Homemade Gifts Are The Best!

[StrawberryFields]

As time allows I have had years when I make gifts for others and when I buy everything.

This year I have time so I am looking for inspiration for gifts.

Some of the things I am considering making are the following:

Fudge

Scrapbook calendars w/ personal photo's for each month.

Dried corn filled microwaveable heating bags. (These are wonderful and I want more for myself too )

Now will you share what you like to give or get as homemade gifts?

[Dr T]

I'm going to make a mosaic tiled table for my mother in-law. :)

[prisonchaplain]

Now will you share what you like to give or get as homemade gifts?

I like to RECEIVE homemade consumables (i.e. fudge, cookies, and other foodstuffs that would be considered 'coloring outside the lines' of any reasonable diet).

I like to GIVE homemade gifts that can be purchased (yeah, kinda defeats the purpose, I know).

BTW, Marie Callendar's is now selling "baked from scratch" frozen pot pies.

[Blessed]

I make homemade salsa and buy a bag of chips and give that to the neighbors.

[StrawberryFields]

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Now will you share what you like to give or get as homemade gifts?

I like to RECEIVE homemade consumables (i.e. fudge, cookies, and other foodstuffs that would be considered 'coloring outside the lines' of any reasonable diet).

I like to GIVE homemade gifts that can be purchased (yeah, kinda defeats the purpose, I know).

BTW, Marie Callendar's is now selling "baked from scratch" frozen pot pies.

I like the first few homemake concumable as you mentioned but after that the guilt creeps in.

What a cleaver way to market those pot pies.

I'm going to make a mosaic tiled table for my mother in-law. :)

What a nice gift! Maybe you can post a pic?

I make homemade salsa and buy a bag of chips and give that to the neighbors.

MMMMMM, sounds great! I did that one year with bottled salsa that I made when the tomatoes were in season. Do you make it fresh or bottled?

[Winnie G]

This year I am making my mother home made crackers.

No not the kind you eat, there English you might have seen them. They look like a gift in a tube tided at both ends with a small fire cracker inside. You put them on your Christmas dinner table and your guests / family cross arms holding the cracker on both sides of you and PULL!

CRACK! Inside are a small gift and a wish, like a fortune cookie and a paper hat witch you wear during dinner. They are grate conversation starters.

I found the strips that crack in Michel’s last Saturday. Now I am asking friends to save there toilet paper tubs. I told my mother I was going to make them for her and she was delighted.

It’s been hard to buy for my mother, one because I’m not her favorite but also because she is dieing of cancer. I made her a scrapbook last year the fact she is still here is a shock so her gift giving is always the hardest.

I am making quilts, small lap quilts, family or personal history jars, (template can be found on the internet) small scrapbooks for a friend’s pets. One of my sons loves my beef jerky if I did not do that he would disown me. I have made pillow cases as well. I make them for each holiday for my grandchildren and friends children as well. I just made a new batch for Halloween with Jack O latrines on them. They are fast and easy to make, using a pillowcase as a template. Now is a good time to buy the maternal for next year.

If your lost for a idea ask me I have loads of them.

I try to do home made before I shop.

[StrawberryFields]

Great Ideas Winnie. I think I will make a quilt for my dad. I have had the material for about a year and he too has cancer.

[shanstress70]

I really like giving (and getting!) these jarred homemade mixes. Here is a website full of them... http://frugalhomemaker.com/giftsinajar.htm

I especially like the Friendship Soup Mix, and of course any of the cookies or desserts.

Dress up the jar with a pretty piece of fabric, and even make your own cutesy labels if you want.

[StrawberryFields]

AWESOME site Shan! I book marked it.

This reminds me of something that was going around years ago. It was called Friendship Bread and required a starter. After days on your counter and adding stuff it was ready to divide and bake. You then give starters to your friends. It was really good.

[shanstress70]

AWESOME site Shan! I book marked it.

This reminds me of something that was going around years ago. It was called Friendship Bread and required a starter. After days on your counter and adding stuff it was ready to divide and bake. You then give starters to your friends. It was really good.

That bread was really good. I remember this from about 10 or 15 years ago (gosh, I'm getting old!).

