Showing posts with label Gift Ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gift Ideas. Show all posts
Did a few things....
I had a few minutes in the morning yesterday (Easter Day), so I finished putting the face, tail and bow on the above bunny. I have been slowly working my way through my big box of started toys and need to finish. Another cutie finished.
Then during the afternoon at the in-laws and finished up the scarf above at home. I love it because it is really easy to make and goes fast. I believe it will make a wonderful gift. It is super soft to. The pattern is here for free. I made just a couple of changes. I used size US 11 instead of 13. Then I did 9 more rows after the last cable and then did two rows of garter stitch and next row casted off, to make it match the beginning. I am sure I will make 1 or 2 more because I think it would be a wonderful Christmas gift.
Then I made a quick card, because I was in the mood for doing some cards. I only got one done and the cut outs are from my cricut cartridge Create a Critter. That cartridge is one of my favorites.
~Julie
Cute Knitted Teddy
I have finished another toy. This one is a Teddy Bear by The Twins Ala & Ela. This is the Faye Bear. He is a little cutie and this is the second time I have knitted him. This time in different colors and yarn than I used the last time. I used Knit Picks Shine Yarn. It is a sport weight. I find that my gauge comes out when I use this yarn in place of the DK weight so often required it many of my favorite designers patterns. Okay, I really love this yarn also because it is sooooooo soft. Of course I always wish for more colors available, just like in the comfy yarn, which I love to! Again like most of these patterns they are knit on straight needles and I knit them on DP in the round, to save on seaming. The ears were not knit in the round. This pattern offers two options for ears. I used the fancy ones and I think they are adorable. I did my nose a little different then the pattern and the eyes, I did use yarn, so this can be given to a little person. Oh I forgot to say I used size US 3 needles.
I also knit a sweater that is in the pattern. I found that getting it over his head was a little hard so I tore out the sweater and knit it with a little opening in the bag to make it easier, because I wanted to be able to put it on and take it off. You know I like my bear without his sweater. You should try this pattern if you like knitting toys. It goes together very easy and turns out so cute. You could knit with a heavier yarn to get a bigger bear. Mine measures 6.5", not including his ears. The pattern is only $5.00 at their website. It is one I will knit again, so well worth the cost. I am not affiliated with them and not paid to say this. I will report the truth about the patterns I knit, because I think it is great information to pass on and help fellow knitters. If you have any questions about what I have done, please feel welcome to email me.
~Julie
Gift Idea~Ebay &Etsy Update~A little Secret~All in One Post
I wanted to talk about my Credit/Gift/Business Card holders. I created these because as I was carring one of my bags with a matching checkbook cover & money/coin pouch, I thought wouldn't it be wonderful to have a matching card holder. I made me one and love it because I can grab just it and get all those cards we carry now. You know like our bank cards, reward cards, punch cards, credit cards. I don't have to dig through a wallet to find all my cards. So I decided to make some for ebay and etsy to sell. It also gave me a little item to offer so people could try out my creations without investing alot of money. Of course this is in hopes to have people be delighted with their item and come back to visit my auctions again. I realize not all people like to carry a fabric purse and accessories. So my things aren't for everyone, but they also make wonderful gift options. Now I am going to concentrate on the card holder in this post.
Here is a coupld of my card holders. I started by cutting out several from pieces of fabric in my scrap box. Many of those pieces were large enough for them and I have some wonderful pieces in that box, that I just can't throw away.
So I am offering many prints in this item. Again there will be some that I will not have anymore of that fabric. Below is the inside. There is a pocket on both sides. I made the pockets wide enough so you will be able to fit many cards on both sides.
I started advertising them for gift card holders, when I was going to give a gift card and was astounded at the cost of some of the reusable, cute card holders. So I thought, my card holders you could put the gift card in one pocket and slip a little something in the other side or not. For a sewing friend you could get fun buttons, a pack of hand needles, a little note. Then not only will they have the gift card, they will have a card holder that they can go on to use. This is like 2 gifts in one.
Then another thought came to me. Yes, I have one of those minds that race and has idea after idea, but I can't do them all. I always have to carry a pad of paper and pen with me to write things down. Okay, back to the subject at hand. I started carrying my business cards in one.
**A little Secret**
In all the time I have been selling on ebay, which has been many years. I have never told this. I don't promote it in my auctions on either Ebay or Etsy. Here it is....
All of my handmade items, like pouches, totes, card holders, not my doll clothes, come in little fabric gift bags.
I make these also, as well as a couple of my children sew them for me and I pay them. They have a little extra spending money that they have earned and it helps me have some ready to go once I have something to mail. I have bags that I make to fit the item I am sending. So your item come gift wrapped. In a reusable bag. You are probably saying why don't you tell anyone? There are a few reasons.
Many years ago when I made the choice to stay home with my children (1994), we knew things would be tight and we would have to watch our money. We already did that, but we would have to watch it more and then we could make this happen. So many are not able to stay home with their children, so I felt very lucky to be able to. So when birthday's came around I was thinking wrapping paper was a huge waste of money. Yes, it made the present pretty and we all like to receive beautifully wrapped gifts, but what happened after it came off the gift? It got thrown away. I saw money being thrown away. So as a crafty person that sews, I developed the gift bag. As the string, ribbon, yarn or whatever I found to tie the bag shut seemed to now be with the bag, I started sewing that on. Now I do all kinds of things with my gift bags. They are reusable, so we are saving in more ways then one. My kids get tired of the gift bags, but when I give them to relatives, they keep them to give to their families. It puts a smile on my face.
