I don't like to rush the Christmas season but when you are doing it yourself you need some lead time. For this reason only, for the next several days I am going to be posting many of the gifts I have made and given that received "thumbs up! over the years." Hopefully I will include something you can use---or something that sparks an idea you can develop.
I'd love to hear about your ideas. I can be reached at thecreativecheapskate.gmail.com. You can also contact me if you have any questions about the things I post.
One of my earlier August posts "When the Catalogs Start Coming . . ." will give you a head start on copy-cat gifts.
Simple Barrette Holders
Girl With Braids (sorry I cannot remember the original 1996 catalog price for this one)
 |
| This barrette holder is from my 1996 self-published bookette "Simply Centsational Gifts" |
1 10x20 inch piece of felt, any color
1 9x12 inch piece of pink or flesh colored felt
1 skein of heavy rug yarn for hair
1 scrap of matching color felt for bangs
scraps of felt for eyes and mouth
needle and thread
12 inch rod or piece of doweling
glue gun or glue suitable for felt
embellishments as desired
Fold under two inches across top of large felt section. Stitch to make a casing for the dowel. Cut circles from flesh or pink felt to make face. Cut eyes and mouth from felt scraps and glue into position on face. Glue face to background. Cut bangs from hair-colored felt and glue on face.
Cut pieces of yarn, each 50 inches long. Fold the yarn in half and tie in the middle with a shorter piece of yarn so you have a 25-inch "lock" of hair. Sew this securely at crown of head where bangs meet. Divide the hank into three and braid. Secure the bottom of the braid with a piece of yarn. Repeat the process with second braid.
Decorate as desired. I like to sew bows where the top of the braid meets the crown and at the bottom of the braid. You can fasten barrettes in those locations also. To hang, slip dowel through casing. Fasten additional yarn to each end of the dowel, making a loop that will hang over any hook or nail. Fasten barrettes up and down the braids.
 |
| This barrette holder is from my 1996 self-published bookette "Simply Centsational Gifts" |
Ribbon Barrette Holder
Another catalog sold a cute barrette holder, similarly sized. It has three polka dot grosgrain ribbons running the length of the backing piece to hold the barrettes. The ribbons are stitched to the backing across the top and the bottom, leaving the middle area loose to fasten the barrettes to. The bottom edge of the backing is folded up to hold a hair brush or hair bands. It hangs by two loops. Three barrettes are included and the 1996 price was $19.95.
Remember: Each post for the next several days will show a variety of gifts, for all ages, you can make yourself----simply, quickly and cheaply.
No comments:
Post a Comment