Monday, December 8, 2014

December 7th - Hand-made Gifts

Hand-made gifts are great to receive - and I have received many over the years.  My grandfather was a great crafter and made a pyramid-shaped shelf that held my grandmother's salt and pepper shakers - that shelf is sitting in the corner of my living room now!  He also made an iron canopy doll bed for me when I was a little girl.  Unfortunately, that doll bed was accidentally donated when we were preparing to move into a smaller apartment a couple of years ago.

My mother was also a great crafter and made a lot of afghans, doilies, dresses and hats for my daughters and my son.  There are still a few of those afghans in one or the other of my "children's" homes and mine, as well!

When my daughters were younger, my grandfather made a dollhouse that opened to show the inside rooms.  It is still in the family, although it has been "re-decorated" a couple of times!  When my youngest daughter out-grew the dollhouse, we kept it in our garage for awhile until she "loaned" it to a friend for her daughter who is now 7 years old.  Now, we FINALLY have a granddaughter to pass it to once she is old enough to enjoy it!

I never thought of myself as very crafty until I was an adult and my "children" were older.  Once I found a hobby I enjoyed (besides reading and writing!) - scrapbooking - I created many albums full of pictures.  From that new-found hobby, I have also learned other crafts that I make for gifts.

A few years ago, I bought some 5 x 7 black picture frames and decorated them with buttons, added a picture of the family, and gave it to each of my "children" for Christmas.  I also made one for my friend who loves buttons (I don't have a picture of this project).

Last year, I made a button Christmas tree for my friend and she LOVED it!  I had planned to make more this year for a craft show, but ran out of time (and money!).


This year I decorated a small notebook and a few magnets which will be used as gifts; just not sure yet who will receive them!


My granddaughter is a BIG fan of "The Wizard of  Oz" and we are always trying to find her something unusual to add to her collection.  The magnet on the left is Dorothy and the words are "HOME" across the top.  I kept everything black and white, except for her shoes, which are "colored" in with red glitter glue.

The biggest challenge I had was decoupaging a wooden "box" that is shaped like a book that opens and has a place to put her treasures... 

Left side is back of the "book";
right side is the front.

Inside of the "book"

The most precious gifts are the hand made cards and pictures made by my younger grand children. And, my best ever (so far) was a birthday gift from my 15 year old grandson - an 8 x 10 charcoal drawing of a lighthouse:



Enjoyed showing off my crafts and special gifts!  Can't wait to see what everyone else is sharing!



Linking up December 1 - 25






14 comments:

  1. Hah, Barbara, I'd written a really long and detailed comment and it disappeared in to the internet never to be seen again :( I was saying that I love your post because there's nothing nicer than seeing people's creativity on display. Love the button tree! So cute! [I have a ton - almost quite literally - of buttons here in Christmas colours....if they weren't so heavy, I'd send them over to you....(they're surplus stock from my former business).......love the Wizard of Oz magnets, and the decoupaged box (she's sure to love it!) and the drawing from your grandson is just beautiful! Love this post: so inspiring!

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    1. Thanks, Helen! I have loved seeing others' creativity, too! I am hoping to spend more time making these kinds of things throughout the year so I'll have enough stuff for craft shows and also for gifts...have an idea for my 3 kids & their spouses that I'll begin working on...I have "sold" some of the cards I've made and am trying to sell a few handmade mini albums. And, I had someone ask me yesterday if I could do 20 baby announcements...so, guess I'm going to be busy next year! Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  2. Thanks for sharing Barbara! These were wonderful!

    That doll house must be a treasure for your family!! I hope it gets played with a lot, but holds up to last a long time for future generations.

    I love your tree! So adorable!! I always see jars chock full of buttons at antique stores for dirt cheap. Great way to get a bunch to keep on hand for other crafting projects.

    I also love doing scrapbooks or paper crafts as gifts. Your wizard of oz box is lovely!

    Thanks for sharing. ;)

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    1. Thanks, Carrie! I looked for a picture of the doll house but couldn't find it...I'm sure it will hold up; it's with a good friend of my daughter and will come back to her once her 4 month old is old enough for it! The Wizard of Oz box was a first for me; I think I've had the box for a couple of years and was going to get rid of it...then I started getting some Wizard paper from a friend and decided to give it a try! My granddaughter loved it! (She received it at our Thanksgiving/Christmas since they live in Louisiana and we are in Florida!) Appreciate your reading and commenting!

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  3. Your button Christmas tree is wonderful.
    Homemade gifts give both givers and receivers great joy.

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    1. Yes, Romi! I enjoy making things that I know people will love! Thanks for reading and commenting!

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  4. I can just imagine what a treasure the dollhouse is, what a great family heirloom to have.

    The hand drawn picture from your grandson is beautiful :) I love your button tree too, so cute and all the other gifts as well, you are so talented :)

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    1. Thank you, Sandra! I've had a lot of help from some very talented people and the encouragement they have given me. Appreciate your comment! I enjoy making things that I know others will love to have!

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  5. Love the box! I love collage - what a beautiful creation - love these homemade things!

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    1. Thanks Dawn for reading and commenting! I had fun making these items especially since I knew those receiving them would really appreciate them!

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  6. Love homemade gifts, just not very good at them myself. Probably because I don't do them often enough. I am getting ready to organize all my mom's pictures for her - I've been scanning them so we can all have copies. Love the button tree - is that one of the Styrofoam cones? I have a lot of buttons that were my grandmothers, so I should probably do something with them. Love the book box you made for your granddaughter. Sounds like you are in the thick of the Christmas spirit! I finally did some decorating last night and put up a small tree today - no ornaments yet - just lights and pine-cones. In the living room I put some tulle with lights up around my fire-place wall and added a couple of mirrors and other items to my mantle. Still needs some tweaking. Monday the 15th there is a link-up over at Nesting Place to share your Christmas decor. Chat with you later.

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    1. Thanks! I DO feel in the Christmas spirit - except when I think about decorating...it's just so much trouble to pull things out; set them up; oh, forgot the CLEANING FIRST; then having to put it all back...hubby will help; but, it's mostly on ME...and nobody comes here; we usually go to the daughters' homes during the holidays and special gatherings. The most time they come here is in the summer - when they come to go swimming at our community pool!! Thanks again for reading...told you'd have have replies!!!

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  7. Replies
    1. Thank you! Appreciate your reading and commenting!

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