Month: December 2013

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! Ours was quite good, even though I of course did not finish all the handmade gifts I had planned. I really thought I’d have plenty of time this year because I had Fridays off during December (in exchange for working Sundays), and thus had some prime crafting time while Parker was at school. But I think the short time period between Thanksgiving and Christmas really tripped me up.

But, the gifts I did make went over pretty well, I think! Here are a few highlights, with more to come!

For my niece and my best friend’s daughter, I made matching robes for the girls and their American Girl dolls. I know Simplicity makes a doll robe pattern, but it was sold out at my local Jo-Ann Fabrics, so I modified a pajama pattern I found at the American Girl Playthings website, basically by making the collar rounded and making the top longer. For the big-girl versions, I used Butterick 5724.

Here’s the set I sent to my friend’s daughter:

And here’s the set for my niece:

Also for my niece, I made a doll-sized Hogwarts outfit, since she is a big Harry Potter fan. (See previous posts for her Harry Potter birthday gifts and last year’s Christmas gifts).

I found the robe pattern at a blog called Arts and Crafts for your American Girl Doll. I forgot how much I hate sewing with slippery fabric, in this case, cheap satin leftover from the reversible, 4-in-1 capes I made years ago. I could not figure out how to do a hidden hem on the sleeves with the lining, and I was running out of time so I just sewed it by machine,and it looks pretty messy.  The sweater is a modified version of the Cardigan for 18 inch Dolls on Ravelry.com. This was my first-ever knitted sweater. It was easier than I expected, though I’m still not sure I picked up the stitches for the sleeves correctly, and I really had a tough time sewing the side seams. I just glued on the ribbon trim. The skirt is from McCalls 3900, the top is a simplified version of Butterick 4089.

First things first: The winner of my giveaway is Crystal! I’ll send you an email to get your address. Thank you to everyone else who entered.

Here’s a little tutorial on how to make those rubber band bracelets that seem to be all the rage at my son’s school. I was pleasantly surprised that he has shown such an interest in making them, and while he has asked for the Rainbow Loom for Christmas, we have found an easy way to make them without the loom. His cousins showed him a method that was very similar to finger knitting, and when he wanted to set aside his bracelet in progress one day, I suggested he poke pencils through the loops. Then, inspiration struck! I got out a pair of children’s chopsticks (chopsticks that are connected at one end), and we started using those to make the bracelets instead. No more squeezed fingers!

I’m sure you could just use regular pencils, but the plastic chopsticks are nice and smooth. We already had a few sets, but I also saw this set of six on Amazon.com for $12, so $2 per “loom” is a pretty good price.

If you’re looking for my Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway, click HERE.

I’m in the middle of the very tedious process of scanning lots and lots of old holiday photos, so I decided to make a few projects and write about them for AP. All three combine photos of me and my sister growing up, with a snippet from “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

I think my favorite is the wreath, but the fotoclips are pretty neat, and I’m hoping to use them for some post-holiday decorating. The pillow was a bit tricky, because at 14-inches square, it is obviously bigger than the printable fabric sheets I used. But I was able to print the images on four sheets then sew them together like a four-patch quilt block, and you have to look pretty close to see the seams.

That picture in the top row of the grid, third one in, is one of my mom’s favorites: me and my twin kissing on Christmas Eve when we were 14-months old 🙂

Full instructions on how to make each project can be found HERE. (NOTE: Links to news stories often go dead quickly. If this link expires, google “Holly Ramer” “AP” and “holiday photos”).

I’m a day late, but here’s my offering for Sew, Mama, Sew!’s giveaway day: a collection of little girly gifts! I made the wallet using the “Snap Trap Wallet” tutorial at Just Another Hang Up. The top uses pieces of a metal measuring tape to create an opening that snaps open and closed, and there is a zippered pocket on the front.

I made a bunch of these owl ornaments using this  tutorial. I added the ribbon for hanging, but it would be easy to snip off and remove if you just wanted to stand it up on a table or shelf. And finally, the necklace is made from a Scrabble tile and a snippet of scrapbooking paper. (Sorry for the blurry picture, the lettering says “MONKEY.”)

For those who are new to my blog, I hope you’ll come back and look around! As a bit of background, I’m a reporter for The Associated Press by day, crafter by night. Sometimes the two intersect and I get to write sewing and craft columns for AP (My most recent column about using old photos in holiday decorations can be found HERE), but my main job is covering politics and other topics in New Hampshire. My husband is the national food editor for AP, and we have an 9-year-old son who enjoys sewing as long as it involves jamming his foot down on the sewing machine pedal as hard as he can!

For a chance to win, just leave a comment. Anything will do, but if you are feeling chatty, tell me about a memorable Christmas gift you’ve given or received.

I will close comments at 10 p.m. EST Friday, and will announce the winner Saturday. I will ship internationally.

Please check out all the other great giveaways by clicking the image below: