Handmade Holiday Week! Let's Get Our Embroider On!!

I LOVE that Plain and Joyful Living is doing a weekly series on handmade holiday ideas and inspiration.

One thing we have been trying to avoid is the rampant consumerism that goes along with being parents...especially during the holiday season.  We all know there is a strong movement towards "less is more" during the holidays...people are feeling the stress and the loss of the true meaning of Christmas!

The reason we feel inspired to do a series of posts on having a handmade holiday is because if you're truly committed to doing this, you gotta start soon!  Christmas is less than four months away, and it will be alot less stressful and alot more enjoyable if you can start thinking about what you're going to do now, and work away at it bit by bit until the holidays hit!  Last year I started embroidering!  I should warn you, if you haven't done any yet, it can be addictive!  There is a great book called Doodle Stitching which is well worth checking out if you're new at embroidery.

Here's a sweet gift idea for any grown up, (kid at heart).  A gnome inspired tea towel.  The embroidery pattern can be found HERE!  There are many more wonderful and quirky patterns to be found with a bit of searching!  The plain, flour sack tea towels are easy to find.   Mine came from Sew Mama Sew, but I've also seen them at Canadian Tire, and really you could use any plain tea towels to embroider on!

I think this would make a lovely and thoughtful present for any mama on your list.

(or other loving souls who spend their days at the sink doing dishes)!

Here's another lovely embroidered idea.  I think it was Soulemama who made this popular!  Take a piece of your childrens artwork, and embroider it onto a piece of fabric.  You could do this as a gift for your child, (I know my daughter was mesmerized to see her drawn work of art come to life on a piece of fabric), or as a gift to a grandparent.  These embroidered pictures could be hung in a frame, turned into a pillow or added to a quilt.

I asked Ruby how she wanted her picture displayed...I was going to make it into a pillow, but she insisted that she wanted a wall hanging.  I must say it's about the sweetest thing to adorn her wall!  I did this for Christmas last year for her. 

And lastly...

the stocking!

I urge you...with the wealth of information on the internet and on sewing blogs, making a stocking is really a piece of cake!  British friends avert your eyes, (is what I did illegal?).  I found a British flag at the dump, and I grabbed it because my hubby is British Citizen.  I then cut it out and turned it into a special stocking for him!

For the girls I used the elf pattern on Wee Wonderfuls.  It is the cutest pattern I've seen!  Ruby insisted that she and Matilda should both have girl elf stockings...here is a closeup...

Each of their stockings has their name embroidered on it.  What a lovely Christmas surprise for the family!

Gotta get to work on one for me and the cat!

So, there's a few ideas to get your Homemade Holiday creative juices flowing!

Please share or add any ideas you have, project you are working on...let's inspire each other to keep it simple this year!

xo maureen