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for the entire month of september will be baking, sewing & crafting up a storm, preparing handmade gifts for this holiday season…

welcome to our holiday-inspired “bake, craft & sew along.” we will be baking, sewing & crafting up a storm, preparing handmade gifts for this holiday season all month long. yep! yep! 30 days of projects. so dust off your sewing machine, & head on over to skip to my lou for some fabulous sewing projects. a southern fairytale is spotlighting lots of edible yummies & holiday-inspired recipes you definitely don’t want to miss. & to check out ALL of our crafty & creative projects go HERE.

today, our featured blogger is one of my favorites, the darling kami, of nobiggie.net. kami writes…

Hi! I’m Kami and I blog at NoBiggie.net. I love Christmas, and I’m loving this series of craft ideas helping us all to get a head start in our handmade holiday efforts.

Here’s a simple yet thoughtful gift idea for Christmas: Little Baker’s Twine Mushrooms. I love this little craft as a Christmas gift idea, because everyone loves baker’s twine and it’s a fun way to help your friends and family wrap up all their Christmas goodies (aka baked goods) with some cute baker’s twine. This gift would be great to give at the beginning of the holiday season.

To make these little wooden baker’s twine mushrooms, here’s what you’ll need:
- wooden bobbins
- domed wood button type pieces
- craft paint + paint brushes (DecoArt makes some fun ones!)
- hot glue gun
- baker’s twine in a variety of colors (red,green and grey are fun for Christmas)

First you will hot glue the domed wood cap to the top of the wood bobbin to make it look ‘mushroom like’. Then you can start to paint the top of the domed wood cap.

Once the first color of paint has dried, you can use the tip of a wood dowel to add little white polka dots to make the cap look like a mushroom.

Let all the caps fully dry, and you are ready to add the baker’s twine.

Aren’t they cute all wrapped up?!

Wrap them up in a clear box to show off their cuteness and give them as a gift during the first week in December. Your family and friends will love them!

That’s it! Thanks for having me today! I’d love for you to stop by NoBiggie for more handmade holiday ideas!

Like this candy cane banner for a fun Christmas party,

or this simple flowering bulb in a tin can as a inexpensive yet beautiful neighbor gift,

or the best ‘super soft’ Gingerbread cookie recipe,

or fun holiday gift wrap ideas.

for more great ideas be sure to visit kami at her blog nobiggie.net, & follow her every move on twitter, facebook & pinterest.

about kami: Kami’s interests include portrait and tabletop photography, paper crafts, decorating and experiencing the thrill of the thrift find.  She graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Public Relations. She loves to spend her non-blogging hours with her husband Kyle, their two children and one little puppy-faced dog.

baking, crafting & sewing along at home? don’t forget to play show & tell… upload your photos to our flickr group HERE. follow along with all of our featured bakers, crafters & sewers on twitter HERE, & tweet about the holiday-inspired “bake, craft & sew along” using the hashtag #handmadeholiday.

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for the entire month of september will be baking, sewing & crafting up a storm, preparing handmade gifts for this holiday season…

welcome to our holiday-inspired “bake, craft & sew along.” we will be baking, sewing & crafting up a storm, preparing handmade gifts for this holiday season all month long. yep! yep! 30 days of projects. so dust off your sewing machine, & head on over to skip to my lou for some fabulous sewing projects. a southern fairytale is spotlighting lots of edible yummies & holiday-inspired recipes you definitely don’t want to miss. & to check out ALL of our crafty & creative projects go HERE.

today, our featured blogger is the amazing & totally inspiring kimmie, of sugar and dots. kimmie writes…

for more great ideas be sure to visit kimmie at her blog sugar and dots, & follow her every move on twitter, & facebook.

about kimmie: She enjoys all things crafty, wearing flip flops 365 days per year, talking about herself in third-person, reading, thrifting, and baking. Her pack-rat habit is both awesome and awful. Her love of vintage finds started as a child, and she loathes spending money on anything brand new.

baking, crafting & sewing along at home? don’t forget to play show & tell… upload your photos to our flickr group HERE. follow along with all of our featured bakers, crafters & sewers on twitter HERE, & tweet about the holiday-inspired “bake, craft & sew along” using the hashtag #handmadeholiday.

