Post-Christmas Post #1: Robot-Ball

I've been reading craft blogs for a couple of years now. Long enough to know what Christmas means in craft bloggety-blog world---a blizzard of post-Christmas posts about all the seriously creative projects people completed and couldn't blog about until now because they were presents. I can't wait to read them all! And I'll bookmark my favorite ideas for next year.

Personally, I don't know that I was terribly creative this year, but we did make a few projects and I'll rustle up a few pictures to show you all in the next couple of days. One of my favorite gifts isn't photographable. I sent my crafty niece, K, a craft book and twenty bucks to buy craft supplies with Grandma. Since I can't be there to shop with her in person, I wanted to give her and my mom a time together that I know they will both enjoy.

This softie robot-ball with bendable arms is not a project I made. Nope. It was a gift from my mom to the Sprout. I'd like to think that my Doll-Making Kit last year inspired her just a tad. I love it--especially the hand-stitched details and the buckle ears.

Creative Baby Gifts, III

I just had to show off this tag blanket that my mother-in-law made for the Sprout. I didn't make it but can you tell that I helped pick out the fabric? Hah! It's my favorite Spotted Owl from Alexander Henry! The Sprout likes sucking on all the tags, and I like looking at the lovely owls.

Creative Baby Gifts, II

We got a package in the mail the other day from our friend, Kris G., in Indiana. In the package were two of these "books" for the Sprout. They are simply foam core with black and white images made from black sticky felt and Sharpie.

I was skeptical that Sproutie was ready to read books just yet, but I put the book down by her blanket during floor time and, wouldn't you know, she turned toward them and stared at them for several minutes without interuption. As she's gotten a little older she's gotten even more into her "stories" and will stare at the shapes for much longer than she'll look at anything else besides real human faces. In fact, I think she thinks the smilies ARE real human faces. Yesterday she had a whole conversation of cooing and grinning back at the smilies.

I think this is a really creative baby gift. Thanks, Kris! Mind if I copy your idea sometime?

Creative Baby Gifts

I'm trying to put most "baby" posts up on our family blog, but there are a couple of creative gifts we've been given that deserve to go on the crafty blog.

We received this package in the mail the other day from our family in Arizona. A snappy dress from my sister-in-law, Roxane. A blanket sewn by my nephew, Seth. Soft fabric blocks from my niece, Tara, and a flannel burp cloth from sweet Sharayah. I love how each person contributed a project at their skill level. And I think the orange and turquoise is nice and poppy!

Yay for creative kids!

Snow Day Project: Gift Wrapping

I am so grateful for 2 (about to be 3) snow days in a row. I started out my Christmas crafting and shopping relatively early this year but I forgot to factor in the pregnancy. I've been really feeling it and my energy for making things, other than a baby, has been dramatically reduced. I already axed a few projects and I thought I was going to have to ax a few more but these snow/ice days are saving me.

While I can't post much in the way of pictures without ruining Christmas presents, I thought I'd link to a couple of useful tips for another "wrappers" out there.

--Here's my wrapping and shipping tips from a couple of years ago. I still stand by all of it--especially if you're giving gifts to friends far away.
--I love finding unique (free!) gift tags on the internets and printing them out. I especially love these happy little faces from The Small Object and these critters from Camilla Engman.
--Environmentally-friendly gift wrap alternatives.
--Some year I will use furoshiki, the Japanese method of wrapping gifts in fabric. In fact, I think a whole stack of reuseable fabric gift wraps/bags would be a wonderful gift to get or give. Hmmm...maybe next year.

Inspiration: Eric Carle

It's been a very busy last couple of weeks. It was good-busy----wrapping up the school year and preparing to have a whole bunch of friends visit us---but it did mean that my creative energies were directed away from Making Things. However, I did manage to make birthday presents for my two precocious nieces.



I've always enjoyed children's books illustrations and so I jumped at the chance to see an Eric Carle exhibit at the Tacoma Art Museum on our way home from Seattle one weekend this winter. I love the super-saturated primary colors he uses in his work. Seeing his work "live" surprised me with all the texture that doesn't come through in the reproduction of his work. He hand paints sheets of tissue paper and then cuts out shapes to create tissue-paper collages. It's so bold and sweet at the same time.

Bold and sweet. Sort of like my nieces. I used the Eric Carle illustrations as a basis for these appliqued t-shirts. They were a lot of fun to make. I packaged them up with a couple of Eric Carle books and sent them on their way and then I promptly forgot about them.



Apparently, my sister got the package because my nieces are wearing the shirts over here. Yay! That makes me happy.

