wordless wednesday, number ninety-seven.
the little big blog.
hello lovelies!
just a quick post to let you know that i’m a guest over at the little big today, showing you a thrifty, no-sew craft!
cheers!
pooksville holiday gift guide: ideas for a handmade christmas!
hello lovelies!
christmas is just 2 weeks away – are you ready for your holiday adventures? i’m finished shopping, but am still putting the finishing touches on a big batch of handmade gifts for my loved ones. this year, i decided to challenge myself to create 100% of poppy’s christmas presents by hand, and i’m proud to report i’ve stuck to my goal! my girl is only 2.5, and doesn’t yet care about things like clothing brands or fancy toys, so i thought it made sense to take advantage of the built-in flexibility of her age and stick to creating all her holiday offerings. as i’ve posted my handmade gift making progress on instagram and twitter over the last few weeks, i’ve gotten a lot of comments from friends saying they’d love to give more handmade this christmas, but that it’s often difficult to know where to start. so i decided to post a little round-up of possibilities here for you all to check out!
here are 23 creative and very affordable handmade gift ideas for kids. the first 12 can be created without any sewing whatsoever, so anyone from any skill set can easily make them. the ones that require sewing are very easy to follow and wouldn’t require more than an intermediate level of ability to create. the majority of these ideas would cost $5 or less to make, so they should be friendly for any budget. let’s get started!:
1) get festive by making your kids some gingerbread play dough!
2) alternately, here’s a great recipe for classic play dough. this is the exact recipe that my mom and i make for poppy and it really is the BEST play dough! very soft, inexpensive to make and lasts for months in an air-tight container.
3) encourage art in your home by making your own fingerpaints!
4) here’s a great explanation of how to make moon sand with just 3 simple ingredients. if your kids have never played with moon sand, DO THIS! it’s a real treat!
5) a perfect stocking stuffer for kids of any age: grab various colors of ink pads (found at craft stores/dollar stores) for endless fun making thumbprint characters!
6) here’s a great tutorial for making no-sew felt finger puppets. you could also make hand puppets using the same method, by making the characters large enough to fit over your child’s hand.
7) i love suzanne’s roundup of pinecone crafts. one of poppy’s presents is a little package of supplies for creating these cute pine cone bird feeders, to make together to hang in front of our kitchen window!
8 ) put together a package of supplies for your kids to to make their own snow globes, then spend an afternoon creating them together.
9) here’s a really easy & inexpensive felt board tutorial. the possibility for themes & characters are endless!
10) make your own bubble solution. if it’s too cold in your area for outdoor bubble play, your kids can still enjoy their homemade bubbles during bath time!
11) try making various sensory bottles for your little ones to explore and enjoy. i found perfect containers in the scrapbooking section at joanne’s, and filled them with dyed rice, poms & feathers, and made a “lava lamp” with vegetable oil and dyed water!
12) create a rice table for endless hours of fun sensory play! visit your local dollar store to include various animal figurines, scoops, funnels and containers with your play table. you can keep the whole lot in a large, shallow tupperware container with a fitted lid, for easy storage & cleanup.
13) check out this fabulous tutorial on making a fabric dollhouse! so precious and you could use your child’s favorite patterns/flowers, or coordinate it to the decor of their room for a special, personalized touch.
14) here’s a great felt food tutorial round-up – eco felt is extremely affordable (found in the children’s section of craft stores for around $o.30 cents per 8×11 sheet) and it’s very easy to work with, too! so if you’re limited in sewing experience, felt is a great medium to try out.
15) make a cuddly baby/kiddo blanket for your sweet little one to cozy up with! this is a VERY easy pattern to follow, and is wonderful because you can make it in any size you desire. i made poppy a cozy quilt using this technique, with printed cotton & polar fleece. so snuggly and perfect for these cold winter months!
16) here’s a great design for making a kids apron from a single fat quarter of fabric. so sweet!
17) love handmade plush animals, but haven’t tried your hand at making one? here’s a tutorial for making a sweet owl plush that looks quite simple to follow!
18) love the idea of giving your little one a special hideaway space or reading nook? why not make them a play teepee or an a-frame tent!
19) i love these whimsical handmade magic wands. i’ve made similar ones for poppy, and she just adores them!
20) does your little one treasure their special dolls & stuffed toys? how about making some sweet bedding for their little pals!
21) here’s some easy instructions for making pretty flower hair clips.
22) more fun with felt: adorable tool box tutorial!
23) it’s a bird! it’s a plane! it’s SUPER-KID! make a superhero cape & mask for your little ones so they can embark on adventures and save the world!
i hope you guys enjoyed this list of handmade gift ideas! if you have questions or need specific crafting advice, i’ll be more than happy to help you out by answering your inquiries in the comments.
happy holidays, friends!
cheers!
