Parade of Handmade Christmas

I've been so excited for this post, to show you everything that I was able to make and give as gifts this year. Some of these I've already shown you, but I wanted to have a post with everything together, so forgive the repeats.

Caitlin's Messenger Bag purse from Shelley Detton's Infinity Tote pattern. The fabric is Heather Bailey's FreshCut line.

This was actually how it all started. I had this idea to copy my Grandmother's recipes for all of my sisters, and I thought I'd sew an apron for each of them to go along with the cookbook. I ended up making eight aprons, over Thanksgiving weekend, and that's when I fell in love with the look and feel of designer fabric and had to find more projects to make.

I got the pattern from Shelley Detton's blog and it was super easy to do. It's called the Empire-Waisted Apron, and I love the gathered front detail.

Here's Conor's Art Tote, complete with art supplies.

And another peek at Lyndsay's sun hat. Pattern by Amy Butler, fabric by Joel Dewberry.

This is the tote bag I made for my stepmom, Raelene. It's Shelley Detton's pattern (The Infinity Tote) and Amy Butler fabric from her Daisy Chain line. Which I am totally in love with.

A peek inside.

I wanted to sew from this fabric for the rest of my life. Isn't it so beautiful? This is another version, much larger, of Shelley's Infinity Tote, that I made for my mom. The fabric is from Kate Spain's Fandango line. I love this line.

Here is the interior lining with pockets. This is a really big bag. Perfect for a weekend getaway or for a whole bunch of knitting projects. Both of which suit my mom.

Here are the fabric baskets and bean bags again. Conor loves his set.

This was one of my favorite projects. This was a free Amy Butler downloadable pattern. I used all Amy Butler fabrics for it too, and I made one of these wallhangings for Lyndsay and one for Caitlin. I love them! This was an easy project, but I did need some help from a friend to assemble the frame and stretch the canvas and then the fabric over it.

The letters are ironed onto the contrasting background fabric and then I satin stitched around the edges of them. The girls loved them.

These are some cozy flannel burp cloths I made for my friend's new baby boy. I made a set of 4.

Here are the treat boxes that we made and handed out. Actually, I can't take any credit. Lyndsay did all of the baking this year, I just told her what to bake. I found these cute treat boxes at Michael's and so I picked four small goodies that would fit into the compartments. We made peppermint patties (from December's Family Fun Magazine)--holy yum they're good. There are cinnamon sugar almonds (from Mel's Kitchen Cafe blog), Russian Teacakes (minus the pecans, sadly, due to Conor's allergy), and mini gingerbread boys and girls. These are what we gave out to neighbors when we went caroling.

The kids got into the handmade Christmas spirit too. This is a pencil sketch that Dylan drew for his dad and then I framed it for him. He drew it from a photograph of the two of them together last summer. I think he did such a great job.

Lyndsay also gave out lots of her Lyns Pins birdie clips to friends, and Conor and I made a few fun things for his dad, like a piggy bank that he painted and I labeled "Dad's Soda $" and a chunky square pad of paper which Conor stamped the perimeter of. If that makes sense.

Here's the superhero costume I sewed for Conor. My needle broke before I finished the other accessories, so it kind of looks more like a Ninja, but he doesn't care. In fact, as soon as he opened it, he started taking off his clothes to put it on, and he's been wearing it ever since. This was the only project that I really hated sewing, but I knew how much he would love it, so that carried me through.

Lyndsay's cozy flannel scarf with ball fringe trim. This was a last minute idea. As in, December 23rd idea. I had seen another Amy Butler pattern for this, and had it in my mind, but couldn't spend any more money on amazing fabric to buy her flannels. But then when I had to run to Joann's because I'd run out of thread for the satin stitching, six inches before finishing the LOVE sign, I saw that their flannel was on sale for $2.49/yd, so I bought just enough to whip this up. I loved it. She loves it. Very easy, too.

I was most excited about giving Lyndsay her purse. The Rosetta Ruffle Purse! Isn't it so darling? It's a Jennifer Paganelli pattern, but I used more of Kate Spain's Fandango fabric (because I love it in every color!) I made two of these, actually, one for her and one for me, because I desperately needed a new purse. But I kept mine hidden until after she'd opened hers so she wouldn't have a clue what she was getting. I made hers in the small size, and mine in the medium.

The inside is fully lined and has pockets, and I used a magnetic clasp to close it, so it looks and feels very professional. She loves it, and no one will have a purse just like hers!

Here's my purse, in more Kate Spain fabric, from her Verna line. I love it! And I made pockets for my lip gloss, keys, pens, and even just for my cell phone. The first thing out of each of my kids' mouths was, "So that means you'll actually answer your cell phone now?" I could never find it in my purse, and hated digging for it while driving or running errands.

So that's it! Fun, huh? I can't believe I was able to sew so much in less than a month, but I'm so happy I did. It brought me such joy, and seeing that everyone loved their gifts makes my heart overflow with happiness.

I wonder what next Christmas will bring? Maybe an earlier start?