I wrote this post awhile ago, but got so caught up in Baking Day, I kept postponing it. And after Baking Day, I was amazed at how easy and fun it was to accomplish things live with you all on twitter! And now I want to do a Craft Day!
Who else is making Christmas presents this year and wants to live-blog and tweet their progress? It’ll be fun! Mark your calendars; Craft Day will take place in two sessions. November 17 & 18, and December 15 & 16. (Exactly two weeks after this past Baking Day and two weeks before the next one!) I’ve been trying to talk it up on twitter (I’m thenaturalmommy); look for #craftday to see who else is in! Will you be there?!
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So, being all frugal again and all, I’ve decided to make most of our Christmas presents this year. I’ve got uber-cute remnant fabric stockpiled in the corner of the kitchen and visions of Etsy-worthy gifts swimming in my head. I thought I’d share my aspirations in hopes that the crafty among you might have tips/advice/you-tube how-to videos to share.
For Olivia, I’d like to make:
- an apron
- baby doll clothes
- more baby doll diapers
- build-a-bear clothes
- princess crown/tiara
- felt play food (possibly a combined gift for her and Benjamin)
For Benjamin, I’d like to make
- a superhero cape
- possibly also a superhero mask
- a masculine apron 🙂
- some type of wooden thing that either throws or shoots other wooden things. I’ve assigned this to Josh.
- build-a-bear clothes
- doctor dress up outfit (I have the light green material already)
For Levi, I’d like to make:
- Possibly a stuffed animal? I have leftover stuffing from Benjamin’s spider costume.
- a wooden teether (also assigned to Josh as I don’t mess with power tools.)
I start hyperventilating, however, when I try to figure out when, exactly, I’m going to have the time to do all this. I may have to start getting up earlier. Gasp.
So there you have it. Opening up the forums for all kinds of helpful advice starting… NOW. 🙂
Wow, that’s a lot of toys! My son knows not to expect more than one gift from Momma and Daddy. I’m glad you’ve had such great ideas though. I hope you’re able to accomplish it all.
I don’t know what I’ll be able to accomplish from this list. But yeah, my love language is gifts. 🙂 And I’m also trying to compensate, since we’ve always done store-bought Christmases… I hope they like what I make them this year!
I used this tutorial to make my son a cape. I made mine a little shorter and it turned out great!
http://just-because-i-am-me.blogspot.com/2009/01/superhero-cape-tutorial.html
a masculine apron? i’ll have to see it to believe it.
and i think you should make benjamin a mini marshmallow gun. all you need is pvc pipe…i’m sure you could find a blueprint online for how to assemble it. he’d love it.
Noah, he loves to help me cook, but hates getting messy! Maybe I could make a car on it or something? Yeah, I’ve never seen one either…
And I’d LOVE to have marshmallows all over the house… Have I mentioned we have a history with mice? 😛
beth, i’ve seen b pee 20 times in an hour in an attempt to get more marshmallows…i doubt he’ll leave any uneaten.
that was actually me…i didn’t realize i wasn’t signed in. oops.
My dad wears aprons all the time! Just leave off the ruffles and flowers. 🙂
Like I said on Twitter the other day, I’d love to join you but I work on those days. So I’ll do my crafting on weekends. I just want to make some reusable fabric gift bags, nothing complicated. I have bought most of my gifts already. I got several copies of Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover book for a few young family members when Dave was having his $9.99 sale. Also, when I was in Brazil on my mission trip, I bought some handmade things at the local craft market (everything was so economical!). So I did pretty well, financially speaking, for Christmas gifts. I just have to make those gift bags… hmmm.
Jer’s apron, alas, is not masculine at all. I made to from Winnie-the-pooh curtains. However, if you make a black one it may look like a grilling apron. 🙂
This year I’ve decided to crochet some gifts: jacket with hood for Timmy, hat and slippers for Jer, vest for my mom, etc. And I’m “toying” with the idea of having Daniel cut wood squares for a matching game for Jer. I’d paint letters (uppercase to match lowercase, and/or matching shapes and/or colors). When he’s a little older it can turn into the memory game. Oh, and sock puppets. Do you have any good ideas for making sock puppets?
Just remember to gather the edges on the cape before you hem! : )