended up waiting for Hubby to get home and he drove us to the post office. So I am happy that I got the t-shirts finished and six bags of chocolate covered roasted pecans made AND they all got in the mail on Friday.
A bit after 12:30, Lil' Miss announced, "The snow is coming down Mommy!" It came down fast and hard and by the time I finished the shirts, there were several inches on the ground. I ended up waiting for Hubby to get home and he drove us to the post office. So I am happy that I got the t-shirts finished and six bags of chocolate covered roasted pecans made AND they all got in the mail on Friday.I thought that Saturday I'd be able to get some more things done, but since we got 12 inches of snow on Friday, hubby spent most of the day cleaning up - which meant the kids were with me (they went out for a little bit, but are too small to really stay out very long). 
Sewing with the Little Guy around just does not work. However, I did go to my neighbor's house for a cake baking lesson. I already know how to bake cakes, but she makes those professional cakes that you pay tons of money for birthday parties and other events. It was great, I learned how to make the cake AND the icing and it was delicious! This is a 12 inch, 3 inch high cake and 24 hours later there is only about a fourth of it left!
Sewing with the Little Guy around just does not work. However, I did go to my neighbor's house for a cake baking lesson. I already know how to bake cakes, but she makes those professional cakes that you pay tons of money for birthday parties and other events. It was great, I learned how to make the cake AND the icing and it was delicious! This is a 12 inch, 3 inch high cake and 24 hours later there is only about a fourth of it left! Today, church was canceled because it was still snowing - it snowed straight through from Friday until Sunday evening. Though I was looking forward to going to church, not only to worship and fellowship, but I had a few bags of pecans I wanted to give to some folks, I was also happy to have the time to work on some projects. Well, we drove out in the snow to get a few things and wouldn't you know that when we returned, our CO detector was going off again?!! Hubby went down to check out the furnace and the one near the bedrooms began to go off too. We decided that it would be best for the children and I to leave the house, while Hubby tried to figure out the problem. I woke the Little Guy from his nap and bundled everyone up and went to a neighbor's. While it was nice to visit, all I could think of was my sewing! It felt like someone really didn't want me to make any gifts.
When we finally came back home to a soot covered Hubby, I let the kids decorate gingerbread cookies while I started on one project. By the end of the night, I was able to finish it and a little something to go with it. It's a tissue pouch holder and a keychain!
Hopefully the next few nights will be much more productive!
Hopefully the next few nights will be much more productive!Tuesday
Time to Panic
I am officially panicking right now. There are only 10 days until Christmas!!!
I have so many things that I wanted to do, but haven't been able to. We've had a rough few weeks with the Little Guy being sick first for a week, then Lil' Miss getting pink eye, and then Hubby and I sick the week after. I avoid medications during pregnancy, thus have had a much harder time with this cold than I normally would. I can't seem to get rid of a very congested cough, I'm stuffy and cannot breathe and my throat is unbelievably sore. In addition, I still have the normal pregnancy symptoms, heartburn being the worst. All of this together has not allowed me to get a good night's rest in quite a while, so I am just beat during the days. Add to this mix a very active 2 and 4 year old and you do NOT have someone who has energy to sew or bake at all!
I keep checking the US Postal Service website to make sure I have time to mail stuff. If I can at least muster up enough energy to make gifts for my out of town family, I'll be happy. If I read the website correctly, the last day to mail stuff and get it to it's destination by Christmas is December 20. This gives me 4 days (or 5 if I can sew and bake a bit on Saturday morning) to get several gifts made, wrapped and packed up. Once they're done, I can pull a few all nighters and get the local family/friends gifts done. This is a pretty tall order, so I'd appreciate any healthy thoughts and prayers you have to send my way! Thanks!!!
