The One Where I Pretend To Be A Painter

My sister is an artist.  She teaches high school art classes (including basics, history, ceramics, photography, stop motion, etc.) and has a part-time photography business.  So, pretty much she's amazing. (not just because of these talents, but we'll leave it at that for this post...)

This year, she had a milestone type of birthday (but for her sake I'm not going to mention the age... you're welcome Alisa!)  But I knew I had to do something big.  Something spectacular.  Something very secret and hush hush.  So I worked with my brother in law to throw her a surprise party with all her friends and family.  I decided to go with an art theme (for obvious reasons, see) and I have to say, I think it turned out pretty awesome.  I mean, not to toot my own horn or anything...

Anyway, for her gift (which also doubled as decor for the entry to the party) I decided to put this perfect quote on a canvas for her.  I know you've seen it around, because like I said, it's perfect, so a lot of people obviously love it.  But I'm going to explain my painting technique (which was freehand) and how I got a sort of 3-D effect for the flower.

I was planning on using my cricut explore to cut out the vinyl letters (because that's what it's for, yo!) but sadly my computer is having major problems lately - we blame old age, it's really got one foot in the grave (sorry, old friend, but it's true) - and it won't run the circuit design space software properly.  Or at all.  Gr.

So here's where I started out.  I sketched my idea on normal paper, figured out the spacing, etc, and the fonts I wanted to use.

Then I used a ruler and pencil and lightly drew straight lines across the side of the canvas so I would stick my words down straight.

The next step was to measure out the vinyl to the height I wanted the words to be.  I drew the words on with pencil just eyeballing everything.  And then.  The best part.  I cut every letter out by hand with a scissors.  No I am not kidding you.  Yes I am serious.  And yes, it did take a while.  They ended up nice and straight and I was pretty happy with it.  So I placed it on the canvas.

 I rubbed pretty hard on the letters because I didn't want them to come up and I was a little concerned about bleeding underneath.

 Then, on to the flower.  I wanted to make it have texture and depth, but I am NOT an artist and I'm pretty unsure of myself when it comes to oils.  So I knew I'd be painting with acrylics.  I drew the flower on the canvas lightly with pencil, then went over it with a hot glue gun.  

 I did multiple long lines for the stem, a single layer line for the leaves, layers of curves for the petals and dots for the middle.

To paint it, I did the background first.  I started in the top left corner with black, then without rinsing my brush added violet.  I blended the two together, slowly adding more violet and then, without rinsing the brush again, added indigo.  I blended the violet and indigo, then rinsed the brush and added in the aqua, blending the indigo and aqua, and moving down with just the aqua.  Then I added some citron green and blended that into the aqua really well, moving down to just citron in the corner.  Basically, you rinse your brush only between the dark to light colors, other wise you leave it and just add more color to it.  I went right over the letters, but avoided the hot glue flower.
I used dark green, kelly green and citron on the stem and leaf, just blending and highlighting.  Then I used a cherry red in the middle of the flowers, blended it into a dark pink and blended that into the white at the tips.  In the dotted center I used yellow, mustard and white to highlight.  I just dabbed it on with a round brush.

 And that was that.  When I took the letters off (which I did while the paint was a little bit wet) I did discover a bit of bleeding.  I took care of it with a white oil based paint pen.  I just went over the worst parts to even them out.  

She loved it.  I think it was a pretty fitting tribute to her _ _  years of life!  

*Be sure to check below for all the fun parties I link to!*

Domo Arigato: finale

(Robot Costume Part 1: The body)
(Robot Costume Part 2: The helmet and limbs)
(Robot Costume Part 3: The Feet)
(Robot Costume Part 4: Girl Version)

Phew! I thought maybe this tutorial/costume would sit in my to do folder FOREVER.  But today's our last Robot Costume post!  We made it!  

Today I'm showing you how to make just a slightly different version of the robot.  I'll call it:

Girl-ified.  It has all the important elements of the first version - the blinking lights for buttons, the glowing sticks for fuel gauges, the light up ball on top.  But there are a few distinct features... not the least of which is the appearance of several pink buttons because pink is my daughter's favorite.

