40 handmade Christmas gifts I'm planning to make this year (and you can, too) — Transcript

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1. 0:00[music]
2. 0:05>> It is nearing the end of October and for
3. 0:08many crafty people, it is basically
4. 0:11Christmas. We need to get started on our
5. 0:14handmade Christmas gifts
6. 0:16probably last week. This Christmas, I am
7. 0:19hand-making
8. 0:21Christmas gifts for everyone in my life.
9. 0:24Not only because
10. 0:26hi, the economy, but because it's
11. 0:29incredibly rewarding. It's rewarding for
12. 0:31me. It grows my skills. I get to
13. 0:33practice a little bit and everyone loves
14. 0:36a handmade, thoughtfully crafted gift.
15. 0:39As a crafty person, I do also love
16. 0:42making things unnecessarily difficult
17. 0:45for myself. I do it all the time.
18. 0:48So, why not gift those things and make
19. 0:51it a two-birds situation. The idea is
20. 0:55for me, specifically, that every day of
21. 0:58November
22. 1:01I am going to be posting a little craft
23. 1:04of what I am doing only because I have a
24. 1:08very concerningly large list of things
25. 1:11that I want to make for the people in my
26. 1:13life, but I feel like it'll keep things
27. 1:17short. It'll keep me on a timeline
28. 1:19because I am a drifter. I tend to drift
29. 1:23from timelines and projects the minute
30. 1:26that they are not finished instantly.
31. 1:28So, this is a way to keep those projects
32. 1:30not only manageable in the planning
33. 1:32stages.
34. 1:34Okay, I'm planning projects that I can
35. 1:36hopefully finish in a day or less, but
36. 1:39also to keep the timeline manageable.
37. 1:42Most of my friends and family don't live
38. 1:45here in the same state as me. And if
39. 1:47they do live in the same state, many of
40. 1:49them live in a completely different city
41. 1:51that will still require the USPS to be
42. 1:54Santa Claus for me. So, I am going to
43. 1:57have to finish before Christmas Eve,
44. 2:00which
45. 2:03let's just say that's unusual for me.
46. 2:06So, join me and my slightly unreasonable
47. 2:11amount of Christmas ambition for 30 days
48. 2:15of Craftsmas.
49. 2:18Jingle, jingle, jingle. And these gifts
50. 2:21are not going to be just random things.
51. 2:24These are things that I think that the
52. 2:25people in my life actually want to
53. 2:28receive. These are things that I've
54. 2:30chosen based on their personality, their
55. 2:33needs, their wants, things that they
56. 2:35have expressed to me that they need or
57. 2:38want or enjoy or like. I'm just going to
58. 2:41say right now that it is still a
59. 2:45possibility that I'm going to be sewing
60. 2:47until 3:00 a.m. on Christmas Eve. I'm
61. 2:50not promising that I'm going to get
62. 2:52everything done. You know what? I'm
63. 2:54going to stop myself in my tracks right
64. 2:56there.
65. 2:57I'm going to get everything done.
66. 2:59I am going to get everything done. We're
67. 3:03going to be okay. So, today I'm just
68. 3:05going to sit down, talk about the
69. 3:07projects that I have planned, give you
70. 3:09some ideas, talk about some of the
71. 3:11patterns that I'm going to be using, and
72. 3:13hopefully we can start hand-making these
73. 3:15Christmas gifts ahead of the curve
74. 3:18together.
75. 3:20Because if you're drawn to my channel,
76. 3:22you're probably a procrastinator
77. 3:25and a chronic project starter like me.
78. 3:29Before we get into the projects, friends
79. 3:32and family, click off of this video now.
80. 3:35So, let's click off of the video now.
81. 3:39I'll give you a moment.
82. 3:43Okay.
