A handmade Christmas

“Probably the reason we all go so haywire at Christmas time with the endless unrestrained and often silly buying of gifts is that we don't quite know how to put our love into words.”
-Harlan Miller

Mama and I were discussing the value of craft gifts yesterday. Each year she gave us a handmade gift from her, not from Santa. Terry cloth robes with bunny ears, new purses, smocked pjs, and corduroy coats. She’s good at craft gifts.

As much as I love crafts and crafting, I recently came to the conclusion that crafts are difficult for me to give as presents—the style has to fit the recipient, the object has to fit the recipient, and the recipient has to be ok with imperfections. And, men... what do you make for men?

A couple of years ago I went the DIY route, and I have a feeling that few of the gifts were ever used—skirts were too big, cute hats were too cute, bags just weren’t their style. Then last year, we went store bought—we were thoroughly taking advantage of our DINKs status (dual income, no kids). We spent a lot, visited a lot of malls, but I didn't worry my little head about whether they would appreciate my craft.

However, this year we’re DINKS with a mortgage, so it’s back to DIY (and raiding the gift drawer). But I’m trying hard to only do handmade where I know I will succeed. I know it’s the thought that counts, but my thought should be if the recipient would be pleased about it or not.

There are a couple of handmade gifts that can’t be shown due to my readership (thanks for reading!). But, I think my favorite gifts for this holiday season are for my niece and nephew.

The t-shirts with my iron-on designs for my 4.5-year old nephew:
Of course, he will probably like the light-up shirt that we bought at a Halloween clearance sale much more than these ones that were crafted with love :)

And, my absolute favorite, the onesies with my iron-on designs for my 2-month old niece (I think actually she’s my first cousin-in-law, once removed, if you want to get specific!). Match these up with some pink and white leg warmers, and she'll be the cutest baby on the block.One note to remember if you attempt such a project… most printable iron-on transfers don’t work well on dark colors, as you can see below. (Picture is even with the flash)
So, instead I ironed them on to white fabric and then used the magic Steam-a-Seam II Lite to attach the design to the shirt. Of course, I did it the wrong way first and then had to affix the remedied design on top. Live and learn…