Sunday, December 28, 2008

Made with Love

John & I asked the girls what 1 big item they really wanted this Christmas. Meg wanted a camera since hers broke while she was in Costa Rica. Tori wanted a scanner/printer because she was using her sisters and wanted her own. So Christmas was easy....the shopping aspect of it anyway. John went to Sams and got those presents early December. Me, my job was much more labor intensive. I made every thing else by hand! I didn't start until the first week of December either because I was so busy with other things. It was actually pretty stress free this year!!


John did help me pick out all the material and yarn. So he did help with the handmade gifts..sort of.


These half Aprons were made out of a vintage pillow case! I found the cases at a flea market this summer and paid $1.50 for them.

I made these full aprons with fabric that I got 1/2 off at Hobby Lobby and than the lady through in an extra yard because she was talking so much! So I got a good deal on this material.
The girls seem to like them.

To go along with the Aprons...I made them both a scrapbook cookbook that has family recipes in it. I added my Mothers Chicken Noodle Soup and my Dads favorite quick meal, Sausage Pepper Hoggies. John put in his Red Beans & Rice.

They both really loved this gift!! On each page I wrote a little story about the recipe. For example....my Chicken Spaghetti recipe. I told Meg how when she was little she would always say, "More, more when I made this dish and how she couldn't get enough of it even though it is extremely spicy with jalapenos. Tori was a different story....I wrote in hers how I use to make a separate dish without the jalapenos just for her because she couldn't stand anything spicy. I enjoyed making these gifts! Yes, I cried when I made them with all the memories that were coming to mind.


I crocheted these warm Shawl Wraps. The colors are beautiful! This photo doesn't really do them justice.

I crocheted all these Hats. There were actually 3 more that didn't make it into the picture. The top 2 are made out of Bamboo yarn and are super soft. They are Rasta Tams so they are bigger than normal(people with dreads wear them....my girls hair is so curly it's like dreads!) The other hats are made with Eco Friendly yarn. The yarn is actually spun from post-consumer recycled plastic bottles. It's combined with acrylic and is soft. Pretty cool, huh?!

Meg wearing her hat....this color is called "Mulberry Mist".



Tori in hers...this color is called "Peachy".




This was me Christmas morning while we were waiting for John to come down stairs. I'm crocheting a beanie hat. Reeses by my side as always.



I plan on opening a booth this spring down at the River Market with my mother and daughter's. I am going to crochet my hats & shawls to sell. My mom makes beautiful scarves out of silk and other fabrics. Meg will sew some purses and diaper bags and Tori will do her necklaces and buttons and some Art work.

Tomorrow I'm going to post the homemade gifts the girls made us! They are very talented girls!!

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Looks like you are all very talented!!! That is amazing all the gifts you made!! I have been feeling the need to be really crafty lately...haha maybe one day! :)

Glad you had a good christmas!

Melody said...

I love all of your crafty items! You are awesome! And I know that you feel like you need to lose weight, but that bottom picture (I meant in the series!) sure doesn't show it!

Have a great rest-of-your-weekend!

MarciaBrady said...

You are SOOO crafty!! I'm lovin' everything you made! Especially the cookbooks, the hats and shawls...ok...all of it really!

My friend, Tina, and I were talking about making aprons next year along with fleece robes. We're starting next month!! I am NOT doing what I did this year again!! That's another post coming soon!

What stitch is that that you used for the shawls? They look so pretty & warm!

Anonymous said...

Wow! Those are wonderful gifts you made. Homemade gifts are always the best. Your girls will always cherish them. :-)

Tabitha Blue said...

Ohhhh, how great!!! Sounds like a wonderful Christmas. I so want to learn to knit... it's a goal of mine for this coming year!!

:)
~Tabitha~

freshmommyblog.com

Julie said...

that is so great. I love all the things you made and the scrapbook cookbook is so wonderful. I cannot wait to see what your girls made. I love the fact you are all going to open up a booth. How fun is that!!!

and thanks for praying, it has been a rough day and I just blogged about it. We are in a crazy situation right now.

Rene said...

Beautiful work!! I'm so glad the girls loved it all. SwimBoy's GF liked the scrubs I made for her but the whole time I was making them I was second guessing myself about whether she would. I'm sure I drove SwimBoy crazy asking him over and over if she would like them. Good luck with your booth! I'm sure you'll do great!!

Hugs,

Rene

Becky said...

Those are beautiful! You are so talented!

April said...

I absolutely love all the wonderful Christmas gifts you made! You have been one busy woman! I really love the family cookbook idea and how you personalized it with including stories about each one. Your daughters will cherish that forever. I love the adorable aprons, too! Everything looks just great! So glad to hear that you had a wonderful time together!

Natalie Freeman said...

Mrs. Betty, you out-did yourself this year! I always love talking to Tori on Christmas day because you & Mr. John do such a wonderful job of picking out/ making gifts for Meg & Tori.

The hats are BEAUTIFUL! You're so talented!! :)

Michelle said...

Well of course they are very talented girls, they get it from their mother. Those gifts are wonderful. The scrapbook/cookbooks are a lovely gift.

I love your little dog.

Aubrey said...

Wow! It is all amazing stuff there Betty! You rock!

fawn & fern said...

everything was/is so beautiful!
thank you for it all.
this christmas was definitely a very special one.
lovelovelove.

WheresMyAngels said...

That is so cool that you are so crafty. I love everything.

The cookbooks were a great idea for a gift for the girls.

Susie said...

Your stuff is so great!! I can't wait to hear about your sales:-)

Anonymous said...

That's awesome that you are all opening a booth. Your stuff is amazing!