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By Dylan M.

Illustrator // Pattern Designer // Sewing Enthusiast

Projects

DIY Holiday Gift Guide

November 18, 2016

Make all the Things Feature; DIY Gift Guide

Thanksgiving is next week. NEXT. WEEK. Which means the holiday season is approaching faster than I can finish a pint of Ben & Jerry’s Half Baked. Woah.

Whether you’re looking to save some money this holiday season, or are just wanting to give something a little more special, here are some ideas for gifts you can make yourself and give to those you deem lucky enough. 😏

Felt Ornaments from Purl Soho

For the Decorator: Felt Ornaments

The beauties (and picture) above come from Purl Soho, who not only sell the pattern to make these, but beautifully curated kits as well. Shown above in shades of greens and creams, I plan on doing a variation on them in creams, peaches, and sagey light blues. I’ve been totally into non-traditional Christmas colors this year. I also plan on making a set of four for each person I give them to; I think I’ll box them in a pretty white box and trim it with simple wrappings.

materials-01

If you’re looking for something with more whimsy, Betz White regularly puts out amazing felt ornament patterns. Are you seeing that Llama? (Photos belong to Betz White)

betzWhiteOrnaments-02

These ones that I found are just the tip of the iceberg. If you think you’d like to go this route, simply typing in “Felt Ornament Patterns” produces amazing and adorable results on both Etsy and Google.

modern cross stitched gifts for the homemaker DIY

For the Homemaker: Modern Cross Stitch

One of my favorite parts of being a crafter is seeing modernized versions of classic crafts, like these cross stitch patterns. (Pictures above from Stitchering’s Etsy shop). These are great even if you’ve never cross stitched before; the patterns are clear and lay everything out for you. If you’ve dabbled in it before, step up your game by customizing the color palette. For example, the “Home Sweet Home” cross-stitch would look amazing in shades of green, dark grays, and creams.

For the Bookworm: Metal Trimmed Bookmarks

For the Bookworm: Metal Trimmed Bookmarks

Do you have a stash of fabric with prints you love but have a hard time implementing in projects? Bookmark it up! (Picture from above and tutorial here) The small canvas means myriad patterns and colors will work without being too much. You can also use jewelry making metal ends in combination with beads or charms to up the awesomeness. Since I love gold accents, I think a pretty fabric with gold beads would make a truly lovely gift.

Gold Beads for DIY Bookmarks

Top left, top right, bottom left, bottom right

DIY Macaron Pouch

For the traveler: Jewelry Macaron Pouch

I’ve sewn up a few of these for birthdays, and they are always a delight. Use fun and unexpected fabric combinations, or keep it classy with an elegant fabric and a metal zipper. Rings, pendants, and earrings will all be happy traveling in style.

DIY Stuffed Animals

For the Kiddos: Stuffed Animals

It doesn’t take a lot to make a totally adorable stuffed toy for your favorite youngin’. The ones above are from Big Stuffed and Solipandi respectively.  I would find a simple pattern and use understated or classic fabrics to add a contemporary touch. For example, I would take an elephant pattern like this one and use ticking stripe fabric and cream accents to add a classic and minimalistic touch.

That’s only the beginning

This is just a roundup based off of some of the holiday gifts I plan on making and giving this season. Knit hats, crochet or sewn potholders, table linens, camera straps, and grocery bags are just a few of the endless ideas you could take on for this holiday season.

Happy Making, Friends!

signoff
Love, Dylan

 

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I’m Dylan

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And this is a living collection of the best things: illustrated wrapping paper, hand-designed greeting cards, sewing machine stitches, and probably pictures of flowers and pizza. I hope you get inspired to take on a project, even if it's just going through your pens and throwing out the crap ones. Either way, welcome.

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  • Do you have a holiday style? Think about buying wrapping paper: there’s always the traditional (red, green, Santa, reindeer), then there’s the cooler color collection (blues, teals, white, penguins, snowflakes, silver, ice skating), then there’s novelty Christmas (bright colors, animals in Santa hats, run down grandmas), and of course there’s elegant Christmas (dark colors, plaids, textures, gold, glitter, script lettering). I’m a weird mix of them for sure, but it surprises me every year how I’m drawn to at least a little touch of holiday elegance; black and gold, Nat King Cole, pretty earrings with comfy sweaters. But then I turn around and see an ornament of a bowling bear wearing a sweater on our tree and I feel pretty great about that too. This repeat is for the elegant crowd! .
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#illustration #illustrator #surfacedesign #surfacepattern #repeat #giftwrap #holiday #christmas #elegant #gold #ink #draweveryday #printandpattern #patternobserver
  • For 25 years I lived in Michigan and dealt with snow tires and warming up your car 20 minutes before you leave and scraping off ice and stomping off boots and leaving faucets trickling and now I live in Arizona where my teeth chatter at 50 degrees. Stay warm out there ❄️⛄️👵🏼 #wuss .
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#illustration #illustrator #vintage #vintagechristmas #retroillustration #staywarm #snowflake #snow #cold #art #painting #gouache #ink #makearteveryday
  • Guess how many times I changed the colors in this piece? Guess how many times I redrew the cats, adjusted the contrast, erased the facial expressions? My point is that the longest part of the process as an illustrator is refining - trying things, throwing them away, chiseling - until finally you can’t take away or add anything without throwing the whole thing off balance. In this case the solution was green cats.
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#illustrator #illustration #holiday #christmas #christmastree #otannenbaum #rockinaroundthechristmastree #retroillustration #vintage
  • If you live in the US, if you celebrate Thanksgiving, if you happen to be on IG right now, if IG is actually working right now, I’d love the hear about a little thing that you are SO GRATEFUL FOR. Here are some of mine: Brooks wearing a Santa hat all season (even in the desert), a deep breath of crisp air, when butter melts into mashed potatoes, when you text a friend at the same time they’re texting you, when the smell of cooking food first hits my nostrils, wearing thick socks, laughing with loved ones. Happy Thanksgiving! 🦃 .
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  • It took an incredible amount of time to keep these tinies from looking like they want to murder people. The simple ones are never all that simple are they?
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