Place a pin in the center of the front of the bag. Measure 2 ½” from either side of the pin and mark a dot with a pencil. Measure down ½” from the top edge, place grommet piece against edge of ruler. With the pencil, trace inside of grommet. Using the punch that came with the grommet kit, punch hole…
With right sides together, match bottom seam to side seam. Pin and sew. Repeat for other corner of bag. Sew the bottom of the lining in the same way. Trim seam to ¼”. Turn the outside of the bag right side out. Insert outside of bag into the lining. Pin and sew around the top of the bag. Gently pull…
Tired of paying for gift wrap year after year? Do you cringe when you see that pile of paper on Christmas morning that you know will end up in the landfill (most gift wrap can’t be recycled.) There’s a simple and very elegant solution! Sew your own collection of gift bags. The initial cost may be a little more but…
Earlier this month I wrote a post about an activity that Dave and I call memory builders.  For this month’s Christmas on a Budget post, I will be discussing turning memory building activities into traditions. As a military family, we rarely lived close enough to family to have the traditional Christmas of visiting Grandma’s and Grandpa’s house on Christmas Day…
I love to sew, but I know there are those who either can’t or simply don’t want to, so for this month’s Christmas on a Budget post I thought I’d share two inexpensive no-sew ideas for things you can start collecting now to have ready come December. First up… Our family is making the switch from using paper gift wrapping…
Continuing on from Part 1 of Christmas on a Budget Series – Buy Christmas Fabric Only When On Sale I’ve been sewing for over 40 years, but the great thing about Christmas themed fabrics is that you don’t have to be an experienced seamstress to create really pretty Christmas gifts or decorative items for your home. For example, here’s a…
I very rarely buy fabric when it’s full price. On those occasions when I find I need fabric to complete a project and it’s not on sale, I try to find a 40% off coupon to use. But most especially, I never buy Christmas themed fabric at full price because it comes on sale at least twice a year.  Right…
That is not a typo in the title. You really can make Christmas gifts for less than $2 per gift. In some cases, for free except for the time and love you put into making them. As I mentioned in my first post in this series while our children are attending university/college, their big Christmas gift each year is their…
For our first Christmas on a Budget Series project, we start with a simple little no cost craft idea. Each year, I buy small Christmas themed boxes of tissue to put out for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. They are a little more expensive than regular tissue so I only buy three, one for the living room and one for…
I know, I know, it’s March and Christmas seems so far away. But if you’re planning on making gifts and Christmas decorations, etc the sooner you start… the more organized and relaxed your holiday season will be. Starting now and going forward, each month on the 25th I’m going to be posting budget saving holiday ideas. Budget Saving Idea #1…