What homemade Christmas gifts are you working on?

[Prairie~Phlox]

I just washed some empty paint cans out and plan to decoupage them and incorporate them into the gifts that I give.

 

What are you currently working on?

 

Phlox

[Mama Anna]

I've been working on Hardanger snowflake Christmas tree ornaments. For the past year and a half. :glare: I wonder if I'll get enough done by this Christmas to actually give them.

 

(I guess it would help if I spent less time here . . . :))

 

Mama Anna

[Jen in NY]

My girls are in book and film clubs... it's nice to give something to everyone, but it can get expensive even just buying small things in the heat of the December moment. We went to a lovely bead store and picked out some beautiful glass beads, and now in their spare time they are assembling the bookmarks. I think in the end it might cost $2-3 per girl. I'll link to something similar.

 

http://www.sobrietystones.com/Products/bookmarks/bookmark_sobriety_gift.htm

[E_Edgerton]

I am not doing it this year, but a few years back a friend of mine (a chef) and I did gift baskets full of sweet treats. We included vanilla biscotti (so easy), caramel sauce, cookies, caramel popcorn, and truffles (so fancy and SO easy). They were a huge hit and everyone thought we worked forever on them...really we worked for one day fueled by a bottle of wine. It was fun for us and enjoyed by them! It also worked out to be just a couple of dollars per basket. Very affordable.:)

[Michele B]

I need to be working on a cross stitch for my mom and something for my MIL. MIL always makes me something really nice. And once again, I did not even start the stitch-an-ornament-a-month! My mom hinted she would like a knitted scarf for Christmas....

[Kathleen in VA]

Great! Now I have guilt!:D

[Tarheel Heather]

Not a darn thing! I can't do crafts for myself, let alone to give as gifts!

[Crissy]

I haven't started yet, but I'll be making Limoncello this year.

I'm still on the look out for great bottles to put it in. I'm not sure where to find them.

[lwilliams1922]

we're making soap

 

it has to cure for a couple of months so we have it drying now.

[Chelle in MO]

Not a darn thing! I can't do crafts for myself, let alone to give as gifts!

Thank you for letting me know I'm not alone, Heather!

 

Chelle

[Mom2jnb]

I am working on "perpetual" birthday calendars. Essentially they are made of manilla envelopes. Decorated with scrapbook paper and embellishments. Then..as people find card for people they put them in the envelope for that month. They can write in everyone's birthday's on the months.

 

I must admit.....I gave these as gifts last year andthey were unfinished...due to life...moving, dh losing job, dh transferring across country...us moving again....I am now finishing them up....but, I will be giving them to everyone before I move in about 4 weeks....

 

Alison

[A.J. at J.A.]

We're working on decopage clipboards right now for all the aunts/uncles and gpas/gmas. DSs are helping...we started by painting all of the wooden clipboards. That's as far as we've gotten so far.

 

The next thing we're going to work on is walking sticks for gma/gpa & daddy. We already got the wood we're going to use from a neighbor who had cut some branches. Now I've got to figure out how to get the bark off without anyone losing a finger. Best link to directions

 

That's all I've gotten started on.

Angela

[Tracy in Ky]

I made three wreaths for gifts. They are already finished and wrapped/bagged/tagged.

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

I would really like to make quilted potholders. I have loads of scrap material in cotton prints.

 

I had the idea to do the batting layer with old towels, they would be nice and thick and since they are cotton they wouldn't melt at high temps.

 

It would be very economical, costing almost nothing. Is that being too cheap? Nobody would know but me.

[runningirl71]

I haven't started yet, but I make traditional Korean paper crafts which I'm planning on giving my family for Christmas. I'll be making traditional bowls out of hardboard and then covering them with mulberry paper (hanji in Korean). I LOVE to do it, just haven't cleaned up my work station to get a new project going . . .

[runningirl71]

I would really like to make quilted potholders. I have loads of scrap material in cotton prints.

 

I had the idea to do the batting layer with old towels, they would be nice and thick and since they are cotton they wouldn't melt at high temps.

 

It would be very economical, costing almost nothing. Is that being too cheap? Nobody would know but me.