I found the recipe for it. http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,194,159183-226207,00.html

[TXRed]

I am making quilts, small lap quilts, family or personal history jars, (template can be found on the internet) small scrapbooks for a friend’s pets. One of my sons loves my beef jerky if I did not do that he would disown me. I have made pillow cases as well. I make them for each holiday for my grandchildren and friends children as well. I just made a new batch for Halloween with Jack O latrines on them. They are fast and easy to make, using a pillowcase as a template. Now is a good time to buy the maternal for next year.

If your lost for a idea ask me I have loads of them.

I try to do home made before I shop.

There you go again, Winnie! You are my kind of lady!

Over the past several years, I have made LITERALLY 100's of pillowcases. In fact, I had my youngest time me once, and I can make two in 15 minutes on my serger. (It's an old one and does not even go as fast as the newer ones).

1. Here's what I do:

3/4 yard of fabric for the "body"

1/4 yard of fabric for the "cuff"

2.5 inches or 3 inches of fabric for the trim

I lay out the 3/4 yd on the table. . . . right side up

then, I fold the 2.5 inch strip in half and place it at the top of the 3/4 yd piece with the raw edge up

then, I fold the 1/4 yard pc in half and place it on top of the "trim" pc w/ raw edge up

Now, I pin all three pieces together and stitch them together. (they may not be the exact same length, but that doesn't matter right now)

Next, I iron the fabric flat so that I can see it with the trim piece between the body and the hem.

Fold right sides together and stitch a seam down the side and across the bottom. Turn the fabric inside out, and the pillowcase is finished.

This fits a regular size pillow. To make a larger pillowcase, use the same technique. . . .just make the body piece longer.

When we have missionaries in our ward, I invite them over a few weeks before Mother's Day and have the missionaries make pillowcases (preferably with TX fabric) to send home to their mom's.

I've bought enough Christmas fabric to make pillowcases for all of my grandchildren for Christmas.

Sometimes, I put lace in between the hem and the body.

In fact, I am working on a gift for a new bride right now; so I bought 1 yard of white on white satin fabric and cut it into 3/4 and 1/4. Then, I will sew the pieces back together and stitch a really pretty decorative trim on the seam. Actually, for this particular one, I found two trims that I liked, and I will sew them one over the other right over the seam line to decorate the pillowcase.

To me, this is a consumeable gift since it is something that we all use and wear out eventually. It's fast and easy, and I can personalize them for the individual. No one else has pillowcases quite like the ones I can make. And, it is a lot of fun!

2. I'm currently working on potholders. I've been experimenting with "faux chenille" I put several layers of 9" squares of flannel stacked on top of each other. Then, I draw a chalkmark from the upper left corner to the lower right corner. Then, I draw a chalkmark every 1/2 an inch until I've covered the entire square. I sew a stitch line on the chalkline. Once all the stitch lines are sewn, I take my scissors and cut all but the bottom layer of fabric right down the middle between each stitch line. Last, but not least, I bind the edges all the way around. Now, it is ready to go in the washing machine and in the drier; so that it fluffs up to give the appearance of chenille.

On some of them, I did like six layers of flannel. On others, I did four layers of flannel (easier to go through the machine), plus I added a layer of 10" backing and a layer of 9" batting. On these, I stitched all pieces together and then folded the bottom layer edge in half and them over the top to bind the whole thing. It's really been fun, and each one turns out differently depending on what colors I use and what order I place the colors in.

3. I'm also working on a couple of placemats to match the potholders for one daughter in law. I'm working on special pillowcases that will have embroidery on the hem for one daughter, and I've got some preprinted Christmas aprons to do up for all of the girls (daughters and in laws)

4. I am also going to do up a Linus blanket to turn in at the quilt shop. It's for a good cause, and for each blanket turned in, a ticket goes into a drawing for a new Janome sewing machine. I don't really need that particular machine, but I figured it would make a fabulous gift for just about anyone. (and, I have a good friend who could use one, plus three daughters and two daughter in laws)

5. Around here, a lot of people are making "flannel tonight" quilts or lap throws. Two 9" squares of flannel, one 8" square of cotton batting. Sandwich the batting between the squares of flannel, starting at the lower left hand corner, go up, over, down, and back to the beginning. (sewing a 1/2 inch seam) Then, stitch straight up to the middle of the top seam, down to the middle of the bottom seam line, diagonally to the middle of the left seam, straight across to the middle of the right seam, and diagonally down to the lower left corner again. This should make a primitive star like we use to draw when we were in school. Now, set that piece aside and do all of the other squares the same way. Once all of the squares are "quilted" together, you lay them out on the floor to decide what arrangement you want to put them in. (you can use as many colors as you choose)

Now, you take two squares and sew them together . . . . . stitch down once and then back up once.

