Lace Leather Cuffs

In my last post I mentioned that I'd been sewing quite a bit for my craft booth, well I thought that I'd show you a bit of what I've been working on. I've had some of my leather coil bracelets for sell in the booth, and wanted to come up with a few different styles. I used the same basic technique that was used on the faux leather and lace belt to sew up these little girl lace cuffs.  

I also created a few more basic bands with some contrast stitching.  I love the bracelet in the front, the leather was so rich that I couldn't bare to cover it in lace or slice it up.

If you're looking for a really quick holiday gift project this is it. You can find my tutorial for leather cuff bracelets here, and my leather coil bracelet tutorial here.

Thanks for reading.

Homemade Christmas Gifts: Part 1

I know that Christmas has past, but I finally feel like I can share the gifts that I made and gave.  We just opened gifts with my parent yesterday, and it's time to share a few things with you.

This is part one of my homemade Christmas gifts.  I have some additional gifts that I'll share with you later this week, but as for today, here are a few that don't currently include tutorials.

For The Neck

I ended up making four bow ties, two for my husband, and two for my brother in law.   My husband has officially declared that he is a bow tie guy, and so I had to add a couple to his collection. You can find the David Bow Tie pattern at burdastyle.com.

For The Hair

I made up a few headbands for my sister-in-law.  She's expecting her first baby, and there's nothing nicer than a headband to make you feel semi-put together at the end of a pregnancy, or after the baby comes.

You can find the leather bow tutorial here, and information on the headband construction here.

For The Kitchen

My Father-in-law has an addiction to tacos, and I don't blame him one single bit.  I'm quite fond of tacos myself.  I made this tortillero for them, so that their tortillas would stay nice and warm at dinner time.  We also gave them a lime press and some freshly made corn tortillas.

Did you miss the tortilla cozy tutorial?  You can find it here.

For The Craft Room

Both of our mothers were given needle books.  I love mine so much, and figured that they would both appreciate a storage book.  I added some simple stacked flowers to dress them up a bit.  Both of our mothers do some sewing, so I knew that they would be used.

  After giving one to my Mother-in-law, we found out that she normally stores her needles in the curtains, hopefully this is a better solution.

Just a few of the quick little projects that I made for Christmas.  I'll have some tutorials and additional Christmas gifts later this week.

Thanks for reading. I'll be linking here.

Feel free to participate in the polls on my side bar.  I really appreciate you input.

Last Minute Gift Ideas

Have you run out of time and money?  I feel like we have, and yet I keep thinking of a few more people that I'd love to give gifts to.  If you are feeling the same way, here are a few gift ideas that don't require much time or material.  You may even have the materials on hand.  Let's take a trip through the blog archives and rediscover some quick crafts.

Tortilla Cozy

The tortilla cozy will take you about an hour to whip up.  It is great for anyone on your list that loves mexican food, or baked potatoes.  Just throw a stack of warmed tortillas in the cozy and it will keep them warm all through dinner.  You can also put it directly into the microwave to heat your baked potatoes.  

You can find the tutorial here.

Dressed Up Reusable Shopping Bag

This is a gift that can work for just about anyone.  It would be a great teacher or school bus driver gift (probably a bit late for that though).  Simply gather all of those free reusable shopping bags that you've collected, the ones with the store's logo plastered on the front.  Find some scrap pieces of fabric that are large enough to cover the front panel, press under the raw edges, and stitch it to the front and back of the bag.  Easy, practical, and inexpensive. You could even stitch some Christmas print fabric on the front and use it as a gift bag.  See the original post here.

Magnetic Shapes and Numbers

 These magnetic shapes and numbers would make a great gift for any toddler or school age child.  They are made using craft felt (inexpensive), and some small magnets.  The magnets are encased in the fabric, so there's little risk of the magnets coming loose and being ingested.

If you wanted to take a short cut in making these, you could use hot glue in attaching the felt, but I prefer sticking to the sewing machine.  See the tutorial here.

Chunky Braided Bracelet

These chunky braided bracelets are made using strips of old t-shirts.  They are easy to make, and comfortable to wear.  You can find the full tutorial here.

T-shirt Scarf/Necklush

Since we've already started cutting apart our old t-shirts, why don't we make a trendy and warm scarf/necklush.  All you need is a soft old t-shirt.  This is a super quick and fun project. Find more information here.

Paper and Vinyl Wallets

These paper and vinyl wallets can be made using an available paper on hand, maps, phone books, photos, scrapbooking paper, ect.  The vinyl can be purchased for less than $3 a yard.  Don't want to set in snaps? Use some adhesive velcro to make this project go really quickly. Find the tutorial here.

Knotted Hair Elastics and Headbands

These elastic hairbands and headbands, are fun and easy to make.  All you need is some oval elastic cord, embroidery or friendship bracelet floss, and some felt and a button.  This would be a great project for any bored tweens in your home.  Find more information here.