83. 3:44>> [bell]
84. 3:45>> So, let's start talking about the bigger
85. 3:47projects first because I do think that a
86. 3:51few of these will take longer than a day
87. 3:53to create. I'm probably going to be
88. 3:55working on them and gathering supplies
89. 3:58for them for a lot longer than a few
90. 4:01days. These may in fact take me in
91. 4:04between all the other projects.
92. 4:06Potentially the whole month. The first
93. 4:08one is a quilted jacket. I really love
94. 4:12the idea of a wearable quilt and I know
95. 4:16my husband is really going to vibe with
96. 4:17this style. He loves a unique jacket and
97. 4:20he only has two or three that he really
98. 4:22wears on a regular basis. I would love
99. 4:25to add to that wardrobe for him. Also,
100. 4:28my husband is always complaining that I
101. 4:29never make anything for him and this
102. 4:32would be the perfect opportunity to make
103. 4:34something amazing that I have not
104. 4:37attempted before. I may or may not use
105. 4:39this one from Etsy. That's probably not
106. 4:42a project I would recommend if you're
107. 4:44brand new to sewing, but if you're only
108. 4:47doing like one big gift, that may be a
109. 4:49good gift. I also really love the
110. 4:51Grainline Studio Tamarack, I think it's
111. 4:55pronounced, jacket. And of course, it is
112. 4:57very very trendy this year and last
113. 4:59year, but I am looking to make some
114. 5:02applique clothing. I'm going to be
115. 5:04making some for my daughter, some for
116. 5:07other family members and some for
117. 5:09probably my best friend's son. This
118. 5:13applique sweater that I'm wearing now, I
119. 5:15actually made. So, I really like the
120. 5:17idea of doing it for a big sports fan,
121. 5:20something that's a little more cozy,
122. 5:23something that's very unique. I did this
123. 5:25with my Cricut, some HeatnBond and I
124. 5:29just stitched the edges of all of the
125. 5:31appliques. You can do hearts, flowers,
126. 5:34stars, bows, fruits, dinosaurs,
127. 5:38literally whatever fits their
128. 5:40personality. I think for my daughter and
129. 5:44my best friend's son, I'm going to do
130. 5:46pants with some cute little appliqués on
131. 5:49the knees, and I may just thrift some
132. 5:51jeans and put some on there. This is a
133. 5:53really good option if you don't want to
134. 5:55draft an entire garment. You can go
135. 5:58ahead and thrift the piece of clothing
136. 6:00that you want to appliqué, and then just
137. 6:02do the small pieces. And then, of
138. 6:05course, you know me, we have the bags.
139. 6:10>> [bell]
140. 6:11>> I have a few friends who are really
141. 6:14going to love some star-shaped hobo
142. 6:16bags. If you are a big sewist on
143. 6:19Instagram, especially, you have probably
144. 6:21seen these going absolutely viral, and I
145. 6:24happen to find the most gorgeous
146. 6:27metallicky fabric and a matching inner
147. 6:30lining that just go perfectly together
148. 6:33that I think is just going to be
149. 6:35gorgeous for this pattern. There are
150. 6:37tons and tons and tons of patterns. You
151. 6:39actually don't have to buy a pattern for
152. 6:42this. There are tons of free patterns,
153. 6:44and this is one that's really easily
154. 6:46self-drafted. You can totally plan this
155. 6:49out by just kind of sketching out what
156. 6:51you want. It's literally a few seams.
