Sunday, December 30, 2012

Handmade Christmas Gifts Round-Up 2012

Now that Christmas has come and gone, and all the gifts have been opened, I am looking back at my goal of having a 100% handmade Christmas and feeling very fulfilled. While I did not accomplish it (is 100% really a realistic goal?! Haha!), I came very close. And I had so much fun this holiday season. Since I didn't share much on the blog before Christmas (you never know who might read it and I sure hate to ruin surprises!), I wanted to post my favorite projects from this year - to cherish and remember, and maybe to inspire you for a gift-giving occasion in the future!

Waldorf Doll
This was by far the most time consuming of my projects. I've been working on my first handmade Waldorf doll for months. A few hours here, a couple hours there. I got design input from Dmitri (it needed long hair and had to be a girl). I primarily followed this tutorial here. And I used this hair tutorial.  I added a belly button on my own! And I knitted the little scarf. Hopefully she will have some more clothes soon. = ) And she will definitely be getting her own blog post with more details.


Dmitri with his doll and matching scarfs (more fox scarf photos below)

Kool-aid Dyed Playsilks
I ordered silk scarves from Dharma Trading Co. for about $5 a piece, and then dyed them with koolaid. There are a lot of tutorials online. I looked at several, but they generally followed the same concepts. I boiled them on the stove since I don't have a microwave (some use microwaves, some use stoves). I was really happy with how they turned out, and I must admit, it was super fun trying different colors of koolaid. I want to make more...the littles seem to like them too!!





Maps of France Tile Coasters

I made the coasters for about $3 using tiles from Lowe's, cardstock, and Modge Podge. I printed the cardstock with antique maps of France that I found via google, cut them to size, applied them with modge podge, and then sealed them using 6 layers of modge podge (I applied a layer about every 20 minutes, and then allowed them to dry completely). Pretty simple, and I love how they turned out. I want a set for myself!





Fabric Baby Book
This gift is for my newest niece, and was very time-consuming, but very rewarding. The fabric book features photos of all of her family (at least, immediate family, grandparents, and cousins). I printed photos using printable cotton fabric, sewed them onto pages, and then sewed the pages together with cotton batting in the middle. It is about 8 x 8. I was inspired by Soule Mama. But I mostly winged it, since I couldn't find a good tutorial. I will probably post more details in a separate post.




Felt Fox Applique Scarf
 I knitted this little scarf (my first completed knitting project!) for Dmitri using 100% alpaca. I then cut out pieces from 100% wool felt, glued them together, and then sewed them onto the scarf by hand. I found a little fox ornament made of felt, and used it as inspiration for cutting the pieces.




It was very fulfilling making each of these gifts, and I am so glad that I challenged myself to a handmade Christmas. I am looking forward to trying new things next year (soap-making?!), and improving my knitting skills so that I can give more knitted gifts. But one thing is for sure- creating leaves me feeling incredibly happy, and I should live always creating, in some way or another.

Happy Holidays!

4 comments:

Christy said...

You are beyond talented, these presents obviously came straight from the heart.

Bethany Lenhart said...

I am so impressed! I am trying to so hard to do more sewing and learn, but it is a challenge with two littles. But that can't be my excuse any more because look at you!!

Mama Gone Green said...

Your gifts are all amazing!! I love the coaster idea and your waldorf doll came out great. I am hoping to make Phoebe one in the coming year. Happy New Year!

ShanaM said...

Very amazing gifts!!