I love making homemade gifts for the holidays and so I organized an Advent Workshop at our church to make some crafts and get into the holiday spirit.  We actually had 11 crafts and plenty of people attended (75 to be exact)!  Here are some of the great ideas, I got most of these from pinterest but I also had some very craft people help who came up with their own ideas.

Up first we have Christmas finger puppets.

Finger Puppets from coin wrappers

These were a huge hit for the older elementary and tween ages because it takes some time to design the little bits of character for a finger puppet.  It can be as basic as the reindeer or as complicated as Santa.  And everywhere in between.  They came out great:

A great idea for gifts for mom, aunts, or grandmas is a Bird's Nest Necklace.  I got the beads, wire, and necklace chains from Oriental Trading.  Click the links to find what to buy.

Bird's Nest Necklaces

These were also a huge hit, but for the older girls and women of the group.  Larger diameter wire makes the nest look more nesty (haha!), but it was neat to see how different each person's was. 

For younger children, a Christmas nativity is a fairly easy ornament that will travel and store very well.

Nativity Ornament

We had even preschoolers paint their sticks white, orange, blue, and brown, and used some yarn as "hay" for the little manger.

Finding gold pipe cleaner is difficult, but makes this project worth it.  I got mine at Amazon.

We also had the skiing pinecone snowman from pinterest, which was very easy for young children to make.  It didn't hold the interest of older kids because there aren't too many things to do to it, before you are done. 

Skiing Pinecone Snowman

I brought a bunch of different plaid fabrics for the kids to pick their favorite.  They also turned out really great, and show each child's personality.

One of my favorite crafts was an Ornament Wreath, which is pretty popular right now.  The great thing about it is that ANYONE at ANY AGE can make it.  BUT, you need a TON of ornaments.

Ornament Wreath

 Estimate on 60-80 ornaments per wreath.  We made about 16 wreaths with 800-900 ornaments.  AND you do have to hot glue all the little metal clips on the top of each ball so they won't fall off when you string them on the wire.  We broke a few ornaments during construction, but it was a fantastic craft and everyone really enjoyed it.  Here is an action shot:

We also had four other craft stations: Melted Crayon Ornaments, Gingerbread Houses, Fingerprint Reindeer Christmas Cards, Bell Necklaces, and Handpainted Ball Ornaments.

Fingerprint Reindeer and Bell Necklace

Fingerprint Reindeer

Painted Ball Ornaments hanging on a tree

Gingerbread House

Finally, our church's woodworking group came and gave out wooden ornaments made for the children that came to Advent Workshop.

Have you done any of these crafts?  What are your favorite homemade gifts?

Every year I put together a list of gifts from my daughter (actually this is only the second year we've had to do this, since she was born in 2011) to the rest of the family, and some gifts I make for family members from me.  I try to keep them a secret, but I also like to put on my blog what I made, so you can too.  If you are a family member, don't keep reading!!!!

If you aren't a family, just scroll down.  I'll be posting how my attempts at all these projects turn out, as I work my way through them.





































Okay, so if you're still with me.

First up, I'm making framed silhouettes of my daughter.  This tutorial is really great and has a lot of help for those of you with Photoshop, which is how I plan to make mine.

Next, I'm making some embroidered tea towels of my daughter's art.  Since she is so young, I'm planning on having her do a tiny amount of scribbling in all different colors so it will be multicolored abstract (she can't draw anything that you could identify).

I'm also going to weave these knot trivets (a few for me, and a few for others).  I love their nautical feel, and they seem pretty simple.  Here's how.

 
For my daughter, I'm making a train board just like Young House Love.  I will be making a different scene for the train to go through, and I'll share when I actually make it.

These potholders are also on my list for some relatives that like homemade items.  I love the color they can have.

I am, if I have time, planning on also making this fabric dollhouse for my daughter.

For more relatives, that have a little cooler vibe, I'm going to help my daughter make this ink blot art.  It really will turn out well, just imagine all the color combinations you could use to personalize the gift.

And I'm making this fingerprint ornament for my husband.  How can you get a grown man's thumb imprint without him knowing?  Blindfolded, maybe??

Finally, a tried and true set of picture coasters.  I think they'll turn out very cute in black and white.

Have you ever seen the Tatertots and Jello blog? I love love love this blog and check frequently for crafting ideas, from quilting to homemade gifts. She is very creative and has unique ideas (puff quilts anyone?).

So many different ways to use these, but I would love to use them in my etsy shop packaging if I won the giveaway! What would you use them for?

She is currently having a giveaway for Twisted Sugar Twine, which is sooo cute!

Ok, I just made this outfit for a baby gift size 0-3 months....what do you think?

Pin It
I rather like the polka dots! And it is more grown up than the normal nursery material with animals. It was simple: drew a pattern of the tie, ironed on wonder under (heat bond actually), ironed on the tie to the onesie, sewed the seams with a zig-zag stitch (in Navy blue thread to match), and then washed to be sure it would stay together. I'm so pleased it came out so well!

These are on etsy -- PM me if you like the set but want a custom order.

Wow, it has been almost a year since I last posted.

In that time, a lot has happened. I got pregnant, we moved (without selling the old house), we have a buyer for the house, we tried one type of short sale, we got denied, we are in the process of another type of short sale, I started a new job, we had the baby (a girl - M), and I started an etsy business.

Which leads me to my new point of view for blogland - - CRAFTING! I love it, and so should you. Even if you aren't all that creative, you should try crafting just for the heck of it. And in that line, I would like to share my new creations from etsy. Keep in mind, most of what I create, I create because I love the process. I love the feel of fabric, the clack of the sewing machine, the little fuzz that scissors get on them when cutting thick fabrics.....even though that means more cleaning. So stick with me, invite your friends, find some cool stuff to send to me. We can have fun!