Christmas Crafting :: 2015

Our handicrafting is definitely seasonal--during much of the school year, we don't get to it, but then we have a burst of creativity around each holiday.  (I've shared previous years' Christmas crafting here, here, and here.)   This Christmas was no exception, and now that gifts have been given, I can share the crafting the kids and I have been up to over the last couple months!

Gianna and Cate did quite a bit of gift sewing...

On the right are doll pillows for the Baby Girls to go with the simple doll quilts I made them (picture later in the post).  Gianna embroidered the flowers and Cate sewed around and did the stuffing.  

On the left: embroidered playing card holders for the Big Boys.  Cate did the embroidering this time, and then Gianna sewed down the sides on the machine for durability.  Super easy and useful too!

(And I'll add here: it's so nice having a stash of wool felt for when interest strikes.  We have a set in each colorway (the "jewel" linked above as well as "earth") and the pieces are just the right size for a couple small projects each.  The felt's colors are saturated and the texture is sturdy--so much better than acrylic craft felt.  Add embroidery floss in every color and the kids can make anything they think up!)

Gianna sewed these teething rings for the Baby Boys.  I bought wooden rings, and then she cut double-pointed ovals out of fabric, sewed right sides together, flipped and top-stiched, then looped them onto the rings.  These are great drool-catchers and can be removed to wash.

They have made these felt hearts before--they are such a quick project, simple enough for a beginner but with a nice end result.  Cate made the one above for Gianna all on her own (to hang over her bed), and the girls worked together to make one in blue for their great-grandma (who plans to hang hers from her bedroom doorknob).

Gianna also took some bath towels we no longer needed and cut them into hand towels for the garage and such for Daddy.  She cut each towel in thirds, then zig-zagged the edges on the machine.  This was a great starter project for machine sewing--plenty of long, straight lines.

I did a bit of crafting too that could easily be done by children, so I'll share the projects here:

The doll quilts I mentioned above.  I am no quilter, and I am too lazy to stitch a proper binding, so I sewed right sides together, flipped out, and topstitched the whole thing.  I was able to use bits from my stash to make the simple nine-square design and I backed it with flannel.  Gianna has already asked to do some simple quilting this summer and I think I'll start her with something like this.

This is a sweet fabric book for my little guys.  I had this plastic ring from a free paper book we got somewhere or other that had long ago fallen apart.  I sewed squares from fabric scraps with ribbon tags, crinkle plastic, and interfacing for durability. Then I added buttonholes in the corner so they could be strung onto the ring.  Again: washable and super easy.

I handmake an ornament for the children each year.  I've done fabric, modeling clay, buttons, felt, and various other media in the past.  This year, I made beaded ornaments with glass beads and clear jewelry line.  As I was making them, I thought what a great project they would be with the littles--very classy looking but so simple.  (The hardest part was tying the knots!)

The children also did lots of paper folding and Christmas-inspired drawing.  And paper snowflakes for winter solstice, of course!  We did a stack of coffee filter snowflakes, as we always do.  Then I was inspired to try giant ones out of tissue paper, and they came out great!  (You can see them behind Cate in that bottom photo.)  They're all hanging in our windows now and setting a wintery tone.

The girls got some more craft kits for Christmas, which they're planning to use for Mother's Day gifts and Easter decorations.  I'm assuming we'll get another burst of handi-crafting right around then! ;)