 

I want to do some crazy quilt potholders this year too! My mil just finished a crazy quilt and I loved it. I thought maybe starting out with a pot holder would be a good idea!:)

[Mom to Aly]

I haven't started yet, but I have decided, as I can't afford presents for anyone this year, I am giving each person a "promise" of a present--for example, my sister, who does not cook at all--for her b'day next week--I am giving her a certificate--whenever she'd like, I am going to go to her house and make her three kinds of biscotti (she pays $4 a dozen!!), 4 dozen of each. For Christmas I am going to make her 2 weeks worth of dinners to freeze. Etc.

[PeterPan]

I used to make things for other people, and then I realized I was constantly making for others, never for my own house and family! So now I've been making for us and I'm sticking to it. I've made dh a birthday present, lots of things for the house and baby, and I hope to sew matching outfits for us. I'm having dd make a few nice presents too, especially for those hard to buy for people.

[MeanestMomInMidwest]

my dh is a hobbiest beekeeper so we always give jars of honey. I will also give certain people some jars of jelly or applesauce I've canned. I am almost craftophobic but sometimes I do manage to put a scrap of holiday material over the lid and tie some raffia around it. Last year I was so busy/stressed/brain dead, I accidentally labeled the current jelly with the honey labels. My neighbor said it was the most interesting "honey" she'd ever tasted!

[A.J. at J.A.]

My neighbor said it was the most interesting "honey" she'd ever tasted!

 

:w00t::smilielol5:

 

That is hilarious!!

Angela

[MeanestMomInMidwest]

:w00t::smilielol5:

 

That is hilarious!!

Angela

 

yeah, so much for me trying to pretend I have it all together. To be totally truthful, though, I did try to blame the label mixup on the dc....she didn't buy it.:tongue_smilie:

[elizabeth]

Scarves for my mother, dd's godparents , my husband and my brother in law. A cross stitch for my mother from a UK magazine that has the yummiest patterns . I am also crocheting an afghan for her with a quick hook and Lion Brand homespun yarn. I take breaks for bathing and eating but other than that am keeping insanely busy with election and crafts I have no time for my usual hobby of writing.

[Crissy]

I haven't started yet, but I have decided, as I can't afford presents for anyone this year, I am giving each person a "promise" of a present--for example, my sister, who does not cook at all--for her b'day next week--I am giving her a certificate--whenever she'd like, I am going to go to her house and make her three kinds of biscotti (she pays $4 a dozen!!), 4 dozen of each. For Christmas I am going to make her 2 weeks worth of dinners to freeze. Etc.

 

Fabulous idea, Mom to Aly.

For my birthday last year my sister gave me a certificate for a Girls Night Out.

It was a wonderful gift because I LOVE spending time with my older sister.

We don't do it often enough. The promise of a whole night with her made my day.

[JenParrish]

I am going to have my kids make some mosaic coasters for their grandmothers for Christmas. We bought the stuff to work on them today.

 

I plan to take them to the pottery place to paint ornaments too.

 

As for me, I will be purchasing gift cards for people, lol. I have no "crafting" ability.

[Rosie_0801]

I'm currently working on band #7: http://members.shaw.ca/evethejust/gallery.html It'll be a belt for my brother. I have a few other plans for handmade stuff, but we'll see how many get done. The belt is the current project. It's a bit of a pain in the butt actually. I mucked up the pattern slightly at the beginning and decided it looked better that way. Problem is, it mucks up the counting and I've done half a metre (I think) and still haven't figured out how to count it properly, making the process kind of painful. It's looking pretty good though, so I'm a happy chappie overall.

:)

Rosie

[teachermom_7]

I have a TON of things "going" ~ not sure how many will actually be gifts for Christmas or birthdays next year :001_huh:

 

 

The one thing my dd(8) LOVES is when I make her and her My Twinn doll matching outfits. She is SOOOOOOO into Little House on the Prairie right now!! I'm making her and "Kim" matching "prairie" dresses and bonnets. If I can get it done, I'm also going to make them both an old fashioned nightgown and hat.

 

DD and I are working on a memory quilt for the two grandmothers. Using that material you can print pictures on and putting them in a lapquilt.

