Have a very DIY Christmas!

This year seemed to be completely about DIY crafts and gifts in our house... and since I have started my blog I wanted to share some of what I have done!

My previous post shows one of the gifts I made for my sister...and after talking to her last night she absolutely loved it so that was PERFECT!! However, I still wish I had of kept it...so I'm planning on making my own still  this summer and may even rope her into helping out!

Since the lovely sewing machine I recently got was from my Dad he requested a couple of Christmas gifts ahead of time... a new barbeque apron and a cover for his seat belt since he hates when it rubs on his neck.

Both were pretty easy to do but I still had some fun with it! He asked for a pretty basic apron (not one too tacky I believe was the wording)...hmmm I guess he remembered all those interesting ties I bought him every Christmas while he was working.

I went with a reversible option to give him a couple of looks and it went over really well!

For side one I went with a really clean lettuce green color with an easy to wash fabric.

Kind of plain but really nice for around the house and if he happens to host a dinner party.  But for the other side I decided to have a bit of fun! When we were kids we loved potatoes in our house! And Dad was always in charge of making them but for what ever reason they would come out like golf balls a lot of the time and it just became a bit of a running joke in our house.  So when I was in Fabricland and saw this fabric it had to come home with me!

LOVE IT!

My Dad absolutely loved this so it was a ripping success!  

Since I was so occupied with trying to get everything made up and wrapped I totally forgot to take a picture of his seat belt cover.  I made it really simply with some dark brown minky and attached some Velcro for easy cleaning whenever he needs to.

For my Best Friend I found another wonderful fabric at Fabricland.  She looooooves Elvis so when I spotted this fabric I knew that it was PERFECT for her!

Beach Elvis! How can you go wrong!

I made her an apron since I know that she loves cooking and making yummy treats (PS, Paula if you read this I enjoy being your unofficial taster...just saying)

This project let me try my hand at applique on the front pocket and doing pleats! 

I think it turned out great! What do you think?

My next project was for my little guy Xander.  This is his third Christmas and up until now he has used one of our spare stockings that we had.  I got the inspiration to make him his own stocking from one that my Mum had made for me for my first Christmas.

Xander's is on the left and mine is on the right.  I found this great John Deere fabric at Triangle Sewing in Guelph, Ontario.  Love it since Xander is completely in love with tractors and thought that it was great!

My sister in law had a special request this Christmas that I helped her out with.  She had purchased the below adorable Hello Kitty fabric for her girls.  Since she has three kids now she didn't have an opportunity to get some things made up for the girls when she made up their big girl room.

Soooooo, being the Santa's little helper that I am I put together some pillows for them!

....well fourteen pillows to be exact...and a pillow case for my oldest niece.

 

I picked up some pink minky to back the pillows with and did a variety of sizes for them, some for them and some for their dolls.

I've been told they were a hit!

And now for my absolute favorite project this year..and also the most difficult since I have never made a quilt on my own before!

I decided to make a runner for my Grandmother's table since she is the most crafty woman that I have every met and also the one who taught all of us grandkids the importance of knowing how to do your own sewing projects (not only to reattach buttons but also for various other things).

I started with a block of four...

then attached the same...

starting to look like a runner now...

I added a strip of light green around the edges to add a bit of fun...

and backed it with some funky Christmasy fabric...and then quilted it all together!

I love it! I was totally hard on myself for the little mistakes I made along the way but only I know where they are so I've let it go...kind of...

She loved it so much that she refuses to put it on the table in case something spills on it, and she wants to see it better, so it's hanging on one of her chairs in the living room.

Those are my projects this year...aside for the multitude of baking projects...including Xander's first gingerbread house...

 complete with guard hippos...

which we only let him put a couple of candies on since a) he was licking the candies and pulling them off as soon as he put them on...and b) well he's two and he just wasn't doing it right...lol...he can do his own house next year.

Let me know what you did for projects this year!

DIY Rustic Herb Planter

I have decided that this year the majority of the gifts I wanted to give would be homemade.  Not just because it's a bit more personal but also because it's downright fun!

When it comes to my sister she is always super easy to buy for but I wanted to make her something this year that would blow her away and just be totally her!