Add another square stitching it the same way until you have that first row completed.

Now, stitch the second row together.

Third, etc.

You now have "rows" of squares; so you start sewing the "rows" together. Stitch down once and then back up once each time until all of your squares are secured together.

One side of this quilt will be like regular seams, and the other side will be sticking out. This is also called a "rag quilt". Stitch around the outside of the entire quilt two more times in the same stitch line. On the exposed seam side, you "clip" the exposed seam in a diagonal manner almost up to the seam line. Be cautious NOT to cut the stitching lines. The clipping part is probably the most time consuming part of the whole thing. Now, take it outside and shake it several times really hard to get rid of as many loose threads as possible. Thow it into the washer and then into the drier, and it will fluff up or fray the edges.

Winnie, if you get a chance, send me some ideas. Also, I'm sorry about your problems with your house. I hope that all works out well for you.

Peace,

TXRed

[shanstress70]

OK TXRed or Winnie (or anyone else who happens to be crafty),

You've inspired me to make homemade gifts for my nieces and nephews this year, but I'm starting a bit late. All of them get so many toys every year... I like to make them something that is different and they can keep forever, as opposed to a toy they will play with once and toss aside. Any ideas? I need to get started right away!

Criteria:

There are 6 nieces, ages <1, <1, 6, 9, 10, 11. And one nephew, age 7. And my son, 4.

They need to all be similar, but each with its own variation.

Inexpensive, as gifts for all these kids add up!

I have a sewing machine, but not a serger.

I'm pretty new at this sewing thing, but have made about 5 tie quilts, so I have some experience with simple sewing. I can also do cross stitch.

I made them all fleece pillows two years ago, so I don't want to do pillows again.

[StrawberryFields]

I am going to get my daughter sewing fleece lounging pants for her friends for Christmas.... I am really trying to get her domesticated and she just doesn't know it yet.

[Gwen]

this wasn't for holiday gifts, but was fun and easy for me. at our local dollar store they had the small wooden shadow box frames with these ugly golf tees and stuff in them. they were 50 cents each so i bought a lot of them. my husband was not to happy at first. i took my exacto knife and cut away the hot glue holding the back on and opened it up, pulled the ugly items inside off, and lined the backing with some nice paper.

insert side note. my step son had taken a trip to hawaii with his mom and her boyfriend. he had brought back a hand full of small shells he found on the beach for his brothers to have. i wasn't real sure what to do with them.

back to the point. i hot glued these small shells on the paper, put it back in the frame and then hot glued it back together. i wrote on the back when and where the shells had come from and now it hangs in the childrens room.

i also have some chocolate molds that look like our local temple. so i took one of them and filled the molds with plaster and made small temples. i took those and some of the frames and scrap fabric and other odds and ends to young womens one wednesday. we had a lesson on the temple and then i taught the girls how to take these frames appart, we lined them with fabric this time, the temples, and other personalized items, and put them back together. all hot glue and very simple. the girls loved it. didn't take long at all.

[TXRed]

OK TXRed or Winnie (or anyone else who happens to be crafty),

You've inspired me to make homemade gifts for my nieces and nephews this year, but I'm starting a bit late. All of them get so many toys every year... I like to make them something that is different and they can keep forever, as opposed to a toy they will play with once and toss aside. Any ideas? I need to get started right away!

Did you understand my pillowcase info? It does not HAVE to be done on a serger. I have one; so I use it. You can do a straight stitch, and then, you can zizzag the edges if you choose. I wish I could explain how to do the pillowcases with no raw edges, but they never could explain it to me. . . . . they had to "show" me. Basically, it is done with "French seams" if you are familiar with that.

The reason I love the pillowcases so much is because I can make everyone of them differently and yet they are all similar. Sometimes, if there are three children in one family, I will make the body of the pillowcase all the same fabric, but then, I make the hems and the trims differently; so the children can tell whose is whose.

