Last month, for my Christmas on a Budget Series, I wrote about Building Traditions by repeating memory building activities year after year. One tradition that I started when our children were little was to make them a new Christmas ornament every year to hang on the tree. The idea was that by the time they left home, they would each…
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…
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…
I’ve moved two more projects from the Unfinished Projects to the Completed Projects list on my 2011 – The Year of Getting Things Done page. First, is this crocheted beaded Christmas tree garland: I made two of these garlands a couple of years ago and then one again last year, but that still wasn’t enough garland to go all the…
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…
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…
Do you have an old cradle that you’d like to update with new bedding to give to a little one in your life? Or perhaps you’ve purchased a new doll cradle that didn’t come with any bedding. In this post, I’ll share how I went about making the bedding set for the doll cradle that I had been saving to…
Just after we moved to Northwest Georgia, I came across a handmade doll cradle at a garage sale. At the time, I had intended to sand it down, paint it white and do a tole painting of a teddy bear on the ends.  The plan was to use the cradle to display my childhood teddy bear and two of my…
Now that one of the larger secret Christmas projects is finished, I’ve decided to pull out an old WIP. I made this baby quilt top a little over three years ago. I actually made two of these; one with teddies on a yellow background and this one on the green because I wasn’t sure which I wanted to send to…
Do you like building puzzles but don’t have space where you can build them? A puzzle mat is the perfect solution! It can be laid out on the floor or dining room table, then when you’re done working on it for the day, it can be rolled up and put away for later. The only problem with the Puzzle Mats (<<affiliate…
