Handmade Holiday
If someone gives you a completed craft project for the holidays, just know it is the equivalent of them giving you their heart. Last Christmas, I gave quite a few people my heart, and as far as I know, the very next day, nobody gave it away. This year to save me from burning the midnight oil, I am going to use Amazon instead LOL. While I am not doing a Handmade Holiday this year, that doesn’t mean I can’t leave you with some tips from what I learned last year.
I used everything in my crafting hat last year to make 27 shirts, 3 stuffed animals, 2 hats, and an ear warmer. All of these items were created between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so I was basically crocheting, using the knitting machine, or Cricut with every spare second leading up to Christmas day. I think I even sewed on the last pom pom as I was heading out the door to the gift exchange.
To keep you from working like one of Santa’s elves this holiday season, I want to share my top 3 tips for a Handmade Holiday.
Start Early! I can not emphasize this enough. Sure, it may sound silly to start crocheting a Christmas blanket in July, but you will have plenty of time to work on it and get it finished as opposed to waiting until December to start and having to deliver an I Owe You.
Make a plan and stick to it. This really should be step 1a. I cannot tell you how many patterns I tried out and re-tried, trying to find the perfect stuffed animal to make my niece and nephews. Switching between patterns halfway through finishing led to several unfinished projects and no gift until the very last minute.
Know your tools: While I am very familiar with my crochet hook and my Cricut, my knitting machine was still fairly new to me. I was learning how to work it on the fly while still trying to ensure that the gifts were completed by Christmas Day.
In addition to knowing your tools, the materials that you use with those tools. I ran into a lot of hangups trying to use a different brand of vinyl or a different type of yarn, which led to many mistakes and restarts. When you have your back against the wall, it is best to go with what you know and experiment later.
Have fun! Nobody wants a gift that you are giving, and the entire time you were making you were fussing and fighting. The whole point of a Handmade Holiday is to show the recipient how much you love and care for them.
I hope that if you do decide to do a Handmade Holiday, these tips will help you get the best results.
