Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Handmade Holiday Gifts!

Handmade for the holidays was the way I went this year, and how I plan to go for many years to come. I did lots of etsy shopping, requested some etsy gifts if people wanted to get me something, and made as many presents as I could. :) There's just something about handmade that feels like the holidays - it's not about the gifts you get, but the thought, and the spirit that accompanies gift-giving.

Anyway, here's what I made (and I learned a lot along the way)...


-My sister's Slytherin house/Harry Potter scarf is finally done after many hours of knitting! I got much faster and learned how to add fringe (which was much easier than it sounded) and how to switch colors in a scarf. Next time I'm going to make it skinnier - but I'm really proud about how this came out!

 


I used Lion's Brand thick yarn.

This inspired me to finish a scarf I literally, I kid you not, started three years ago. It's not a present for anyone in particular (although it may have been three years ago?) - so I've been wearing it - but I'm glad to be done with it! Now I'm learning to purl, finally! More on that soon.


-My brother's surprise stenciled t-shirt. He is SUPER excited about the first part of The Hobbit coming out next December - as am I - and since I made him a shirt for the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II premiere, I hoped he would enjoy this.




If you know the story, Bilbo Baggins (the hobbit) is on the left, holding his sword, Sting. I decided to make him without all the details of clothes because that would get complicated. But I made sure to add his furry hobbit feet! Next to him is Smaug, the dragon, who actually won't be seen until the second part of the movie in 2013 (I'm letting alllll the geekiness hang out tonight :) )



On the back, I stenciled the very famous line from the very first page of the book: "In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit..." using this great tutorial from Stay-at-Home Artist. The lettering was a bit tricky - I modeled it off of various Tolkien fonts, which I found on the internet (isn't the internet lovely?) I used acrylic paints for the whole shirt.

-A scrappy passport cover for my pink-loving friend Stef. She's going to Italy in 6 days - I'm hoping it gets to her just in time! I used bunnybum's tutorial, which I've used in the past. I made sure to leave a little more room so the passport didn't fit quite as snugly as the directions say. It's a great tutorial though!

  

All in all, I've been busy. I've been reading as many handmade holiday posts as I can - what did you make for the holidays?

Linking up to:  We Did It Wednesday @ Sew Much Ado
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? At Confessions of a Fabric Addict

6 comments:

  1. You have been a clever little cookie, hacen't you?

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  2. I love it when people give handmade and heartfelt gifts as opposed to going to WalMart. You did a great job!

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  3. Oooh, the scarf turned out great!! And I love the hobbit shirt too!

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  4. Cool stuff, Jessica! You have really been putting your creativity to work this holiday season. It's always such a special treat to get something handmade. Nice job on all of it!

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  5. Goodness, you've made a lot of pretty things, Jessica! Whoop whoop!!

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  6. Congratulations on the scarf from someone else who is just learning to knit! It's awesome:) You have some very creative ideas!

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