A Very Crafty Christmas

As Christmas approached, I became giddy with the thought of giving gifts (I told you...that's my love language, people).  Then Curt did an assessment of our financial situation to determine our budget for gifts and things began to look grim.  It was time to get crafty.  Now, I'm definitely not a super crafty person...but I do like to make things...and I love to read blogs about people making things...and my parents just gave me a sewing machine for my birthday.  It was time to put it to work.  I had a lot of fun making all my little projects and learned a lot about my new sewing machine.  Hopefully it won't start gathering dust now that the holdiays are over...

 These sweet little bags were for Curt's sisters.  Each bag held a pair of earrings from my dear friend Katie's fair trade store, "Baksheesh" in Napa Valley, CA.  You can find them on Facebook too!  They have a TON of amazing stuff.  All handmade, all fair trade.

 

I also dusted off my old knitting needles and made each of his sisters an eternity scarf (the most awesome scarf you've ever worn)...if you're a knitter, this is super easy!

For my sister's new baby (due at the end of March...can't wait!!) I found a cute tutorial for pacifier clips.  I tried to make them gender neutral, as they are not finding out the sex of the baby, but Curt said they look "girly."  Maybe it's an omen??

And finally, for my sweet nephew, I made him a set of magnetic fabric letters and a cute little bag to go with them.  I learned SO much from doing this project....the applique letters on the bag look a little rough, but I'm okay with that.

Feel free to provide me with some feedback:  good, bad, and ugly.  My real dream is to quit my job, have lots of babies, craft from home, and sell my stuff on Etsy (I've got a long way to go on this one). Or own a bakery with Laura Dean called "Crumbs."  We will wake up early, wear aprons, bake 'til our hearts delight, drink tea, and laugh with our customers (in my mind, this one is more feasible).

Also, I did not come up with any of these ideas on my own (told ya, I'm not super crafty).  I've included links to where I found all these fun things.  As I've said before, I'm not crazy about the idea of my own blog...but I sure love reading other people's....especially very talented crafty people.  My hope is you'll be inspired to create, no matter what your medium, and maybe you'll find a fun new blog to follow.  Much love to you all!!