Larri at Seams Inspired has come up with a brilliant idea for Christmas 2010. The Thrifty Christmas Challenge . You can read all about it here ...
And she has a page where you can link to your blog posts and show off your finds/ creations here . Feel free to play along!
The deal was I opened my big mouth and said I wanted to do some handmade gifts for Christmas. In public. On my blog. I am an idiot. It snowballed when Larri said she was doing Thrifty Christmas. I said "What a great idea" In public . On her blog. I am an idiot. Just kidding. I'm really excited about this idea.
By that time I was committed to the concept, so I created this blog because I don't want family and friends snooping round looking at what I'm up to. My family are sneaky that way. My friends are even sneakier.
So here are my rules:
- I'll try to make , thrift and use whatever I have wherever I can.
- I want the gifts to be meaningful for the recipients so I can't buy/make any old trash. Bugger. This is going to be hard. Kidding!
- I have a budget and I have to stick to it. I can buy supplies to make my creations or I can buy presents outright.
- Augmenting or embellishing gifts with additonal purchases is OK as long as the budget isn't exceeded.
- I can re-gift , recycle or use things I already have stashed and it doesn't count towards the budget limit.
- I will not make my Dad a tie for Christmas. Or an apron for my sister.
This week I'm showcasing Little P's presents ...most of which you will have already seen.
Love U Quilt - Handmade from Stash (by Quilting in My Pyjamas)
Marvin the Monster- Handmade (by Kris of Life at Rosemary Hill )
Car Playmat - a garage sale find a year ago. Meets the thrifty criteria.
Crayon Roll (handmade by moi)
I'm planning to make another one of these and fill it with pencils. And I bought some art paper so Little P can scribble to his hearts content . At his place. Not on my white floors. Yeah I'm the world's worst Bella. I'm waiting till he moves out then I'm going to buy him litres of poster paint. That stuff never washes out despite what they say on the container.
Anyway , I'm still under budget , and appear to be batting 100% so far!
Happy Thrifty Christmas Tuesday for this week.
Love them all! I've been making little "art books" similar to the crayon roll. One side has a place for the pencils, and the other side has a pocket for paper. I used cardstock and my printer to personalize, as in "Little P's Art." The sides fold together to create a book. I added a button and loop for the closure.
ReplyDeleteThanks for joining in on the Thrifty Christmas! Can't wait to see all your finds. :o) Happy Thrifting! Larri at Seams Inspired
Sounds and looks like you have it all under control. Lots of lovely presents for Little P. A great start to your Thrifty Christmas, I wish I was even half that motivated.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I should aim for Xmas 2011.
i want marvin the monster for ME!!!! those crayon rolls are great!!!!
ReplyDeleteYou are really doing well. I have just started thinking about what I want to give as presents this year. I will be making most of them.
ReplyDeleteOne year my ex and I purchased a drum set for her niece. We loved playing with her and the drums and loved to be able to walk away. Turns out a week or two later the drum set went back to the store! Wonder why!
When my girls were little, I bought a roll of butcher paper (36" or about a meter wide) and covered the walls in their room and the hallway with it. They never used their crayons off the paper, and whenever it was full, I'd take it down (clip out and keep the masterpieces) and put more back up. Really big paper could solve the Bella's white floor problem and you could go back to being the world's best Bella.
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great start to me! :D
ReplyDeleteI think it'll all be good if I can keep up the momentum and people dont look at me slitty eyed when I hand them handmade!
ReplyDeleteLittle P's quilt is brilliant. I love, love, love it! And the crayon roll is absolutely adorable! I've decided to boycott Christmas this year. But if I change my mind, I'm going your route.
ReplyDeletexo -El
Looks like a great start.
ReplyDeleteWay cool! You are off to an excellent start, and may inspire to try in 2011. I figure to have my boxes unpacked by about then.
ReplyDeleteI love the quilt -- did you use a pattern for it?
ReplyDeleteHi Lady K,
ReplyDeleteummmmmm...I've never made anything from a pattern in my life. I'm seriously challenged that way. This was just half a layer cake sewn together and part of jelly roll made into the piano key border. The blue stars is an old cot sheet I had in my stash. I was amazed it turned out as well as it did !
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