157. 6:54Like, it's
158. 6:56the seams are continuous. You can
159. 6:58totally do this without buying a
160. 7:00pattern. It's one of those really,
161. 7:02really easy ones. And then you can
162. 7:04customize the shape, and maybe you want
163. 7:06pockets or what have you. I would like
164. 7:08to make mine reversible because I think
165. 7:11that would be fun. So, I am not sure
166. 7:14that I will be putting pockets on
167. 7:17{question mark} for one of my other best
168. 7:20friends in Chicago and his husband. His
169. 7:22husband is a lawyer, and my best friend
170. 7:24is a nurse who commutes. And I am going
171. 7:27to make a tote bag, specifically a work
172. 7:30tote. This is going to have
173. 7:32compartments. Hopefully, it'll have a
174. 7:35cup holder of some sort or water bottle
175. 7:37holder,
176. 7:38and some keyrings for their keys. I am
177. 7:41going to be using the perfect work tote
178. 7:44that I found on Etsy. It's a little bit
179. 7:47more structured, so it's not just going
180. 7:48to like collapse onto the train floor
181. 7:51when he's commuting, and I think he's
182. 7:53really going to love it. If you're
183. 7:55looking for something that's not quite
184. 7:56so complicated, I think a simple tote is
185. 8:00so great. It's a fabulous gift because
186. 8:02you can literally use it for anything.
187. 8:04If you have an embroidery machine or you
188. 8:07embroider, this becomes an even better
189. 8:10gift because you can put a name on the
190. 8:12front. You can do all kinds of things. I
191. 8:14really love this free pattern from So
192. 8:17Big Make. It's very feminine. It's very
193. 8:20cute. I just love it. And imagine
194. 8:23initials on these little like bow tails.
195. 8:26Love. Another bag related project that I
196. 8:31have made before and plan on making this
197. 8:33Christmas would be a book pouch. This
198. 8:36larger size that I use, I have a journal
199. 8:40that my kids and I pass around. I have a
200. 8:43larger novel, and I keep my iPad in
201. 8:47here. And honestly, I would still have
202. 8:49room for other like bits and bobs, pens,
203. 8:52bookmarks, you know, those kind of
204. 8:54things, highlighters, whatever. That is
205. 8:56honestly such a good gift. And if your
206. 8:59person is a reader, you can put a book
207. 9:02in here as like a bonus gift. You can
208. 9:04put bookmarks, pens, a brand new journal
209. 9:08for the year, whatever you would like in
210. 9:11here to make it like a full gift. There
211. 9:14are so many free tutorials on YouTube,
212. 9:17especially, that have so many different
213. 9:20styles. You can do one with a bow, like
214. 9:23mine have, or you can do some without.
215. 9:25You can do a snap closure or a zipper
216. 9:27closure. There are so many free
217. 9:29tutorials. Speaking of pouches, a boxy
218. 9:33makeup pouch never, never fails. This is
219. 9:38such a great gift, especially for
220. 9:40somebody who likes to travel or somebody
221. 9:42who goes to school on campus or lives in
222. 9:44a dorm who would need to carry their
223. 9:47toiletries to and from shared bathrooms.
224. 9:50This is just a great option. I love
225. 9:53putting everything in a pouch. Art
226. 9:55supplies, fabric scraps, all the things
227. 9:58go in a boxy pouch. Once again, there
228. 10:01are so many free tutorials. The gift
229. 10:03receiver always loves a boxy makeup
230. 10:06pouch. You just can't go wrong. The
231. 10:08wonderful thing about all the things
232. 10:10that I just mentioned is that you can
233. 10:12kind of reuse those techniques,
234. 10:14especially the quilting. You can apply
235. 10:17all of those skills to a ton of
236. 10:19different gifts.
