Our February drawing will be for a custom quilt label professionally embroidered by Sarah’s Sewing Studio (photo soon!). Entering to win is easy, just share your photos with the Sewhooked flickr group, making sure your photos are set to share. You’ll be entered to win for each photo you share!
Want a quilt label? Get your own custom label for $9.95 (as shown with your name and recipient’s name) or $14.95 for additional text (for example, the name of your quilter). A two color option is also available. Contact Sarah’s Sewing Studio for more info. Make sure to tell her I sent you!
I have the great fortune of being surrounded by people that love many of the same things I do. When I began to contemplate the birthday of my brother-in-law, I knew I wanted to start with my C3P0 stitch that I designed earlier this year for The Summer of Stitching.
Enter this fun pillow, made with an 8 1/2″ center, 2 1/2″ & 3 1/2″ borders plus triangles to make it interesting. The pillow front is backed with muslin and I used some straight line stitching to give it a quilted look.
I gifted this pretty yesterday and couldn’t wait to share! Look for it tomorrow on Talk To me Tuesday, along with a giant pile of blankets I’ve been working on for The Linus Connection!
Just over a week ago, I got to do something that I look forward to all year around – see my best friend, Jewells. We live hundreds of miles apart and with our kids still in school, we’re lucky to get one visit a year.
I’ve talked about Jewells here before, when I shared the quilt I made for her 2008 birthday.
Jewells always shares amazingly thoughtful handmade gifts. She’s knitted socks for me, made “snowballs” for my kids (who rarely see snow here in Texas) and just generally shared her talent, creativity and thoughtfulness with my family.
Due to a variety of circumstances beyond her control, my birthday gift for this year was belated. Parts on back-order and such created one delay after another for her. Due to the delays, she was able to do something that I can’t remember happening in many years – hand deliver my birthday gift!
I’m so excited to share this truly wonderful gift here. This gorgeous perpetual calendar was an idea from a craft store flier than ended up morphing into a whole new design that Jewells made especially for me.
She pieced, stitched, stamped, glued, stenciled, covered buttons, crocheted and oh my gosh, I don’t know what else! Look and be amazed. I am truly a lucky girl to have had such an amazing friend for almost half of my life.
The whole Kit And Kaboodle! Why coffee? Because it’s been one of our favorite past times since our time as college roommates and we still enjoy sitting over a cup o’ Joe and chatting the day away.
The months are stamped on felt which sticks right to the velcro. Each month is customized with coordinating ribbon!
The months have their own nifty little pouch for storage.
Each date was stamped on fabric, which was then used to make custom velcro-back buttons.
The set includes the calendar and two pouches (one for the months, one for the days). Even the back is coffee themed!
I repurposed a cafe rod and hooks for hanging this beauty in my foyer. The cafe rod and hooks were cream and brass and have been primed and spray painted black.
Thank you, Jewells, I can’t even express how much I love the time and thought that went into this gift. Even better was getting to open it in front of you!
The holiday head cold has grabbed me with both hands! Fortunately, I finished my gift making and wrapping before I could spread cooties along with my Christmas cheer.
I did something I almost never do and *gasp* bought pre-made gift bags for holiday treats. When I opened the packages, they all had a bottle neck. After I forced my eyebrows down out of my scalp, I realized the cute little bags were practically useless unless the entirety of my holiday giving included M&Ms.
Without any time to spare, I started digging around in my “keep just in case” drawer and came up with a stack of paper wine bags that I’ve been holding on to forever. Jackpot!
To make your own holiday gift bags/wrap from recycled wine bags, you’ll need:
paper bags (any size)
tape or glue
hole punch
ribbon
iron
Something to cut the bags (paper cutter, rotary cutter, decorative or plain scissors)
stamps, stickers, or other embellishments
If your bags are like mine, they’re likely to be in all different states of crumpled-ness. So, first things, first, iron those bags if needed. Medium heat works. Ironing on a paper bag will also clean your iron, so you might want to start with a sacrificial bag, just in case your iron has any Ghosts of Craft Projects Past lurking around.
Much better!
I happen to have a snazzy wavy blade for my rotary cutter. Try scissors, decorative or plain, or fun rotary blades.
