Awesome Handmade Baby Gifts

I know a handful of new mamas having boys this summer. I am always looking for a new quick gift to give my friends and family.

Here is what I came up with for a dear friend and his new babe.

Baby bandana bibs are just too damn cute and  way too easy not to make. Using my favorite go-to Pinterest, I found a few I liked with links to actual patterns. I sized them up and decided to cut my own from the newly purchased Swedish Tracing Paper. Simple 11" right triangle, then folded on the center I cut 1inch down then over to the 11" edge. Thus creating a small removal of fabric, so it fits better around the neck. 

I choose one flannel side paired with a cotton quilting weight fabric. These are all reversible. I used Velcro on the opposite sides and opposite corners so the would match up. I had every single item in my stash. So I was happy I didn't have to run out and purchase anything.

Of course I sent a copy of Where the Wild Things Are. I think I give it to every mama.

I also made this super changing mat from things in my stash. 

This was a challenge for me but I think it is cool 

It gets folded rather small. 

Then, Ta- Da!! 

Oh, I had to make the matching hand ball with links and threw in a wipes case. Plastic lining makes for easy cleanup and pocket for diapers.

Here it is all wrapped up ready for it's trip across the country. 

Now what mama wouldn't love those cool handmade goodies. 

Wrapping up All the Elf Duties

I made these hearts from a T-Shirt of my husband's grandfather. He passed over a year ago, and I felt like I could finally bring myself to cut it up and it would be appreciated.

Here are the super cute snowmen  I made. I love the faces, I am so glad I found the carrot noses.

Everyone on my gift list will be getting some form of these super cute fabric baskets. I am not entirely sure what folks will use them for, I guess I envision bread or crackers or wrapped candy.

Here are my awesome cards, I love how they turned out. I enjoy writing cards, especially to the family I don't talk to normally. I also take so much pride in the process of coming up with an idea and then the creativity that comes after that. In this case I was able to carve stamps and get my hands dirty mixing inks which is always a blast for me!

I also whipped up a few more of these super duper cute and re-usable gift bags. I know you can re-use the paper ones but, I intend on using these for many years!

So for this year my elf duties are all wrapped up. Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Snow Days

Here in Oregon we had some amazingly cold days where it actually got to -4 degrees. 

It is not at all what Iam used to but, I secretly love it!

I love the pattern that ice crystals create on my windshield, even if it takes 30 minutes to defrost the car to go anywhere.

Kuma certainly loved the 6 inches of snow that came and was still around 5 days later.

I enjoyed the first two days when I wasn't working. The other days were just a pain! Eugene is not prepared for this weather and the roads were a nightmare. Coming home to my sewing machine and this sweet bear's face made it so much more enjoyable!

The shut down of town allowed me the time to feel like I could stay home and finish christmas gifts like the Love Love pillow.

I think I love loved the inside of the pillow more after all the embroidery I did.

My beautiful Bernina did a lovely job on all my gifts.

Including this scarf for my sister In-Law.

I also finished my snowmen in assembly line fashion. These guys just needed faces and buttons.

Crochet Christmas Gift Ideas

Can you guess?

I think they'll be super cute.  

Another hint, these scrappy strips will help them from melting.

Homemade Baby Stuff

I started on the collection of baby stuff I want to make for my friend. She is having a baby girl and wanted a fairly gender neutral baby room. She lives in Boston and the baby will be born in October. I am thinking she needs some warm items for her first winter. So I pulled out the flannel to go shopping for more flannel. I started to cut samples and realized that I had about 10 yards of this awesome zigzag flannel (I got it 75% off when the local Jo-ann's closed). I determined it was gender neutral enough with the blue flannel. I ran with it. I am pretty certain she will think I have lost my mind. Its okay she did a long time ago. I am rather broke for the summer so I figured I should use up what I have. So here we go...

This is about the 8th baby sensory ball I have made. I love them, they are super easy to make, wash up well and look expensive. My mom purchased the pattern for me years ago when everyone my age started popping their babes out. I have remade the template for the two pieces but, lost the directions. I always seem to be able to make one after thinking I wont remember how. This one is 2/3 sewn together. I will say I dont think Ive ever made an all flannel one, and I dont love it. It came out really bumpy on the seams. Still learning on the 8th try.

