As much as I hate walking into a store and being immersed in Christmas paraphernalia around Halloween time, I do agree that I need to get my DIY holiday projects underway if I expect to be finished in time.
So, for my best friend, I'm thinking about refrigerator magnets and cloth napkins.
For the cloth napkins, I'm going to get fancy by sewing mitered corners using this tutorial.
Now that I think about it, maybe I'll make cloth napkins for everyone this year. Last year I did applique on canvas grocery bags. My family isn't very environmentally-conscious, so my only chance at changing their habits comes through giving them gifts!
As for the refrigerator magnets, I'm going to use this amazing tutorial from not martha. I made Andy some dreadful magnets ten years ago that he is still using on his fridge. Ugh! They are truly awful. Really, really awful. It's always "the thought that counts," but I don't expect someone to sacrifice their kitchen aesthetics in order to showcase one of my gifts!
Now...I just need to make time to do crafts. I'll be out of town in New York for work from Friday to Wednesday. No weekend for me!
Photos courtesy of not martha
8 comments:
I just found your blog and I LOVE the DIYness! I have become very nearly addicted to checking out marthastewart.com just so I can see if there's anything on there I could and would want to make! Thanks for the link to the napkin-making tutorial...what a great idea!
I made those maganets while I had lots of downtime (read unemployment) last spring! They're super easy, but the silicone glue is really stinky and dries quickly. I suggest looking for jumbo (1/2 and 3/4") hole punches for making colored part (check out individual sheets of scrapbook paper or printing stuff out on fun colored paper) and looking in the bead isle at the craft store for flat silver sequins of the same size to make sure that the black of the maganets doesn't bleed through and darken your pictures.
Hope that's helpful, and happy crafting!
Terrariums! That's mine!
Those magnets would be (and might become) a great wedding favour :) how very cute!
Thank you so much for the magnets info!!! I'm so going to try to make them for Christmas gifts this year ;)
I made tins like that for Christmas and graduation presents almost two years ago! I think they turned out great, personally, but I get a little sad when I think about the people I gave them to who probably didn't hold onto them. A lot of love goes into homemade presents, so I hate to think that they're not treasured as much on the receiving end. You can get empty mint tins (like in your lowest picture) at craft stores and online by the dozen. They're also fun to decorate in a theme that goes with your magnets.
hi sara,
i just want to say thank you for this blog- really. It gives me a lot of hope that our holidays (and our weddings) don't need to be all about spending more money on more stuff we don't need.
Thanks for giving me so many great ideas!!
mitered corners! the bane of my existence for my first quilt! after a while, the ladies gave me a good tip: when you lay your pieces in a 45 degree angle, they look like a pair of pants. always sew across the waist and never through the crotch! that way, you'll never have to spend crazy amounts of time lining it up perfectly, it'll normally workitself out in the end!
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