Each year I make a decent number of Christmas gifts. Some years are more elaborate than others and sometimes everyone gets something handmade and other years just a few people. Sometimes I make a huge variety of items and some years it’s just a lot of one or two ideas.

I can never post what I’m planning for Christmas because it would ruin gifts that some of my reader are going to receive this year! So I’m going to post what I made last year for Christmas. Usually I post this in August to allow plenty of time for people to plan and get ideas, but this year I’m running a bit behind.

I also hope and dream to have everything done by Thanksgiving. Some years I’m on target and others not so much! This year if I work SUPER hard I think I actually have a fighting chance to get things done. It’s so freeing to have it done early. There are no stressers for hunting for the perfect gift and the whole season can be enjoyed and relax and take in the smells, food, festivities and celebrations. It really is freeing!

So here are some of the things I made last year.  I’ll apologize now, the photography is very poor this time around.  I had taken nice photos of all the gifts I gave, but this past year my computer crashed and I can’t find the backup photos anywhere.  I usually have two copies saved and I can’t locate any of them!  So some of these are from the gracious recipients who snapped a shot and emailed it to me.  At least you get the idea of some of the projects!

 

TeePees – I can’t say I made these my self, but I did sew the covers! Brian did all the cutting and sanding for me. It really wasn’t that hard to do and of course it was a pinterest find! My kids have mostly boy cousins, so we made one for each family and one for my kids too! They really enjoy playing with it. I just wish we had enough room to leave it set up for them!

Necklaces – I started making these medallion necklaces for most of the woman in my family. They were simple to do and fun to make. I made one for a friend with a map of Ethiopia since they are in the process of bringing home a baby girl from there. And one with a map of Spain for my Mom who had traveled there that summer. One of the best things is that you can design the necklace specifically for the recipient! Since I enjoyed making them so much I made some and am selling them on Etsy too!

Pillows – I drew one of my sisters name this year and she said she really wanted some shabby chic pillows for her couch and asked for 6. It ended up being a much larger project than I expected, but I’m SO pleased with how they turned out! Each one was unique and none of them matched, but all the colors complemented each other. They were fun to design and plan out!

Woven bracelets –  This was another pinterest find. Each of them are finger woven and only took a few minutes to do. I also have LOTS of extra fabric, which I’m sure hubby would be happy to see disappear! There actually is quite a lot, but I do use it! This is a prime example. I was able to make quite a few of these with the fabric I already had! So it only cost me my time!

Book Page Christmas Tree Ornaments – Two years ago I made book page flowers which were super cute and I LOVED them. I had purchased the book from the thrift shop and hadn’t thrown it away since there were plenty more pages that could be used! So…. these only cost me time as well! I also sent some of these to friends who had moved away… so they only cost pennies to send they were so lite! These two were simple to make and the kids enjoyed helping. I also gave them a little glitter spray at the end to add a few sparkles!

Photos on Wood – Technically this should have been a simple pinterest project as well, but it ended up being a lot more work and they didn’t turn out exactly like I had hoped. Some of them were perfect, and some not so much. I ended up giving them to the intended recipients, but wasn’t super pleased with the end result.

Seed Saved Packets – Last year we participated in a CSA and I seed saved a lot of the veggies that came in our boxes, tomatoes, squash, pumpkin, zucchini, and a few others. I then made cute little envelopes out of some specialty paper I had and shared a few of each seed type with friends that I knew would appreciate the work of seed saved heirloom seeds!

I’m always looking for new ideas for next year… so if you have any ideas of things to make as gifts please let me know! I’m already starting to prep for next year!