This one came from Pinterest land. I don't spend any time with infants, but the few times I do, I get spit up on. I saw a similar design and looked at the tutorial and adjusted it to what I had on hand. I know I have seen some sad looking burp cloths in stores. I wanted super thick and absorbent pad with a shoulder cut out. I had white wash cloths I got at wally world in a huge pack with colors for a few dollars for ever ago and made travel toothbrush holders. I needed to use those up. I sewed two together and liked the size and then cut batting the same size and two pieces of flannel with a 1 inch allowance. I stacked them in the following order: batting, washcloths with seam down, backing flannel face up, top flannel face down. Pin all side then lay a plate down in the center and cut a semicircle. Stich edge closed twice by using and 3/4 seam allowance and leave a 2" opening on your longest side. 

Before flipping right side out, I trimmed the corners and excessive batting and washcloth from edges and snipped the inner curve so it would flip smoothly. 

I made two and plan to finish them by topstitching and basic quilting. Love them and hope to make a "Daddy" set, because I found more wash cloths I had stashed away. Only if I can find Celtics, Patriots or Red Sox fabric in the Pacific Northwest.

Scrappy Christmas Trees

I made these last year as gifts. There were about 20, but now I only have about 5 left. I think this was one of the easiest gifts to make. I found the strips in my stash bag. Made a few color schemes and cut out triangles. I used upholstery fabric for the trunks and fleece scraps for the backs. Small ribbons were sewn in to create hangers. Some had jingle bells and some had buttons. on the top like a star. I liked these especially for homes with small kids and animals who like to attack the tree.
I like that each one is different and unique. I think I would put the cost at a roll of ribbon and a bag of poly fill, so about 5 bucks for 20 gifts. The scraps were all from quilting projects that I had made my money off of prior. So to me that was free. I love using up the items that I hold onto forever.

Beaded Snowflakes

I have been making these beaded snowflakes for years. I got a small kit when I was 13 or so that had directions, wire and beads. I used the beads and wire up years ago, but always seem to have the supplies to make more. I never get tired of making them. No matter the size of beads the patterns always work. It is nice to have a pair of jewelry pliers to help pull and wrap the wire at the end. I think they make rather nice looking ornaments. I have given them as sets or just singles tied to gifts.

This year, I used vintage beads from broken necklaces along with small silver beads from Michael's. In about 30 minutes and very little money I can make one snowflake. I usually put on a Christmas movie and make a few.  I love how these turned out. I decided to keep these for myself. I live how they twinkle with lights and stand out against the green tree.
I put them on this wire tree I made to display items. I made the tree put of a heavy iron plate and green floral wire. I just wrapped and twisted away as I saw fit until the branches seemed strong enough to hold up the items. It has been a nice accessory for Christmas display as well. Wire is fun to work with and has limitless creativity.

MacBook Case

I had promised my hubby awhile ago that I would make a computer cover for his new MacBook Pro. I told him this to deter a 48.00 purchase at the mac store.  It took me too long to make it but, it had everything that I wanted to include. It is made out of duck canvas. I used lots of thick and rigid batting to pad the computer. 

 I made sure it had a big enough pocket so the power cord is always with the computer. I ended up stitching a pen pocket to make the pocket tighter. The pocket and computer opening have a large tab and button closure. I like buttons over velcro normally.  This is an awesome vintage blue button from my great aunt's stash.

I used navy micro fleece as a super soft liner. Then I used navy thread with a zig-zag stitch in order to create a pattern on the duck cloth and quilting it at the same time. Making case included a bit of trial and error. At first it was too loose and then too small. I had a time getting my Singer through all the layers of the padding and canvas. My arms hurt the next morning from force feeding the fabric. The top thread  kept. breaking. It took many adjustments to get it finally. He started using it right after I made it and loves it. I just hope it wont get too dirty, since the duck canvas is a light color. Next time, I hope I can get projects done when I want to. The entire project only took me four hours. Most of the time was spent troubleshooting my pattern and the sewing machine thread tension. I love the modern look of the finished project.