Homemade presents for Children.

[thesunflowergal]

I am looking for ideas for Handmade gifts for children, as money is going to be extremely tight for the next couple of months. Its my dd2s 3rd birthday in a month and I am totally stuck, so any ideas would be welcome.

I am hopefully picking up a second hand sewing machine from a friend on Monday, so for Christmas I was thinking of trying to make the girls a mei tai each for their dolls (if I can find a very simple pattern). I was also planning on a Mr grasshead thingy for each of them.

I would love to hear of any simple things that you have made for your children.

Thanks Nikki

[JuzaMum]

Hi

I have made an owl which my little boy likes from this site http://moonstitches.typepad.com/photos/ ... index.html I changed the card base to a plastic one made from a milk container so the owl is washable. Your children are luckily still at the easily pleased stage - my older boys (17 and 14) have asked me to promise never to make them trousers after seeing the ones my youngest (2) has. If the girls have dolls how about some dolls clothes or simple accessories?

good luck in getting creative

JuzaMum

[NaturalBlue]

Hello

Love the idea of making your girls a mei tai - I have a pattern for a proper baby sized one but it would be easy to adapt, I'll give it to you next time I see you!!

doll clothes are really easy! there's loads of patterns on the web or even use the tiny togs (premmie site) for patterns!!
french knitting dolls are always a good one, you can make them out of old bits and bobs - or maybe putting together craft sets they can do themselves(try the local scrap store for bits!)
I'm making Frankie some bunting for her room - that's really quick and easy and looks great...
Or, how about a 'made by mummy' cook book for Orin with stuff she could make herself?
My personal favourite is a box of homemade sweets to go with things!

I'm kind of running out of off the top of my head things - but I'll think on
xx

[MuddyWitch]

Our eldest, (now 24), when little, had a selction of fancy boxes one birthday. She still says it was one of her best pressies EVER! Hours of fun and (for me & Dad) relitive quiet

You could collect old product boxes, such as cereal, tissue, and grocery boxes & cover them in scraps of wall paper, wrapping paper or fabric and there's alway the good old 'sticky backed plastic' but that's not very cheap (or environmentally friendly!). Try local shoe shops for various sized shoe boxes too.

Maybe you could put one inside the other? Or a small gift in each?

You'd just have to make sure the kids don't rip the covering off the box initially!

MW

[Rosendula]

I'm learning to crochet and the first thing I made from a pattern was a string bag (although I used 'wool'). I've since made myself a couple of bigger bags, with real string, and gave the tester piece to my 4YO for her shopping toys. She loves it.

Also, for Christmas last year, I helped LO make money boxes for her older sister and brother. We took some cardboard tubs - I can't remember what they were from but they were like Pringles tubes, only shorter, and glued strips of coloured paper around the edge with a bit of gold wrapping tape around the top and bottom, and around the slot that I cut out in the side near the top.

[growingthings]

I use a great US based web site for inspiration. It finds tutorials for all sorts of gifts / crafts and puts up selection each day, if you can't see anything you like try the gift guides I think they're called which are all categorised - men, kids, mums, dads etc. I recommend it to anybody really as it's got me out of a tight spot more than once. I noe read a few blogs because of the tutorials that were featured on there too. Anyway!
www.oneprettything.com

Hope you find it as useful as I do
Lorna x

[Keaniebean]

Ooh Lorna, much love and hugs coming your way right now for that link.

That's Tuesday down the drain.

[growingthings]

Lol! There's a serious amount of delicious stuff isn't there!

[Green Aura]

That's definitely been bookmarked, thanks.

[Shirleymouse]

That website is brilliant! I also like the one with the owls, I love owls and that might be the motivation I need to have a go at sewing something!

Another gift idea - could you get a large hard-back note book and some photographs of your daughter, family, friends etc and start a memories book that she can add to as she grows up. It needn't be just photos, any special things could go into it like drawings, certificates when she starts school, birthday cards, pressed flowers etc. A box would be just as good as a book. I love looking at old photos and things so it would be a gift for life!

[hmk]

Sew Mama Sew http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/ is a great site for all sorts of ideas. Look at handmade holidays for 30 different categories of handmade pressies.

Off the top of my head:
what about a pencil or crayon roll? I think that's on the sewmama blog.
A padded notice board?
Little girls always love purses and bags, and they don't have to have zips or anything complicated.
I made DD2 a fairy dressing up skirt by cutting up a sparkly charity shop skirt a couple of years ago- she loved it, and it was only an elasticated waist.
Sew net 'wings' on the back of plain t-shirts for fairy tops.
I'm going to paint some old picture frames and staple string across the back to hang pictures from with those little wooden clothes pegs.
homemade playdough
I'll second the bunting idea- I'm doing that this year too
Cut out paper dolls. I printed them then stuck them on white card and my daughters 5 year old loved them. I love these- http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/ or try this site if you want something more modern- http://translate.google.com/translate?h ... om/goodies
There must be loads of others free to download.

That's all I can think of at the moment- hope it helps,

HMK

[Mrs H]

I've started on Christmas already!!! I'm knitting a thomas blanket for my son and I'm making animal shaped bean bags for them all. As for the family we are making jams, cakes etc and making up hampers.
Good Luck!!
Just remembered for my daughters birthday last year I got her a tiny rocking hortse out of the charity shop, brought it home and gave it a fresh lick of paint and our neighbour has just given us a large old fashioned rocking horse that was rescued from the local dump, he just needs recovered and the frame varnished and he will look like new!! X

[snapdragon]

Dolls house out of heavy duty cardboard, furniture can be made of card too and painted with acrylic paints, make little sheets/pillows/cushions etc out of scraps

[Jerseymum]

My 3yo loves puppets, so I am making a puppet theatre that can hang from the top of the door frame. am mostly using old bedsheets and scraps and my 6yo is making a princess and frog puppet set for her wee sister.
Sarah

[ajs88]

I made these toys owls for my young nephews and neice

By ajs88 at 2010-11-15

And book bags, to go with their books, for my older nephews

By ajs88 at 2010-11-15