Oh look the party circuit has started again……..and you mummies know I’m not talking about parties I’m invited to. We seem to have lots of parties in a row then it all goes quiet and then they start up again. I was giving away dresses to the first parties but then I never heard anything back about them so ditched the dresses and started buying the presents but now I’d love to make the presents again. I decided to use the cute font from the Don’t Look Now Worry Doll pattern and a pink tee. You can never go wrong with pink for a girl turning 6.
I must admit that my O is looking a little sad as I couldn’t for the life of me find my sharp pointy scissors to really get into the circle!
Now usually I would do blanket stitch around my applique but these are smaller letters than I’m used to so I’m going to do a simple running stitch by hand which should look cute and finish it off. We’ll team it with a few things we picked up at Please Eloise and I promise to show you the finished product tomorrow…………………I’d love to hear what is your favourite/most popular present that you make for birthday parties.
As alot of friends and family members all have little ones I love making the crayon rolls. They are so handy!!!!
I make beautiful pencil cases, with some ribbon detail, in Japanese printed fabrics. It a) makes sense to anyone – especially those who don’t get ‘handmade’ & still see it as ‘crap i made from home myself as it’s cheaper’ rather than a beautiful thoughtful gift, b) children LOVE them, c) saves the mother having to buy one, d) they can be used for things far beyond just pencils, e) when you have 4 children invited to 30 parties in September, you can whip up 10 pencil cases a night (when you review the party invitations on the fridge door & freak out, what can i make, quickly!!) & finally f) suitable for boys & girls of ALL ages, i get lots of high school girls asking for them too!!
Super cute Olivia top – i still do the blanket stitch, it hides any dodgy edges.
Small mercy – high school sees parties disppear off the calendar as does senior primary so we’re going to less & less parties these days. Love Posie
Oh this is going to be a super present Corrie. Already love the T and it’s not even finished yet! So pretty, Olivia is going to feel like such a special birthday girl receiving a top with her name on it :o) Look forward to seeing the rest in your next post xo
I’ve made quite a few car caddies from the tutorial on the Little Gems blogspot…they go down really well I’ve found and most people are blown away that I took the time to make a gift….I have my first girls’ party this month and am thinking of doing the fimo clay macaroons from the latest Burda magazine…yikes!
Here’s the link to my post on the car caddy.
suzy hausfrau car caddy
I’ve made pillowcases with their names (big) on them in the past. Even though I made them three years ago the pillowcases come on every school excursion, sleep over etc
I’ve also made little PJ 3/4 pants and just bought a cheap t-shirt to go with them. And for one friend I made a kid’s size apron and just paired it with a little wooden spoon and whisk.
Hi Corrie, I also have had a run of parties, so I have been making little clip bags for the girls (and making ribbon clips to go in them). I have been making little bean bags for the boys. Put them with a book and you’re done! I make them in bulk and just put them away, then I don’t feel as though it’s too much effort if I don’t get any thank yous. I really enjoy your blog, thanks!
The drawstring car bags I made for my nephews were well received. You could make the same for girls to store their barbies in instead of matchbox cars. The kids all seemed to like their pencil rolls too. For older kids you could do textas, and for younger ones, crayons.
Aprons and Chef hats for Kindergarten age children teamed with cook book and silcone bakeware. For school age girls Barbie Doll Clothes, Wedding Dress and Veil is always a big hit and then just some mix and match tops and skirts. Also Hairclips and little plastic covered fabric bags are good too
I’ve been making the reversible cape from the new Growing Up Sew Liberated book. So sweet and a quick and easy project too. Such a great book – highly recommended!!
What a gorgeous top, even without the stitching. Great ideas in the comments section too. Drawstring bags, headbands, hairties and beanbags are being given quite a bit from us at the moment. Depends on the age of the child.
Oh lucky birthday girl! I’ve done initialled mini beanbags, drawstring bags, little notebooks. I tend to think that anything bespoke with the child’s name featuring goes down well.
I generally make a headband or scarf with a book. (I also have my own label so sometimes I pick something from there). But the other night I made some superhero capes for 2 of my kids and have such a great response for other mums (and a few orders) that for the next birthday I will be doing that. I found the free tutorial here:
http://thelongthread.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/superhero-cape.pdf
It’s reversible and was super easy to do.
Looks lovely. I like doing applique on baby clothing too. It has a charm about it. They always seem to turn out so sweet! I recently appliqued a bib (not sure on the practicality, oh it won’t be my problem haha) and it looked SOOOO cute!!!
Oh and make sure you join into my Wool Giveaway!!! I think you could put all of it to good use.
http://achristyproduction.blogspot.com/2011/09/giveaway-baa-baa-black-sheep-have-you.html
Corrie – I have made your Summer dress as Christmas presents last year. Thinking I will give your t-shirt a go. Lovely work. Look forward to the finished product.
For my little Lulu’s 4th birthday last week, I made hairties using a yoyo maker and put these in my no lolly take home bags for her guests
I totes think that if you felt like starting a new business (with all that spare time you have, of course) you could do a fab trade in handmade birthday gifts!!! x
I love handmade presents so much! but I only give them to certain people now… because sadly some of them haven’t been well received… some people have considered them a “cheap” gift, when it’s cost me way more in materials and effort than a gift from the store… i’ve realised not everyone appreciates (or even likes) handmade… and sometimes you need to make things yourself in order to understand the love and care that goes into a handmade present
i make sweet little IPOD or DSI pouches for the kids to give for birthday presents, i think ive posted a pouch on my blog a few months back
5pumkins.blogspot.com
i embroider little rainbows on them, its fun..
26 years ago a neighbour ..another young Mum gave my Birthday 2yr old a Tshirt she’d appliqued a flower on. I was so thrilled amazed and touched to be given a little piece of her time and creative energy. I still have the T shirt and even remarked about it in a letter to that Mum yesterday (can you believe) We now live far apart but she is my bestest friend from Young Mum days.
Fantastic! Now this is embarrassing, but I don’t know how to do a blanket stitch!! Must google now…
Lots of great ideas here. I’ve made t-shirts or bodysuits with initials appliquéd on, Oliver and S popover dresses, sun hats, crayon rolls. But I agree that you need to pick your recipient, not everyone appreciates hand made (their loss)
When Miss13 turned 4, I made her a Supergirl cape, VERY simple, a couple of metres of (hideous) cheap hot pink sequined stuff from Spotlight, gathered into a wide satin ribon for the tie. Her little friends admired it so much they all got one for their birthdays, in different (but equally hideous) colours. And when they get together now (not often as they are all at different high schools) more often than not the Supergirl capes make an appearance. And we mothers stare in bewilderment at our teenagers and wonder how we got there!
But I do pick my audience for handmade, lots of people don’t appreciate/understand the concept.