In the spirit of the DIY Christmas, I thought I’d share a sampling of the ways in which I incorporated the handmade into my holiday season. You all read about the headbands and hair ties I made for my niece — I also whipped up two skirts for her (she happens to loooove the color pink–can you tell?). I made this one using a tutorial from TheMerryChurchMouse, who calls this design “The Charming Little Skirt.”
Skirt number two is adapted from the “Easy Elastic Waistband for a Little Girls Skirt” by TheMotherHuddle — the waistband is made from a scrap T-shirt hem!
I also embroidered pillowcases for my sister-in-law. Mr. T found the perfect quotation that combines dreams (appropriate for pillowcases) and architecture (her profession): “An architect is the drawer of dreams.” –Grace McGarvie I added the golden spiral and rectangle since it is the only architectural influence I know! (My dad designed the house that I grew up in and based the entire design around the golden section.)
And to finish with something tasty, this is the Lemon Olive Oil Cake I made for Christmas eve dinner at my in-laws. (Adapted from this recipe.)
If only I had photos of the chocolate truffles Mr. T and I made for dessert the following night…alas, they, like the cookies a week earlier, did not last long enough for a photo shoot. But we scored a stand mixer from his mom for Christmas, so more baking is definitely in our future!
What about you? Will any of your holiday gifts kick-start the DIY project aspirations you have for 2011?
Tags: cake!, DIY gifts, embroidery, holiday craft, pillowcases, skirts, T-shirt waistband
[ Posted on January 9th, 2011 ]
I loved! The skirt is so cute
The cake looks so good. Love seeing your creations.
Oh, I dearly LOVE my stand mixer! I couldn’t live without it!
Great post as always. 🙂
Thanks everybody! I’m always trying to find a balance between the T-shirt and the non-T-shirt projects, and these were definitely some fun projects to distract myself with 🙂
@Christy: We had actually been resistant to owning a mixer for many years, due most in part to the amount of space a mixer takes up in a small apartment, but the difference is insane! (Of course, we still have no room for it! We’ve been moving it strategically from the counter to the floor to the kitchen table and back…)
@A Moms Choice: The cake was delicious! I definitely recommend the recipe — then top it with fresh raspberries and pomegranate seeds mixed with a little bit of olive oil and lemon juice (oh, and a healthy dusting of powdered sugar)!