handmade student emergency kit

virginia tech birthday gift

My brother is very smart. He’s got one of those jobs where he can’t tell you what he does. I have a feeling I probably wouldn’t understand a lot of it if he could. He’s also working on his PhD. Both involve a lot of hard work and math. Two things that he can always use: pencils and caffeine.

virginia tech birthday gift

If you’ve been reading my personal blog for awhile, you know that he went/goes to Virginia Tech. He never tires of Hokie-themed gifts. (I asked.) I figured what he needed these days was something for all of those pencils and caffeine. I made him a pencil case and tucked some extra mechanical pencils, lead and erasers inside. I also made him an adjustable coffee sleeve and sent him a big bag of his favorite tea.

recycle: I can’t believe I am still using up VT fabric scraps from a yard I purchased over a year ago. Denim was from a pair of jeans. (Freecycle is a great source for denim!) Fabric and button were from my stash. Elastic was a colored pony tail holder.

handmade wedding and anniversary gifts

tea towels

You may have noticed a theme around here. I love to give gifts that will get used. I have a set of mixing bowls we received as a wedding gift that I use all the time. Whenever I get them out, I always think about our special day. So, when I was brainstorming ideas for wedding and anniversary gifts, I thought tea towels get used everyday! I made these with linen and they feel wonderful. I also added some details to match both couples’ kitchen colors.

satin stitch

I had planned to embroider their last initial on the towels, but everything I tried just didn’t work: cross stitch, back stitch, running stitch. I decided that maybe less was more, so I left the initials off.

tea towels

inspiration: The pattern for these is in one of my new favorite books, Linen, Wool, Cotton. The linen fabric is a blend and the review on Joann’s website sounded perfect for tea towels. Thread was from my stash.

handmade father’s day bookmarks

father's day bookmarks

I had a hard time coming up with a gift for my dad and father-in-law this year. We did our daughter’s hand print for Mother’s Day and wanted to do something Bella-related for Father’s Day, too. After surfing crafty blogs for inspiration, I decided on a photo booth bookmark. Both of our dads like to read, so it seemed like a perfect idea. When we talked with them yesterday, it sounded like they were a hit. I’m sure they’ll get a lot of use!

inspiration: Bookmark idea from Make and Takes. Photo booth artwork from Sugarplum Paperie. Blue sparkly paper from my stash. Laminated at our local office supply store.