I have so many things that I wanted to do, but haven't been able to. We've had a rough few weeks with the Little Guy being sick first for a week, then Lil' Miss getting pink eye, and then Hubby and I sick the week after. I avoid medications during pregnancy, thus have had a much harder time with this cold than I normally would. I can't seem to get rid of a very congested cough, I'm stuffy and cannot breathe and my throat is unbelievably sore. In addition, I still have the normal pregnancy symptoms, heartburn being the worst. All of this together has not allowed me to get a good night's rest in quite a while, so I am just beat during the days. Add to this mix a very active 2 and 4 year old and you do NOT have someone who has energy to sew or bake at all!
I keep checking the US Postal Service website to make sure I have time to mail stuff. If I can at least muster up enough energy to make gifts for my out of town family, I'll be happy. If I read the website correctly, the last day to mail stuff and get it to it's destination by Christmas is December 20. This gives me 4 days (or 5 if I can sew and bake a bit on Saturday morning) to get several gifts made, wrapped and packed up. Once they're done, I can pull a few all nighters and get the local family/friends gifts done. This is a pretty tall order, so I'd appreciate any healthy thoughts and prayers you have to send my way! Thanks!!!
Sewing with a Sick Kid
Well, it's official. I've got a sick kid in the house. I wouldn't mind so much except that it has completely thrown off my handmade holiday schedule! The Little Guy began coughing and sneezing on Saturday. By Sunday it was pretty bad. Monday he had a fever, couldn't keep his breakfast down, didn't want lunch or dinner, and had a fever again at bedtime. This morning he woke up and whatever was in his tummy overnight (which is a mystery to me because he didn't eat anything on Sunday) came up on daddy and himself, AFTER he was already dressed for the day of course. He managed to eat a bit of very watered down Cream of Wheat for breakfast and then half of a p & j sandwich for lunch. Just before naptime he got warm again, but I in my parental wisdom thought, "He's only a little warm, I'll just let him take a nap and maybe when he wakes up the fever will be gone." Well, he woke up about 45 minutes later BURNING UP. I immediately gave him some Children's Motrin and tried to get him to lay back down. But once the Motrin kicked in and brought the fever down, he had no intentions of sleeping. So he played the rest of the day, ate a muffin - which came up about half an hour later, then played some more.
I suppose I wouldn't have gotten much sewing done until after the kids bedtime anyway, but I am so exhausted from the mental energy that goes into caring for a sick little one, that I think I'd fall asleep at the sewing machine. Instead, I've decided to finish my Christmas cards. I just cut out 200 little gold doves to use as corner anchors for the pictures of the kids I am inserting into each card. Once that's done, it's just addressing the envelopes, sticking stamps on them and putting them in the mail. This just might be the earliest I've ever gotten Christmas cards out!
Hopefully tomorrow I can get some sewing done. I have a prenatal appointment in the morning - only about 9 weeks left until due date - IF I make it to the due date!!! Then Lil' Miss has a violin lesson. After that, we're free for the rest of the day. My little prayer is that we'll head home for some schoolwork, lunch and the Little Guy will go down for a nap. I usually don't do violin practice on the day we have private lesson because I figure she's gotten enough violin in for the day. That would leave two whole hours for sewing!
Here are the things I hope to get done this week...
Play mail bag and letters for some of the little boys
No sew tutus for the little girls
Apron for my auntie in law (a special request)
Fleece scarves and mittens for some of the school aged children
I suppose I wouldn't have gotten much sewing done until after the kids bedtime anyway, but I am so exhausted from the mental energy that goes into caring for a sick little one, that I think I'd fall asleep at the sewing machine. Instead, I've decided to finish my Christmas cards. I just cut out 200 little gold doves to use as corner anchors for the pictures of the kids I am inserting into each card. Once that's done, it's just addressing the envelopes, sticking stamps on them and putting them in the mail. This just might be the earliest I've ever gotten Christmas cards out!
