So, so sorry to get this up for the first day of the challenge so late, I hope I did not dissapoint anyone but we have had quite a day here. Our day started at 6 AM so we could get the boys to their soccer games by 7:15 AM, crazy isn’t it? We had to take them out for a celebratory breakfast and then home to get the challenge posted. Well, that was the plan but we came home to a horrible event. As we were getting out of the van (Poppa always gets out first) I see him dart around to the side of the house, screaming and ripping off his jacket he is chasing after something. So we all jump out and find one of our beautiful chickens (girls) half dead on the floor and Poppa is chasing two very big dogs off our property. She was still breathing and all we could do was hold her as her neck was broken and she was bleeding profusely. We held her and comforted her until she breathed no more. We then accessed the other coops to find they got away with 4 of our Pekin ducks. Tears covered every face. Poppa wasted no time and followed the pack of dogs to a nearby ranch and after talking with neighbors found the owners house. The deputy was dispatched and we were told that those dogs are quite the problem and aggresive. I thank God that Poppa was not hurt by those dogs but he did what Poppa’s do, he defended his farm. The owner has offered to reimburse us for our “livestock”. They are not livestock, they are part of our lives and they will be missed.
So I am sorry to have made you wait but it was a bad day.
I am working on some chicken and duck softies to remember our beautiful feathered egg providers and I will post a free tutorial when I am done.
I want to thank everyone who has been sending in the greatest ideas for the challenge, I have so many to post in the coming days and weeks so don’t miss it. Oh, I wanted to post another rule, Don’t get stuck on the web getting ideas, get a good idea and get off the computer and get to work on that gift.
Here we go:
Freezer paper stencil or as I call it, Freezer paper silk screen because to me that is what it most reminds me of. You can put any simple picture or image on a tshirt or piece of fabric. Micheals now sells a machine that does this but it is more than $200.00 and you can do the same thing for the price of some freezer paper (not wax paper) and some fabric paint. I think of cute onesies with catchy phrases or a baby or childs name but this one can cover even your hard to shop for brother in law (if you know what he likes)
Here is a shirt from the Angry Chicken to give you a simple but cute example, check out her and another tutorial here and here
How about a embroidered tea light or candle holder by kootoyoo (this one is genius and so simple but really creative) there are also some other great ideas on the same page as the tea light so check them out- kootoyoo is really a genius.
Keeping with the fabric theme, here is another really nice one and if you are giving someone a little gift card, you have a place to put it. A fabric wallet from Lola Nova complete with tutorial.
This one is near and dear to my heart since I love to save money. For the coupon queen/king in your life a shopping cart coupon caddy from Blue Cricket Design. Lots of pics to help you get it done.
Many of these items you can make with materials you already have at home. Think of fabric that is unused, unloved and un-needed in your home. You don’t have anything? What about that shirt that you never wore but there is something about it that you like and so you never donated it, that pair of pillowcases that are hiding in the back of your linen closet, a table cloth you have no use for, use your imagination. Spending money at the fabric store is not going to improve your creativity (although I should not be one to speak on this subject) if you must go out and buy some fabric then you must but you don’t have to.
I have so so many ideas for tomorrow so stay tuned.
These are great! I love the tea light idea! That's definately something my kids could do. I'll have to hit goodwill in the morning to try to find some old glasses. We have TONS of fabric! I would have never thought of this one! Thanks for posting it! Also wanted to ad…we made our firt trip to the flea market today for our homemade Christmas projects and came away with some awesome finds to get us started for only $5! Some of which, I think will work great for this tea light idea. THANKS again.TrishaDelaware
Oh gosh! That is so awful. I can only imagine how sad that was fo you. On a happier note, I LOVE your ideas for creating gifts. My only trouble is that your links are really hard to read. It's the bright blue. Maybe it is just me…