The Annual Mothering Handmade Gifts Ideas Contest - Page 6

[Anavette]

I tried to vote for IzaRosesMama1 and it says I am over my limit for voting. Weird, since I am new to the forum and haven't ever voted. Anyway, my vote is for IzaRosesMama1 !! Good Luck everyone, and I so need one of those hula hoops for my 8 year old :)

[kitchensqueen]

Wow. We sure do seem to have a lot of brand new members over here.

[Lisoula]

Originally Posted by kitchensqueen 

Wow. We sure do seem to have a lot of brand new members over here.

Hmmm...interesting ;)

[leighi123]

I made Levi a play table:

Its a low table with edges on 3 sides of the topper to keep stuff from falling off.  I then made a bunch of felt pieces so he can set up little scenes and use his imagination to make up stories!  There is a black background (painted) perfect for roadways, night sky, deep ocean, a blue one which is for grass/farmland/dinos, etc, and blue for the pirate island, beach, and under water.  Another one is grey (roadways, cement), and reverses to white (winter/snow).   I also made an island, beach/dirt patch, a cave (for cavemen, dinos, pirates, or lobsters), some ponds, mud puddles, paths, road pieces, and a yellow brick road!   And then I also made a ocean bottle (oil/water in a jar), a wooden rainbow and a wooden 'fire' stacker.  I even made a "not angry" birds set to go with the catapult he made in his science class.

The top also comes off so he can make a ramp to launch cars down. 

From the farm scene, here is the dirt I made and pickable carrots

Lots of pics are here:

http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u218/leighi123/crafts/playscapes/

[Carlyle]

I know the contest is over, but I so hope people keep posting their ideas.  How awesome!!  What a helpful thread!  I need to bookmark it...

[saraj09]

Every year since I got married I make homemade gifts for all family and friends because my DH and I have such a large family combined. I usually make some sort of gift basket (ie last year was food, and one year I made all natural lip gloss and bath salts and facial scrubs etc) But every year I also include an ornament that I make from clear glass ornament balls and I add a photo and decorate it

and this was the very first one I made

[fborges]

I'm making chocolates: peanut butter cups, sunny cups, & turtles!

[fborges]

I'm making chocolates: peanut butter cups, sunny cups, and turtles.

I've also made fleece scarbes, moisturizer/lotion, & perfume sticks.

[fborges]

I forgot to add that I'm painting wood frames, ornaments, and keepsake boxes.

[AuroraMT]

When our first child was born we were so overwhelmed by all the trash that was generated from all the gifts he was given. We decided to save it all for some TBD purpose. We finally decided to make our own paper out of all the tags, boxes, wrapping, etc. 

We started making the paper in November and turned it into photo albums for adults, journals for older kids and a storybook (which we also wrote and illustrated) for the younger kids. The only thing we purchased was string for binding and adhesive corner sticker things for the photos. 

Its really easy. You just soak the paper in water, blend it to make pulp. Get a big storage container and put the pulp with some water in it. I added dried petals and leaves from the flowers we received after the birth, too! You can add a little glue but we didn't, you also want to play with your paper colour mixtures so you get a colour that you like.. Then strain it through a fine screen (we built our own) - any Google search for make your own paper will walk you through it. 

Then we used cardboard to create the covers - covered recycled cardboard with own homemade paper. And bound them with heavy string - we followed a google search for bookbinding! 

Our son was born in March so we had a lot of paper waste by November - we stressed that people not buy him new things or really anything but you know how that goes!

(we just had a second baby this past March and saved everything again. This year we're making papier mâché thumb pianos and  Ukeleles for the kids using old nails, found wood and elastics that we get on our fruits and vegetables! We make all of our gifts and have for years. I'm also crocheting fake fruits and veggies, making capes and papier mâché food for our two year old who is really into cooking. He is making all of our gifts for adults - we stretched some old drop clothes and had him paint them. Then we gave him some masking tape and let him stick pieces wherever, then a few days later gave him the canvases to paint again and then the tape again, over and over. It's just building layers of his expression from each session. When he's done we'll use the tape to create a monogram style letter of our families' last names and then let him paint them one last time. It's textured and fun but also very attractive art that our family members can really hang and use. I can post pictures when we're done. Sorry, we gave all the books away! So none of those!!)

[Thursday Girl]

out of curiosity when does the contest finally end?

[jessafina]

I love this doll house! What a great idea!

[Cynthia Mosher]

Here are our winners!

First Place: Thursdays Girl - Grand Prize: A Boba 3g from Quirky Baby!

Cardboard Doll House - http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1337424/the-annual-mothering-handmade-gifts-ideas-contest/0_100#post_16766764

 

Second Place: Amberskyfar - Prize -  Mothering Supporter Membership and a $25 Amazon Gift Certificate.

Felt Busy Book - http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1337424/the-annual-mothering-handmade-gifts-ideas-contest/0_100#post_16776007

 

Third Place: littlemomma  Prize -  Mothering Supporter Membership and a $25 Amazon Gift Certificate.

Memory Jar for Mom - http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1337424/the-annual-mothering-handmade-gifts-ideas-contest/0_100#post_16766782

 

Congratulations! You'll receive an email soon regarding your prizes.

[vickyhinde4]

Fantastic....

[Thursday Girl]

yeah, thanks!!

[goldilost]

Congrats to the winners and thank you everyone for your great ideas! Some are on my list for next year! Merry Christmas

[amcal]

Originally Posted by littlemomma 

Memory Jar

Last year, my siblings and I made a memory jar for our mom.  I sent them all scrapbook paper strips in the mail, with the instructions to write a sweet memory you have with mom on each strip and bring them for Christmas.  I had a large, clear vase on hand and tied a pretty holiday ribbon around it and we placed the memories in the jar. Finished! 

She LOVED this!  We LOVED this.  We sat around the tree while she read the memories and we cried, laughed, and shared together.  It is probably the most wonderful gift I've ever given.  She still has the vase, and all the memories, displayed in her home.  =) 

Thnk you so Much for this idea!   I bought an inexpensive clear glass cookie jar, had it etched with our family name and sent out strips of scrap book paper to all our family to write memories on.  I can not wait to give it to our parents!  What a great idea!

[Kim Hannah]

great idea :)

[Elcie]

These are great ideas! Would love to see pictures of the monogram and instruments if you get a chance to post.

[Cathy Schatz]

Originally Posted by Grace Ellis 

Hand-Print Reindeer Christmas Tree Ornaments. Your kids will have fun making this keepsake and makes a great gift for the Grandparents too. Get Creative with the Materials and Just Have Fun! (ideas for the body--sand paper, card stock, construction paper, cardboard. You can also use buttons, pipe cleaners, eyes, stickers, cotton, glitter, paint, markers, crayons, ribbon, etc. Use what you have on hand.