Handmade Christmas: Fabric Basket with Bean Bags and "Cup" Cakes

I first saw this idea on a blog I enjoy, Trapped Between a Scream and a Hug. Rachel Sue had compiled this great list of handmade Christmas gifts and I loved this one, taken from two different blogs. I made one for Conor, and one for my friend's son. I love the idea of homemade toys, and tossing a bean bag into a darling fabric basket is a game that even big kids and parents will enjoy the challenge of.

The funny thing to me was that I didn't know how tiny the baskets were because the measurements were in centimeters, and I'm not used to thinking in centimeters. I suppose the size makes sense for bean bags, but as I was putting the baskets together I kept feeling like they were for a doll instead of a real child. But they are very cute, and very, very easy. I made these two, with the bean bags in about 2 1/2 hours, including a break to cook and serve breakfast.

The basket is the perfect size to fit five bean bags. I used home dec fabrics for the basket so they were a little stiffer, along with stiff interfacing, and then I used some quilter's fat quarters in coordinating shades for the bean bags. Very cheap. And easy. And darling. Would be a great baby shower gift too. Or toddler birthday party gift.

Then we have the "Cup" Cakes, an idea from Family Fun. This is also super easy and cheap. (I like cheap.) You just use one boxed cake mix to make eight gifts. It's a microwaveable cake for one, with a glaze mix too, tucked into the mug that the recipient will mix and bake the cake in. I gave these to each of the Primary kids that I teach on Sunday, and Conor gave one to his teacher.

You can find the directions here. And mugs are on sale everywhere.

Back to sewing! I can't wait till after Christmas when I can show you all what I've been up to!