{ 10 comments }

for the entire month of september will be baking, sewing & crafting up a storm, preparing handmade gifts for this holiday season…

welcome to our holiday-inspired “bake, craft & sew along.” we will be baking, sewing & crafting up a storm, preparing handmade gifts for this holiday season all month long. yep! yep! 30 days of projects. so dust off your sewing machine, & head on over to skip to my lou for some fabulous sewing projects. a southern fairytale is spotlighting lots of edible yummies & holiday-inspired recipes you definitely don’t want to miss. & to check out ALL of our crafty & creative projects go HERE.

today, our featured blogger is the girl i wish lived next door, stephanie, of somewhat simple. stephanie writes…

Hi guys! I’m Stephanie, from Somewhat Simple and I am excited to be back here on Kelly’s fun site.

One of my readers recently left me a comment mentioning a fun activity her family does each year.

I liked this idea so much, I decided it would become a new tradition for my family, and I can’t wait!

Each year take a walk (or drive) around your neighborhood and vote for the house with the best

Christmas decorations- choose a top 3 or 5 or 10 or just your absolute favorite.

Then, leave treats on their doorstep telling them how much you appreciate their decorations!

Simply fun and thoughtful- I love it! This year my family will be dropping off these:

Making them is as easy as 1-2-3:

Purchase a can at your grocery store with a pop-top. Open the BOTTOM of the can with a can opener & empty the contents. Wash the can really good and dry it completely.

Fill the can with treats then seal it up by adding some hot glue to the rim.

Embellish the heck out of it! Cover it with cute paper, add some ribbon, buttons etc. Include a short note of appreciation and a tag telling them to open it.

And that’s it!

I hope you all have been just a bit more inspired to have a handmade holiday! Stop by and visit me anytime on Somewhat Simple- I have even more gift ideas, including:

A Canvas for Dad, Hanging Cupcakes, Exercise Block, 12 Daytz of Christmas, For the Baby Boy

Have a great holiday!

for more great ideas be sure to visit stephanie at her blog somewhat simple, & follow her every move on twitter, facebook, stumbleupon & pinterest.

about stephanie: Stephanie loves ice cream, autumn, Sunday naps, traveling, game nights and shopping. She is a bit obsessive compulsive and she loves all things organized. She loves reality TV, a new tube of toothpaste, a new jar of peanut butter, the scent of a new car and soft back scratches- not back rubs, back scratches.

baking, crafting & sewing along at home? don’t forget to play show & tell… upload your photos to our flickr group HERE. follow along with all of our featured bakers, crafters & sewers on twitter HERE, & tweet about the holiday-inspired “bake, craft & sew along” using the hashtag #handmadeholiday.

{ 11 comments }

for the entire month of september will be baking, sewing & crafting up a storm, preparing handmade gifts for this holiday season…

welcome to our holiday-inspired “bake, craft & sew along.” we will be baking, sewing & crafting up a storm, preparing handmade gifts for this holiday season all month long. yep! yep! 30 days of projects. so dust off your sewing machine, & head on over to skip to my lou for some fabulous sewing projects. a southern fairytale is spotlighting lots of edible yummies & holiday-inspired recipes you definitely don’t want to miss. & to check out ALL of our crafty & creative projects go HERE.

today, our featured blogger is the DIY queen angie, of the cellar door stories. angie writes…

Hi there!  I’m Angie from The Cellar Door, and I am super excited to be part of this great lineup of holiday crafting and decorating ideas.  I looooove Christmas, and to me you can never start getting ready for the holidays too early, so September sounds just about perfect!One of the issues I sometimes run into while crafting the day away is the little munchkins who show up and want to “help” …. which usually isn’t quite so helpful, you know?  I’ve discovered that the best way to remedy the problem is to let them craft away with me!  Last year, my then four year old son and I made these Christmas trees…. cute, kid friendly, and cheap…. the recipe for a perfect craft!

My inspiration came from this tree I had seen at Target….

I started by gathering up all my materials.  The styrofoam cones were from Dollar Tree, the sparkly pom poms were from Joann’s in the dollar section, and I had the rest of the supplies on hand, so this was a really fun and inexpensive craft for us to do together.

