Pocket o' chocolate holiday tags

For today's big adventure, the girls and I checked out our new local food market - a cross between Trader Joe's, B.J.'s and IKEA.  While it won't become our one-stop grocery, we did find some treats - these little holiday chocolates.  At $1.49 for a bag of 12, why not buy one (or three) we thought.  As we drove along our merry way, little E and I discussed our sweet thrifty find and what we could do with 36 or so chocolate characters.  One idea led to another until, "Wouldn't it be neat to make a gift tag with a little pocket for the chocolate?  A chocolate pocket!"  So....here's how we did it (or, really, how I did it while baby A napped and little E had a ton of fun "arting" with my fabric scraps, glue, "stamples" and paper):

 1.  Gather chocolates or some other small treat for your pocket tags.

 2. Dig through your scraps for festive fabric - cut into 2 inch squares and iron if needed.

 3.  Find some card stock and cut into simple tag shape.  Mine ended up being as follows:

 4. Pink all four sides of fabric squares (perfection NOT necessary!).

 5. Place fabric on tag for desired placement (NOTE: this pocket is a bit tall - after sewing this one, I trimmed the rest down about a 1/2 inch").

 6. Sew sides and botton, using a 3/8" seam.  Backstitch at each end.  I found it helpful to lengthen stitch a bit and go slowly (and it helped to give a loving nudge to the paper as it fed through the machine).

 8. Label tag for your intended recipient and add the chocolate.  See the snowman peeking out?

 9.  Make lots more because they are so easy, and who doesn't love chocolate?

 10.  If you don't have a fancy new food market in town, try some mini-candy canes instead!  (For a snugger fit, you can cut the fabric a bit shorter in width.)

 11. Stand back and imagine the grin on their little faces when they see they have presents AND chocolate to open on Christmas day.

 12. And, because this is such a taxing craft project (note: sarcastic tone), don't forget to treat yourself to some chocolate too! 

Happy crafting!

Crafting for the holidays

The holiday season is upon us, and I love this time of year for so many reasons - especially having an extra incentive to create for friends and family.  I feel a bit like an elf these days, working on varied projects for the girls, for a few small craft fairs, and gifts.  This year, BabyE has had an influx of requests and orders, and it has been fun coming up with new projects and ideas to fulfill different wish lists.

First up on this mini-roundup, part 1, is the Snow Blossom Hat from Made by Rae.  Here's little A modeling hers, complete with dimples and two front teeth.  Although the straps were tricky to turn, they are VERY worth it as this is the only hat that will stay on her head!  Thank you, Rae!

Next up, a few crochet flower headbands for this past weekend's crafty open house.  (By the way, with all the creating I've done lately, I have few photos apart from my blurry phone ones to show the new and improved craft table set-up.  While not a project to sell or give away, it definitely counts on my list of recent creations.)  I saw similar headbands up in VT a few weekends ago and got that familiar "I can make those!" feeling - so I did!  I love the simple cotton yarn and color combinations.  And, they really are cute for young and old alike.

Lastly, a new apron design for BabyE.  Usually I do simple aprons, but a friend requested a "waitress" style for her little girl who loves to play restaurant.  It was really fun checking out different styles and ideas on-line.  I found this one and figured out how to recreate it for a smaller size.  The lace edge is vintage and has been sitting in my trim drawer just waiting for the right project.

So...just a few of the many projects pouring out of my little sewing and crafting space these past weeks. 

I just picked up the new Amy Butler book and am looking forward to picking out a holiday project for my sister-in-law (Sharri, read no further!).  I also found this one which I really like, so I guess Amy and Lisa will have to duke it out for my vote.

Happy Tuesday!