DIY Christmas

Here it is, the final post of my hand-made gifts and my total spent.

Tote bag made with materials on hand - cost: $0.00

Purse made with same fabrics as above - cost: $1.27 (zipper for interior pocket)

Apron made with materials on hand - cost: $.89 (purchased d-ring for neck strap)

Child's apron - cost: $0.00

Braided trivet/hot pad - cost $0.00

Knit dishcloth (this isn't the one I gave, I had forgotten to snap a picture) - cost $0.00

Child's apron - cost $0.00

Wall hanging - cost: $4.30 (needed to purchase coordinating fabric)

2 ties and matching wrap skirt - cost $10.37

Diaper bag for Elle's doll - cost $0.00

Vegetable Spice Mix packets for 5 Sunday school teachers (recipe here) - cost $13.06 (extra spices and bags - made cards on cardstock I had)

Jumper for Elle made from Trick or Treat coat fabric - estimated cost $1.50 (I need to purchase buttons for shoulder straps)

Made with purchased notepads - removed the cover, cut out cereal boxes, traced, hole-punched and re-wired - cost $13.78

Vest to match his brother's from Trick or Treat - cost $0.00

Handbag donated to hubby's work Christmas banquet - cost $0.00

Two small blankets donated to Project Linus (this was something my "team" with the Challenge did - we felt we can bless our family and friends with our gifts but how much better, to bless those in need. We each chose an organization to donate to - you can read more here). What a wonderful opportunity to be able to make and donate projects with materials that I just had in my home and were not being put to use - cost $0.00

This was my biggest project in terms of time, but not size. These ice skates (idea here) - cost $2.68

I made 9 for my family (including parents, siblings/spouses and nephews/niece). Then, I made 28 for T's family (10 adults, 17 grandchildren, 1 great-grand). I think they are adorable. In year's past, the kids and I made the glass ball ornaments you see on the above picture on the top right, but this year I wanted to make something for everyone. Here's a picture of the ones for T's family just after I finished them the night before we needed them.

I LOVED this challenge. It was exactly the motivation I needed to finish all the projects I had swimming around in my head since early November, plus some! Even though I wasn't a "winner" in terms of winning any of the prizes YCMT randomly chose winners for - I was a winner for completing, at final tally,

67 gifts for $47.85

The idea of the competition was not to make every gift, but to see how many gifts we could make for under $50.

And, a final surprise gift for me?

I won a $50 pattern bundle from You Can Make This from a different website! Cool - I got a return on my investment!

It was such a joy, for me, to see the faces of my friends and family as they opened their handmade gifts. At T's parents' house, we used the ice skates on the table for seating and they all loved them. I think I got the biggest gift of all...as the giver!!