Christmas is just around the corner …

So if you read many craft blogs, you know that others have been preparing for Christmas since, say, July. I am not that kind of crafter.

Instead, I’ve been searching for Christmas ideas for easy crafts to make, with existing fabric. Times are tight in our house and I need something I can make for gifts for people, with my existing stash.

For others in the same situation, I’m including links of possible project ideas, so you can benefit, too!

I am really loving the idea of some homemade Christmas stockings. Here are some patterns/ideas I’ve found online:

Moda Bake shop pattern

Martha Stewart stocking

Easy pincushion for sewing friends

A rag rug

Adorable fabric house – I am super excited to try this

Cute mitten ornament

Sock reindeer stuffed animal

Lots of great softie inspiration

Another gift for Riley

I mentioned my cousin’s upcoming fourth birthday and the first part of his present here. The other half, I completed Sunday night.

Riley is the quintessential boy’s boy – he loves trucks, cars, anything with wheels. And recently, he’s fallen in love with fire trucks.

When trying to decide what to get him to go with the aforementioned monster mittens, I wanted to get something fireman/fire truck related but didn’t want to accidentally get him something he already had/would get for his birthday. So, after much deliberation, I decided to try my hand at creating a fireman puppet.

To the rescue

If I were to do it again, I might make a few changes. The hat isn’t quite right, and I would have sewn a separate jacket and sewed it on top of a puppet base. Nevertheless, I think it turned out pretty cute and I think a 4-year-old’s imagination might overcome my pattern’s shortcomings.

One of our dogs was certainly fascinated with the creation, though:

Mmm ... firefighter puppet ...

Nurse softie

I love surfing blogs for inspiration. I found these easy-enough looking softies here, that are just too adorable. I didn’t follow this pattern, but it did open my eyes to making softies outside of the animal realm.

I mentioned in an earlier post my burgeoning collection of acceptable career-based crafts. So far, there’s a nurse and a doctor. (No, the cowboy and matador don’t fall in the same category :))

Ta-da!

Handsewn puppet

I absolutely love making cute little projects out of felt. It’s a cheap, quick material to craft with. Total cost for creating this puppet was less than $1.

It’s part of the beginning of a series of admirable career-based toys. Coming up with this pattern, cutting everything out and sewing took a total of 1.5 hours, or about the length of one movie that you 1/2 pay attention to.

The doctor is in

Materials – white, off-white, black, chocolate brown felt. Several colors of embroidery floss.

Matadors

For a former vegetarian, I have one of the strangest collections ever. Ceramic matadors. But that’s another post.

The ridiculously gaudy statues inspired one of my latest softie creations, a stuffed matador and cow. And later, a matching cowboy and cow to go with.

Matador, cows, cowboy

My ridiculous collection of matadors also inspired an early, perfect Valentine’s day gift from my husband – a red ceramic bull. Awesome.