24 seconds of pure toddler cute/just TRY saying “no” to this!!!
not kidding when i say i have no clue where she picked this little habit up. completely ridiculous. and impossible to say “no” to. so, now she can have ALL THE THINGS because, yeah. like a have a choice.
cheers!
a very DIY/thrifted christmas…
hello lovelies!!
i had lots of fun decorating our little apartment for christmas this year. poppy (2.5 years old) is extremely excited about the holidays, which makes it so very fun to take part in all things festive! with my little helper at my side, i spent the last couple of weeks putting together holiday decor around our tiny home in various forms, all of which is either handmade, thrifted, or already owned. here’s a little tour of our thrifty holiday cheer. hope you enjoy it!
felt circle garland, inspired by this one. i had the idea to double up the circles before sewing with contrasting shades of felt, and then fanning them out. i really love the effect it offered!
felt mistletoe hung above our couch, inspired by this tutorial. the reverse side has a little secret heart on it! awwwwww.
vintage stained glass candle holder from my childhood, thrifted cranberry candle, thrifted figurines. “snow” is craft stuffing i had on hand.
toy box & snow globe from my childhood (presents from my grandma) and a thrifted vintage vase with dried flowers from poppy’s birthday.
no fireplace to hang our stockings, so i put them up under our living room shelving. the two knit ones were found at goodwill for $1 each, and the vintage angel one was mine growing up and has now been passed along to miss poppy.
cheerful little thrifted snowmen.
happy toddler helping decorate! our tiny fake tree was bought 7 years ago, when david and i got our first studio apartment together. brings fond memories and fits perfectly on our living room end table, without taking up too much space!
thrifted vintage decorations, and white lights from our wedding reception.
tree skirt i made from white polar fleece that i had leftover from poppy’s halloween costume, settled onto navy fabric with tiny stars, which was a sweet gift from my friend amy over at baby baby lemon.
felt angel tree topper, which i stitched up by hand. i’m really happy with how it turned out! and especially over the fact that david loves it so much, heehee!
completed tree!
vintage carolling scene, thrifted.
ornament garland! view the tutorial here. i actually made two of these and have them hanging above the largest windows in our kitchen/living room. i’m planning to hang any christmas cards/pictures that i get in between the ornaments with clothes pins. should make for a cute way to display them!
i hope you guys enjoyed this little peek into our home! the next few weeks will be busy as i prep uff da orders, mail out all my holidays cards and continue on my quest of making most if our christmas gifts for the season by hand. hopefully i’ll have time to return shortly with a post highlighting my favorite handmade gift ideas for kids. wish me luck??!
happy holidays to all! cheers!
tutorial: easy no-sew christmas ornament garland.
happy holidays, darlings!
today’s post is a very easy craft that absolutely anyone can make – a cheerful holiday garland made from ribbon and christmas ornaments! there is zero sewing involved, and all you’ll need is a pair of scissors, some ribbon, any kind of christmas ornaments you like, and some thumb tacks to hang your cheerful creation when you’re finished. let’s get started!
1) gather up your selection of christmas ornaments. my mom gave me this set of tiny bulbs in red, green, fuchsia and pink, which inspired me to make this craft since i’d already decorated my tree, but still wanted to use these pretty bulbs! you can use any kind of ornament, and it’s up to you whether to leave the hooks on or take them off. i went hook-less for my garland.
2) measure a length of ribbon to reach across the area you’ll be hanging it. give yourself a few extra inches so the garland will swoop a bit, and cut accordingly.
3) now, simply cut smaller lengths of ribbon (mine were about 5 inches long) and lay the small ribbon under the large…
4) tie in a knot to secure…
5) then tie your ornament onto the small length of ribbon, and tie the excess ribbon into a bow at the top of the ornament!
6) repeat until your ornaments are spaced as desired along your large ribbon, and then hang with thumbtacks anywhere your house might need some holiday cheer! hooray! once your garland is hung, you’ll be able to slide your ornaments around to get them perfectly spaced, which is great if you’re a bit of a perfectionist like, uh, some people… ::side eye::
that’s it! you can make this garland with absolutely any kind of christmas ornament, which makes it great for using up extra ones that you love but don’t have room for on your tree. it’s also simple enough to involve your kids in if you’d like: have them help you lay the ornaments out to see what pattern looks best, assist you with cutting the ribbon, etc. i’m working on making a second large garland to match the one in my kitchen – it’s such a pretty, cheerful look and costs next to nothing to create!
happy crafting, friends!
cheers!
bits & pieces of our week.
1) lounging; turkey hand puppet.
2) toy box fun!
3) aftermath.
4) fort!
5) peekaboo!
6) wax paper leaf lanterns. view suzanne’s tutorial here!
7) easy-peasy fabric pumpkins. view morgan’s tutorial here!
8 ) red cons, wagon full of treasures. (thank you again to melissa for the shoes!)
9) spring flowers don’t fare well in autumn.
10) the tiniest “i love you” sign!
11) trying to stifle a grin while i snapped her picture.
12) BONK!
many thanks to james at bleubird for the bits + pieces inspiration! i hope the final countdown to your wedding is as beautiful as you are!!!
cheers!
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welcome, darlings! i hope you enjoy your time here. last train to pooksville is a personal journal/family blog from a crafty, semi-crunchy, tattooed attachment mama, with a serious love of vintage, good coffee and diy. please feel free to say hello! cheers!
~emily
