2.06.2012

best and worst decision.

(i'm well aware of the fact that it has been over two months since i last posted here. i'm also well aware that christmas has come and gone and this little post is a little late...but not really...because it's my blog and i get to make the decisions around here. and i decided that i want to share. and i really am going to pick up the blogging reins again. because i want to. so there. and thanks for reading.)

...but really, it was my best decision. the process was just a little time consuming and, at times, annoying and annoying. let me explain.

sometime mid-november i got a wild idea about doing a homemade christmas. this is something i have never done...nor have i ever considered. in my pre-crafty days it almost seemed insane to try and accomplish a fully homemade christmas. but i was up for the challenge. clearly, i had no idea what i was in for.

i decided to make it as simple as possible. i decided to make a lot of the same thing. it really started with pinterest (most things start with pinterest, but that is another post for another day). i saw this darling no-sew scarf. i am a sucker for craftiness that requires the least amount of energy. i figured that i could make these scarves for all my nieces. and even though my nieces range in age from five months (although, i didn't make a scarf for her) and nine years, i figured the scarf would be something all the girls would like.

the scarf wasn't terribly hard to make. except, i tried to make it super fancy and i tried to cut out flower shapes instead of circles. fleece is the hardest thing to cut out, especially if you are trying to cut out flowers. i made one scarf (for the nine-year-old) out of flowers. i revised the plan after that and did circles for the rest of the girls. and for the baby, i am making a car seat blanket (it isn't done yet because my sewing machine stopped sewing two days before christmas and i haven't attempted to sew again...it stresses me out to think that it isn't working because it is less than a year old...i will try to see if it works soon).


then i had to think of something for my nephews. i'm not gonna lie...it is a little bit harder to be crafty for boys...at least it seemed that way. and then while perusing the internet i found this...a hollowed out book. my nephews are way into legos...especially legos with lots of little pieces. i thought that they would think a hollow book would be a super cool place to hide said legos and that it would be something they could keep forever. but i knew that my two youngest nephews (two and three) wouldn't really appreciate a hollow book as much as the older boys. so i cheated and bought them both toys. (i guess i should say it was almost a homemade christmas.)

a word to the wise...making hollowed out books is not hard, but it is super-duper, annoyingly time consuming. so, so much more time consuming than i imagined. but i would definitely make them again. and a suggestion...don't use really old books. i had a book that was significantly old (i got all my books at the thrift store, btw) and the pages of that book were not very sturdy...kind of "crumbly" if you will. and because i was trying to finish the books in such a short amount of time, this particular book started falling apart and it became impossible to make a decent hollowed out book. unfortunately, one nephew currently possesses an i.o.u.


for my sisters, i made this magical lotion and these little pieces of art work. they were way fun to make, so i am planning on making more of them. i had seen something similar, so i borrowed the idea and tweaked it to make it my own.


the bro-in-laws didn't get much of anything. i just couldn't bring myself to craft for the guys. maybe next year...when i have more time to plan and make it not so cheesy. i'll have to find something to craft that doesn't seem so crafty.

all in all, it made for super fun gift giving. i was afraid that the kids wouldn't love getting something that wasn't a toy. i especially thought the boys wouldn't like the books. before they opened the gifts, i let them know that they weren't getting toys, so they weren't as disappointed. and just to make sure they weren't' totally let down, i did sneak some cash into their gifts. hahaha. i'm the kind of aunt that apparently buys love. and i'm okay with it.

can't wait to do it again next year. with more time to plan, it should be even that much better.

are you crafty?
do you give crafty gifts?


that's all.

3 comments:

  1. Wow! I am impressed! I think that sounds so fun and what a great challenge. Homemade stuff is the best and means the most. Go Rachelle!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, way to go. Those are really fun ideas.

    ReplyDelete
  3. impressive - i think what you did looks super awesome. and i'm sure the kiddos will love their gifts forever. and the sisters.

    ReplyDelete