I don't know if I've ever mentioned it, but this spring I started making handmade tutus- both for Lily and to give away as gifts. I'll have to post about it the next time I make one. I think that these tutus were the first things (other than pictures) that I had handmade to give away (as an adult). With the success of the tutus behind me I began feeling a little more creative and a little more brave- so I decide that I would try to do a few homemade gifts for the kids this Christmas! I just love the idea of handmade things- whether made by me or by someone else. So, here are my first attempts at homemade gifts for Lily and Eli. The above is a picture of a little stuffed monster I made for Eli. This was my first attempt ever at making a little stuffed animal and while it is far, far, far from perfect I kind of love it. Along the way I decided to just let go, accept the many imperfections, and just enjoy the process of creating. The lines weren't straight and the seams were terribly uneven and all over the place- he's a mess really! And yet it kind of reminded me of myself: created with much joy- a terrible mess at times- and yet loved by my Creator none-the-less. He is such a cute little monster- perfect for my little Eli. I've decided that we will call him "Ya-Ya" since this is one of the few things that Eli can say (and does over and over again)!
And this was one of my favorite presents of the holidays- homemade plays silks for Lily! I've been thinking and planning and dreaming of making them for about a year and a half! Somehow I convinced my friend Laura to do them with me which made it all the more fun. We bought white silk scarves and painted them with beautifully colored silk paints. It was a messy, long process and once again I had to learn to accept the imperfections but somehow it felt so much more fulfilling to do them ourselves rather just buy them (and much less expensive too)! The colors did fade a bit when they were washed, but they are still so beautiful! And now that it's after Christmas I can share that Lily loves them and that they have been used in the many many ways I was hoping! My favorite so far was watching her use the blue one as water and the green one as grass for the horses in the new wooden stable she got for Christmas.
They are no longer neatly folded and tied in the basket- they have now been loved on a bit!
To go with the playsilks I made Lily these colorful clothespins (so that she can clip the silks to make things like capes or dresses or whatever she can imagine).
And not to leave Eli out I made these pained doll pins for him. He is fascinated just taking them in and out of the bucket- such a hit! There are 12 solid ones and 12 polka dot ones so I also envision them someday being used for counting, learning colors, and other assorted games!
And this was one of my favorite presents of the holidays- homemade plays silks for Lily! I've been thinking and planning and dreaming of making them for about a year and a half! Somehow I convinced my friend Laura to do them with me which made it all the more fun. We bought white silk scarves and painted them with beautifully colored silk paints. It was a messy, long process and once again I had to learn to accept the imperfections but somehow it felt so much more fulfilling to do them ourselves rather just buy them (and much less expensive too)! The colors did fade a bit when they were washed, but they are still so beautiful! And now that it's after Christmas I can share that Lily loves them and that they have been used in the many many ways I was hoping! My favorite so far was watching her use the blue one as water and the green one as grass for the horses in the new wooden stable she got for Christmas. 
They are no longer neatly folded and tied in the basket- they have now been loved on a bit!
To go with the playsilks I made Lily these colorful clothespins (so that she can clip the silks to make things like capes or dresses or whatever she can imagine).
And not to leave Eli out I made these pained doll pins for him. He is fascinated just taking them in and out of the bucket- such a hit! There are 12 solid ones and 12 polka dot ones so I also envision them someday being used for counting, learning colors, and other assorted games!So there it is- my homemade holiday! Of course the kids got a few other things that weren't homemade (at least not by me) and I had two other projects in the works that I just didn't find the time to finish (maybe for Valentines Day?)- but overall I'm so very happy with my first homemade attempts!
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