Each wine bag will make 2 gift bags. Determine how big you want each side to be, leaving about 1″ for folding for each bag.
Bottom and top (L-R)
If you’re making more than one gift bag out of your original bag, you may need to seal the bottom. Glue works for this, but so does tape or a cute sticker.
This is also a good time to embellish your gift bag with stickers, stamps, or doodles.
Top finish off, fold the top down and punch two holes through all layers. Insert your gift and tie a ribbon through to close.
Repeat the steps for all bags. The bottom half of your recycled gift wrap will only need the tops folded and punched since the bottom is already sealed. I stamped mine, but you can embellish your bags any way you like. Now, fill with holiday goodness and gift it! If you’re stuffing your gift bags with edible homemade goodness, I suggest wrapping it in plastic or wax paper before placing it in the bag.
Shared by my aunt, Amy, several years ago, Candy Cups have become a gift-giving standard for me. I’ve made them for Christmas and birthdays and with all sorts of candy.
They’re easy, inexpensive, and make gorgeous gifts for the hard-to-shop for. Think teachers, friend,s and anyone who likes candy. Sugar-free candy works, too!
Once all your supplies are gathered, it’ll take you about an hour to make one candy cup.
You’ll need:
Glass or Mug (I prefer clear, but any kind will work, the heavier the better!)
Candy with loose or twisted wrappers (example used approximately 40 oz. of peppermints)
Styrofoam ball (size depends on your glass or mug)
Filler for the cup – recycled paper or candy
Bamboo Skewer
Scissors
Hot Melt Glue
Greening Pins (also available at the hobby store with the floral accessories)
Ribbon
Cellophane
Push the bamboo skewer into the Styrofoam ball, all the way through the top. Put it in the glass to and push down until the ball is snug in the glass.
Snip off the excess skewer with your scissors. You can also use large fingernail clippers, a utility knife, or pruning shears.
With the skewer still in the glass, fill the bottom with candy. Ideas are like M&Ms, Hershey’s Kisses, or Peppermints (though you could really use any candy). Another option is shredded paper, but the candy on the ball will make the cup top-heavy, so having a heavier filler keeps it from tipping over and gives the gifted a sweet bonus.
Place a small dot of hot melt glue on either side of the rim of the cup. Gently press the styrofoam ball onto glue, holding in place until it sets. You don’t need much, just a touch for stability.
candies in twisted wrappers
greening pins
Use greening pins to add candy to ball by poking pins through the loose end near the twist of the candy wrapper. Depending on the candy, you can get two or three on each pin.
Start at the bottom and work your way up to the top, moving in a circular pattern.
First Round complete.
Second Round.
Third Round.
Fill in any holes with more candy & greening pins.
Final round complete, all the holes filled in.
Wrap in cellophane and embellish with a bow or ribbon. The cellophane is optional, but it provides insurance that your candy will get from point “A” to point “B” intact.
Gift it!
Variation with M&Ms and Coca-Cola glasses
Variations by Amy Maxey – toffee coffee & bubble gum soda glass.
I’ve been making these Santa bags for a lot of years now, but this is the first time I’ve ever shared a how-to for it.
Other similar bags I’ve made include Rudolph, Christmas kitties and Christmas trees. Change the basic bag to any color and add polka dots or stars for an easy birthday bag!
Smiling Santa is reusable, giftable, and darn cute. He’s fast to make with simple embroidered stitches and a button nose. If hand stitching isn’t your thing, fabric paint will work in a pinch!
I use eco-friendly acrylic felt. It’s easy to find, cheap (20 cents a sheet) and sturdy.
Find the bottom of your bag and cut 1″ squares out of the opposite corners for each white sheet. This will create a faux gusset and allow your gift bag to stand up.
Cut the flesh-colored felt sheet down to 8″ x 5 1/2″. Fold in half and cut a gentle curve.
Open flesh-colored felt. Align 1″ from top of bag, centering so that each side has approximately 1/2″ of white felt showing.
Using the white embroidery floss, hand stitch a running stitch around the two sides and bottom of the face.
Sewhooked 