Fall Fun!

Labor Day has come and gone, the kids are back in school and we are all getting into our fall routines. Is it too soon to start thinking about the winter holidays? Well maybe...but if you want to get a jump-start on creative gifts, it's time to start thinking and doing!

Donna Downey's Fun with Fabric starts September 30th and it’s all about using fabric and canvas to create beautiful projects. During this 12 week, Donna will be demonstrating via video how to complete nine fabric-based projects.   So, you can create a cute camera bag for yourself or a cool fabric album to give to your favorite aunt. For a complete list of projects and visual examples, please take a peek at the class supply list. Oh, and I forgot to mention -- no sewing skills are required!  

Since Donna’s motto is “You are prefect, just the way you create!” tell me in the comments below about the “perfect” holiday gift that you’ve given (or would like to give).   Winner will be picked at random on Wednesday, September 15th at 9:00am PST.

I can’t wait to read these comments, I’m sure they will inspire some new gift ideas!  

 

And our winner is....Christi Parker

Christi Parker said:

One of the best gifts i have ever given was to my cousin on her 6th birthday. That year she had become really exicted about creating art with me but she wanted to use all my good (expensive) supplies. So for her birthday, i put together an art bag full of kid approved (crayola, did you know they make artist pastels) art supplies, small canvas, sketchbook, mini easel, decorated artist's smock, etc. She loved it, All she talked about for days was when she could come over and "Make Art" with me! Fastforward two years and she is all about the scrapbooking now, guess i will be putting together a kid approved scrap gift set (of course i will shop my stash for this)

 

 

Comments

[chrish5306]

One of the best gifts I ever got was a spa day with my sister, that husband gave Christmas me for when our daughter was two. It was wonderful to have the gift of time to spend with my sister without worrying about rushing back home to take care of my little one.

[Lisa Henderson]

My favorite gift was the kitchenaid stand mixer my parents gave me last year. It was something both my mom & I have always wanted!

[Jenny McGee]

I gave my parents for their 40th Wedding Anniversary a scrapbook of their Country HoeDown Party we kids had for them. It was an awesome party and an awesome scrapbook. I even made a toast with 40 adjectives to describe my parents.

[Amelia]

I think the best gift I have given was a photo of my son and his Grandpa that I digiscrapped and then made into a canvas - Grandpa LOVED it and it brought tears to his eyes! Thanks for the chance!

[Lori M]

I think any of the projects in Donna's new class would make “perfect” holiday gift! Thanks for the chance to win!

[Majda]

The gift that is always much appreciated is a calendar with photos of my DDs. I give it to both grandparents and to the grand-grandparents and everyone loves it.

[Selenatx]

The best gift I have ever given was a scrapbook of my son's first year. It was one of the first scrapbooks I had ever made. I worked so hard on it. They loved it! I did too. I hated to part with it. :)

[Mel]

How exciting :-) I think my best - and most well-received - gift was when I made a mini-album for my husband and filled it with photos of us, special messages and suitable quotations. He's not a sentimental sort but his eyes filled up when he saw it :-)

[Scrapycandy]

My mother is in a home and I sent her a mini-album of the boys in activities over the past year. The attendants say she looks at it over and over. I need to make another one for another year!

[Jen D]

One of the best gifts I've given was a handmade photo / scrapbook album that I made for a relative's 50th birthday. I collected all sorts of old photos and ephemera from her life, including letters from each one of her loved ones. It was so fun and rewarding to create- and something that she just loved receiving.

[Keitha]

By far the favourite gift I've given was to a 5-year-old girl I never knew. Our film company adopted all the kids in a nearby shelter, making sure each would have a present to open Christmas morning. Not to be outdone by my colleages (a group of them were giving this girl's brother a personal DVD player), I bought Gabriella a Barbie bike, complete with training wheels. I assembled it, wrapped it up in a huge box and sent it off. That little girl was in my thoughts on Christmas morning - I hope she got as much pleasure out of the bicycle as I did giving it to her.

[Wendy F]

My favorite gift would have to be a necklace I made for my mom that had mine and my brother's birthstones. I think she wears it all the time!

[ArlaMo]

One of the best gifts I've given is a recreation of a Pottery Barn prop for my sister-in-law. It was a canvas with vintage furniture catalog pages. She called everywhere trying to buy one and I decided I could probably make one myself. She was thrilled and we both cried, happy tears of course.

[Melissa]

I think the perfect holiday gifts are handmade ones from the heart.

[{vicki}]

It wasn't a holiday gift but I made my cousin a "baby calendar" for her new little baby girl this past may.

[Tami F]

I think the best handmade gift I've made was a set of quilts for my grandparents and my husbands grandparents. I had my then 1 year old daughter scribble all over some muslin with fabric pens. I then cut that and quilted it with some batik fabric that matched the colors of the pens. A portrait of the artist (my daughter) at work was made into a label and sewn on the back of the lap quilts.

[Kirsten J]

My favorite holiday gift is always giving scrapbooks - so personal, and I love seeing the looks on the people's faces when they look through them :)

[Melanie K]

I am going to be giving my mom-in-law a Donna Downey messenger bag for Christmas ... eek! I am so nervous about it too since I will be decorating it!

[Christi Parker]

One of the best gifts i have ever given was to my cousin on her 6th birthday. That year she had become really exicted about creating art with me but she wanted to use all my good (expensive) supplies. So for her birthday, i put together an art bag full of kid approved (crayola, did you know they make artist pastels) art supplies, small canvas, sketchbook, mini easel, decorated artist's smock, etc. She loved it, All she talked about for days was when she could come over and "Make Art" with me! Fastforward two years and she is all about the scrapbooking now, guess i will be putting together a kid approved scrap gift set (of course i will shop my stash for this)

[Melissa]

I made a quilt for my youngest daughter several years ago. And even though she is now 14 and the quilt has Barbies on it, she still uses it on her bed. Although I'm pretty sure she stuffs it in the closet when her friends are over. :)

[Barb M.]

For my parents' 50th anniversary, I made an album of each year. It was fun to see the progression thru the years. My parents took the album everywhere for about a month after. I am sure that their friends got sick of it.

[Anso]

The one that comes to mind was a gift to my mum. I knitted her a scarf for Christmas (after not having knitted since I was about 15 LOL!) And she uses it every winter :)

[Melinda Wilson]

One of the best gifts I have given is a photo book I designed and had printed for my stepmother. There were pictures from days gone by with all her brothers and sisters with their family.