Handmade Holiday, Anyone?

[Haven]

I love making gifts for the holidays, anyone else with me?

I just made my first sock monkey today. I think he turned out pretty darn adorable, if I may say so myself. I hand stitched this one, but I'm going to borrow my mom's sewing machine for the ones I'm going to make for the kids because he took a while to make.

Please post your handmade gifts if you have any!

 

[packrat]

Aw he''s cute! You did a great job on him! I love sock monkeys. I''m not crafty, and have never made anything-would love to be tho!

 

[tyty333]

Adorable! I''m not handy enough to make gifts! You should ask for a sewing machine for xmas...you can get
a fairly simple decent one in the low $200s. Very handy for crafts and minor tailoring issues.

 

[kama_s]

Haven, your sock monkey looks fantastic! The kids are going to love it!

I don''t have any pics of the hand-made gifts I''ve made before (I don''t do it regularly, every 2-3 years). This year I''m making plates and bowls out of clay. I finished all my projects in my pottery class, with 2 classes to spare - so that''s going to go into making the gifts. They''re going to be similar to these ones I made earlier:

 

[packrat]

Kama, those are SO pretty! All 3 of them you made? Awesome! I wish we had a place to take a pottery class around here-we did it in art class my Freshman year in HS and I loved it. I might even still have 2 of the dish type things I made packed away someplace around here.

 

[kama_s]

Date: 11/7/2009 12:31:36 PM
Author: packrat
Kama, those are SO pretty! All 3 of them you made? Awesome! I wish we had a place to take a pottery class around here-we did it in art class my Freshman year in HS and I loved it. I might even still have 2 of the dish type things I made packed away someplace around here.

Thanks, packrat!! I did make all three The plate is hand-made, the two bowls were made on the wheel. I''m not too good on the wheel though, so I ended up beating the bowls into a cushion shape since I couldn''t get it to be perfectly round!

I''d definitely recommend pottery classes if you can find any in your area, so much fun and so relaxing.

 

[Haven]

Thanks, guys!

Kama--I love your pieces, they''re beautiful! I collect hand potted mugs, so pottery has a very special place in my heart. I love how each piece tells a story about a particular time and place. I always remember where and when I got each mug, so when friends come over and pick one out for tea or coffee I tell them where their choice came from. Those are going to be really special gifts!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Very cute Haven.

Kama - Love the bowls and plate you made.

I''ve always aspired to make soy candles as gifts. . .one of these years

 

[kama_s]

Date: 11/7/2009 1:56:07 PM
Author: Haven
Thanks, guys!

Kama--I love your pieces, they're beautiful! I collect hand potted mugs, so pottery has a very special place in my heart. I love how each piece tells a story about a particular time and place. I always remember where and when I got each mug, so when friends come over and pick one out for tea or coffee I tell them where their choice came from. Those are going to be really special gifts!

Haven, you are a woman after my own heart! I've made two mugs so far, and I'm hoping to slowly build a whole collection as well. I LOVE unique mugs. I got my inspiration from my MIL, who collects Marc Tetro animal mugs. I'm very picky about my mugs, I spend a few minutes every morning trying to figure out what mug I'd like to use that day!

I'd love to see pictures of your collection, if you have any and wouldn't mind sharing. Where do you get your mugs from? Are the mugs made my family/friends or do you get them when you travel etc? I'd love to know more.

Also, thanks for your kind comments. I'm new to pottery, so my pieces are far from being perfect. But I'd like to think it gives each piece more character.


ETA: Thanks so much, MC!

 

[Haven]

Kama--Those Marc Tetro mugs are adorable! I just googled them, love those puppy faces.

I''m really impressed with your pottery. I took a pottery class once and it was so incredibly difficult for me. I''m generally pretty artistically inclined, so it was so frustrating to be so bad at it!

I get my mugs from any and everywhere, really. Many of them have been gifts from friends, they always seem to find great mugs when they''re traveling. I like to buy mugs around big life moments for my friends and family. For example, the day after one of DH''s good friends proposed to his then-girlfriend, we met the happy couple out at a street fair. I found a Serbian potter at the street fair with some really gorgeous mugs so I bought one from her. (DH''s friend is Serbian, so it was a cool coincidence.) Now I call that mug the "Alex and Jen engagement mug" and whenever someone pulls it out to use I tell them about it.

I buy a lot of them from local potters at art fairs, too. I love supporting local artists. AND, Salvation Army always has one or two great mugs, seriously. I''ve bought many gorgeous hand potted mugs for $0.50 or $1, it''s amazing.

I have a couple pictures of part of my collection. The first shows the actual collection next to a photo of the hallway that it''s in. You can kind of see the shelving on the left side of the hallway.

