I am having such a good time creating all these homemade gifts.  It is so nice to give people things that you have made yourself.  The work badge holders have gone down a storm and i see them everyday being used which is really nice.  I'm finding lots of great new websites for sewing projects and other craft ideas.  The latest present was another t-shirt for a niece and i've found a great sewing pattern for a tissue holder for a lady's bag.  I have lots of birthdays at school in February so i will be making lots of these and keeping the tester one for myself.  If you want to have a look at the pattern and sewing instructions click here.  I am sorry that the quality of the pictures is so bad, the tissue holder looks great but you can't tell.  I need a new camera!  Cost: t-shirt £4 for 2 from Asda and 50p for iron on hearts in the sale at Hobbycraft.  The tissue holder was made from scraps of fabric so cost £0.

Wow, i haven't stopped making things!  I never knew there were so many birthdays in January and February.  I ended up making a personalised t-shirt for my 18 year old cousin, which i have added a picture of.  This must be the 4th attempt.  I used printable transfer paper that i had from years ago and couldn't remember which way round it went in the printer so ended up printing it twice.  Then i didn't know what to do when i ironed it on and took it off before it had cooled and everything was a mess, half on the t-shirt and half still on the paper!  I ended up having to print it again and ironing it on to a blue piece of fabric and then sewing it over the top to hide the mess.  A simple job that ended up taking all night.  I think i managed to hide the mess though and i hope he likes it.  My son did the design using all his favourite fonts.  Cost: £4 for t-shirt and ink for printer.

I also made a bracelet for my Aunty.  A friend at work had shown me and some colleagues how to make a basic bracelet so i went out and got some supplies over the Christmas holidays.  It's easy to get started.  You only need a few things - wire, crimp beads, lobster clasps, rings and cutting and pressing pliers.  I got all my things from e-bay.  I've been looking for a useful video on youtube to show you how to make a bracelet but i can't find one.  If you are interested in jewellery making there are lots of places/websites to go to find out more. Cost: nothing specific but £7.50 for tub of beads from Hobbycraft

I've also had a couple of colleagues birthday's at work.  It's always hard with colleagues because you don't always know what they're hobbies and interests are.  I stuck to work related things this time and made name badge chains.  I already had the clasps from other unused name badge chains and just found some scraps of fabric that i liked from my boxes.  I  made a really simple tube out of the fabric (wrong sides together and then turned inside out) and sewed the 2 ends together.  I found a little charm to match one of the chains and added that too.  Easy as that but look really pretty and people are always happy to receive home made gifts.  I was inspired by My Bearpaw's name badges.  They are a little more advanced than my examples but fabulous and i will have to try making some this year.  My Bearpaw Cost: £0

Have got an 18 year old cousin's birthday in a couple of weeks and not sure what i can make for him.  Boys are harder to craft for, especially if you're a sewer like me.  Thought about t-shirt printing or something of that nature.  Any suggestions?  He's quite sporty and likes computer/console games.

My first homemade present!  Last summer i took the kids to a couple of history days at our local museum.  One of them was a Victorian day where we made decoupage door labels using plywood.  Although i was a little dubious they turned out really well.  I thought i would have a go for my first present of the year.  I printed out a few images i thought Henry would like and used my computer to find a font i could cut the letters out.  I glued them with PVA to the plywood and then applied a layer of glue over the top to seal it all in place.  I drilled 2 holes in the top corners and added a piece of ribbon, ready for hanging.  I am pleased with how this turned out and there was no cost apart from some ink for the printer as i had some plywood left over from a project a couple of years ago.

These 2 bags are my second project.  I thought while i was in the creating mood i should get stuck in before i have to go back to work next week.  I suppose the Christmas holidays had to come to an end at some point!  My crafting will have to take second place once i start work again so i thought i would do as much as i could for the January birthdays before the weekend.  I have a range of fabric remnants around the house so chose 2 of my favourites for a friend's little daughters.  I used the last of my canvas strips to make the handle and added a little touch on the back of the bag to make the bags unique for the girls.  I made them small so they are just the right size for a 3 and 6 year old.  These cost me nothing as I already had all the materials.  

Well, it's 1st January again!  Time flies.  This year I have decided to tighten my financial belt and my New Year's resolution is not to buy any presents but to make them.  I will write about all the things that I make on my own or with the kids.  I hope that it inspires others that birthdays and anniversaries don't mean lots of expensive presents but thoughtful and personal gifts.  I only have a couple of rules for this year - that I must use household left overs where possible, recycle where I can and only buy if it is essential to the homemade project.  I will try to keep a record of the cost throughout the year so that i can see how much i have spent as 2014 progresses.  Happy crafting...