Did you happen to notice the table runner in the photo above?  I made that too – again for under $5 – and bonus:  it doesn’t require any sewing!  You can check it out here.  Merry Christmas in September, friends!

for more great ideas be sure to visit angie at her blog the cellar door stories, & follow her every move on facebook, & pinterest.

about angie: Angie is the wife of one amazing husband and stay at home mom of two precious kids here, (plus one or two in Ethiopia that they already love!), follower of Christ, lover of iced coffee and dark chocolate.  The Cellar Door Stories, is filled with posts covering an eclectic mix of the things she loves – everything from her faith, being frugal, decorating, adoption & DIY projects.

baking, crafting & sewing along at home? don’t forget to play show & tell… upload your photos to our flickr group HERE. follow along with all of our featured bakers, crafters & sewers on twitter HERE, & tweet about the holiday-inspired “bake, craft & sew along” using the hashtag #handmadeholiday.

{ 6 comments }

for the entire month of september will be baking, sewing & crafting up a storm, preparing handmade gifts for this holiday season…

welcome to our holiday-inspired “bake, craft & sew along.” we will be baking, sewing & crafting up a storm, preparing handmade gifts for this holiday season all month long. yep! yep! 30 days of projects. so dust off your sewing machine, & head on over to skip to my lou for some fabulous sewing projects. a southern fairytale is spotlighting lots of edible yummies & holiday-inspired recipes you definitely don’t want to miss. & to check out ALL of our crafty & creative projects go HERE.

today, our featured blogger is the charming jenny, of the southern institute. jenny writes…

Hi everyone!  I’m so excited to be a part of this holiday series!  I don’t know about you, but the holidays tend to sneak up on me.  It’s not that I don’t know that they’re coming, it’s just that the fall seems to fly past me in a blink!  Suddenly it’s a week before Christmas and I haven’t made half as much as I planned to make.  I love a handmade Christmas, but it takes planning ahead and starting early… at least for me.  That’s why I love that the gals have started this series now.  Plenty of fresh ideas in plenty of time!  


The holidays bring cards… lots and lots of cards.  In the past we have hung Christmas cards around our hallway doorframe, but it always looks just a bit messy, or uneven, or the tape doesn’t hold up the cards.  This year I’m doing something different.  I’m keeping my holiday cards in a Christmas Card Keeper where they are all in one place, but I can still flip through them whenever I want.  Here’s what I did.


A little while back I did a tutorial at The Southern Institute on decorating letters with Mod Podge and fabric scraps…Mod Podge Letters.  I took this concept a few steps further to make my Christmas Card Keeper.  I covered three letters with leftover scraps of Christmas fabric, then I found a green basket at Michael’s (40% off with the coupon, of course).  The letters came from Paper Source, one of my favorite stores.  You can find them at Joann Fabrics or Michael’s too, but not in this fun font.

Thanks for having me, Kelly!  Happy holidays and happy crafting, everyone!

for more great ideas be sure to visit jenny at her blog the southern institute, & follow her every move on twitter, facebook, & pinterest.

about jenny: Jenny is a wife, mother, sister, daughter, and friend.  She’s a northern girl transplanted in the south. The Southern Institute is a craft blog, a sewing blog, a food blog, a family blog, a place of inspiration for her, and hopefully for you too.  It’s a place for her to write about the projects that she’s working on and share them with you, but it’s also a creative community where everyone has the opportunity to share what they have been working on.

baking, crafting & sewing along at home? don’t forget to play show & tell… upload your photos to our flickr group HERE. follow along with all of our featured bakers, crafters & sewers on twitter HERE, & tweet about the holiday-inspired “bake, craft & sew along” using the hashtag #handmadeholiday.

{ 4 comments }

for the entire month of september will be baking, sewing & crafting up a storm, preparing handmade gifts for this holiday season…

welcome to our holiday-inspired “bake, craft & sew along.” we will be baking, sewing & crafting up a storm, preparing handmade gifts for this holiday season all month long. yep! yep! 30 days of projects. so dust off your sewing machine, & head on over to skip to my lou for some fabulous sewing projects. a southern fairytale is spotlighting lots of edible yummies & holiday-inspired recipes you definitely don’t want to miss. & to check out ALL of our crafty & creative projects go HERE.

today, our featured blogger is erin, of in between laundry. erin writes…

is all about do-able crafts and tutorials, yummy recipes (that my family loves),

free printables, fun and easy gift ideas,
and a healthy dose of our home DIY projects.