237. 10:20>> [bell]
238. 10:22>> So, now I want to get into gifts that I
239. 10:24think are a little bit more personal, a
240. 10:27little bit more sentimental, and
241. 10:29definitely gifts that I foresee these
242. 10:32receivers keeping around for years. One
243. 10:34of the more involved projects that I
244. 10:36would like to make for a few different
245. 10:38people are quilted wall hangings. I have
246. 10:41one right behind me of a pumpkin that I
247. 10:44thrifted, and I love it. That is
248. 10:47actually what started the obsession with
249. 10:49quilted wall hangings. I am going to be
250. 10:51making a few different kinds of these. I
251. 10:53would like to make one that is the
252. 10:56initial for my mom's last name, which is
253. 10:59actually different than mine. That said,
254. 11:01for the Christmas time, I would like to
255. 11:03make her a Christmas themed one. She is
256. 11:06obsessed with the Grinch. It has been
257. 11:09her favorite Christmas movie since her
258. 11:11childhood, and she is now almost 50. So,
259. 11:14I think I'm going to make either the
260. 11:16Grinch's face or like a scene from
261. 11:18Whoville. I think that would be really
262. 11:20cute. And I kind of challenge you to do
263. 11:23that same thing. To find something that
264. 11:26the gift receiver is absolutely obsessed
265. 11:28with and make just a tiny quilt. Very
266. 11:30doable, especially if you're using
267. 11:32turned edge applique. I think that that
268. 11:35is very, very doable. You could make a
269. 11:37tiny landscape, you can make a floral
270. 11:40design, you can make a Christmas tree,
271. 11:42you could make a house, you could even
272. 11:45make their house, a depiction of their
273. 11:47house. That would be so cute, especially
274. 11:49for like first time homeowners. For my
275. 11:51grandma, I'm actually making the same
276. 11:53thing, but I would like to represent her
277. 11:56grandchildren in some way. I'm not sure
278. 11:59if I'll do the classic tree with the
279. 12:02leaves each having their names on it, or
280. 12:05what I'll do, but I would like to do
281. 12:08that. I think that would be really cute
282. 12:09and an heirloom piece that she would
283. 12:11just really treasure. Now, because I
284. 12:14have a budget and not an infinite amount
285. 12:18of time, I cannot make everybody
286. 12:21something so in-depth as a quilted
287. 12:24jacket or a quilted wall hanging.
288. 12:27>> [bell]
289. 12:28>> I want a good number of gifts that are
290. 12:30easy to personalize, they don't use an
291. 12:33insane amount of fabric, and that make
292. 12:36really good gifts on their own or as
293. 12:38part of a set. Next on my list would be
294. 12:41quilted coasters. I love the look of
295. 12:45these. Anthro recently did a whole line
296. 12:48of them, and I think they are so cute.
297. 12:51The possibilities are really endless
298. 12:53with this. The shape with or without a
299. 12:55ruffle, the color, depending on how many
300. 12:58you do and how many you're gifting, they
301. 13:01could definitely be a scrap buster
302. 13:03project. Next, I'm thinking about doing
303. 13:05some more Weck or Mason jar cozies. I
304. 13:09already make these and have gifted quite
305. 13:11a few of them. I use mine every single
306. 13:14day for my morning coffee, and this
307. 13:16would be really cute if you included a
308. 13:19Weck or Mason jar, maybe a pack of glass
309. 13:22straws, or a coffee mixing or matcha
310. 13:25mixing set, whatever. I think this would
311. 13:27be a really, really cute gift. Pincut
312. 13:30Sew has a mason jar pattern and tutorial
313. 13:33that is fantastic. I really want to try
314. 13:36to be intentional about the gifts for
315. 13:39the men in my life. I feel like we
316. 13:41always see for men the same gift list
317. 13:44being recycled over and over and over
318. 13:46again. A dop kit, a toiletry bag, things
319. 13:50for electronics. And hear me out, I
320. 13:52actually don't think those are bad
321. 13:53ideas. What if they were practical
322. 13:56without being boring and still
323. 13:58personalized and thoughtful? You can use
324. 14:01materials like canvas or denim or a
325. 14:04subtle plaid. I really like the idea of
326. 14:07a tech pouch for all of those things. My
327. 14:10husband specifically is a DJ, so he has
328. 14:13a lot of wires and a lot of dongles and
329. 14:16a lot of things. I think the trick with
330. 14:19these is choosing fabrics that actually
331. 14:22suit the recipient. Keeping in mind that
332. 14:25not everything has to be floral to be
333. 14:27cute. A beautiful plaid, a dark green
334. 14:30canvas, a really good denim can look
335. 14:33really intentional.
