31 Days of Handmade Gifts: Day 19 {Kitchen Towels}

Welcome to Day 19! You can find the other 31 Days posts here.

Last year I gave embellished flour sack towels (I bought them at Target - a pack of 4 for under $5 I think) as part of gifts (the other part was Bath & Body Works soap).  I enjoyed making them and they turned out cute!  Here are the ones I made (sorry pictures aren't the best, I was rushing).

This was done using a stamp and fabric ink.  But you can also use a stencil (freezer, vinyl, etc), fabric (with heat n bond) or heat transfer material.

This was my favorite one!  And so easy too! (I "learned" to sew right before Christmas last year! I say "learned" because I am still learning!) All I did was sew thick ribbon at the bottom of the towel.  Quick and easy.  (This ribbon was similar to grosgrain.  I tried a satin ribbon but it went horribly wrong!)

 

This towel was another favorite of mine.  One of the things I learned to sew almost right away was ruffles.  So I went ahead and sewed one to a towel!  It would be cute to do several rows of ruffles in different colors (hey I might have to make some of those!).

Over at Twirl they used the same flour sack towels and made them with a group.  What a fun craft night idea!  They used varying sizes of fabric scraps, decorative stitches (in fun colors) and tassels.  I love the bright colors, especially the blue Christmas fabric!

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I came across this next towel idea on Pinterest.  It will be my next towel project for my own kitchen, as I am constantly finding towels not on the towel bar!

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A stay-put kitchen towel...genius!    I know it's not new, but I haven't seen one recently (besides an old old one of my mom's).  And I like that you can decorate these with whatever fabric and ribbon you like!  Pin-Sew-Press has a great, easy to follow tutorial so check it out.

Embellished kitchen towels make a great Christmas, housewarming, wedding or even birthday gift.  They go great with kitchen utensils, spices, soap or even a homemade sugar scrub from yesterday!

Tomorrow is Day 20!  Wow!  That means November is around the corner...are you ready for the holidays?

31 Days of Handmade Gifts: Day 18 {Sugar Scrubs}

Welcome to Day 18! You can find the other 31 Days posts here. 

I'm pretty sure that most women enjoy getting pampered, but a day at the spa isn't that affordable of a gift.   Homemade sugar scrubs are an affordable way to pamper someone.  I have seen quite a few "recipes" for sugar scrubs on Pinterest and here are the ones I have come across.

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 The Idea Room has a great recipe for Peppermint Foot Scrub.  I love peppermint around the holidays so this would be a great Christmas gift.

By Stephanie Lynn has several great sugar scrub recipes.  First is a lemon sugar hand scrub.  This would be perfect to use in the kitchen after hand washing dishes.

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By Stephanie Lynn's next scrub is a Vanilla Brown Sugar Body Scrub.  Yum!!

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If you are looking to make a scrub with your own scent, Deliciously Organized has a recipe for a salt or sugar scrub using the essential oil of your choice.  All of the recipes I listed seem pretty simple to make and generally call for ingredients you may already have in your home.

See you all tomorrow for Day 19!

31 Days of Handmade Gifts: Day 17 {Monogram Gifts}

Welcome to Day 17! You can find the other 31 Days posts here. 

A great wedding or Christmas gift would be something with the couple's monogram.  I personally love displaying monograms.  It's an easy way to decorate.  Here are some monogram gifts that I have come across.

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I just love these yarn wrapped monograms!  It's a pretty simple craft too, just cut out a letter from cardboard or foam memo board and wrap yarn around it.  It would definitely take less than an hour, so a great last minute gift!

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I don't know if you have seen these letters from Anthropologie, but $18 is kind of a lot for one letter in my opinion.  Especially when you can make one like the B above that looks exactly like it!  All that you do is modge podge aluminum foil onto a letter from the craft store and then top it off with a little black paint.   You could make one of these for less than $5 if you have a coupon!

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I love the look of a framed monogram.  This one is pretty neat as they used part of a tile back splash as the background.  Clever!  You could also use fabric or scrapbook paper as a cheaper option. 

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I love this simple monogram pillow.  It would be a great wedding gift (or addition to your own decor)!  You could use iron on heat transfer material (how the one above was done - printed out from a computer) or paint it using fabric paint and a stencil (such as a freezer stencil). 

Now I want to make some monogram gifts!  See you all tomorrow for Day 18!

(I don't know if you all realized, but the first three pictures are B's!  Haha!  It was no intentional and is not the 1st initial of my last name!)

31 Days of Handmade Gifts: Day 16 {Serving Tray}

Welcome to Day 16! You can find the other 31 Days posts here.

Well Day 16 is almost over...oops.  It was a busy day! (That's why I need to write these in advance!)  Also, I had every intention of actually making today's gift idea, but I have been busy doing other things (like school, wasting spending time on Pinterest and researching baby products).  So that will be another post, eventually! 

But, I have loved all of the DIY trays out there.  Especially the ones in bright colors.  They can bring a pop of color into a room in one easy step.  Here are some of my favorites.

Source: Martha Stewart

Source: Better Homes & Gardens

The two trays above were made using cookies sheets.  Clever!! The first one has fabric adhered with spray adhesive and the second uses decorative paper.  I like that the second one can be a decorative serving tray or a magnetic memo board.

Source: Life Gets Crafty

The tray above is a wood tray painted with a stencil.  I love that you can personalize this type of tray with any color of paint.  A large monogram and wedding would also look great for a newlywed!  I have also seen trays with wine corks or painted bottle caps in the bottom.

You can find a tray like this at a thrift store or yard sale, but craft stores also sell plain wood ones.  I've seen them at Michael's & Hobby Lobby. 

See you tomorrow for Day 17! (Wow, October is flying by!)