Today, I’m sharing my Reverse Applique Table Runner.
It’s not complicated and looks totally impressive. So grab some
faux swede or another heavy fabric that won’t fray,
a pair of good scissors and your hot glue gun.

1. Using a piece of card stock folded twice,

cut out a design (paper-snowflake-style).

2. Determine how long you want your runner to be and trace the unfolded paper design on the fabric.

3. Put the kids in bed, turn on a movie, grab your scissorsand cut that

sucker out. Take your time and work on it little by little.

4. With fabric glue or a hot glue gun, attach your cut-out to another piece of faux suede in a contrasting color.

5. Draw scalloped edges along the bottom piece and cut that out. I recommend applying a third layer to the bottom and cutting it exactly like the second layer to add weight because the scalloped edges tend to roll up.

It turned out so pretty and makes a great gift that’s perfect for year-round

use. You could make one in your loved one’s favorite

colors or in red and white for her Christmas table.

Want another fun gift idea? Check out my printable popcorn bags and homemade candy cane popcorn for a Girls’ Night Out movie-inspired gift.

Click here.

for more great ideas be sure to visit erin at her blog in between Llaundry , & follow her every move on facebook, or pinterest.

about erin: She loves to make things, cook eat, read, sew, take pictures, decorate, teach Bible class and blog. She taught high school English for three years until her first son was born. Now, most of her time is spent running the household, playing with her two sweet little boys and helping out with the family business.

baking, crafting & sewing along at home? don’t forget to play show & tell… upload your photos to our flickr group HERE. follow along with all of our featured bakers, crafters & sewers on twitter HERE, & tweet about the holiday-inspired “bake, craft & sew along” using the hashtag #handmadeholiday.

{ 2 comments }

for the entire month of september will be baking, sewing & crafting up a storm, preparing handmade gifts for this holiday season…

welcome to our holiday-inspired “bake, craft & sew along.” we will be baking, sewing & crafting up a storm, preparing handmade gifts for this holiday season all month long. yep! yep! 30 days of projects. so dust off your sewing machine, & head on over to skip to my lou for some fabulous sewing projects. a southern fairytale is spotlighting lots of edible yummies & holiday-inspired recipes you definitely don’t want to miss. & to check out ALL of our crafty & creative projects go HERE.

today, our featured blogger is the very extremely lovely myra, of my blessed life. myra writes…

Hi fabulous ATK readers! I’m Myra from My Blessed Life and I’m super excited to be here with y’all today! I love making handmade gifts, so the Holiday Craft Along is the perfect challenge I need to get my Christmas-prep started. Today I’m sharing an easy gift idea that is sure to please all the women in your life – a Handmade Framed Jewelry Holder!

The great thing about this jewelry holder is that it doubles as chic wall art. Cool stuff!

Supplies Needed:

• Wood Picture Frame {I snagged this one for 0.25 at a yard sale!}
• 1″ Chicken Wire {$6 for a roll at my local hardware store}
• 1/2 yard Burlap {This measurement completely depends on the size of your frame}
• Scissors
• Hot Glue Gun & Glue Sticks
• Wire Cutters
• Small Cup Hooks
• Staple Gun & Staples
• Picture Hanger

Measure your frame to determine what size to cut the chicken wire. From there, roll out the chicken wire and hold in place with heavy books while you cut out the size you need. Let’s just say that I was surprised that chicken wire is dirty before it even gets around it’s first chicken. Ha! You can wipe it down with a damp cloth.

Cut burlap strips. Since my frame was large, I cut my strips 2.5″-3″ wide.

Wrap the frame in burlap by securing the end with hot glue. Wrap each side and then wrap the corners. I like how the burlap looks wrapped on the diagonal, but just do whatever suits your fancy!

Once the frame is entirely wrapped in burlap and glued down, use a staple gun to secure the chicken wire to the back of the frame.

My local hardware store didn’t have silver cup hooks, so I picked up these. I used a bit of nickel spray paint to make them the color I needed.

