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Stash Bash – Saint Nicholas handmade gifts

I’ve never met a crafter without a stash of some kind. This year my goal is to use up all the craft supplies I have spent money on that are taking up mental and physical space in my life.  Join me here every Thursday for a Stash Bash.   

How lucky for a Stash Bash to fall on such a beautiful feast day!!  I hope you are enjoying your day if you do indeed celebrate this feast day.  I am sorry for getting this posted so late this morning.  I was up again until 2 AM finishing the last gift to put into the kids shoes.  I actually am not showing that particular gift because I did not put the last part on it though my son was super happy with it anyway but once it is done I will share the pattern…it’s a knitted Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle!!

This  year I had to really think hard to make the gifts from stuff we already have but I am very happy with everything.  I hope this does not sound like bragging but I heard some of the kids this morning saying “this really looks store bought, how did Momma do that” and one of my older children who was walking by saying “come on it’s Momma, she can do anything”.   That made the entire day of crafting yesterday worth it.  And it makes me feel like a super hero!! Except, that I’m sure super heroes don’t wait until the last minute to make projects they have had planned for weeks. 

If anyone wants a how to on any of these little gifts, just ask and I will post a tutorial.  They are all small gifts and make good stocking stuffers.

Burlap sack with a leather tie from my scrap collection of leather to put the wooden memory cards into

animal tracks memory game drawn by Momma

Tic tac toe game on a wool bag with a velcro closure to keep game pieces in.  The tic tac toe pieces are made from wood circles
Livie loved this clothespin doll.  I think some furniture might be in order for Christmas!

the girls got handmade knitting needles with their very own stitch markers.  These were so easy to make and were finished with a nice beeswax polish

and by the time I came downstairs Ronnie had already put them to use.  I need to do some knitting lessons with her but I guess she started figuring it out on her own.

and for my bacon afficionado…a bacon shirt

the only things I had to purchase for the Saint Nick gifts were this t-shirt and chocolate coins which they know will await them every year.  If you look closely, you will see that they are Hanukah coins because that is all I was able to find at the store…though they were 40% off and I don’t think they kids even noticed.  I’m surprised actually!


So what have you been up to? I love to see what you come up with. I have added the Mr Linky to the bottom of this post for you to link up your Stash Bash projects.

Here’s what to do. There are no rules. 
Just use what you have and try to not buy new supplies, unless you need it to complete a project that you are making from stuff you already have in your stash. 
Take a 

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I heart Bentos

I have not done a fun lunch friday in for ever and with the meatless friday series going on I decided to do some fun lunch ideas today.  My favorite type of fun lunch is definitely bento style.  There are so many cute possibilities and if you like to decorate food then this one is for you.  Imagine being a child and being served a really fun lunch.

In case you’ve never seen a Bento lunch here are some of the cutest I have found:

all I can say is wow!  My girls love Hello Kitty so this one is a winner.  source: flicker
love these piggies and there are even some toadstools in this one.  source: flicker
There are so many good blogs out there that can inspire you if you think you might want to try your hand at a bento lunch.  Here are some more amazing creations.

this is one crazy under the sea lunch
Merry Christmas for lunch
For those of us moms who don’t have 2 hours to make a lunch here are some Bentos from Susan Yuen that we might actually be able to pull off but still impress the kiddos 

Trust me, these are do-able.  The facial features are all made of nori sheets which are available at most supermarkets and you can use a paper punch or small scissors to cut out any shape you need.  The pink that is used to make the piggie faces and ears are deli cuts, usually bologna but I have used ham just fine.  Rice balls are super easy but if you really want to try this you should probably buy a few tools.
Here are a few of my favorites, some I have, some I want to have
egg molds are the easiest to start with and the kids will wonder how you did it  
some cute bento boxes, rice molds, egg molds, sauce containers (for mayo or soy sauce), food pics and a bento bag
and my favorite…did you love Little Red Riding Hood when you were little? I still do
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