Hopefully tomorrow I can get some sewing done. I have a prenatal appointment in the morning - only about 9 weeks left until due date - IF I make it to the due date!!! Then Lil' Miss has a violin lesson. After that, we're free for the rest of the day. My little prayer is that we'll head home for some schoolwork, lunch and the Little Guy will go down for a nap. I usually don't do violin practice on the day we have private lesson because I figure she's gotten enough violin in for the day. That would leave two whole hours for sewing!
Here are the things I hope to get done this week...
Play mail bag and letters for some of the little boys
No sew tutus for the little girls
Apron for my auntie in law (a special request)
Fleece scarves and mittens for some of the school aged children
Monday
Countdown to Christmas!
Can you believe it's December already??? We have just three and a half weeks until Christmas! I'm feeling a bit of axiety because I have SO MUCH TO DO.
Here is the list of things I need to complete before Christmas:
1. Sew gifts for everyone (hubby, kids, parents, inlaws, siblings, nephews, godchildren, church family, friends)
2. Finish making Christmas cards and mail
3. Send out invitations for Christmas Eve dinner (we always have family and close friends over)
4. Make menu and buy food for Christmas Eve dinner
5. Wrap and mail gifts to out of town family
I also have lots of baby preparation stuff to do, but I'm hoping that can wait until after Christmas. Even if I deliver a bit early, I figuring I'll have at least a couple of weeks after Christmas to prepare the nursery, wash cloth diapers, wash baby clothes, pack a hospital bag and other important things.
One of the biggest problems I'm having is my love of making things. My Christmas cards are handmade from scratch. I actually started from a sheet of blank cardstock, embossed the paper, stamped all of the images, matted them, punched out snowflakes, added glitter, took photos of the kids, cropped all the photos, punched out gold stickers and used them to attach the photos to the inside of the card, signed them all and am now writing a personal message in each one. I could have left out several of those steps, but everytime I looked at the card I thought, "I should add this," or "That punch would look great in gold!" Oh, and did I mention that I made 50 cards?
The second problem I am having may be bigger than the first. There are just SO MANY wonderful things to sew! I think I've got my list together, then I find something else online.
My absolute favorite site is the Sew Mama Sew blog with Handmade Holidays 2008.
There is also 30 days, which has well over 30 days worth of ideas!
Handmade Holidays through the year has some pretty good craft projects and links to tutorials.
And of course, Craftster is always a fabulous resource. There you'll find an endless list of ideas and tutorials submitted by fellow crafty folks.
I hope to post some photos of my finished projects, but at the rate I'm going, they'll be most likely immediately stuffed into a box and rushed to the post office! Are any of you making gifts at home this year?
Here is the list of things I need to complete before Christmas:
1. Sew gifts for everyone (hubby, kids, parents, inlaws, siblings, nephews, godchildren, church family, friends)
2. Finish making Christmas cards and mail
3. Send out invitations for Christmas Eve dinner (we always have family and close friends over)
4. Make menu and buy food for Christmas Eve dinner
5. Wrap and mail gifts to out of town family
I also have lots of baby preparation stuff to do, but I'm hoping that can wait until after Christmas. Even if I deliver a bit early, I figuring I'll have at least a couple of weeks after Christmas to prepare the nursery, wash cloth diapers, wash baby clothes, pack a hospital bag and other important things.
One of the biggest problems I'm having is my love of making things. My Christmas cards are handmade from scratch. I actually started from a sheet of blank cardstock, embossed the paper, stamped all of the images, matted them, punched out snowflakes, added glitter, took photos of the kids, cropped all the photos, punched out gold stickers and used them to attach the photos to the inside of the card, signed them all and am now writing a personal message in each one. I could have left out several of those steps, but everytime I looked at the card I thought, "I should add this," or "That punch would look great in gold!" Oh, and did I mention that I made 50 cards?
The second problem I am having may be bigger than the first. There are just SO MANY wonderful things to sew! I think I've got my list together, then I find something else online.
My absolute favorite site is the Sew Mama Sew blog with Handmade Holidays 2008.