Nail a picture hanger to the center-back of the frame, so it can be hung on the wall.

I screwed two hooks in on each side of the frame so it would be balanced and not hang crooked when necklaces were added to the hooks. You can customize this idea for exactly what you want – more hooks or no hooks at all!

To give my jewelry holder a bit of extra pizazz, I attached a few embellishments. I love the added color and texture!

And there you have it, folks – an easy, handmade framed jewelry holder…for under $10 {depending on what you have on hand}! I have so much chicken wire left over that I think I’ll be making several of these gifts for family and friends!

I would love for you to come by and visit me at My Blessed Life where I recently shared two other fantastic handmade gift ideas – His & Hers Lap Trays and DIY Button Monogram!

for more great ideas be sure to visit myra at her blog my blessed life, & follow her every move on twitter, facebook, stumbleupon & pinterest

about myra: Myra is wife to her childhood sweetheart and mommy to a rambunctious two year old named Ridley. She enjoys blogging at My Blessed Life about thrifty home decor, diy projects, crafts, recipes and more to inspire you to creatively thrive in your home. Connect with Myra…Twitter | Facebook | Stumbleupon | Pinterest

baking, crafting & sewing along at home? don’t forget to play show & tell… upload your photos to our flickr group HERE. follow along with all of our featured bakers, crafters & sewers on twitter HERE, & tweet about the holiday-inspired “bake, craft & sew along” using the hashtag #handmadeholiday.

{ 18 comments }

for the entire month of september will be baking, sewing & crafting up a storm, preparing handmade gifts for this holiday season…

welcome to our holiday-inspired “bake, craft & sew along.” we will be baking, sewing & crafting up a storm, preparing handmade gifts for this holiday season all month long. yep! yep! 30 days of projects. so dust off your sewing machine, & head on over to skip to my lou for some fabulous sewing projects. a southern fairytale is spotlighting lots of edible yummies & holiday-inspired recipes you definitely don’t want to miss. & to check out ALL of our crafty & creative projects go HERE.

today, our featured blogger is the woman with ten zillion talents, cheryl, of tidymom.net. cheryl writes…

Hi everyone!!! My name is Cheryl and when I am not in the kitchen baking or running around with my camera you can find me over in my little corner of the universe at TidyMom.net where I share my favorite recipes, household tips tips, crafts and even a little photography……..a place for everything.

I was just thrilled when Kelly, Cindy and Rachel asked me to participate in the Holiday Bake, Craft and Sew Along again this year! I knew JUST what I wanted to share.

Snow Filled Monogram Ornaments

We made these Snow Filled ornaments two years and enjoyed them so much, they were first on our list again last year! This is a GREAT last min gift idea, because you can seriously make one in under 5 mins. Super easy and fun for kids to make for teacher, friends or one for their own tree!

Supplies:

• 1 clear glass ball ornament
• Epsom salt (you can buy this at any drug store, super store or even the dollar store)
• Ribbon
• Vinyl initial

Instructions:

1. Removed hanger from ornament
2. Fill ornament 1/2 full with snow “Epsom salt”
3. replace hanger
4. add vinyl letter (you can buy vinyl letter at the craft supply store, or cut them with your craft cutter)
5. add ribbon bow around hanger.

They even look nice with out the vinyl……….

What a great gift for anyone, but especially for those who don’t have snow!

For another great hand made gift idea, make these easy sugar scrubs, they can have all the glamour of a luxurious spa gift. They’ll never guess how easy they were to make!

for more great ideas be sure to visit Cheryl at her blog TidyMom, & follow her every move on twitter & facebook.

baking, crafting & sewing along at home? don’t forget to play show & tell… upload your photos to our flickr group HERE. follow along with all of our featured bakers, crafters & sewers on twitter HERE, & tweet about the holiday-inspired “bake, craft & sew along” using the hashtag #handmadeholiday.

