2016 DIY Christmas Gift #3

STOP

It's almost Christmas.  Don't ruin it by peeking now.

Move along, family.

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Okay, this is the last of my sewing projects for the year.

I shared the four aprons that I made for friends and kids, then I shared the memory blanket and pillow.

Now, my plan was to make one of these little stuffed critters for each of our kids.

A hedgehog for The Girl, a turtle for The Kid, and an owl for Baby.

I even got everything all cut out and ready to sew a couple weeks ago.

Then I made an extra apron, when I couldn't decide on fabric for my niece, so The Girl is getting it.

Then I became emotionally attached to my nephew's memory blanket, so The Kid is getting that.

So I only needed a homemade gift for Baby.

Enter, the stuffed owl.

Yes, I'm totally aware that he has bunny ears.

They should have been shorter.

But hey, ya get what ya get and ya don't throw a fit.

I think it makes him silly.  And sweet.

And, Leroy Brown agrees.

This photo needs to be in a caption writing contest.

Okay, I took some pictures in The Kid's room, too, 'cause it was better lighting.

Silly but sweet.

I'm goin' with it.

We're down to the wire now.

I was down for the count for two days with some sort of creepin' crud.

I spent ALL DAY yesterday putting my house back together.

How do they ruin everything so quickly!!!???

I swear, being sick is no where near as bad as playing catch up after being sick.

Okay, off to clean up last night's dinner dishes.......

2016 DIY Christmas Gift #2

STOP

You are about to embark upon top secret Christmas information.

Family members, move along.

Ya like how I threw those pictures of Baby in there for the header photo?

Oh my gosh, she was SO stinkin' cute!!!!!

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Okay, on with the next project that I was able to cross off my list.

Actually, two of them.

So I had come to terms with the fact that my nephew was not going to receive a handmade gift this year.

He's a boy, he's getting older, and I couldn't think of ANYthing that he would like.

But then, as I was digging through my fabric stash for the apron stuff, I came across some old t-shirts that I had saved.

Enter, the Memory Blanket.

Now, there are a ton of tutorials online, so I'll let you peruse through those if you're wanting detailed instructions with photos.

I determined how big my squares would be, based on the sizes of the shirts and jammies I had.

I just went from there.

I cut squares for what felt like HOURS.

I sewed them into horizontal rows, then I sewed the rows together, working my way from top to bottom.

I had an old, ripped, flannel sheet that I cut up for the backing.

I was just going to sew the two together, but then decided it needed a little more umph, so I cut up an old mattress cover and used that as a filler.

I sewed it to the pieced together top, then sewed those to the flannel backing, right sides together.

I was then able to turn it right side out, and close it all up by running a stitch all around the outside edge on the sewing machine.

I know, that's a lot of info, but just in case you were wanting a different option from what most of the tutorials out there are giving.

For those of you just here for the pictures, here ya go.

Not every square is from clothing.

The baseball fabric, navy and white deer, and a few of the solids were just pieces of fabric I had.

Now here's the kicker.

Anytime I had it out working on it, The Kid kept oohing and ahhing over it, saying he wished it was for him.

Kicker number two, all of the shirts were his before they were handed down to my nephew, so it quite literally became a memory blanket for this mama.

I was officially emotionally attached.

Sooooooo, I'm wrapping it up and giving it to The Kid.

BUT, do not despair.

I'm not a total ass of an auntie.

I made my nephew a memory pillow instead.

And actually, more friggin' time went into it because of all the oddball sizes I used.

That sucker stretched my sewing skills, for sure.

I used the baseball fabric again, and some red from my stash, for the back.

Jammies, t-shirts, and button up shirts for the front, with some ticking stripe, again from my stash.

Cute, no?

And  it's all clothes that I remember him wearing, too.

So there ya have it, two birds with one stone.

A handmade gift for my nephew, after all, and a blanket for my boy who is going to be sooooo excited and surprised when he opens it Christmas morning.

Win win.

2016 DIY Christmas Gift #1

STOP

This is a Christmas gift post.

You are not permitted to go any further if you plan on receiving a present from me this year.

Walk away.

Now that we have that covered, let's proceed, shall we?

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If you've been around these parts for awhile, you know I make something for my niece and nephew every year for Christmas.

Some years, I have it all figured out by November.

Others, I'm scrambling and Pinterest scrolling, desperately trying to come up with an idea.

I made my niece an apron three years ago.  

She was a tiny little peanut and it no longer fits her.

She will be receiving a new one this year.

Let the sewing machine extravaganza commence.

I have a stash of old sheets and pillowcases that are so dang cute, so I decided to bust them out for this project.

I couldn't decide which one to do, so I made two.

This is numero uno.

Isn't the fabric so sweet?!

I brought in the metal dress form plant holder to use as my Fir Lady this Christmas and she turned out to be the perfect size for the cute little aprons.

This is the other one that I was torn between.

I think I'll end up wrapping it up for The Girl.

Gah, I am SO obsessed with that fabric.

So those are the two kid-sized aprons.

I decided to bust out a couple more for two of my adult gifts.

I went the half version route for these.

Muuuch simpler.

Here's a link to a tutorial on a basic one, if you're interested.

I didn't follow it exactly, but it's a great starting point for beginners.

Easy DIY 30 Minute Apron

My Fir Lady was in transition, so it makes them look a little frumpy, but you get the idea.

I guess I should have ironed them before taking pictures, too.

Oh well.

This is the second one.

Gah, sorry it's so wrinkled.

I shall iron it before gifting it.  ;)

The hardest part about them is picking out the fabric and coordinating trim.

There are SO many choices!

I seriously wanted to just keep making them.

So there ya go.  

The first homemade Christmas gifts at our house this year.

Are you busting out your sewing machine this month?