Handmade Christmas 2011!

I never officially signed the Handmade Holiday Pledge (which is "at least half of the holiday gifts I give will be handmade! *by me, a friend, or a super-cool artist), but I do believe that at least half of my gifts I gave this year were handmade.  This month, I was working on top-secret handmade Christmas gifts for my nieces.  I had to wait until after Christmas to post pictures, since I wasn't sure if they check my blog at all and didn't want to inadvertently spoil the surprise.  But now I can finally share!

Pieces cut out before sewing.

First up was an "Invader Zim" hat for my oldest niece.  (she is one of those teens who are borderline obsessed with the cancelled Nickelodeon show). I was originally going to make her a Cheshire Cat purse to match the plush I gave her two years ago, but my sister-in-law had asked about an "Invader Zim" hat, so I made that instead!

And the finished product!

 (modeling it myself in my bathroom mirror)

Next is a Monster Purse for my middle niece (the oldest's younger sister).  I made a monster purse last year that she really liked, but I ended up selling it at a show.  So this was the perfect opportunity for me to make her one of her own.

Last is an Owl Purse for my youngest niece.  She's REALLY into owls (of course, who ISN'T into owls nowadays?) and my mother-in-law had suggested that I make her an owl purse. (I know there are feet shown in the cut-out-pieces photo...but I forgot about them when I sewed the purse up!  I don't think it mattered much to anyone though.)

And now the big reveal!...

(I wasn't at a good angle to get a good picture of her reaction...but she was VERY excited)

She was so excited that she couldn't stand still enough for me to get a good picture!

I made all 3 girls line up so I could get good pictures. 

I also have a nephew (the youngest niece's brother), but I was at a loss at what to make for him.  He's 17, and teenage boys are so difficult to hand make gifts for!  But we got a tip from my mother-in-law that he wanted a set of "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" books, so we got him a boxed set, which he was very happy with!  And I an get behind that.  If you can't hand-make something, books are a good way to go!  I fully endorse the activity of reading! (I was quite the book-worm when I was a teen)

They were all thrilled with their gifts, which made me very happy!  I think I am officially the "cool aunt"! ;)

I have a feeling I am going to start getting lots of requests for purses now!  I've already gotten a few after I posted the pictures on Facebook! 

I wasn't very confident in making purses before.  I had only made one before as an experiment. But I thought they would look unfinished if I didn't line them, and the idea of lining them was daunting to me.  But I find that if I make the purses out of sweaters, the "raw" seams on the inside of the bag look okay.  So I may be adding purses to my line of products pretty soon!