A Homemade Christmas- Snuggly Wrap Posted on December 4th, 2008
This week I am sharing the EASIEST gift you could make!!!!! It took longer to stand at the cutting line at the store and pay for this than it did to make.
This is a warm, snuggly wrap. We had to think of the best name for this- shawl, cape, cloak or wrap. After reading the following definition of wrap we decided it was a wrap. You can decide which definition best suits here.
wrap:
Directions:
Take a length of Blizzard fleece (this kind is so soft) folded in half, selvage to selvage and measure it from the tip of the nose to the floor of who you are making this for. If it is a surprise just measure it against yourself.
Mark where it touched the ground and then cut straight across.
Fold the still folded fleece in half length wise and cut along the folded edge up to the middle point. Make sure you are just cutting one layer just to the middle. If you opened it flat it would look like the above detailed illustration on the left. 
And if getting ready to be put on it would look like the detailed illustration on the right.
Cut off the selvage edges so that it has a nice straight edge on both sides.
Visit Simply Vintagegirl to read more Homemade Christmas ideas.
thanks to Breezy Tulip for my detailed illustrations. and thanks to Emily Rose for being my lovely model.
A Homemade Christmas – Homemade Canned Items Posted on November 26th, 2008
For years my oldest sister would give everyone in our family grape jelly made from a huge grapevine that grew up the side of her home. This is the same house that my grandmother lived in when I was growing up and that grapevine was always such a big part of her house. It grew up the side all the way to the second floor where there was a little second floor porch. It is a very old house and sits on a hill so you could look out from that porch and see all the surrounding land. For some reason that grapevine has had a few years where it hasn’t produced many grapes and what does grow the raccoons eat. So, sadly we haven’t had homemade grape jelly from her for a few years now.
A couple of years ago we were able to get two aged grapevines and plant them in our yard. This year they produced an abundant amount of grapes and I was able to make grape jelly for the first time. I was so surprised how easy it was and how wonderful it made the house smell. It is a little time consuming, but worth every minute. When you open the jar it smells so fresh and real. So this year I will be giving out grape jelly and just like my sister, I will put a little piece of material under the ring so that it will look sweet and festive.
I followed the recipe that comes with the packet of Sure-Jell. The recipe also said that if you didn’t have grapes you could buy grape juice and make the jelly with that – even easier! So you can make grape jelly any time of the year.
I used a circle of material that was 5 1/4 inches in diameter and trimmed it with pinking shears.
Homemade canned food items are such a special gift – one that is definitely a labor of love.
Visit Simply Vintagegirl to read more ideas for A Homemade Christmas. If you have posted about a homemade Christmas gift that you have made or planning to make or one that you received you can sign the Mr. Linky on her site and join in with sharing ideas.
A Homemade Christmas- Mexican Seasoning Gift Jar Posted on November 19th, 2008
My Homemade Christmas gift this week is super simple and very yummy. I love Mexican food and so I am assuming everyone else on my Christmas list does too. Right? You do don’t you?
This mix is quick to put together and my favorite reason for using this recipe is that you can control the sodium content. Who wants to use those little packets of taco seasoning with all that sodium when you can use this wonderful mix and know what you are eating.
Mexican Seasoning Mix
1/2 cup flour
4 T. chili powder
1/2 cup onion powder
4 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
8 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
4 tsp. sugar
4 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. oregano
Put ingredients in a blender or food processor and process for just a few seconds.
Store in airtight container. This makes around 10 servings.
Use 3 T. in place of taco seasoning packet.
You can read more Homemade Christmas posts by visiting Simply Vintagegirl. You can add your own Homemade Christmas posts to her Mr. Linky if you want to join in.
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A Homemade Christmas- Christmas Cards Posted on November 12th, 2008
For years I have made homemade Christmas cards. When the girls were little I would make them all by myself and just have my own little party making cards, but as they got older I would include them and have them do a section so we would have a little assembly line of card making- and we always have our card making energy snack- Christmas M & M’s and Coke.
Now the past few years I have let the girls take turns designing the cards. The first one that Breezy did for us is packed away somewhere and I haven’t found it yet, so I will just describe it. She used colored pencils and drew a Christmas wreath and in the center of the wreath there was a kitchen scene with a mom and a little boy making gingerbread cookies. We printed it out on white card stock and printed a verse and saying on the inside.
This is the card that Emily Rose designed 2 years ago. She made some of them with the red base and some with a green base.
This is the card that Breezy did for us last year. She used watercolor and colored pencil. We ended up printing them on photo paper and attaching them to card stock with photo corner stickers.
Breezy also painted a picture for her Granny’s Christmas card last year and she entered it in the HSLDA Homeschool Foundation Christmas card contest and she won. You can look at it here.
You can find more Homemade Christmas ideas at Emily Rose’s site simplyvintagegirl.com. You can also add any Homemade Christmas ideas that you have posted on her Mr. Linky.
A Homemade Christmas- Tote bag Posted on November 6th, 2008
This week I want to share a little tote bag that I made and some ideas for different ones. The girls and I went to a have tea at our friend Sharen’s home last week and we were treated to some wonderful homemade crafty ideas. Sharen is a very talented lady from our church. She sews beautifully and has a very creative flair. Her little girl had a homemade tote bag full of goodies that she could play with after tea. Later, I joined her on the floor to play with her and her tote bag. ;)
Sharen got the free pattern here. She had made some changes to her tote bag and so I did, too.
After looking at this pattern you will see that changes can easily be made to personalize it to suit your needs. Follow the pattern at the site above, I will add here some of the changes I made and photos to help explain.
For my pocket I cut 2 pieces of 8.5" x 11"
I also just used bias tape for the handle.
