handmade holidays, continued...

here are some of the lovelies we made for christmas gifts that didn't quite make it into the pre-day posts...
my ultimate favorite gift made this year??...definitely ehren's doll! which he named "rudolph #4". ;)

a 16" waldorf doll, using joy's radiant doll pattern, which is apparently no longer being sold :(. i bought this pattern 3 years ago, as it has become a family tradition to give each of our children a waldorf doll for their 4th christmas.

i made him a few sets of clothes to go with him (2 shirts & 2 pants), just sort of winged it on the pants. but here is the pattern for the shirts. and (of course!) i had to knit him up some goodies!

he got a super cool pair of rainbow overalls

and a doll sized pilot hat...

this is my second go round & i think i did amazingly better...he is totally awesome! & already a part of our daily lives. he eats his meals with us, ehren gets him dressed when he is done dressing himself...he goes on our walks, & sleeps in our bed...wherever we are, rudolph #4 is never very far away!

there is nothing more satisfying than knowing that your gift is truly loved! (hooray!!)



for orin (our 10 year old)...sammi & i revamped his quilt. he made this quilt our first year homeschooling, he was 6~! this was his first sewing machine project ever...i helped him a bit here & there, but he did it 90% on his own. he entered it in the 4-H contest @ our local heritage festival & won honorable mention that year as well. he LOVES this quilt, so much that is was in shambles...the backing was 80% gone! & there were holes everywhere & squares completely gone in some spots...but he would never let me have it long enough to fix it. so a few months ago i stole it & hid it under sammi's bed...and a few weeks before christmas we set to work patching it & searching out a new backing for it. it turned out awesome & was definitely one of orin's favorite gifts...gotta love that!


lance has now asked us to fix up his blanket...we actually wanted to surprise him as well for christmas, but his quilt was made by his gramma & she has since passed away, so i wasn't sure if he would want us messing. he said though that he would rather be using it, that having it stowed away, so i guess well be working on that one soon. <3



my dad requested this ear flap hat. i knit it double strand as both him & my mom are both avid outdoor enthusiasts & i wanted the hat to be practical.





got the call on christmas & he loves it! (hooray!!) said he tried it out on their greenway one morning & is passed the test...:)

for sk (aka sammi), orin & i made an earring holder. she has LOADS!!! & no where to put them, so i poked around on etsy to get a few ideas & ran with it.


we found a *brand new* unfinished wooden photo frame @ our local thrift store, then i picked up some aluminum screening & some screen board @ lowe's. it didn't take too long to piece it all together...

sk loves it & while i was worried that there wouldn't be enough room for all her jewels, there is actually a bit of room to spare!

for more creative goodness & loads of inspiration, be sure to check out "creative friday" @ natural suburbia...LOVE IT!

here are links to our knitting & crafting endeavors...for even more inspiration & handmade goodness pop on over to natural suburbia linda's "creative friday"...

happy handmade holidays! xoxo...

even more handmade holidays/christmas goodies! :)

as always, we have been busy bees here @ the house...lots & lots of projects! i love it!! :)


first up is a lovely pair of legwarmers that aydin made for evyn (our 2o month old)

from a recycled sweater (of course)...his first sewing machine project. i think he did quite well...

a long overdue pompom that i made for papa...his hat lost his (well, actually his hat was attacked by our one of our two youngest & when the smoke cleared it was missing pompom ;)

this was last winter...and i have (finally) made him a new one. i think he will be quite pleased...

(side note: pompoms take quite a bit longer to make than i had originally thought...i now have a new respect for them)

hmmm...i think i told you that this pattern was addictive. do you believe me now??

in a variety of colors for various lovely ladies...;)

i also made a baby-sized one for ev...isn't is cute??

a bit of perspective for the niblet version...

(a bit of trivia...the niblet took about 3x longer to knit, who knew??)

another countless...this one for my sister-in-law...
handmade branch buttons to top them all off. made from a bit of birch that we trimmed off earlier this year & sealed with a bit of mama kopps beeswax finish.

a custom order keyhole scarf in rainbow for the shop...

not only gorgeous, but soft & squishy to boot!

i traded with another mama for a carrier (mei tei style), and made her these sweet pilot caps.

a gorgeous silk/merino wool blend...

this one is 100% silk, two shades of orange knit together...

and lastly, another custom order of felted soaps for the shop. this one in trade for some yarn.

i recently discovered that my brother's favorite colors are all things neon & gold. interesting, i think. i plan to knit him up a scarf for christmas. he lives in chicago & i know it would get put to good use. :)

this one was for another mama who had already ordered a couple of the soaps, but wanted more...gotta love that!

happy holiday crafting!! xoxo

more christmas crafting...& gifts that children can make!

first up, a super fun custom order i got to do for the shop...

a woman wrote me asking for custom felted soaps, after seeing this gone one in the shop...


felted soaps are fun enough to make on their own, but it is even more fun when you are making with with someone special in mind...
she told me about her stepmother who loves vintage...we pondered peace signs, yin yangs, bright orange & avocado circles, but ended up settling on a peace dove.
then she told me of her father, who is an avid outdoorsman...as soon as she mentioned kayaks, i KNEW that was going to be it! my parents, too, are very much into hiking, camping, canoeing & kayaking so this made me think of all of their adventures as well. :)

we also just finished up a couple of waldorf newborn/baby/baby shower doll & ball sets.

a gorgeous blue batik set... and a pink/purple paisley set...

i love these dolls & have always had one ready & waiting in the bassinet for our little ones on the way.

the balls are great because they are easy enough for the littlest ones to grasp & play with, but our older boys (4, 7 & 10) can play with them in the house without me having to worry about anything getting broken. :)

made from upcycled, natural materials to boot...

some recent finished knitting projects...of course! ;)

a super fun knit cowl...i love the buttons! these are amazingly toasty...

modeled by my sister sammi...

a gorgeous colorway we are calling 'sunset'...

will definitely be making more of these!

(ok, confession...i have already finished a second one, in green & have another on the needles. apparently these are addictive!)

next, final photos/modelling of the "countless scarf"...aka prayer scarf, soon to be on its way to our dear friend. <3>

more headbands for the shop...

am i lucky to have so many amazing (& willing) models, or what?? :)

KIDS CAN MAKE THESE!!

upcycled felt wreath ornaments/decor...

aren't they lovely?? and so very easy to make...

12-15" of a super strong thread, various felt square scraps (about 1" sq)...that's it!

well, and your own flare for color combinations!

for papa, we did a hand print canvas...
we each traced our hands on various parts of the canvas & then colored them in (well) with crayon.
then we added a lovely green watercolor wash (well, actually a gold wash the blue over top)

it turned out quite lovely , i think, thought the watercolors had a bit of a time settling in on parts of the canvas. i plan on doing one more coat before calling it done. :)

aydin made this fantastic wooden matching set for ehren, 13 matches...he was quite adamant about that part.

he drew some of ehren favorite things, lots of rainbow designs, rockets, woolly worms, an "E" for ehren, chickens...i LOVE them all!

then i wood burned the designs on & he went back over to really bring out their colors.

all that he needs to do now is seal it with a bit of our beeswax finish...lovely, no??

if you haven't already, please do join in on the trule spirit of christmas with "handmade holidays" (@ plain & joyful living).

need some more inspiration?? check out "creative friday's" (@ natural suburbia).

xoxo, holiday blessings...