Handmade Christmas

Whew! The holidays are always such a fun whirlwind. Texas was a blast. Seeing our family for a long period of time made me feel more like myself, and a few services at our home church certainly helped as well. Eden has been asking to go back. A typical conversation while I'm clicking her into her car seat goes like this:

E: Daddy go work. Eden go Texas!
K: No sweetie, Texas is too far away, we're going _____.
E: No, Texas! Kilsy, Ryan, Gdaddy, (etc) Go Texas!
K: Texas is really far away. Remember? We had to drive all day.
E: Ok- go park!

Thankfully her bath time with her cousin Kilsyth has cured her of her fear of toys in the water. We were all definitely spoiled with food and books and toys and time.

I LOVE giving presents and am having a ton of fun with nieces, a nephew, and a daughter to spoil. Here's the roll of the handmade goodies I put together for the little cuties in my life.

For: Eden, Sophie, & Kilsyth

Princess and the Pea Doll Sets

Doll adapted from Wee Wonderfuls

Variations of Princess and the Pea doll sets have been circulating crafting blogs for several months. After much search I became frustrated trying to find a pattern for a doll smaller than 10 inches. Finally I discovered that Wee Wonderfuls contains a pattern for a small mermaid doll. This of course not only solved my problem but also gave me the much needed reason to splurge on the book. I adapted the pattern by adding legs, changing the bottom of the fin to look more like a dress, leaving it unstitched on the bottom, adding crowns, and embroidering sleepy eyes.

I had lots of fun sorting through all of my scrap fabric for mattresses (31 total!!). A small felt pea was attached to the end of decorative ribbon which was sewn into the edge of one mattress in each set. I cut up an embroidered tablecloth that I'd snagged from an estate sale, and made little blankets edged with a decorative stitch.

They each got wrapped up in Peek-A-Boo Toy Sack from Make It Perfect.

For: Kieran

Bend the Rules Sewing's Puppet Theater & Puppets

I'm afraid my nephew is getting to the age soon that handmade presents will no longer be cool. Luckily I found an awesome pattern in Bend the Rules Sewing by Amy Karol that was perfect for a 4 year old boy. IKEA has awesome home decor weight fabrics which were perfect for this project. I added a removable sign using chalkboard oilcloth and whipped up some outer space themed hand puppets.  Hopefully I can send him a few more puppet sets throughout the year. Felt is easy to work with and is quickly becoming a favorite medium.

For: Ransom

Wee Wonderfuls Koji Doll

I've really enjoyed Wee Wonderfuls by Hillary Lang. There is a wonderful range of dolls for boys and girls of all ages with easy to follow instructions. Hillary's blog is also a good read! She has a ton of darling embroidery patterns. My fantastic sister got me her Kit, Chloe, and Louise pattern for Christmas. Three dolls, three little beloved girls in my life??

Amazingly enough I had time for 2 (though unfortunately not for 3) crafty presents for adults. That's up next!