Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas for 2012

[jmm476]

This is a new one and I'm all over it!

No sew tote bags!

http://www.marthastewart.com/268380/no-sew-tote-bags

and another version here

http://www.livingrichwithcoupons.com/2012/09/do-it-yourself-reusable-tote-bag.html

I am going to try it out for Halloween totes then if they work using it for gift ideas.

I love this idea! Especially since I don't know how to sew, this sounds so easy.

 

[skissugar]

I started making Lei's to send to family back on he mainland.. the easiest is this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1qDgmdGtv0

you dont have to add the kukui nuts on there if you cant get them on the mainland.. just tie it off and tie a bow

 

[Earstou]

I just made two tag blankets for family babies and will be making another one for Christmas for my nephew's baby (due in January).
They are travel tag blankets that have velcro so you can attach toys to them (so you don't lose the toys) or they can be attached to a stroller or car seat.
Found the idea here: http://www.merrimentdesign.com/kids-travel-toy-blanket-with-velcro-loops-and-ribbon-tags.php
I included a little book, which was bigger than the author's book, so I made the pocket bigger. Also included some toys which I attached with the velcro straps. They ended up really cute and seem so practical!

I also found instructions for a smaller tag blanket which would be easier: http://www.newconceptions.com/patpdf/TagToyspdf.pdf

 

[missesdisney]

Is that pom pom scarf no-sew? And no-crochet? Or is there a crochet for dummies way to do it? I LOVE it!

Some things I've done/am doing:

Wine charms - personalize to each person - nurse stuff for nurses, etc. Got rings on ebay super cheap and seed beads and some special charms.

Glass blocks with lights but cricut vinyl on outside (if you have a cricut)

Spray paint pizza pan with chalkboard paint, drill holes and decorate edge with buttons or something for kids rooms

Going to try bath salts, bath bombs and sugar scrubs this year too.

 

[Tinkermommy]

Great ideas! Can you post a picture of the wreathe? Would love to see it!

Thanks!

Below is the picture of one of the wreaths I made. It does remind me of the bubble wreaths my mom made back in the 80s. I will update the decorations based on the seasons.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B4DRSJoX_mPYWHQyVXQ5SlVhMWs

And here is the website for the instructions. My two wreaths took about 45 minutes each to do but I am slow and was watching TV at the same time!

http://homedeco50.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/burlap-wreath-tutorial/

If you make one, I would love to see yours!

 

[Chereya]

Thanks!

Below is the picture of one of the wreaths I made. It does remind me of the bubble wreaths my mom made back in the 80s. I will update the decorations based on the seasons.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B4DRSJoX_mPYWHQyVXQ5SlVhMWs

And here is the website for the instructions. My two wreaths took about 45 minutes each to do but I am slow and was watching TV at the same time!

http://homedeco50.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/burlap-wreath-tutorial/

If you make one, I would love to see yours!

Wow! Thanks for the pic and tutorial! Your wreath looks great and it sound so easy! Plus you can totally customize it and change for different seasons and holidays.

 

[jacksmom]

Love the wreath! Great idea for fall!

 

[maggiew]

The pom pom yarn is on sale this week at Michaels for $3.49.

I made the pom pom scarf today. It basically took me the amount of time to watch Mission Impossible I.

I think the next time I make it I might try to crochet 2 or 3 rows of single crochets and then do all the loops. I just don't feel like its much of a scarf with just the one row. It seems more like a lace trim. I don't know. I will try the 2 or 3 rows and see if I like it better.

Also, the video directions say to do 121 single crochets. But I think I will do 200 next time. The scarf is barely long enough to wrap the 2 ends around my neck. (i.e. put across back of neck, then wrap each end towards front and flip over the opposite shoulder)

I plan to give this one to my niece. Maybe I will make one for my sister too.

By the way. One skein made the one scarf and I think there might be enough to make a second one.

Maggie

 

[Chim Chiminy]

I just started work on a pom pom scarf using the yarn found at Michaels. It definitely has a different weight and feel from the original scarf I made. The poms are not as large and there isn't as much room between poms. I think the idea of crocheting two or three rows before starting the looping is a good one.

Love the burlap wreath. How cute!

 

[honeybunches]

Subbing! I don't usually make handmade gifts but might try it this year. Found this really cute idea on Pinterest:

Here's the link: http://tatertotsandjello.com/2011/11/make-a-striped-paper-straw-wreath-christmas-tutorial.html#

(edited to say---sorry the picture is so huge. Don't know how to size it down.)

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

When I was at Michael's the other day, I noticed there were two types of pom-pom yarn. One definitely had smaller pom-poms, almost like "bumps". It was in with the baby yarn.

