Here’s a round up of my homemade Christmas gifts this year for the kids.
Cannon – Noah’s Ark animals
This has been an idea a long time in the making and I’m only semi-disappointed with myself that I didn’t get the ark made in time. Another year…another homemade gift. This year, he got the animals; 12 sets, 24 in total. Based on a set by Holztiger – a company from Germany which I talked about here.
My patio was a disaster for far too long. This was a labor of love and I was counting my lucky stars that I had all my fingers in tact when I finished. Scroll saws can be a little intimidating! They’re made of 1″ hard maple which was a little difficult to cut out but they’ll be much more durable than making them out of pine. I spent many weeks watching Survivor and painting all the animals with basic craft paint (all of which was left over from a homemade gift last year, the nativity puzzle). I finished them off with a couple layers of clear coat and called it good.
They turned out better than I expected and I’m pretty much in love with them. So is Cannon.
Bennett – Wooden Robots
I found these darling robots (Ollibots) at Caravanshoppe.com. These require absolutely no skills. I purchased the digital file which gave me the artwork (printed them at staples) and all the instructions as well as the part numbers to buy from an online hobby store for all the wood pieces (precut).
They suggested different options of attaching the pieces together – I went with low-profile industrial strength Velcro from Amazon and it’s worked like a dream.
You can mix and match to your heart’s content – and Bennett has!
Hunter – Lego Print
Check out Hunter’s Lego artwork gift on a previous post.
Hallie – Fancy circle skirt
I’m realizing the older my kids get the more creative I have to get with their homemade gift. It’s much easier when they’re younger!
Hallie was in need of some skirts. Typically, I’m able to find something at a store that fits her just right but we’ve had some trouble lately. She getting taller and she has a fairly skinny waist. We couldn’t find a skirt long enough with a small enough waist. I turned to danamadeit.com and followed her circle skirt pattern. It was so easy, I made one for her to wear before Christmas and surprised her with another on Christmas morning. I’m tempted to make one in my size.
Check out more homemade gifts from previous years:
Wow. I'm impressed you keep coming up with new ideas.
Some years are better than others. Pinterest has totally changed my game plan – now I can keep a pinterest board and add to it all year long of all my random ideas.
You are so talented. I could not make any of these items. My jaw drops every time you make anything!
Thanks! Did I mention how easy the robots were? Buy a template, print and cut out. Glue pieces to purchased wood pieces. Attach velcro. Done. Seriously, anyone could do it. My son loves them – they have a mini robot version as well that I'm tempted to make.
Wow!! You could start up a business!! AMAZING!! Do you have a post that shows more of the boys' bedroom? My little guy just turned 4 and I'm about to redo his. I would love some inspiration!! 🙂
I often get people asking if I can make something and sell it to them – I tell them my hourly rate is far too expensive. There's too many projects I want to complete that it's not worth it to work for others! Oddly enough my son's room has been done for 8 months and I haven't shot any pictures of it yet. I added it to my to-do list!
Ummm, you are amazing! Seriously, I love your taste and am a big fan! I have even seen you a couple times at Target and once at Mesa Fro Yo, but am too chicken to say hi. 🙂 Ha ha!
I laughed out loud at your comment. The next time you see me – you better say hi. I like you even more now that I know you have good taste in frozen yogurt!
I adore those animals! I think I am going to try to make a set for my 2-year-old for Christmas this year. Did you happen to make a template you wouldn't mind sharing? If not, I'm sure I can just google animal silhouettes.
I should still have the files – send me your email address and I'll try and locate them and send them over to you. Thanks!
Nice!