If you know my sister you know that she loooooves gardening but tends to be so busy that she can barely make it out the door to her garden through the summer.  So keeping that in mind when I saw an idea for a rustic indoor or outdoor her planter on Mama's Style (which is one of my most favorite blogs!) I just had to try it out! 

The planter that they had made was much smaller and only for one herb or for many in the same pot but I decided to go bigger!

My Dad had some barn board in his shed from his old family farm on Manitoulin Island that he had taken away after it was torn down so I knew that a piece of that would be perfect! And he was willing to part with a piece!  

He also had some fantastic old canning jars from his Grandmother that were yearning to be used in a neat way!

Here's what you will need to get going with your own rustic herb planter:

-old barn board or if you want a newer cleaner look some nice pine or cedar

-old or new canning jars

-L brackets

-plumbing clamps

-screws (deep enough to get some good bite into the wood, keep in mind there will be dirt in the jars)

-picture wire to hang

Start by laying out the jars to decide where you want everything placed.  Once you have decided where everything will go, attach your L brackets under the jar for support.

Position the plumbing clamp using the jar while it is in place.  Make sure to have the clamp high enough so that the jar won't fall over and will be stable once it is filled.  Once attached tighten the clamp so it is snug around the jar but not too tight (you don't want to break the jar).

 

Repeat with each jar until they are all attached.  String your picture wire through the top (there were already holes in the board from when it was attached to the barn so for me there was no drilling required!)

And there you have it! A rustic (or neat if you do it the "new" way) herb planter.

I also picked up some herb markers from Lee Valley the last time we were in London so she can stake out what each jar holds!

I loved this so much that I wanted to keep it! But I'm still going to give it to my sister and make myself one this summer maybe!

Have fun trying this one out!

DIY Christmas Wreath!

This year I have decided to make my own Christmas Wreath for our door since I have looked everywhere and have yet to see one that I like in color or style...

I went to my most favorite place of all...Michael's... for anyone who knows me, 

I WOULD LIVE THERE!

I found everything I was looking for there and had it put together in under an hour!

added in some embellishments...

I went with metallic blue, silver and diamond for the color combo... LOVE IT!!

I separated the berries from their wrapping which was super easy...

After fluffing up the wreath (by the way this is my least favorite thing about this time of year and I try to avoid it! Kind of a bummer but with this it was quick and easy) separate the branches and randomly stand them up to attach the berries using their own wire...

After all the berries were attached I filled in the larger gaps with the bells.  I used green garden wire to attach them to the branches the same way as the berries...

And here you have it... it still seems to be missing something but I'm going to wait on it for a few days so I can see if there is something else I can add out there... I may just have to go back to Michael's...

So here is the price breakdown.. which I didn't find too bad...

wreath $3.99

berries $.91 ( I only used 1 pack)

bells $4.59

gardening wire $3.49

Total... $14.67! Woo Hoo!

Hope you try this out too! It was super easy and a bit of stress relief with all the twisting of the wires!

Until next time!

The newest edition to our house!

So, as promised here is what I have been working on...but first...

The new baby in the house... so pretty!!

I have started working on a few projects for my wonderful sister in law who is expecting her third baby any day now! We are going for a visit in a few days and we're hoping the new little guy (her first boy after two girls!) will be there!

I started with some burping cloths...which you can never have too many of!

I really love the cute little bears!

And then I decided that the little guy will need a taggie since my little girl loooooves hers...so I had to find a boyish but cute fabric!

I found this awesome turtle print and backed it with some chocolate minky!

And the finished product!

And I also made a crib blanket with the same fabric to match!.. This little guy is set... now if he can only get out here! 

And to keep going I have been working on some embroidered tea towels for my mother in law... we are celebrating her Birthday while we are visiting so this is what I came up with...

Pretty simple and my embroidery skills could use some work but for a first project it turned out pretty good...hopefully she agrees! ps...Meme is what all the grandkids call her... a play on the french Memere.

So that's what I've been working on so far! I have sooo many more projects to get going for Christmas so once we get back from our trip I will be kicking into high gear to get more finished... 

The new baby in the house will be getting quite the workout before the year is done!

Stay tuned for more projects!