Last Minute Quick DIY Gift Ideas

I don't know about you, but I'm done with shopping.  I mean it.  All of my holiday shopping is complete.  Well, mostly.  Note I didn't say my gifts are done.  I am working on making as many gifts as I can on my own this year.  One problem is that I'm not great at arts.  I'm not a fantastic sewer, I can't crochet, I don't really paint.  So I thought I would share a few of the things that I'm working on for gifts in the next 13 days.  If you are receiving one of these - act surprised and pretend you like it!

Cheap & Easy Toddler Sleeping Bag

 This is a toddler sized sleeping bag.  The material cost me $2.88 at Walmart.  The project took about 15 minutes to complete.  I made 2 more out of some slightly more expensive fleece from JoAnn Fabric.  They turned out beautifully, I can't wait to give them to my boys as part of their camping play set.

Felt Camp Fire & Logs

Along with the sleeping bags, I've made a felt campfire and logs.  (I'm not quite done with the logs).  I find that felt is extremely easy to work with and my felt projects are pretty rewarding.  My fire is poofier than this and I'll add pictures at a later date (after the logs are completed).  The total cost for this project was approximately $1 because I already had poly-fill on hand.  No money?  Don't limit yourself to poly-fill.  I used socks to fill a bean bag for the boys.

Tent Kit

Next is a tent kit (called a Fort Kit) in this link.  Mine is not even as complex as this.  A fabric bag with a couple of twin sized sheets (we have extra) and some clothespins.  This is all stuff we already have at home, it will just be repurposed into tent making supplies!

Easy Storage Canister

I'll come back to the boy stuff in a bit.  I'm working on a few fun things for some favorite adults in my life.  You may or may not be one of the people on my list.  I found these super easy, cheap repurposed canisters.  I also found some really cute knobs at Hobby Lobby on clearance.  I love clearance.  These will be filled with different things for the various people who receive them.


One will have a pancake mix as part of a breakfast set.  Another will have a salad topper mix as part of a salad kit.  One might have crayons as part of an art set.  There are others - I just have not exactly figured out what will go into them!

DIY Apron

Along with these crafty, kitcheny gifts, I am making aprons.  I have a pattern with several styles in it!  I also have some fun reclaimed fabric to use!  This is not my pattern.  There are so many cute tutorials and patterns.  I can't wait to try a few for my friends!

We are putting together a cookie kit for someone as well.  This will be complete with an apron, cookie cutters, hot pads, tray liner, and a few other trinkets.  It may also include the necessary supplies for a LARGE batch of sugar cookies and frosting.  It will not likely fit in these cute jars.

Another set we are putting together is an arts and crafts variety box.  Each kit has a variety of crafty odds and ends tucked into shoe box for hours of bonding fun with the families that will receive them.  No pictures or tutorials available on this one.

One final project: Knight costumes.  These will be for my older 2 boys and my middle 2 nephews.  They'll all get them when we celebrate Christmas together.  I anticipate an amazingly fun time (but isn't it always?).  These costumes were SO easy to make using old pillow cases and a little bit of felt.  The total cost for each was around $3.  The crowns are double sided, one side has 3 shapes, the other has 2 shapes and an initial.  Even a so-so sewer can do it!


What are your Christmas projects?  Share a link in the comments below!

Cheap & Super Easy Toddler Sleeping Bag

My "big" boys are getting new mama-made sleeping bags for Christmas as part of a camping play set that I'm putting together.  I got some incredibly cute fabrics the day after Thanksgiving at an amazing price and am looking forward to putting those together very soon.

We were at Walmart the other day and I got to thinking that the little guy is just starting to get to the point that he wants to do what his brothers are doing.  He will probably want his own sleeping bag for playing camping in the very near future as well.  We happened to walk past a big bin of cheapo, thin fleece blankets - they were something like $3 or $4 a piece.  I picked one out that I didn't think looked TOO girly, and had a fun print on it.

Seriously, this is how simple his sleeping bag is... I opened it up, found the halfway line, pinned some ribbons on the OUTSIDE of the fabric.  I made the pattern on the ribbon face outside, next time I'll reverse it so that when I tie the bag together the pattern shows easily.  I measured my ribbon by wrapping it around the rolled blanket and giving it enough slack to make bows.

Next I pinned the blanket sides together, leaving the ribbons on the outside of the fabric - which became the INSIDE of my pins, they were hidden while I sewed.  I used a quick straight stitch about 2/3 of the way around the folded blanket, leaving room to fold the top open for easy entrance/exit.

Here is the finished bag, ribbon closures in place.  I folded the corner down, which you cannot see at all in this picture.  One thing I like about using the blanket is that it already has finished edges, so it looks like I did a lot of work.

Rolled, tied, ready to wrap for a Christmas morning surprise.

If you were putting together a camping play set for preschool/kindergarten aged boys, what would you make sure to include?

Muffin Cup Lunch!

Do you have a favorite simple pre-school friendly lunch?  Our "big" boys are 4 and almost 3.  They love fruits and veggies - and Asian Toasted Sesame dressing.  This lunch was a hit - especially when they got to use cheese spreaders to put peanut butter (and soynut butter) on their celery!