Take the two pieces for the pocket and with wrong sides together sew a strip of bias tape along the top to the pocket.
Take the pocket and lay it on top of one of the exterior fabric pieces. If you want to divide the pocket, you can sew a seam now to create the divider.
Pin and then sew the handle on the other piece of exterior fabric.
Take the two exterior pieces and lay them right sides together and sew along sides and bottom.
You will need to mark a square measuring 1.5" in from both bottom corners. Then cut those squares out.
Pinch the square together that you just cut out. Pin and sew across to form a boxy bottom.
This is what it will look like when you have just done one corner. Do the other corner.
This is what it will look like looking into the bag.
You will do the same thing to the lining pieces, leaving a 4" opening in the bottom. You will use the opening to turn the whole tote bag right side out.
Follow the directions on sewing the lining to the exterior. This is what it will look like as you are turning it right side out. Close the hole in lining, tuck inside the bag, and press the top to get a nice edging. You can top-stitch the top edge or put another piece of bias tape on the top.
The bias tape is kind of goofy near the handle, so you may just want to top-stitch it and leave off the bias tape on top. I am working on another tote that is wider and will have pockets on both front and back. I will be leaving off the bias tape on the top of that one. I have used one pack of bias tape, 1 yard of lining and about 1/2 yard so far of the exterior fabric. They go together quickly and once you have the basic concept down you could alter the pattern many different ways.
About it being a good gift, let me just say that both of my girls are really wanting to know who this is going to and if not them are they going to get one. This first one I think will just hold my sewing supplies and hang on the little knob.
To see more Homemade Christmas ideas go to SimplyVintagegirl.com. She is also hosting an apron giveaway on her blog here.
A Homemade Christmas-Little Crocheted Bags Posted on October 30th, 2008
I found this sweet little pattern years ago and have made several of these bags over the years. One Christmas I made 13 little bags to give to some young friends and family members. Once you have the pattern down it only takes about an hour to make.
I like to use cotton yarn for these, it gives them a good, soft feel.
These make lovely bags for little ladies. They can carry all there wee items in them.
I carry one of these bags in my purse to hold tic-tacs. This way I can share some little mints with my family during church without making much noise.
I found the pattern at craftyarncouncil.com. The pattern calls it a jewelry bag, but you can see it can be used for many different items.
Visit SimplyVintagegirl.com for A Homemade Christmas each Thursday until Jan. 1.
A Homemade Christmas-Embroidery Posted on October 22nd, 2008
A Homemade Christmas….it makes me think of simple times and heartfelt gifts. When the girls were little, every Christmas we would watch Little House on the Prairie’s Christmas story when Laura and Mary were little. The Ingalls family made sacrifices so that they could give meaningful gifts to each other, many of them handmade and by the end of the movie the whole Ingalls family was laughing or crying with joy. It was such a sweet story.
I have always enjoyed making homemade gifts, different crafts, homemade bread, cinnamon rolls, etc. So with Christmas time coming I try to think of different items that can be homemade. I usually don’t make anything elaborate, just simple and heartfelt.
This year I am working on some embroidery pieces. Nothing complicated, just some simple sayings with some vines playing around the edges for "extra beauty". This is such an easy and simple project, it can travel with me and be picked up and worked on whenever I have a few minutes.
Here are a few of the supplies that I use; embroidery floss, muslin and a fabric marker. I use the Mark-B-Gone side of this marker. It will disappear with a light misting of water. If you use the disappearing ink side, the markings may disappear before you are finished. Trust me on that one.
I start out with a quote or scripture and play around with it on the computer. It is easy to experiment with it by changing the font and size. Microsoft Word and Photoshop are what I use. Photoshop is a little more flexible if you put each word in a different layer. I print out my finished version on regular printing paper.
Next I tape the paper to a sunny window and then tape muslin over it. Take the Mark-B-Gone marker and copy the design onto the muslin. You can also do this on the counter if you can see through the muslin.
I take another piece of muslin the same size as the one with the design on it and layer them together. It makes such a difference in your finished piece if you put the two layers together. With just one layer you can see the threads in the back. Put the muslin in an embroidery hoop and you are ready to stitch.
I pick out the colors of thread that I want to use and decide what stitches I will use. I usually use 2 strands of the floss, on the above picture I used 3 strands on the word Joyfully so it would be a little bolder. I use an embroidery needle, they have bigger eyes and not too sharp of points.
I use a simple stem stitch, french knots, and daisy stitches most of the time. You can click here for a nice embroidery stitch guide.
The vines I usually just do freehand, but you could easily draw them out before stitching.
I also keep in mind what frames I might have on hand. I try to get frames from rummage sales and just spray paint them to make them go along with the stitching. You can also get inexpensive frames from Walmart or Hobby Lobby.
The final steps are misting it with water to get rid of the Mark-B-Gone markings and then iron it from the back side. Attach it to a piece of foam board by taping it on the back side or sewing the edges together on the back, or using a spray adhesive.
Here is one I did a couple of years ago. I did the words free hand and only used one layer of muslin and you can see the threads on the back through the material.
This one is much larger. It is in an 11 x 14 frame. I entered this one in our local fair and it won first prize in the Miscellaneous Embroidery division. You can see the threads on the back on this one, too. So
make sure you double your muslin before you begin.
To see more Handmade Christmas ideas visit Emily Rose at simplyvintagegirl.com.
A Special Treat for Christmas Posted on October 21st, 2008
Emily Rose over at SimplyVintagegirl.com is planning on making it a very special Christmas this year. On Thursdays you can join in with her and have your very own Homemade Christmas.
Be sure to visit her blog and read more about A Homemade Christmas.