336. 14:34I'm also imagining in my mind like for
337. 14:37the married couples, you can do sets
338. 14:40that coordinate with one another.
339. 14:42Toiletry bag for him and a matching
340. 14:45coordinating makeup pouch for her. Then
341. 14:47it could feel like a complete collection
342. 14:50rather than just pieces. Although a good
343. 14:53amount of my crafts are going to be
344. 14:55sewing related, not all of them have to
345. 14:58be and I do have a few plans to make
346. 15:00some that are not.
347. 15:03I have a lot of other art supplies that
348. 15:06I kind of have to justify their presence
349. 15:09and their purchases. I am planning some
350. 15:12polymer clay projects which I love.
351. 15:16These, once again, have so many
352. 15:19possibilities, just limitless
353. 15:20possibilities. Magnets, jewelry,
354. 15:24bag charms, keychains, trinket dishes,
355. 15:28ornaments. If you're into the idea of
356. 15:31using air dry clay, your possibilities
357. 15:34are even more endless. I made something
358. 15:37really cool a while back that was a book
359. 15:40holder on one side, a glasses holder
360. 15:43over the top, and then a trinket or
361. 15:46jewelry dish for the bottom, and it goes
362. 15:49on my bedside table. I use it every day.
363. 15:52You don't need a kiln. You don't need
364. 15:55anything special. You don't even
365. 15:58technically have to glaze or seal air
366. 16:01dry clay. It is completely fine if you
367. 16:04just want to paint it and leave it.
368. 16:06Trinket dishes are, of course, the
369. 16:08obvious choice, but you could make ring
370. 16:10cones, decorative tree ornaments, small
371. 16:14sculptures,
372. 16:15a personalized name plaque, once again,
373. 16:18magnets. I really love the idea of
374. 16:21making like a spoon holder. Is that what
375. 16:24you call those? Like you a spoon rest?
376. 16:26Is that what I know there's a name for
377. 16:29it.
378. 16:29Like a spoon on your stove, you put the
379. 16:31spoon. You guys know what I'm talking
380. 16:33about. Another craft that is so
381. 16:35inexpensive and you really do not need a
382. 16:38ton of experience to do is felt
383. 16:42projects. I love a felt ornament
384. 16:45project. I love a felt bag charm
385. 16:47project. I did one last month with Enoch
386. 16:50from Over the Garden Wall. Making a
387. 16:52character bag charm is a really good
388. 16:54idea. But, what I am planning
389. 16:56specifically is for my son and one of my
390. 16:59best friend's son, as I mentioned
391. 17:01earlier, and that is felt food. I love
392. 17:05the idea of them
393. 17:07I love the idea of them having felt food
394. 17:10to play with. You can do sets, so I'm
395. 17:13kind of maybe planning on a breakfast
396. 17:16set. You can do cookies, eggs,
397. 17:19sandwiches that they can build. You
398. 17:21could even slap on a bit of Velcro to
399. 17:24each of those sandwich pieces so they
400. 17:26can actually build different sandwiches.
401. 17:28And I really like the idea of making
402. 17:30their favorite food out of felt. I think
403. 17:33that would be really cute and they would
404. 17:35really enjoy playing with it. Now, while
405. 17:37I think that these are super super easy
406. 17:40to self-draft and can be kind of like
407. 17:42whatever size you think is appropriate
408. 17:45for their age, I did find Hawk Hill's
409. 17:48felt food guide felt food guide and Fun
410. 17:52Cloth Crafts has a collection of felt
411. 17:54food patterns that you could use along
412. 17:56with a few tutorials. As I mentioned at
413. 17:58the beginning, I really want to avoid
414. 18:01making things just because they're cute.