I also buy fabric that is something I think that particular child will like. I like to buy flannel with bears, tigers, etc. for boys (especially teenage boys. . . .. . . I was up one Christmas Eve night making pillowcases for three teenagers that were coming for Christmas Dinner. . . . . I already had a box of candy for them, but one of my sons walked in while I was wrapping the box and told me that those kids all knew what I was giving them. I asked him how they knew, and he pointed out that I'd been getting them the same thing every year . . . .. so; I got into my fabric stash and quickly made three pillowcases . . . . . they were all very excited, because you can not buy pillowcases like the ones I made. It was soooooo much fun!)

The Christmas fabric that I bought to make pillowcases for my grandchildren will probably get sewn this next week; so I can mail them out the first week of December. That way, they get to use them all month before Christmas.

Tonight, I went to Wal Mart and bought several very plain solid color flannel to make my son some pillowcases. He is in Iraq, and he told me that he only has a travel pillow, but he wanted to make sure that I did not make any pillowcases that he could be teased about. (cartoon type) I bought a yard of flannel for $2.97. I got two shades of brown, one brown print, and a dark green. I also found some brown sheets to send him, too. I will probably embroider his name on all of them someplace. I need those sent out by the first of the month, too.

A lot of time, I buy inexpensive pillows at the Dollar Store and give them with the pillowcases.

I think you will really enjoy making some gifts, and after you do the first pillowcase, you will see how simple it is, and you will want to make more.

If I did not make my instructions clear enough, let me know, and I will draw it out, scan it into my computer and e-mail it out to you.

Have fun!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Peace,

TXRed

P.S. e-mail [email protected] if you want more info

[shanstress70]

Thanks so much... perhaps I will try them. I thought it sounded a bit confusing, but I re-read it and it sounds do-able. I will probably be asking you for more info about them soon.

Now, I've got to go get ready to go - got a 3 hour drive to Dad's house!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

[StrawberryFields]

For my Birthday a week ago, my DIL made me an awesome gift. She applied a rub-on lettering kit that she got from the craft store onto a 12X12 tile. She then placed it onto an easel which matched the lettering...black.

[StrawberryFields]

Christmas is almost here.

Made nothing except a quilt for my dad, and many heating bags. :)

[shanstress70]

I didn't get around to making gifts for my neices and nephews like I had planned. I did make chocolate truffles though, and they're awesome. I was good and gave most of them away, only kept about 5 out of 100 or so.

[StrawberryFields]

After Nicks latest surgery our family was given some tasty morsels.

I will get the recipe for these ROLO things mmmmmm they were so good and I will post it later.:)

[Elphaba]

You guys are making me hungry! And not just for a dumb sandwich.

I want truffles!!!

Elphie

[shanstress70]

Speaking of 'Rolo', I had a rolo donut the other day. There's this new place called the Fractured Prune donut shop... it's a chain, so you guys may be familiar with them. They fry the donut when you order it and you can order from specialty toppings and glazes, or create your own.

I ordered the 'rolo' and it was a hot donut with caramel glaze and baby chocolate chips on top of that... the chips were melting because of the heat of the donut. PURE HEAVEN!

Sorry Elphie!

[Alaskagain]

You guys, cut it out!

I just got back from my workout, and NOW I want one of these ROLO things!

[Elphaba]

Speaking of 'Rolo', I had a rolo donut the other day. There's this new place called the Fractured Prune donut shop... it's a chain, so you guys may be familiar with them. They fry the donut when you order it and you can order from specialty toppings and glazes, or create your own.

I ordered the 'rolo' and it was a hot donut with caramel glaze and baby chocolate chips on top of that... the chips were melting because of the heat of the donut. PURE HEAVEN!

Sorry Elphie!

Rooooollllooooooo Dooougghhhnuuutttttsss

Elphie

[shanstress70]

On a more healthy note, I just picked up my organic co-op share today after work. For dinner we had a nostalgic southern veg-only dinner that I grew up eating as a child in the summer.

Roasted baby potatoes, fried okra breaded in cornmeal (OK, so it wasn't ALL healthy!), cooked squash with onion, corn on the cob, sliced tomatoes, drop biscuits. It was goooooood!

What did you guys have for dinner? I'm in a rut and need some ideas.