Handmade Christmas Items (Maybe you'll find some ideas for next year?)

So here we are on the last day of the year!  I thought that while I sort thru and respond to our stack of Christmas letters, I could upload some pictures of things I made for the kids for Christmas.  It is obvious that my skill as a photographer has a lot of room for growth - but don't worry.  I've already added that to my hopes and plans for 2012.  :)

It was a pillowpalooza year.  I have an inordinate amount of felt, and "felt" that I could surely come up with a way to give a  gift to each child that represented their individuality.  I don't have pictures of each pillow - mostly because I'm too lazy to run all over the house - but here's a sampling at least.  Sam will forever and always be our "monkey boy."  Not only does he love monkeys, he seems part monkey with his climbing and acrobatic skills.

Ben is our animal lover, especially puppies and kitties.  He has also coveted these buttons from my button jar for a long, long time.  They are rain-bow hued in concentric circles.

And maybe this Princess looks a little creepy, but Mariam likes it.  :)  I did them all free-hand without patterns, so sometimes that turned out okay and sometimes that turned out scary.  :)

This one for Josiah is self-explanatory.  :)

This is Emily's pillow - I made a very similar one for Julia.  I took the fabric from a "former" dress they both had worn when they were ten years of age - it was a cute little yellow seersucker fabric.  Memories.  :)  I made a LOT of these pillows, not just for the kids.  For my brother and father, I used red plaid and grey micro-dotted cotton.  I neglected to get pictures of all of the other pillows before they left our house.  Directions for these pillows are here.  They're super easy and fun to make.

And that reminds me.  If you want to follow me on Pinterest, you can do so here!  It's the most fun ever.

 Rosie got a new sister.  She is yet-to-be-named.  Rosie's sister is wearing Rosie's new dress.  (Just like a sister, isn't it?)

And I was reminded just how fun it is to make dolly dresses.  This was made with fabric from another one of the girls' outgrown skirts.  I keep special/favorite clothing around from the children, planning to make memory-type items for them someday.  It is nice when that actually works out.  :) 

We have plans to make several more doll outfits this coming year.  For a 3 or 4 year old, I like to sew on the little velcro circles rather than buttons.  (That's mostly because I don't like making button holes.  :)  I have used the same basic pattern for years now - it's McCall's 9066 - because it is easy.  It's likely out of print, but there are internet sites where you can find old patterns.  I am also making Barbie some FABULOUS evening dresses from the girls former (and worn-out) velvet dresses.  I found an easy pattern from the Simplicity Archives (but available at Joanns or Walmart) number 5785.  I have often been intimidated by Barbie sewing, but found this pattern to be enjoyable.

And finally, our solution to doll clothing storage.  Like most little girls, I found that Mariam tended to throw her doll clothes into a basket or bag - then she ended up not using a lot of it.  So, I found some doll-clothes hangers on Amazon.  They are the kind made for 18" dolls and are super sturdy, came in a pack of 12 for $6.  I'd like to link to them, but Amazon is still freezing up on me.  We hang them on the end of Mariam's bunk bed to make a little closet of sorts.  :)

Thanks for letting me share some of the projects that have kept me busy over the last month.  They were all fun to make; but I'm ready to start some new knitting projects.  I'm also hoping for some reading time.  :)

God bless you all.  We wish you a peaceful 2012.