Homemade Christmas :: Knitting Ornament

I wanted to share with you a quick, little DIY present I did for a friend of mine. A few days ago I saw her pin this and thought, "I could totally do that."

 

And for free :)

 

 

I already had all the supplies: an old ornament, pretty yarn, bamboo skewers, small balls (I used some from an old garland pic I had), and {of course!!} a hot glue gun.

 

Glue down one end of the yarn and start wrapping and gluing until you have something that resembles a ball of yarn.

 

Attach the balls to the skewers (cut to size) with glue, and place the knitting "needles" through the yarn. I used ribbon instead of a hook so it would look prettier:

 

And a little bit of wrapping to make it look nice:

 

In all this project took about ten minutes...totally worth it!

 

I'll be doing a few last minute Christmas gifts this weekend: stay tuned! Until then, I'll be back tomorrow with some of the projects we have been working on for all the class parties we have going on.

 

Happy Thursday!

xo,

 

Rachel



Homemade Christmas :: Comfort Packs

 

Hello :)

 

Today I wanted to share a simple gift I made for a few of the special people in our lives, like our son's speech therapist.

 

Rice packs are a staple in our house, for boo-boos and body aches, they are used all the time. I received a really lovely rice pack as a gift once to sooth tired eyes, and I remember thinking how nice it would be to create my own {only with prettier fabric!}

 

So here we go:

My original plan was to actually use some leftover fabric I have from around the house. I have been saving bits and pieces from our dining room and family room projects specifically for this intent. {wouldn't a yellow chevron one be fabulous?!}. But when the time came to make them, it just didn't feel right. I wanted something soft and more luxurious. I searched through my fabric collections and found this old sweater that I have been holding onto in hopes of making a small pillow out of. It was perfect. The sleeves provided enough fabric for two packs, leaving me the entire front/back for a future project.

 

So I cut out my shapes, measuring about 3" x 6".

 

{I am a horrible sewer, so I like to trace a pattern so that it leaves lines so I know where to sew :) shhhh, don't tell anyone!}

 

Before sewing, I created custom tags that I hand stamped with their names on one side and the hashtag #thanks on the other.

 

I slipped the tag into the bag before sewing. {notice on the bottom, right hand side there's a small dash - that's a reminder to stop sewing there to allow an opening to pour the rice in!}

 

After sewing, here is what you will need {not pictured, and optional, was lavender essential oil}:

 

Pour you rice through the funnel. I used brown rice we had on hand. Make sure it is not instant rice, though.

 

In small scoops, fill the bag up to about 3/4 full (leaving enough room to make the bag moldable). I clamped my shut until I was able to sew it {you can either hand sew it shut or use your machine since it's not too full}.

 

Once finished, I wrapped mine with some twine.

 

I printed up a little note to go with it that included instructions:

 

And a little gold wrapping to make it all pretty:

 

Here's the note I used {feel free to copy and use!!}:

 

 

 

Happy Hump Day :)

 

 

xo,

Rachel

 

 

 



Homemade Crayons Gift

 

I'm excited to share with you over the next few days a little series I'm doing,

 

 

The first on our list this year was coming up with something the kids could make. Typically every year, I take them each separately to create something to give to the other two as their Christmas gift. (last year we made sidewalk chalk and bouncy balls). This year I wanted the kids to make a gift for some of their friends, and I just knew that crayons would be the way to go.

 

We always save our broken crayons to use with the kid's crayon maker, so we had plenty to use.

 

The first step is the worst: unpeeling all those crayons! The kid's were awesome and actually stuck it out a lot longer than I thought they would.

 

We decided for this project to separate them by colors.

 

Next, Jason chopped them into 1/2" pieces.

 

 

 

I wanted to make them into fun shapes, so I bought this Wilton silicon baking sheet in a "daisy" shape.

 

 

Our 'recipe' called for placing them in the 250 degree oven for 10 minutes. Worked like a charm. Once they were hardened, I popped them out to cool.

 

I was already over the moon with how these turned out.

 

 I knew I wanted to package them really cutely, so I started by purchasing some blank drawing pads at the dollar store.

 

I wrapped them up in kraft paper and tied different colored yarn I had around it several times. I was inspired by this gift  , so I really wanted it to be bright and colorful.

 

When it came to displaying the crayons, I had two different ways that I wanted to try out. The first way, I stacked them up and tied them together with twine.

 

I really wanted the crayons to be on display, so the second time around, I attached them right to the outside of the gift with command foam squares.

 

I am really pleased with how they turned out. I am in love with the way the second way turned out, but Jason likes the first one best.

 

Which one do you like?

 

 

xo,

Rachel