Homemade gifts 8.

 

So this might seem like a strange gift - and ultimately it sort of is - but it is the only thing that I really "made" for Chad so it gets its own time to shine here too.

Chad has been using this silly little cell phone cover that I brought back from a Girl Scout trip with me...he keeps his phone in his pocket and it is just a simple little fabric sleeve to keep it from getting scratched, etc. However, he also slips his debit card and license in there too - you know, since he doesn't carry a wallet or anything. So, everything is rubbing together anyway...and the fabric sleeve was originally a little....feminine....and is now pretty dingy. I wanted to imitate the simple sleeve but make it look a little more manly so I used grey felt and red thread so it would stand out a bit. I made him three different designs to choose from...all holding his cards away from his phone so they don't get scratched. Not sure if he will use any of them but at least he has options...

I stuffed them in his stocking right next to the peanut M&M's - which are already gone. :)

Homemade gifts 5 and 6 (and sorta 7).

I gave my mom these two things with a tag that said "to the woman who taught me to love sewing and art". A pear watercolor that I painted and is now living in their dining room and a hot mat that I "quilted" for her.

I also made her, uncle J and dad B a calendar of pictures that I took in the last year which I am always very proud of - both the time it takes to design the calendar and the photos that I choose for each. This is the first year I have done one for J and B but 3rd or 4th year for mom. Hers was all pictures of things we did together - I think- and that was fun too. Hiking trips, hot air balloons, etc. Sorry - no pics of those.

Handmade gifts 3.

I followed a super simple Pinterest recipe from here and made my mom and sister hand scrub. I used the instructions found here to make them some lotion/body cream. Each was suepr easy though I probably wouldn't do the lotion again because the ingredients were a little pricey (and I didn't exactly meausre ingredients so I personally think it is a bit oily). The hand scrub is just Dawn hand renewal soap and sugar - easy, inexpensive, and feels amazing on hands. Smells great too!

Sorry for the phone pic...it is all I had at the time. Left my camera over Christmas. Silly photographer girl.  

Homemade gifts 4.

One of the semi-major craft projects - only because it is time intensive - was making my mom cards. She is a staunch supporter of the U.S. Postal Service and snail mails lots of things daily. I made her cards a couple of years ago and I figured it was time for some new ones. K and I spent some time a couple of weeks ago working on these, spread out all over her kitchen counters. I tried to make a variety of types - birthday, thinking of you, holiday - so she could send them throughout the year. I think I ended up giving her around 40 cards and it was super fun to come up with all the different designs and ideas - some new, some borrowed from Pinterest.

Homemade gifts 2.

This is another thing I saw on my sister's Etsy list that I was sure I could make. As you saw in a previous post, I made some for myself which actually took place after I made hers and realized how easy it was to do. Time-consuming, but easy. I would totally take orders for parties, showers, etc. :) her bunting is fun, bright colors and it appears it has already been hung with love in her house.

Homemade gifts 1.

I failed again at taking pictures of handmade gifts so I will post them as their recipients will send me pictures. I did get a picture of this one though before I wrapped. My sister has this neat ombre knot thing on her Etsy list and I was convinced that I could make it...and I did! I googled videos on how to make french knots - a fancy sort of 3D embroidery knot - and made this! It only took a few hours and was way cheaper than the one on Etsy. I am pretty proud of it.

Dad - stop reading! Christmas spoiler alert!

I am pretty convinced that my Dad does not read by blog but if he does - stop reading now!! I am about to disclose his/your Christmas present so stop reading now (if you even know that my blog exists!) :) Love you!!

So, with the hand made Christmas attempt - my Dad is super, duper hard to shop for. He doesn't really need anything and his only hobby is reading. He got a e-reader last year so I made him a cover for it (which ended up being a little big since I didn't actually have the object to work with when I made it - though it seems to be getting good use still). This year, mom said he needed a new belt but I didn't think I was THAT talented so I still wanted to make him something (mostly since I am making everyone else something and I didn't want to leave him out!).

So, I was trying to decide what to make him and I thought this: In case you don't know my dad, he does have a series of health problems that lead to him having both thin skin and thin blood. He is constantly bumping into things and ending up with a gusher that just won't stop bleeding - where you or I might not even bruise. Lightbulb!! I could make him a band-aid holder. I have one that is in my personal/camping first-aid kit that holds multiple sizes of bandaids and it is super convenient - surely I could make something like that! So I did!

This one is a little larger and holds lots of sizes of band-aids, including some mid-size gauze bads in the largest section there in the upper right. I even made a slot big enough for a small thing of antibacterial ointment - I just didn't have an extra/un-used one for show! This set he can keep in the little pack that rides around with him on this motorized scooter chair. There is a button on the backside so it folds closed and the elastic loop (hair elastic! shhh!) holds it closed.

This one is a smaller version and only really holds two sizes of band-aids. It folds closed in the middle and is perfect for pockets.

 

 I am pretty proud of this hand made gift and I hope it is useful for him! I used some fabric scraps in my stash and tried to pick the "manliest" of the bunch - though I realize dots don't exactly scream manly. I actually took pictures throughout the process so if anyone is interested, I could write a simple tutorial.