Handmade Holiday Goodies

And now...for the holiday gifts that were secretly photographed and wiled away their time just waiting for their blog debut...oh yes, it is the time for the great reveal of things made for my sister who I always fear lurks around the blog near Christmas time. Her gifts this year were pretty simple, just regular tea towels appliqued with bold images. I cut the images off a heavier-weight Ikea fabric and simply used an applique stitch on the machine (I still haven't mastered the hand-sewing applique).

Here is the full set. I love the way the strong images look against such a traditional tea towel. May they dry many glorious dishes.
But, the holiday piece-de-resistance! Definitely, the family in a bag!
This is a project from Amy Karol's Bend the Rules with Fabric book. I made a ton of these. I made a set of the kids for my mom, my sister, my brother and my grandma. Then I made two sets of our whole family for both of the boys. The whole thing is detailed in her book but the images are printed onto fabric and then sewn up into a softie. The images didn't come out a crisp and clear as I would have likes but I still love this project. The family loved them but the best part has been watching the boys play with them...they line them up on the couch and then do funny dances for them, they give them kisses, ask them to join in their tea parties, it goes on an on. It is, perhaps, one of my most well-receiving crafting projects thus far. A little bit of holiday magic for me, I suppose.