415. 18:04I really want them to be actually
416. 18:06personal and something that they will
417. 18:09really appreciate and use on a daily
418. 18:11basis. For somebody who loves reading, I
419. 18:14would probably lean towards a book pouch
420. 18:16or bookmarks. That is a really cute
421. 18:19idea, too. Again, can do with felt or
422. 18:23you could quilt them. For somebody who
423. 18:25loves being organized, I would do a tech
424. 18:28pouch or cord clip, a little quilted
425. 18:32reading pillow.
426. 18:34That would be cute. For somebody who
427. 18:36loves keeping a cozy home, a trinket
428. 18:39dish is a great idea. Those wall
429. 18:42hangings and definitely a set of
430. 18:45coasters. Oh, that reminds me. I also
431. 18:48saw online while I was looking on
432. 18:50Pinterest, these air-dry clay giant
433. 18:54button coasters. They are so cute. I
434. 18:59have to make them for somebody. For the
435. 19:01kids, and this is coming from a mom of
436. 19:03four. Parents always appreciate
437. 19:06something they can wear or something
438. 19:08they can play with that isn't super loud
439. 19:11and needs batteries. Oh my god, I'm so
440. 19:14tired of replacing batteries. And for
441. 19:17friends, I think that's where I'm going
442. 19:19to have a lot of fun with the aesthetics
443. 19:21of it all. I'm thinking polymer clay
444. 19:24bracelets, those star bags, hair
445. 19:27accessories, clay decorations. I think
446. 19:30that's where I'm really just going to
447. 19:32have so much fun making these. All of
448. 19:35these things can be made in different
449. 19:37colors and styles, in different
450. 19:39characters to suit each person really,
451. 19:42really well. I'm hoping that by the end
452. 19:44of November I have a collection of
453. 19:46crafts that are ready to gift, and
454. 19:48hopefully I won't have to work into too
455. 19:51much of December so that I can enjoy the
456. 19:54holidays with my family and do all of
457. 19:56the cute holiday things, be fully
458. 19:58present. That said, I'm not expecting
459. 20:02every project to be perfect. Knowing me,
460. 20:04there are going to be quite a few bumps
461. 20:07in the road. I would be really shocked
462. 20:09if I managed to create 30 different
463. 20:12projects perfectly without any mistakes
464. 20:15along the way. I think that would be
465. 20:18remarkable. That would be so unlike me.
466. 20:21If that happens, please send me a trophy
467. 20:24or something, like a like a real trophy.
468. 20:27I also want to keep track of how much
469. 20:29the gifts cost, and so at the end maybe
470. 20:33I'll do kind of like a budget breakdown
471. 20:36of what each thing cost so that going
472. 20:38into December, if you're still looking
473. 20:41for last-minute gifts, you have an idea
474. 20:44of what you can accomplish, how much
475. 20:46time it will take, how much of your
476. 20:48budget it will take, and maybe you can
477. 20:51decide from there what you have time for
478. 20:53and what's in your budget. Although I
479. 20:55will say, planning 30 crafts in 30 days,
480. 21:00I'm kind of like already forfeiting the
481. 21:02low-stress option, huh? It wouldn't be
482. 21:06like me if there weren't a little bit of
483. 21:08stress involved, would it?
484. 21:10If you're planning on making homemade
485. 21:12Christmas gifts this year, please let me
486. 21:14know what you're making because I may or
487. 21:17may not have something to add or
488. 21:18subtract from my list.
489. 21:21I kind of still have a few more people
490. 21:23that I haven't really like fully decided
491. 21:26what I'm going to make for yet,
492. 21:27especially if you have good gift ideas
493. 21:29for people who are like notoriously hard
494. 21:32to shop for.
495. 21:33What are we making
496. 21:35if they're hard to shop for?
497. 21:37What are we going to make for them?
498. 21:39Everyone has people like that in their
499. 21:41lives.
500. 21:43Let us know. Thanks for tuning in. I
501. 21:45will see you guys for day one of
502. 21:48Craftsmas.