All Kinds Of Stuff To Make For Gifts

I know it's been a couple weeks since I last posted, and I had a hard time signing in. Wonder what's up with that?
Well, even though I've stayed in my nice dark "MomCave" resting, I was still creating. It's too hard to NOT have something for your hands to do! So, I used what was on the shelves and drawers near the bed, and made some things for Christmas and to sell. Maybe these are the perfect things for you to make for your family and friends.
These button pins would work for any age, in my opinion. I use them :D and I'm old! All you need is a package of bobby pins..you'll have somewhere between 50 and 100 bobby pins in a package for between $1 and $3. Or go fancy and buy some of those sterling plated pins at the craft store..more expensive! But I like the nice round coated tips of the less expensive bobby pins, and they're much easier to open and use.
You'll need:
bobby pins
an assortment of buttons
invisible or thread in color to match
tacky glue




For the plain button ones, I simply slipped the shank buttons over the bobby pin, and used a dab of glue underneath. The buttons with holes, you may want to sew on with invisible thread, or your colored or white thread. Place a dab of glue underneath on the threads. I placed 3 different buttons on one card to give as gifts, and the card is plain cardstock-about 12 cents a sheet-cut into rectangles and holes punched into it with my handy dandy hole puncher :D You can also use some of those old Christmas cards you've been saving.



This is how I make a button flower. Cut a small piece of felt, make 2 slits in the center, and slip your bobby pin through it. Make the slits a little closer together than I did! Put a dab of glue under the felt. Choose 5 or 6 buttons for your petals, and a larger button for the center. Glue the petal buttons around the edge of the felt, and glue the larger button over the top of those. Make sure your larger button will touch all the smaller petal buttons, so you can glue them down. That's a small card I'd made to hold 2 buttons.


Here's what the button flower will look like.


These are example of button flowers I made, and how I'm giving them as gifts. A tree card from leftover Christmas cards will hold lots of bobby pins for some little girl :D I cut up an old card that had 4 mice on it for the flower buttons. An extra hole punched in will hold ribbon to tie to a package or your tree.


Aren't these gorgeous?? I made these in sets of 3,too. Go through your stash of silk flowers, and see what works for a bobby pin trio. I removed all the hard plastic parts, took the flower apart, and glued it back together. On the bottom flower, I used my tiny sharp scissors to poke an extra hole in, to thread on my bobby pin. Then glued the rest of the flower to it. Some I added glitter, seed beads, pearls, glitter glue,rhinestones.


Want an idea to package your gifts to give or to sell? Use fold top sandwich baggies and leftover or yard sale wallpaper border. Cut a strip the width of your bag, fold it in half, slip it over the top of your baggie, and staple it on each end. Pretty! This will work on smaller bags, all the way up to the larger bags. Make the wallpaper border any size you want, to make it easy for you to staple.


A short time ago, I bought 2 nice quilted pillow shams. I decided to make flea market or grocery bags from them. They may stay here for myself! I think I'm going with the old chintz look fabric, and I can use the plain blue fabric on the back for handles. Maybe sew on some ribbons and buttons?


Here's another gift idea, especially great if you're like me and have a little fabric stash. Re-usable grocery bags! I've been cutting these out in sets of 3, using a shopping bag as a pattern. Here's a link to the one I'm using, that has a pocket on the side you can fold the bag into itself to fit in your purse! It's at Craftster, a great site full of all kinds of ideas and tutorials!


And another plan is drawstring pouches made from these table runners I bought at a yard sale. What a bargain, 5 for $1, all brand new.
I'm waiting til after Thanksgiving to pull out the sewing machine. Looks like I'll have some sort of assembly line going one day, lol.
Hope you see something you like and make it!