 

I'm making my two neices fleece hooded ponchos and nightgowns (all of the girls in my family are "old fashioned" and like the long, frilly nightgowns you can't find in stores anymore).

 

And, last but not least, I'm making my ds(5) a pirate outfit since he believes himself to be Capt Hook!

 

So........ needless to say, a new sewing machine is going to be on my Christmas list this year as mine will be ready to retire by Dec. 26th :w00t:

 

Good luck to everyone on getting their projects done!!!

 

 

Tammie in DRENCHED Louisiana

 

dd(8) ~ Saxon Math 3, Rod & Staff 3, SOTW 1, Life Science (invertebrates), Prima Latina, VP Gen - Joshua, Phonetic Zoo Level A, Classically Cursive

 

ds(5) / nephew(5) ~ VP Gen - Joshua, ABEKA Math K, Phonics Museum, Phonics Pathways, Life Science (invertebrates), SOTW 1, Prima Latina, LOTS of library books!!

[Carrie12345]

Ack! I've just barely started planning the kids' Halloween costumes! Ds1's will be store bought, and the 3 big kids' involve some store bought pieces, but there's going to be quite a bit of sewing involved.

 

They've decided to be Aang, Katara, and Toph, from Avatar. The baby gets to be the lemur.

 

I haven't even purchased fabric yet.:001_huh:

[Bev in B'ville]

this thread in light of our moratorium, and in an effort to get back to those things we all seem to enjoy. Please find your favorite post as of late and bump them, too. Too many of these threads have been lost amongst the political banter before their time.

[Michelle in MO]

and she found some lovely, fluffy soft blue/purple/teal colored yarn with sparkles (NOT glitter, Elaine! :) ) in it and made a scarf for one of her other sisters. I'm going to encourage her to get more yarn and make scarves for her grandmothers and two aunts, and for her other sister, of course. It turned out very nice.

 

I bought one of those jar mix cookbooks a few years ago and I may make quite a few jar mixes to give out. I have seen and received so many of these mixes over the years, and some of them quite creative (and yummy): scones, cookie mixes, quick bread mixes, and soups. I may focus in on putting together some soup mixes. There are some nights when I'm clueless for dinner, and I'll see an old Christmas gift of a soup mix in the cupboard and - - - voila! Dinner is served!

[Bev in B'ville]

and she found some lovely, fluffy soft blue/purple/teal colored yarn with sparkles (NOT glitter, Elaine! :) ) in it and made a scarf for one of her other sisters. I'm going to encourage her to get more yarn and make scarves for her grandmothers and two aunts, and for her other sister, of course. It turned out very nice.

 

I bought one of those jar mix cookbooks a few years ago and I may make quite a few jar mixes to give out. I have seen and received so many of these mixes over the years, and some of them quite creative (and yummy): scones, cookie mixes, quick bread mixes, and soups. I may focus in on putting together some soup mixes. There are some nights when I'm clueless for dinner, and I'll see an old Christmas gift of a soup mix in the cupboard and - - - voila! Dinner is served!

 

I have so badly wanted to learn to knit or crochet and have attempted a couple of times in my life. The problem is/was that I have a hard time mirror imaging what I see when people try to teach me. Most people teach to knit or crochet right handed and I'm a lefty. It gets very confusing trying to knit "upside down" basically. I wish I could find a lefty to teach me. :sad:

[Guest Lorna]

We made some glycerine soaps using essential oils. Here are some photos of us making them.

Today I am making pots of mincemeat for mince pies - traditional here in Britain. I will give them to the neighbours in the weeks running up to Christmas.

We are visiting family for Christmas and we will all be sharing this Christmas pudding for Christmas dinner.

If I get a chance I will make some little knitted gnomes which I knit every year for nephews and nieces. They have little removable hats and rucksacks and are very cute, Christmassy and great for stockings. Sadly the pattern isn't on the internet anymore. I shall have to rectify that!

[Melinda in VT]

I've toyed with the idea of making fabric luggage tags with the kids for the grandparents. We've never been very good at having the kids give gifts to adults.

 

But I don't sew. Or own a sewing machine. And even the easy patterns I've seen have some sewing. I'm trying to decide if I can get away with using some kind of glue instead.