Also in a different section, they had Christmas yarn--the pom-pom stuff in red and white as well as red, green, and white, and Christmas colored ruffle yarn and a few other choices.

BTW, I made a ruffle yarn scarf for DD17. I happened to see one in our "buy local" store that was selling for $36! It was a bit of a pain to knit, but not too awful. I'm currently making her a scarf with a fancy variegated yarn, that I'm knitting on big needles so it's more of a decorative scarf versus one you'd wear in winter. We don't do winter scarves here--my gang skis, and they can get tangled. We use neck gaiters instead. These are very, very easy to make as well--pick a yarn, get circular needles, and knit away!

Next up will be leg warmers for DD9. I'm trying to get a good jump on things, I still have a Halloween costume to make, plus a gazillion soldier costumes for "Nutcracker".

 

[pharmjenn]

I love the straw wreath. I think it would be a great craft to do with little ones. We are travelling the 2 weeks before Christmas, coming home late Christmas eve so looking for gifts we can prepare ahead of time. I love this wreath, and the glass block lights as well.
Thanks for all the cool ideas everyone.

 

[maggiew]

I made a second pom-pom scarf yesterday. This time I crocheted 161 single crochets instead of the 121 that the video called for. It seemed to be a better length. My DD loved it. She said it was "so hipster". I guess that is good because she wore it to school today.

This is the pom pom yarn I used.
http://www.michaels.com/Pom-Pom-Yarn/nw0499,default,pd.html

I bought some other yarn to make one of the ruffle scarves. I'm going to try that this weekend.

Maggie

 

[jacksmom]

That is the pom pom yarn I used also! Would love to know how to make the ruffle scarf!

 

[Chereya]

I went to Michael's today to buy some of the Pom Pom yarn and saw a single clearance skein of pink and purple eyelash yarn. So I figured what the heck and bought it and then went online to look for a How-To video. Found this one and it is so so super easy. You don't even need to have a crochet hook and it looks like it would take about 10-15 minutes tops. I haven't tried it yet but I'll come back and post a pic if I decide to make it. The eyelash yarn I bought today doesn't have fringe as long as the one in this video so it probably won't come out looking as full and nice.

Eyelash Yarn Scarf

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

For the ruffle yarn, you buy skeins of it--it's all bunched up. Then when you knit, you stretch it out, so you get the ruffles--it looks like crocheted lace. To knit it, you use loops of the lace, rather than wrapping yarn around the needle. Does that make sense? It's a little trickier than regular knitting, because you can't see well what you're doing. But, it doesn't require any special skills, like, say popcorn stitch or cable stitches or anything. A scarf from one skein of yarn was about 2 feet long.

P.S. They sell this yarn at Wal-Mart, and I think it was cheapest there (I bought mine at Michael's on sale).

 

[maggiew]

The yarn to make the ruffle scarf is so interesting. I bought it just to try it out!

Here is what it looks like on the skein:

This is what it looks like when the strand is opened up:

Here is the scarf:

Basically all you do is single crochet six times using the top holes on the mesh. Then turn and do 6 crochets. Then turn. Etc. You can also do 5 single crochets or 8 depending on how wide you want the scarf.

It is a really simple process. The hard part is keeping track of what you are doing because there are holes everywhere!!!

Maggie

 

[jacksmom]

The ruffle scarf is very cute! So is the eyelash scarf!

 

[Chereya]

Ok, so I made a pom pom scarf with the Michael's yarn. There is not much line to work with between the puff parts. I ended up doing the modified version which is only chain stitching and a pattern of skipping a certain number of puffs. I spread it out a little on one part so you could see the dangling loops of puffs. I did them only in odd numbers so it would always have a center puff as a focal point and lowest part sticking out. I wasn't paying attention to counting my patterns and it ended up a little bit too long. I didn't use up the entire skein. I'm guessing there is probably 1/3 - 1/4 of the skein left after my too-long scarf. Maybe I can figure out how to be able to make 2 equal length scarves from 1 skein of yarn and hope that it's not too short! This one took me about 30 minutes so it was super easy and quick! I didn't get bored!

I also got started on a ruffle scarf. This one is taking much longer. The yarn is delicate and the holes are tiny so I am really having to take my time to carefully count and place my needle in the right spots. I estimate that this is about 1/4 of a finished scarf so far and it took me about 30 minutes so I'm estimating it will take me 2 hours to finish the whole thing. I am going to experiment with the spacing on my next scarf so hopefully it won't take as much time to get the same length by spreading the ruffles out more.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

I like the pom-pom one. I did hats and an "infinity" scarf for my DD17, with the pom-poms really close together.