{ 10 comments }

for the entire month of september will be baking, sewing & crafting up a storm, preparing handmade gifts for this holiday season…

welcome to our holiday-inspired “bake, craft & sew along.” we will be baking, sewing & crafting up a storm, preparing handmade gifts for this holiday season all month long. yep! yep! 30 days of projects. so dust off your sewing machine, & head on over to skip to my lou for some fabulous sewing projects. a southern fairytale is spotlighting lots of edible yummies & holiday-inspired recipes you definitely don’t want to miss. & to check out ALL of our crafty & creative projects go HERE.

today, our featured blogger is the totally awe-inspiring mandy, of little birdie secrets. mandy writes…

I’m Mandy from Little Birdie Secrets and I am so excited to be a part of the Holiday Craft Along again this year! I loooove the holidays and the these brilliant ladies are getting me to work on my Christmas crafts before December 15, which is huge for a procrastinator like me. I’m sure none of you out there have that problem. But just in case, here’s a super quick and easy gift you can throw together for neighbors and friends for less than $1.50 each.

 Supplies:
*Citrasolv Natural Cleaner & Degreaser and small bowl (find it at Whole Foods, some craft stores, or on Amazon.com)
*Fabric dish towels (I used flour sack dish towels.)
*Image copied on a copy that uses toner (inkjet printed copies will NOT work–go to your local copy shop where toner-based copies will run you around $.08-.10 each)
*Wide paint brush
*Spoon
*Stack of newspaper
*Scotch tape or sewing pins
*Iron
*Towel
*Embellishments (optional–I used buttons and ribbon, but you could also incorporate stencils and paint, beads, etc.)

I found these tea towels, or flour sack towels, in a 2-pack at WalMart. They used to sell them a 5-pack for $6, like when I was making a ton of these Christmas tea towels, but no more. The good news is the 2-pack is actually cheaper per towel–only $.98 each!

Choose a black and white image, or desaturate a color image in your photo editing software, and print it out in reverse if you have any text. (The image used here is from the fabulous Graphics Fairy. I went with a vintage graphic because then I didn’t have to worry about how well the transfer was made–if it wasn’t perfect it would just add to the vintage look!) Take your printed image copy store and make copies with their toner-based copier. Note: Inkjet home printers and color copies will not work. Be sure to use REVERSE image for anything with text, or it will come out backward! To reverse, open it in photo editing software and flip it horizontally before printing.

Be sure to work in a well-ventilated area. Lay your fabric out on top of a stack of newspaper. It’s good to have a little cushion to make the burnishing easier later. Put your copy image-side-down on your fabric and tape or pin in place (you don’t want it to move or you’ll have a blurry image). Pour a small amount of Citrosolv in a bowl and have your paint brush ready.

 

 

This is the step that will make your image transfer to the fabric–burnishing. Rub the entire image with the back of a spoon, being careful not to miss any spots.

When you’re sure you’ve covered it all, carefully life the copy off the fabric. If you do it slowly and notice you missed a spot, you may be able to replace it and burnish it a little further, but this is a good way to blur your image, so I wouldn’t recommend it.

Now we need to heat set the image. Again, working in a well-ventilated area, place a towel over your ironing board (to protect it from smelling like Citrisolv!) and set your iron to the cotton or linen setting. Iron over the image to heat set it. And lastly, wash and dry it like normal to remove the Citrisolv completely from the fabric.

You may be completely done now, or you may choose to embellish your towel. I used a little ribbon (see our easy ribbon ruffle tutorial for a little fancier edge) and some ric rac. Then I sewed on a few vintage-looking buttons and voila! A beautiful gift for just over $1 each.

    

 

Wrap it up with some ribbon and a cute tag and you’re ready for gifting! Or included it with a home baked treat for an extra special gift.

I recently made up a few of these towels for Halloween and some french-inspired ones for thank yous and birthdays. They are such a quick project! I hope you’ll come see us over at Little Birdie Secrets for more holiday ideas. Happy crafting!

about little birdie secrets: Little Birdie Secrets was born from the crafting obsession of friends. It started with crafting playdates and blossomed into a place where we could share our ideas, knowledge, and finished projects with fellow crafters. Our mission is to share fun and creative crafting projects, tips, and tutorials to make crafting easier and more fun.

baking, crafting & sewing along at home? don’t forget to play show & tell… upload your photos to our flickr group HERE. follow along with all of our featured bakers, crafters & sewers on twitter HERE, & tweet about the holiday-inspired “bake, craft & sew along” using the hashtag #handmadeholiday.

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