 

[Haven]

I'm sorry, I'm such an awful photographer.

Here's a closer shot of some of the mugs. The squat brown mug on the right side is the one that started my obsession. It was my mother's, and I've coveted it since childhood. She always told me I could have it when I get a house of my own, and now I do.

ETA: I took the top photo a while ago. You can see that I've rearranged since then. I give mugs away or use them as bookends as new mugs come in.

 

[qtiekiki]

Haven
The sock monkey is so cute. I love them.

Kama
Those bowls and plate are amazing, better than store bought ones.

I haven''t done handmade gifts for ages. I knitted DH a scarf once when we were dating. I make polymer clay figurines for a couple friends before, but nothing fancy.

 

[packrat]

Those are so neat Haven! I like the one that''s almost in the middle-under the turquoise and red one.

 

[EricaR]

I make my own greeting cards and give them to people in sets. Here are a few I''ve done so far this year...

 

[EricaR]

I love how simple this one is!

 

[EricaR]

I love the rich brown color on this one.

 

[EricaR]

Last one - my favorite. This one is a knockout in person.

 

[Mara]

haven those sock monkeys are adorable!!!

kama love that plate you made..!

erica, great cards! i used to do stamping and i made our holiday cards one year, it was so fun.

this year we are being frugal so i am considering making cupcakes for most everyone local except for immediate family.

 

[kama_s]

Haven, your mug collection is just absolutely divine! I love your shelving display too, what a fantastic idea! So wonderful that each piece tells a story, a little glimpse into your life.

As for the pottery, this is my first session ever. My first two classes were incredibly frustrating. I'm a perfectionist, and I was just not able to translate what I had in mind to clay. And that made me feel so defeated. I really wasn't enjoying pottery at all. That's when I realized that I was being much too hard on myself, and it was bringing nothing but unhappiness. So class 3 I told myself that I didn't need to make something perfect, and that having a lopsided bowl just gives it more Kama personality and it's something I can laugh about later. Removing the pressure from myself really helped, I began enjoying the classes and let my hands do the talking. I'm enjoying it SO much more, and I'm loving the pieces I'm potting. I just thought I'd share this with you, because I'm wondering if you, like myself, might be too hard on yourself and expecting perfection in your pieces?

 

[kama_s]

Erica: Your cards are gorgeous! I wish I were that artistic!

qtiekiki: Thank you so much for your kind words!

Mara: Thanks! The cupcakes sound delish.

 

[miraclesrule]

This thread makes me feel extremely untalented.

I admire all of you who have such wonderful talent. The sock monkeys are adorable. That pottery plate is to die for. I want.

The cards...Erika, OMGosh, don''t those get expensive to make?? They are fabulous.

 

[soocool]

I have a incredibly crafty friend. She is going to teach me to make fragrant cinnamon spice pine cones and ornaments out of used Christmas cards.

 

[oddoneout]

Wow you''re very talented. I love the sock monkey. I sometimes bake things but that''s about the extent of my craftiness.

 

[oddoneout]

The cards are fantastic!

 

[packrat]

Beautiful cards Erica!

 

[noelwr]

yay! I love crafts. here are some holiday gifts I made the past years...

first is a stocking for my husband. it was sew by number, so I didn''t design this myself. making a different one for my mom this year.

 

[noelwr]

here are some mittens I knit for my brother. due to a stroke, he is paralyzed in his right hand and his hand is often clamped into a ball, so regular mittens with the thumb are too long and don''t work for that hand. so he needed a mitten with no thumb. I used a pattern for the mittens, but kind of just left out the thumb bit on one of them.

 

[noelwr]

by the way... I just came on here and started posting my own, but I also have to say that I really love everyone else''s talents!

Haven - did you knit the monkey pieces before sewing it together?

kama_s - how long does it take you to make the pottery? do you have a special oven at home?

EricaR - those are truly beautiful! do you come up with the designs yourself? the last one is also my fave.

 

[cammy85]

Oh my goodness, the sock monkey, the mugs, the mittens, the stocking, the cards, the pottry, everything - I LOVE IT! I have been sewing for a few years now - started quilting in college by hand, finally bought a sewing machine and have since made several quilts, as gifts. I also made pillows for several occasions and now am making embroidered pillows for this year. I tend to go on spurts. Now that we have our new house, I''m making decorations for it because we don''t have the money to go out and buy a ton of things.

I would absolutely love to take a pottery class and throw a few bowls and do freeform things, those handmade mugs are divine!

I love seeing everyone''s projects!

I''m attaching the pillows that took forever to make, but turned out so cool in the end, they were very well-received! I hope the picture works

 

[lilyfoot]

Wow, everything in this thread is awesome!

My brother would love those Mario pillows!