Now that all gifts have been gifted, I'm free to share here the little projects that have kept us busy for the past month. Several of these would be suitable for handicrafts for children (and adults too!).
I already shared our coffee filter snowflakes, paint-printed Christmas cards, paper-folded Christmas trees. Speaking of that last one, we kept a few trees for ourselves and added them to one of our nativity scenes. The perfect size!
Gianna made a felt breakfast set for her baby sisters--her first time using the sewing machine, with my help.
They came out so cute! I see much more felt food crafting in our future.
She also made a special gift for each of her siblings, all of her own idea. The kids all like to pretend to "click on the laptop" like Mommy, and since we don't do media with our children, that involves all sorts of paper tech devices of their own creation. I love their imagination, but I'll admit: the paper clutter (times seven) drives me a little bonkers! Gianna decided to make each of them a complete set--laptop, wireless mouse, and cell phone--all contained in a manila folder.
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| inside of the laptop--personalized screen saver ;) |
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| phone and mouse slide into that envelope on the bottom of the folder |
I'm not sure what it says about my computer habits that my kids just adore this gift! ;) But they really do.
Vincent took advantage of a create-a-puzzle set I had on hand and made a puzzle for each of his siblings. Easy and fun!
I made these super-simple wreath ornaments from felted wool balls. You can buy them pre-made or easily felt your own. These were definitely easy enough for even young children to make, with Mommy just knotting the string at the end.
I also (badly) embroidered some new barrettes for the little girls.
And for my youngest nephew, whose birthday is in early January: a birthday-in-a-box! I made him a wool felt crown (just like I have made for each of my kids) and a fabric banner, both reusable, hopefully for many birthdays to come.
And I think that's it. I'm already bookmarking ideas for next year! So: what Christmas crafting did you or your kids to that was a hit?
(And by the way, I've also kept track of last year's crafting and the year before's.)
What fun projects you did this year. I especially love anything made with felt. It is so forgiving and easy to work with! Have a wonderful New Year :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Channon! Felt really is a wonderful medium for sewers both new and experienced. :) Happy New Year to you too!
DeleteLovely! The crown & the felt food look great.
ReplyDeleteI need to get my felt out... How old is Gianna? My DD would love the felt food, but I'm not sure on her running the machine. Wonderful post - thank you!
ReplyDeleteGianna is 8.5yo. I'm nervous about her running the machine too, so we started in parts: she pushed the pedal while I guided the fabric, she guided the fabric while I pushed the pedal, etc. She was able to do the straight lines of the bacon (which really aren't that straight, but that's okay, since it's bacon! :)) on her own, with me hovering above. I will say, though, that most felt food tutorials involve hand-sewing, which is much more doable for young kids. My issue is that hand sewing usually produces slightly less durable products, and in our house, durability is king when it comes to toys. ;)
DeleteI love felt food! We have some Melissa & Doug ones, but how much more special to have made your own :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd I have also made felt crowns for each of my kiddos. So fun, and they enjoy wearing them at each other's birthdays (or just for fun!)
So much cuteness, Celeste! I especially like the "laptops" :)
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