There is also 30 days, which has well over 30 days worth of ideas!
Handmade Holidays through the year has some pretty good craft projects and links to tutorials.
And of course, Craftster is always a fabulous resource. There you'll find an endless list of ideas and tutorials submitted by fellow crafty folks.
I hope to post some photos of my finished projects, but at the rate I'm going, they'll be most likely immediately stuffed into a box and rushed to the post office! Are any of you making gifts at home this year?
How hard can it be?
I recently inherited a very old serger. So old that the manufacturing company doesn't even exist anymore (at least I haven't been able to find it as of yet - and I've been searching for at least a month). I'm a pretty confident person and thought, I can figure out how to use this thing. I mean, I can sew, so I'm sure I can serge. Well, those little machines are apparently a whole different species than a sewing machine! Just trying to work out the threading alone (upper loopers, lower loopers - whoever heard of such things?) was like taking a logic test. I finally thought I had it and oh so proud of myself began serging. You should see the mess it made! The thread got tangled so badly that it jammed up the whole machine. So off I went again in search of some online help. I finally found the blog of someone who has the same exact serger and was able to get a manual from them. http://erikaschiquis.blogspot.com/. Erika uses her serger to make all sorts of beautiful items which she sells in her etsy shop http://erikaschiquis.etsy.com/. Please take a moment to check it out, as I am so thankful to have found it myself!
Once my manual arrived, I happily took it to my craft room to figure the thing out. I quickly realized that the serger came with several little helpers that I didn't get with my hand me down. Yesterday I headed off to Ms. JoAnn's who was able to help me out with most of it, for a not so small fee. While picking up all of the little screwdrivers, serger tweezers, threaders and other items, I also found a few scrapbooking items for my other passion (I'll blog about that another day!). Though they were having a great sale, a full basket of sewing and scrapbooking goodies is not so cheap. Thank goodness I had a gift card left over from Mother's Day and didn't have to spend a dime!
I was so excited to get home and put all of my purchases to use. Then reality set in. The kids hadn't eaten, clothes that I had folded before I left were mysteriously knocked down off the couch and all over the floor, the kitchen sink was full, and I had a report to be handed in the next morning at work. I thought maybe after all was done, I'd be able to get back to my little project, but who was I kidding? After the kids went to bed and I finished my work, I fell asleep on the couch! Oh well. Hopefully this evening I'll have a bit more energy. Everyone has already had dinner, the kitchen is clean and my wonderful hubby is bathing the kids as I type, so things are looking good so far. Those clothes are still unfolded -- off the floor, but unfolded. Really though, what's more important? Folded clothes or getting a moment to do something I love (or at least I think I will)?
Once my manual arrived, I happily took it to my craft room to figure the thing out. I quickly realized that the serger came with several little helpers that I didn't get with my hand me down. Yesterday I headed off to Ms. JoAnn's who was able to help me out with most of it, for a not so small fee. While picking up all of the little screwdrivers, serger tweezers, threaders and other items, I also found a few scrapbooking items for my other passion (I'll blog about that another day!). Though they were having a great sale, a full basket of sewing and scrapbooking goodies is not so cheap. Thank goodness I had a gift card left over from Mother's Day and didn't have to spend a dime!
I was so excited to get home and put all of my purchases to use. Then reality set in. The kids hadn't eaten, clothes that I had folded before I left were mysteriously knocked down off the couch and all over the floor, the kitchen sink was full, and I had a report to be handed in the next morning at work. I thought maybe after all was done, I'd be able to get back to my little project, but who was I kidding? After the kids went to bed and I finished my work, I fell asleep on the couch! Oh well. Hopefully this evening I'll have a bit more energy. Everyone has already had dinner, the kitchen is clean and my wonderful hubby is bathing the kids as I type, so things are looking good so far. Those clothes are still unfolded -- off the floor, but unfolded. Really though, what's more important? Folded clothes or getting a moment to do something I love (or at least I think I will)?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
