Talk Crafty To Me Dedicated to all things handmade

Hanukkah starts today at sundown, so I thought I’d post a few crafty ideas to kick off your celebration.

• Cookie Menorah from Amy Atlas – Not only is it yummy but it’s also pretty to look at.
• Hanukkah Coasters – representing every side of the dreidel, these coasters make pretty accent to your Hanukkah party.
• Dreidel Gift-Card Holders – These glittery dreidels are perfect for brightening up your giftcards.
• Dreidel Gift Box – Use these paper dreidel boxes to hold candies, nuts, or any other tiny treats.

Receiving a handmade card, always feels great. They don’t have to be complicated, but just knowing that someone took the time to make my card rather than buy a big box of generic cards, makes me feel a little bit special.

Here are some easy ideas to get your creative juices flowing…

If you’ve got a long holiday mailing list, stamps are a great way to create a lot of cards. Most craft stores have a large selection of rubber stamps, but if you can’t find one you like, don’t forget you can always make your own.

^{Picture Links: deeljea designs | CozyMemories | letterknit}

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The people over at Lowes have come up with this great tutorial for a wooden Christmas Tree. It’s made out of pine craft boards, nuts, and washers, all bolted together.

- Check out the tutorial here

Festive garlands and cheerful bunting, for your mantel, your railing, your tree or your window. Here are some simple tutorials, that can add a lot of impact to your holiday decor.

1. Miniature Fabric Flower Garland – This one was originally created for a wedding, but you could easily swap the fabric for something a little more Christmasy.

2. Felt Dot Garland – Simple felt dots sewn together create this super simple garland.

3. Felt Garland – This one takes a lot of felt but doesn’t need much skill.

4. No Sew Felt & Fabric Garland – Skip the sewing and use iron-on adhesive.

5. Blanket Stitched Garland – A cozy blanket stitch gives this garland an ultra-handmade look.

6. Snowflake Bunting – This cute bunting is for sale on etsy, but here are a couple tutorials if you want to make your own. one. two.

7. Paper Snowflakes – Another Etsy find for those of you too busy to craft this Christmas.

Looking for some alternatives to your traditional cedar branch holiday wreath? Check out these creative ideas, and let their great instructions inspire you to create your own.

1. Fabric Wreath from ModaBakeshop | 2. Felted Sweater Wreath from Betz White | 3. Ribbon-Poinsettia Wreath from Martha Stewart | 4. Button Wreath from Craftapalooza | 5. Paper Leaves Wreath from The Red Thread | 6. Ribbon Wreath from The Long Thread | 7. Christmas Ornament Wreath from Eddie Ross

For those of you too busy with holidays parties to craft you’re own ornaments… here are a few of my favorites already created by some crafty folks over at etsy.

1. Wooden Snowman | 2. Country Wooden Santas | 3. Felt Wreath | 4. Stewart the Owl | 5. Felt Reindeer | 6. Santa Rooster | 7. Rag Balls | 8. Felted Wool Acorns

In case yesterday’s felt ornaments weren’t enough, here’s a few more.

Felt Ball – Inspired by one of those paper party decorations that fold into a ball… but instead made of felt.

Retro Ornaments – Decorated with ricrac and ribbons, these classy ornaments are sure to spruce up your tree.

Triangle Trees – These are quite similar to the trees I posted the other day, but they’re still cute so I thought I’d post them anyway.

Jingle Mice – Pimp Stitch has a great tutorial for this little squeaker.

Quilled Candy Cane – Wrap red and white paper strips around a toothpick creating spirals to make this candy cane ornament.

I love felt, it’s so easy to work with, and the fact that unlike fabric you can leave the edges showing and it wont fray makes me happy. Here are a couple of really simple tutorials for making some cute felt ornaments.

Molly’s Star Ornaments – Grab a glass of eggnog or a cup of hot chocolate and spend a cozy evening making stars.

Half-eaten Gingerbread Man – This little guy is so adorable. You could also use this pattern as inspiration and make a half-eaten gingerbread woman, or even several intact gingerbread people.

Holiday Mittens – These little mittens are cute as one offs, but I also like Liesl’s idea of making them into an advent calendar.

It’s December 1st, and you know what that means… Christmas is just around the corner. I’m kicking off a month of Handmade Holiday goodness, with some ornament inspiration. Over the next few days I’ll be posting some great ideas for handmade ornaments, including a few tutorials & patterns as well as some links to a few ornaments you can purchase, in case you run out of crafting time.

First up are a couple of felt ornaments I made a few years ago for a charity auction at work. These were really easy and fun to make, and were a huge hit at the auction.

For the Snowmen: Cut the snowman shape out of white felt, and stitch the two pieces together with colored embroidery thread (pick something that matches the color of felt you’ve chosen for the scarf). When you’ve almost finished stitching around the snowman, stop and fill it with stuffing, then continue stitching him up. You can add the face first if you’d like, but I found it easier to add after.

For the scarf, cut two strips of colored felt, one to go around your snowman’s neck and the other to loop over and hang down. I originally tried tying a longer strip like you would a regular scarf, but found that it didn’t lay very nice. Wrap one piece around the neck of your snowman, and use the second piece to cover the seam and hang down. Don’t forget to cut a little bit of fringe on the bottom too!

Then simply sew on a few tiny buttons and make a loop at the top with thread so you can hang him on your tree.

For the trees: Cut the tree shapes out of green felt, using pinking shears. Sew around the edge using colored embroidery thread (something that matches the ribbon). When you get to the top, insert the two ends of the ribbon making a loop, and continue sewing. Remember to leave a little hole to stuff it before you sew it all the way up. Then simply sew on a few multi-colored buttons to make the ornaments. I was lucky enough to find little star shaped buttons at my local craft store, but you could use anything.

Stay tuned for more Handmade Holiday goodness all December long.

These cute acorn cookies are from Amy Atlas’s Thanksgiving Dessert Buffet.