When I went to craft shows, trying to earn a little extra money for my family I would put each handmade item in a gift bag, people loved them. I even had people say, if I buy another item, will you put it in another bag? Then people wanted to pick through my bags and pick which one they got and people wanted to buy them from me. I had to say no to both.
So I did it for my handmade items, so once you receive your item from me, I wanted you to feel like you are receive a gift. Just a little something extra to make you smile. I hope they do this. So the secret is out here on my blog. I still wont promote it on my auctions, but you know.
I put each item in a plastic bag before sending because I had one of my envelopes rip open and the item got wet before the person received it. That only happened once, but I do go to the extra to protect. It cost more with me purchasing some of these plastic bags and a tad bit more weight, but I believe you should get your item new and as you see it on my auctions.
So please keep these card holders in mind if you need a little gift, keep a few extra on hand for that last minute gift. They are a great gift all in themselves.
~Julie
Cupcake Knitting
This is a fun small knitting project. It is a pin cushion. You could use it to decorate a room. My kids tell me that cupcakes are in right now. I got the pattern from Susan B Andersons Blog with Spud & Chloe There is several free patterns. I wanted to knit this up and see how it turns out, because I have a couple of friends that are into sewing. There is a tomato pin cushion on the inside. I thought I could package it up with some pins. If you are a sewer you know that pins get bent and the become dull. It is one of those things that we sewers seem to continue using, even when they are in bad condition. Kinda like people who don't buy the underwear, bras, socks. The items that never get seen and we would rather purchase pretty things that people do see, like bags, shoes, blouses, pants and so on. I used Caron Simply soft yarn on size US #5 needles and it came out to the perfect size. I am going to make one for myself and add some beads on the top for sprinkles. I am not planning on using mine for a pin cushion, so I decided beads would be okay. I am also going to use the pin cushion on the inside for weight.
This knits up very quickly to!
Enjoy
~Julie
Gift Ideas
This is a new idea I had. This Christmas when I was thinking of gifts, I found it very easy to purchase for those I had taken notes for through out the year. I found this idea worked for any gift occassion. I have a notebook that I have people's names listed on each page. Then on that page I write down different things I have learned about the person. Such as... I have a sister in-law that has a favorite color of purple. So purple is on the page. She likes to bake and collect cookbooks. Those two things are written also. She loves to read. So you see, as you talk to people you can make notes of things you have learned. Not when you are sitting with them, but later. When you go back and look at your book it helps you pick out something for them and you learn more about them.
That is the first tip.
Second tip-I had seen different things throughout the year that I thought would make a wonderful gift. I didn't write them all down and then wish I did. So under my label of Gift Ideas I will be adding things this year, then we all can take a peek in there for ideas. Now sometimes you will see something that doesn't fit for anyone you know, but it just might trigger another idea. Please, when I add an idea, add your comments of the ideas it gives you, so we all can share.
So my first thing I would like to show you is.......
I took this picture from Amazon. You know how for many years a cookie in a jar were very popular? Then they went on to make soup in a jar, cakes, breads in a jar. All are great ideas for everyone to give to those who you just don't have an idea for. I gave recipes from this book. This was perfect for Grandparents, people who don't have kids around. You can make one treat and enjoy. That way you don't have a pan of brownies sitting there calling to you. You need a mug that is safe in the microwave. I found very nice mugs at Walmart for 1.98 and they came in 4 different colors. Then I made up the chocolate chip cookie recipe and brownie. I had tried both of these. They were very chocolatey. I then made it the second time with less chocolate chips and it was perfect for me. Here is a couple of things I learned. I purchased this book from Amazon, they have another by the same author that is geared towards kids. I looked at both and decided the first is the better. The kids version has the same recipes except one that isn't in the original book. And the kids book has less recipes. Now this gift is one you can give the next year because they use them up. I have had raves over the treats. I enjoyed them when I made them for myself. You wouldn't have to give another mug the second year.
Sometimes when you get a cookbook it has odd things that you can't find at your local store. The only ingrediant I didn't find was dried egg whites. I did a search online and found this huge can for 24.00 and it will last for along time. So if you use for gift giving you will still have plenty left over. Most of the recipes are like 1 tsp of egg white. You can find smaller cans. The recipes have an optional ingrediant of dried vanilla. One of the reviews said they used coffee creamer in vanilla flavor. I tried it and it works great!
For one person who I knew would enjoy giving these to others, I purchased the book and gave her that. It was great because she had someone give her one of these in a mug last year and her cake was so good, she wanted to do it. So when she received the books she was excited to try the dessert recipes.
There is another set of books called mug'ems
There is several of these books with different thems, like soups, breads and muffins. The difference with these books is you cook them in the oven. So you need to find a mug that is not only safe for the microwave, but safe for the oven. I had a harder time finding this. I did find some and they were 7 and 8 dollars each. I did find one that was a like soup bowl and had a lid. I found one place that sold these for $5.95. So keep that in mind.
There is a newer book out now that I have not tried and not all the reviews are good about the outcome of the goodies
I am curious. So the first gift idea is to purchase a recipe book make a recipe, put it in a bag. Tuck it in a mug and decorate a little with a tag so they will be able to add a couple of things and bake in the microwave and enjoy.
I made up several goodies in a bag this last Christmas and it goes very quickly.
~Julie
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