Merry Christmas! We are having such a fun Holiday season. Here is an overview of Heather Hansen’s (Michelle Woods sister!)group. Several years ago, her neighbor Jen Miller decided it would be fun to have a crafting party. Since they both share a love for crafting she called up Heather and asked if she would like to join this craft exchange group. We would each make a craft for $5.00. We invited 12 friends into the group. We would each make 12 of the same item for $5.00 each, and then go home with 12 different Christmas decorations or gifts to give others. We have been doing this for 7 years. It is amazing what people come up with! All of the ideas are from a party that my sister Heather Hansen has in Utah every year with her girlfriends. For her neighborhood gift exchange, they have a $5.00 gift limit and they must make something homemade for their friends. They do a party exchange every year. I wanted to share all of their ideas on my website.
These are crocheted hat’s and headbands with a crocheted flower mad by Le Ann Cardwell. It cost $5 of yarn, but took many hours to make. Each person got a headband and a hat.
Hats were the #1 item this year. Jen Miller bought these cute hats and hand made the flower out of fabric and attached them to the hat. Quite stylish! (I feel like I am narrating a 4-H fashion show!)
These were darling necklaces made out of scrabble tiles. Each one had the person’s initial and then she cut out something unique about the person, mine says “soccer mom” on the back. They were covered with a sticker that looks like epoxy glue. These were so cute. It would be fun to make them out of dominoes, or other game pieces. She found all of the stuff to make them on etsy.
One of the cutest gifts of the year – Tami Morgan and Heather Hansen (Michelle Woods super awesome sister!) combined to make one $10 gift. We made each person a unique cake stand. We collected cute plates from antique stores, thrift stores and TJ Maxx; then we found goblets, candlesticks or vases to make the base. We glued them with strong epoxy glue. They were a hit at the party!
These aprons were made out of tea towels by another Melanie Morris. She folded down the edge of the towel, and added pockets with coordinating fabric. These are so cute – we will keep her in the group for next year!
These are the Christmas cards we used this year. It was simple to make and fun to do! I set up all of my cards in a row and sewed right over the picture, card and trim. It was fast and fun. None of the cards came back in the mail so I guess the cards were all in the price range of a normal stamp too~!
Keep the kids busy with marshmallows and toothpicks This is such a fun and cheap activity that has kept my six year old busy for HOURS! He has created many of these structures and they now adorn the house. It started out as a fun way to make snowmen out of marshmallows, toothpicks, frosting and candy but ended up with all sorts of fun and imaginative creations!