Post-Christmas Post

I know it's well after Christmas, but I just wanted to say that this year I received some of the most personal, hand-crafted goodness ever. First of all, I have some amazingly talented and creative friends and family members. Secondly, those who aren't naturally "crafty" know that I value the time and effort that goes into making something by hand so they are willing to go out on a limb and try something new. It's so much fun to see that.

I won't list all the great gifts I got. But I did want to give a shout out to Amy for the most unusual gift. Amy and I once had a conversation about the oddities of 1950s cooking (jello in everything, what is UP with that!?). She happened across these great recipe cards and made me three little notepads. My personal favorite is the "Jellied Chicken Salad" in the front right. I don't think the picture quite captures the intense repulsiveness of this dish. I love these little notepads and I'm keeping them front and center on my desk.

Packages, Part 2

As my friend Sarah posted, getting packages is one of the benefits of living far away from friends and family. I LOVE getting real mail. Most of the packages I have learned not to open and just to stick directly under the tree....since it seems folks don't realize that they need to wrap a gift even though they are packing it up and sending it through the mail.

One gift I did "ruin" for myself and I'm sure glad I did. It was a package from my mother-in-law.
Martha Stewart, eat your heart out, my MIL is the real thing--a woman who can cook and sew and be creative AND hold down a fulltime job. Nobody's there "styling" her kitchen for her every day.

She took my holiday wish list seriously and actually made me a Lisa Congdon-style log cabin pillow like I'd wished for. Not only is the MIL creative, she's also thrifty. While Lisa Congdon probably has to sift through piles of old linens at Goodwill and Salvation Army to find choice fabrics, my MIL only had to walk the few steps down to her basement where she has squirrelled away choice fabrics (ok, well, some of them are downright ugly) from the 70s and 80s. I'm sure there are even scraps left over from the polyester pants she made her boys in the 70s.

Not only did she send us this funky pillow, but also five---count 'em, five!!!--different kinds of brownies and bars include the family-favorite Brownies with the Globs On Top. Thanks, MIL!

Brown Paper Packages Wrapped Up with String

I haven't posted much lately because I've been working on Super-Secret Christmas Projects. Yesterday, I finished wrapping all the presents and shipping them off to our family members. There are a few other little projects that I would still like to finish before Christmas but they are small things that can be sent Priority Mail instead of shipped with UPS.

It's quite a feeling of accomplishment to see the work of your hands wrapped up and ready to go. Nate and I personally handcrafted or altered about 50% of the gifts. After Christmas, I'll try to remember to post a few pictures of the projects.

Each year I consider wrapping paper very seriously. Much more seriously than it deserves considering. I LOVE LOVE LOVE fresh design patterns like these Snow & Graham papers.
But then I realize that I am:
a. too cheap to spend good money on...
b. a one-use product that will...
c. end up crumpled up in the trashcan in less than a week.

So I went back to my tried and true: newspaper with leftover yarn. It works great and doesn't look too bad either, if you're like me and love anything that has text on it.

I do have one rule that I generally follow. If there is more than one gift for a person, each gift get seperate wrapping. Why? Because 9/10ths of the fun of getting gifts is eye-ing all the packages under the tree and then unwrapping each little surprise. I don't like them all lumped together.

I have some tips for those who give gifts to those far away:

1. Consider the weight and bulk of your gift. If you are sending it, you will pay to ship large and unweildy gifts. If you are giving it to a traveller, he or she will have to pack it home in a suitcase or ship it to themselves. Last time the Wise and Bearded One and myself travelled for Christmas, we spent over $50 shipping home a box of gifts that we couldn't get into our suitcases.

2. Buy gifts that are worth shipping across the miles. If it's one of those small it's-the-thought-that-counts gifts don't just go to Walmart (ick) and buy a plastic thingamagig. Craft something with your own hands (even a computer-generated card is better than a plastic thingamagig). Burn a mix c.d. Buy something that the recipient can't get in their own town (Yoder popcorn, Strader pottery, or Stumptown coffee).

3. If you do find something in a big-box store that it perfect for the recipient, buy them a gift card and specify exactly what you'd like them to buy with it. Saves you the shipping fee, plus it lets him or her pick out something different if they so choose. And we Oregonians don't have to pay sales taxes so it even saves some money.

4. Amazon.com and many other websites will ship items for you and will often wave shipping fees if you spend more than X amount of dollars. From personal experience, it would be nice if they also gift wrapped for free (right now Amazon charges $2.99 and up) because it's terribly disappointing to open your Amazon package when it arrives in the mail only too late to realize you've spoiled your Christmas surprise. That is why under our tree there currently are 3 unopened mailers--I like the anticipation of the gift nearly as much as the actual gift.

Now that the gifts have been shipped the house is slowly being transformed from impoverished, dirty sweatshop to a cozy Christmasy home.

May your home be cozy and your packages arrive unharmed!