Tuesday 17 December 2013

Simple Gifts

I know I've been missing for a few days. We've been busy as a family as everyone else is at this time of year. Yesterday we had a visit from my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. I wanted us to make gifts for them. I only had about a week to get ready, and in true fashion I couldn't come up with any ideas until the day of.

Well, I had started a scarf for my sister-in-law. It's one of those scarfs made with a specialty yarn. I didn't particularly enjoy knitting with this yarn and probably won't be in a hurry to do another scarf. It did turn out nicely though.

My mother-in-law loves hedgehogs and for her birthday this year I found a pattern for a stuffed hedgehog. When I went to the fabric store I found some adorable flannel that was covered in hedgehogs. ☺ It was the end of the bolt so I bought what was left. I still have quite a bit left so I pondered for days how to use some more of this fabric for another gift. I finally decided on the kind of bulletin board where you cover the board with fabric and crisscross it with ribbon which hold your pictures/papers in place without having to use pushpins. I was so happy with how it turned out. If I had had more time I would have taken pictures and done a tutorial. Maybe I'll make another one for some else and do a tutorial.

I also wanted the children to make some gifts, but what, what, what? I went on Pintertest and came up with these ideas:

~We wrote "We love you" on one side of a mug and they signed their names on the other. We did this for Father's Day, but the post I found is gone now. I just did it from memory, but my oldest daughter found this post with lots of tips for writing on ceramic with permanent marker.

~They covered two notebooks with scrapbook paper. You can find the instructions here.

~My nine-year-old daughter was discouraged because she wasn't able to do the notebooks so I went back to the drawing board (a.k.a. Pinterest) and found this idea for a corner bookmark. She and her younger sister loved this craft. It's simple and they caught on quickly. They plan to do this for more gifts soon. It's a great craft because now that they know how they can totally do it by themselves.


So if you're still in need of some simple and fast gifts, I hope we have given you some ideas. Do you have any simple and fast ideas to share?



8 comments:

  1. My go-to craft is magic bags. They're relatively cheap to make (especially if you already have rice and spare fabric ends) and so simple, even my nine year old can do it.

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    1. Simple and useful (and cheap) my favourites.

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  2. What clever and creative children you have - a wonderful selection of gifts made from the heart - the best ;)

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    1. I agree about homemade gifts. I love giving and receiving them.

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  3. I share Lisa's appreciation for creative gifts Jennifer--especially those made from the heart.

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  4. I make those scarves Jen but I crochet them - WAY easier (trust me, I've tried the knitted ones). Em has been ensconced in making gifts - not sure what they are but she is having fun :)

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    1. I don't think I'll try them crochet or knit anytime soon.
      I love it when the children get excited about coming up with their own gifts. Bekah has been leading Micah around with lots of whispering while they decide on gifts to make.

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