Making Things: Homemade Gifts

I still have a goal of making at least one gift for the girls for their birthdays and Christmas. It's a goal I started four years ago when I realized I actually did have a crafty side, and it's something I really enjoy doing! I wish I had so much more time to "make" than I do, as there are many things I'd love to learn to do or perfect doing, and there are many people I'd love to make things for. My time these days is limited, though, and my favorite people to make things for are the four little girls who carry my DNA, so that's mostly who I "make" for these days.

For Christmas, I decided to make the girls each a bonnet. They love Little House on the Prairie, and they play imagine the prairie life sometimes, so it was only fitting for them to each have a bonnet. I always am so intimidated about trying something new, especially with my sewing machine as I feel like I'm still a newbie at it, but once I got going with the bonnets, they were quite easy! I also am getting better at trouble shooting issues with my sewing machine. I used this simplicity pattern for the bonnets (maybe some day I'll make the dresses to go along...).

My sister hinted at my that she liked the buses I had made for two of my nephews, so I gladly made one for her son as well! Since there are currently ten grandkids on this side of the family, each one of the little peg people is painted after a kid (hence, a thousand blondes haha!). I love making things for my nieces and nephews when I have time!

I wasn't sure what to give my other nephew for Christmas, but I loved this fighter jet, so I painted and stained it for him. I buy my wooden toys from the ClickityClack etsy shop, which I highly recommend and am obsessed with! They all come unfinished, and I finish them.

I painted this picture for my sister-in-law.

My little maker, Brielle, made this for her baby sister Violet. Sophie helped her. It makes me so happy to watch the girls make things, especially when they are making them for others! How sweet is this little rabbit?!

I was itching to get some hand sewing in, which is probably my favorite handcraft, so I decided to do one for Brielle's birthday which was the end of January. I made this sweet little unicorn. Her pattern is from Gingermelon's etsy shop, which I adore, and I have made a number of her patterns in the past. I learned how to hand sew from one of her patterns a few years back!

I also painted a few more ClickityClack items for Brielle's birthday... a car with a family of peg people and a unicorn and her warrior rider!

As always with these posts, I like to remind people that I never learned to do ANYTHING crafty (sewing, hand sewing, painting, embroidery) until four years ago, when I was 26. It's never too late to learn!