A Gnome Village

Christmas Idea #5

Build a gnome house out of wood

Buy some little wood people 

Wrap em in Wool and then in some yarn

 

Dress em in Felt

And make a gnome family

Make sure you buy extra - wooden dolls, felt, wool and yarn

Cause the kiddos will spend all Christmas day making a family all their own 

Wooden House via Flickr

Gnome people - Where to buy- here, how to wrap - here  and how to make clothes- here

Wooden dolls - Where to buy - here,  Ideas on how to paint - here

A Handmade Doll

Handmade Christmas Idea # 4

A handmade doll, stuffed with lambswool and finished with Mohair is so soft 

and loveable - softer than you can imagine. 

My sister made these sweet dolls.   After watching the tutorials linked on this blog 

which you can find here and here

she has fallen in love with the art of doll making

They are very very soft.  Much different than a store bought doll. 

A doll made by grandma or mom or even an aunt would be a cherished gift. 

After making some dolls we have learned the best places to purchase quality products 

and a few other tricks to doll making.

If you have additional questions leave me a comment or click on my photo on the 

sidebar where you will find my email - and I will respond!

Happy Doll Making!

diy Pretend Make Up and Play Purse

Handmade Christmas Gift Idea  #3

A handmade Christmas gift is so much fun to give.   Making something

that a child really uses is very rewarding. 

How about a diy play purse with pretend makeup tucked inside.

Guaranteed to encourage creative play!

This makeup is not real.   But it looks real!  

Little girls will love it.   

Emily at Not So Idle Hands is very clever to have thought this up. 

I love it!   And it costs $1.00 for each makeup pack if you recycle and visit the dollar store.

The Pretend Makeup How-To is Here

Now for the Play Purse to carry the Pretend Make-up

Being Brook provides the Play Purse How-To  Here

Girls Tutu Pattern

Handmade Christmas Gift Idea #2

Little girls LOVE to sing and dance.   A fun activity to do with your little one - 

Put on some music and dance together!

A new pink fluffy tutu would be a sweet handmade christmas present for a young girl 

Being Brook has a simple tutorial to teach you how.   I didn't realize how simple they are to make!

No sewing required. 

Visit Being Brook here

Felted Soap - Handmade

Handmade Christmas Gift Idea  #1

via etsy

Just in time for Christmas, I'm going to feature - each day - Handmade Gift Ideas

There is a button on my side bar that you can click to find them easily, for future reference.

If there's someone you really care about, nothing say's you love them more than to give a handmade gift.

Gift Idea - Felted Soap 

I'm seeing it everywhere

Anthropologie

These handmade soaps are wrapped in softly spun, naturally anti-fungal wool to create

an exfoliating, fragrantly lathering, long-lasting bathtime soap.   Similar to wrapping your soap in a washcloth and is naturally exfoliating. When the soap dissolves, reuse the pouf by making a small slit and slipping your own bar inside. 

This is a PERFECT handmade gift for children to make - with your help

It only takes about 15 minutes to complete each bar. 

What you'll need:  

A bar of soap, carded wool, a towel and a dish of hot water

Here is the How-To:

There are many places on the internet that sell wool roving - dyed in bright colors are my favorite

Each bar will be unique.   This site has a more complete tutorial and also sells the wool Here

Apothecary Console Plans

I've always LOVED the look of an Apothecary cabinet.   All those teeny tiny drawers.

I love the New England style and the Robins egg color!

But wait, this is much more simple to make than it appears, it only has 4 drawers

Ana White has a two step plan to guide you along.  Now you can make your very own.

*This project is for the more advanced builder*

I suggest starting with something small - like the distressed bench and work up from there.

The Apothecary Cabinet plans - step one are here

The Apothecary Cabinet plans - step two are here

Distressed Bench - Plans from start finish

I love the distressed look of this bench against the clean traditional moldings and walls. 

This bench would be a great addition in a family entryway.  
A place to sit down and take your shoes off.  
I'd put a few baskets underneath to store shoes and it would be perfect. 

Ana White will show you how to make this bench from start to finish, 

including the distressed painting technique. 

The Bench plans are here

Farmhouse Bed - California King Plans

Would you like to build a Farmhouse Style Bed for a California King size mattress? 

Ana White provides the plans and all you need to know to be successful here

Many of her readers have used her plans to build their projects

The photo's of their finished furniture pieces can be seen here

Toddler Sized Upholstered Daybed Plans

Theresa from Small Joys In Life 

made this toddler bed from the free plans off of Ana White's Blog.

I found Theresa's photo's on Flickr where Ana has a brag site.

There are so many people who have successfully built furniture from Ana's plans. 

I am amazed. 

I think Theresa's Toddler Day Bed may be my favorite.   I love the size, shape 

and the fabric she chose is perfect.   Visit Theresa's blog here

for a photo tutorial of her making the bed.

And Visit Ana White's Blog for the bed plans - Here

This is another version of the toddler bed via Flickr

Bunk Bed Plans

Inspired by the Land of Nod bunk beds,

Ana White created the plans and will share them with you for free! 

Visit Ana's site for the Bunk Bed Plans here

Batik Table Runner Made Without Wax

A Beautiful Table runner is made by Prairie Mother

Using an old seed corn sack, stencils, glue and acrylic paint

She made a beautiful piece of artwork to enjoy this Thanksgiving holiday! 

Visit her site for a fun and easy tutorial here

.

Cubbies and Locker Bench Plans

via Better Homes and Gardens

I could really use this storage bench on rollers in an area where we enter into our home. 

This is a great way to store shoes, etc out of the way! 

I also love the lockers and cubbies set up in the picture below.

Ana White provides bench with cubbies  here

And the locker with cubes plan is here

Both furniture pieces are were inspired by West Elm

Painters Ladder Shelf

Have you heard of Ana White's Website?   

If not, now you have.  And if you like to make things - like furniture, then you have 

hit a gold mine of free information.   Ana builds things and she shares the PDF patterns

on line - FOR FREE !!!   Not only that but her plans look like designer pieces 

right out of a catalogue

The Painter's Ladder Shelf plan is here