This past year, I tried to do a few more homemade/creative Christmas gifts compared to years past. I had a few reasons for doing this. First, it saved us some money...I have a lot of crafting tools and supplies (sewing machine, fabric, scrap lumber, a laminator, etc.) and wanted to put some of those things to good use instead of spending a lot of money. We also made a commitment as a family to not spend as much money on Christmas last year, so that meant we had to get creative! Second, I think homemade gifts are fun because it shows that the giver put some time and energy into making something specifically for the receiver. It makes me feel special to receive something homemade and unique, so I wanted to do that for someone else. Third, we were trying to simplify Christmas for our family and make it more about focusing on Jesus, spending time with family, and creating memories, and I thought crafting would help me accomplish those goals better than spending time shopping. Obviously we still purchased gifts for some people, but it was a fun learning experience for me to do Christmas this way. Plus, with only two children I had SO much time on my hands....hahahahaha.
Anyway, I just wanted to share some of the homemade gifts we created...maybe it will give you a new idea for this year!
I really wanted Ellie to have an opportunity to give a gift last year. Being three years old, I figured she could do something simple which would also help her realize that Christmas isn't about her getting things from other people, but also giving to them! I had a lot of white cardstock paper scraps (from another project below) that were the perfect size for a bookmark, so I had her (and Piper, too) sit at the table with some crayons and decorate the bookmarks. Ellie took this project so seriously and (as you can see) got pretty intense about coloring every square inch of the paper. When she was done, I wrote her name and the date on the back, laminated the bookmarks with my awesome Scotch thermal laminator (thanks, Mom!), punched a hole in the top of each one, and tied some ribbon on it. She was so thrilled to have made gifts to give to other people. I even had one extra bookmark left and kept it for myself!
I found this free printable for a book of love coupons from Mommy by Day Crafter by Night and thought it was too cute. It's meant to be a Valentine's Day thing but I made this as a stocking stuffer for Billy. She has pre-made coupons as well as blank ones. I printed two sheets of blank coupons, wrote out each coupon for whatever I wanted it to say, laminated them, punched a hole in the corner, and put a book ring clip in it. So easy and cute!
I try to make apple butter every fall after we pick apples. The recipe I use is so easy since it just requires the crockpot and a few spices. When the apple butter is done, I can it and give it away at Christmas. I definitely like it, and I'm pretty sure my family enjoys it, too!
This was a new type of project for me. I thought these rustic photo displays from Shanty 2 Chic were really cute and I knew we had some scrap lumber in the garage. My sweet husband cut, sanded, stained, and drilled holes in the boards for me. Literally all I did was print the message, glue the hooks in place, and print out some pictures. So this was mostly Billy's work but I thought they turned out pretty cute!
This was by far the most involved project I took on for Christmas. I actually started it in the summer of 2012 because I thought it would be really cool to make a quilt for my mom (we are hardcore blanket people), but then I put it away for a while. When I realized I never finished it, I decided that I had to get it done before Grace was born and it would make a great Christmas gift. I found this tutorial called 31 Days to a Handmade Quilt by Saving by Making and it immediately went on my "someday I will do this" list. I would say that for my very first quilt (and definitely the biggest sewing project I've ever done in my short sewing life of 2.5 years) I was really pleased with how it turned out. There are a few things I would do differently now that I've gone through it, but when I finished I literally teared up a little because I couldn't believe that I actually finished it (and I was hugely pregnant and hormonal....so that may have influenced my tears, too).
Billy made these wooden monogram ornaments as a surprise for me (again, using scrap lumber from the garage and the stain we bought for the photo block project) and I LOVE them. I'm not even sure what he did to make this happen but they are perfect. I have a slight obsession with Christmas ornaments, so these were a perfect gift for me.
It took some time and planning, but I really enjoyed making these gifts. I get a little anxious about homemade anything (mostly because I'm not super confident in my own skills and crafting does NOT come easily to me) but I think everything turned out okay. Thanks for reading my severely belated Christmas post!
No comments:
Post a Comment