Gift Baskets

I recently discovered I really enjoy making gift baskets for people. I especially like finding something unique to use as the "basket"

A mixing bowl for the cookie basket:

Daddy's Diaper Duty tool apron (for Tony when Cadence was born):

A colandar full of utensils for Teresa and John:

Kayla's Christmas present last year:

(With the scrapbook I made for her)

Mommy's birthday basket:

Hmmm... what should I do next?

Shaped Scrapbook

This album was really fun to make. I loved the challenge of making it look good from the cover, without distorting the balance of individual pages. This time I bought the album (it was plain chipboard in the shapes of FAMILY, and you covered and bound it yourself) but now that I have seen how it works, I could make the letters myself and save some money. I'm looking forward to doing this type of album again!

This was part of Kayla's Christmas present last year, and I used the same ribbons to decorate a notebook and the basket all her goodies went in.

Christmas Stockings

These are the stocking I made for us last Christmas. Our theme(s) is John Deere, Red, and Mooses. Tony wanted a John Deere stocking and I wanted red, so to blend the two I made Cadence a combination. They were fairly simple to make, and are nice and sturdy so they can hold a lot :) I went ahead and lined the front so the patchwork wouldn't unravel or catch on things, but the back is just thick felt. The names are applique.

Tag-ish Ball

I saw a ball with tags on in a baby magezine and thought, "ooh, Cadence would love that!" Then I saw the price and thought, "oooh, Tony would hate that!" So I made her one myself.

It is the size a tennis ball, and is filled with rice, so it is nice and soft. It can also be heated in the microwave and used as a hot pack!

Instructions:

Cut 4 pieces of the pattern below, from fabrics of your choice.

Cut as many ribbons as you like, about 6 inches in length each.

Quickly stitch the ends together to make them easier to work with.

Lay two fabric pieces right sides together.

Tuck a ribbon or two between the fabric pieces along one side so the end of the ribbon butts up against the edge, and the loop of the ribbon is between the fabric pieces, not sticking out.

Sew this side, using a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Unfold, and repeat with next pieces.

The last piece will be a little more difficult to work with since all the other sides are in the way, but you can do it!

Only sew the last pieces about 3/4 of the way up.

Turn right side out.

Use a funnel to fill with rice, leaving some space so the ball will be soft.

Use a slip stitch to finish sewing up the last side.

Pattern and Instructions to Download or Print

Fourth of July Sign

When Tony made my big sign, he made extra small ones for me to paint with the seasons and holidays. I really wanted to make it in time for the fourth of July, since it is one of my favorite results.

About halfway through this project I was really frustrated and depressed. The fireworks looked bulky and awkward, and the adhesive I used on the letters this time was too permenant - it left paper and gunk stuck to everything. I would up having to scrape it off with my thumb (ouch!) and do a ton of touchup. But it turned out alright in the end - the bulkiness of the fireworks is acually good, since thats the only way you can see them from the street, and the letters look fine after touch-up. Thankfully!

(Kristina don't look too close... the crooked L and R are bugging me to death, so I know they will you too - don't you just love how I deliberately gave you something to irritate your OCD, and did it so it seemed like I was being nice?)

Chancellor Manor Sign

I just finished my first experiement with decorative painting. Tony made me a sign post for Mother's Day, and I was charged with painting the sign to go on it. Since it was my first try and I know nothing about painting, I was a little excited and more than a little nervous about how it would turn out.

I planned to do it in three layers - white, then blue, then red.

Come to find out, painting involves a lot of waiting... which I am NOT good at. But other than that, it was really fun. I'm going to enjoy doing more of it.

I used my Cricut to cut out stars and letters to use as stencils. I painted the white, let it dry, then taped off the stars and the blue middle. I meant to tape of the "Manor" letters too, but I forgot. It definately would have been easier that way, but I made it work.

I also made a white frame for the middle.

I wound up placing the outline of the letters I had cut out (you can see it at the top of the picture) and painting inside it. Much more difficult (for me) and it took two layers since I was doing white on blue instead of the other way around. Oh well... after I did touch-up, it looked pretty good.

Next I taped off the stripes for the red. That part was really easy - all straight lines. The scary part was free-handing the "Chancellor" letters. I was afraid I was going to mess up really bad and ruin the whole thing on the last step. I hardly ever freehand anything, even in my scrapbook (I prefer to type), and I had no practice free-handing with a paint brush. But, it turned out just fine. I wrote the word on with pencil so I could correct any lumpy parts in the script, then traced over it with paint.

Yay! It's finished! I'm planning to paint seasonal signs that are a little smaller to hang on the small hooks at the bottom. Looking forward to putting my new skills and experiences to use on those!

Crayon Bag

I made this bag for Cadence to take her crayons to chuch in. I started out with grand plans to make it a miniature version of the Knitting Bag, with pockets and a zipper for later when she could put crayons in individual slots, and a drawstring for now, when she only has the motorskills for putting them in a bag. Yeah... after ripping the zipper out twice, stitching it in a third time, and it STILL wasn't working, I scratched that idea and just made a lined drawstring bag. The other way would have been cool - but this way is DONE. Maybe someday in the far future I'll make her something with individual slots. I've pretty much decided to do a crayon roll up that she can also use as an apron, but she won't need that for a long while yet :) (Thankfully!)

I've also made her some other toys and bags with these fabrics. I'll have to post about them next!