Homemade Gifts

I really would like to make an extra effort this year to make more gifts throughout the year, not just at Christmas time. Well, not really an effort as these projects are things I like to do and I want to make things I have to do and things I want to do coincide more. Make sense?

My first opportunity came with an unexpected birthday invitation for my daughter. Her friend is turning 7 and here's what we put together for her party today:



A crafty, drawing tote! This little girl is not very frilly, but she likes art, so I thought that a pencil roll would fit the bill.



To personalize the tote, I sketched a letter "j" and fused it on with Wonder Under and a bit of zig zag stitching.



For the roll, I used a yard piece of crazy, tie-dye fabric (a favorite of the recipient), quilted the fabric with flat, cotton batting and crazy-colored thread, and turned up the edge for a self-made pocket. I left the batting out of the pocket area to make it less bulky and we tucked in a set a colored pencils.



Erin added a custom label on the sketch pad and a fun picture of the birthday girl (or is it Abraham Lincoln?) and we're ready to go!