Now, I'd like to make this disclaimer upfront - yes.  Of course the first version can be for a girl OR boy.  Just like the daughter can be Han Solo and the Dad Princess Leia (did you see that article on Facebook?  So cute.)  BUT my daughter can be sort of a girly girl, and requested a specific girl robot with a TUTU of all things... so, you know, I had to accommodate, right?

If you're daughter is anything like mine, you might find this robot tutu helpful.  SO.

Let me start by saying I first tried to construct a tutu out of strips of duct tape folded together and trimmed in half dangling downward - kind of like the tulle strip tutus you see everywhere but with duct tape.  Fail.  BIG BIG FAIL.  People.  I hate duct tape.  I can not use it.  I am duct tape deficient.  I don't know why.  I like it when other people make stuff with it.  But that tape hates me and has a personal vendetta I will never understand. It was a hot mess, let me tell you, getting stuck to everything, folding in on itself in weird places, taping my fingers together so tightly I almost lost circulation and became fingerless... anyway.  I very quickly scrapped it and moved to plan B.  Which I am glad of, because it looks way cuter.

I did NOT want to spend anymore money - especially after ruining the first costumes.  I needed to use something I had on hand...

I realized I had some screening in the garage that I had purchased for a different project loooooong ago.  It's the same stuff in your windows - very flexible, almost like a thick fabric, but still metal looking.  

So for the robot tutu you'll need:

Window Screening (comes in a roll)

Silver duct tape (grumble, grumble)

Silver or gray embroidery floss

Needle

Silver ribbon

A scissors

Start by cutting three pieces of screen.  You can use more if you'd like, but I used three and it worked well.  If there are too many layers it'll be so thick it won't lay right.  

Measure around your girl's waist.  Now add 1/2 that or double it (depending on how "ruffly" you want it).

Cut your first screen piece that width and the entire length you want it to be - I made mine knee length on my 2 year old.

Cut the second piece the same width and about 2-3 inches shorter.

Cut the third piece the same width and about 2-3 inches short than the second.

Now, lay them all together, flat, and line up top edge.

(again, sorry for these old crappy photos.)

1. Using your needle and your embroidery floss, hand sew a basting stitch across the top edge of the tutu.  Be sure to go through every layer of screen.  Make your stitches nice and long and you can leave about 2 inches between them.

2. When you've gone across the whole width, leave a long tail on both sides and pull your needle free.  Hold tightly to one end of the embroidery floss and pull the other end, gathering the screen.

3. Gather the screen to the waist measurement and tie some quadruple knots in both ends of the floss so it doesn't come ungathered.

4. Lay a long strip of duct tape flat with the sticky side up.  It needs to be the same width as the tutu plus about 4 inches.

5. Lay your tutu with the gathered top edge on the duct tape strip.  Make sure it is centered with about 2 inches of duct tape extending on either side.

6. Cut two pieces of silver ribbon no shorter than 12 inches each.  It needs to be long enough to tie in a bow with a double knot, so keep that in mind when cutting them.  Lay one ribbon piece on the duct tape ends that extend past the tutu.

7. Cut another strip of duct tape the same length as the first strip and lay it sticky side down over the screen tutu, sandwiching the gathered edge of the tutu between.

8. Make sure to press the two strips of tape tightly together at the ends, sandwiching the ribbon between.

And that's it!  Now all you have to do is wrap it around the girly robot and tie in a bow!

Here are some awful photos that give you an idea:

I loved it.  mini thought it was awesome.  We liked it so much I made two mini ruffles for her wrists using the same method.  You can see them in this photo:

Here are the rest of the details:

1. I bought a bit of silver spandex fabric online to make her some tights.  They were cute, but not super stretchy and she was FREEZING and ended up having to wear leggings OVER them, so you can't even tell they are there.  Shame.  I think the idea is still cute.  You can use the baby tights tutorial from Made By Rae.  

2. I got this... I don't know... alien headband maybe?  Somewhere... I think the party store? It was a buck.  I loved the shiny silver balls on top.  But the headband was green - weird.  So I covered it with the shiny silver duct tape.  Then I used the same method to attach a ping pong ball over a battery operated tea light as I did for bug's helmet so that the ping pong ball would glow.  I used velcro once again so I could turn it on and off.

3. I wanted the girl robot to have hair instead of a helmet head, so when I saw the silver tinsel wig at the party store for 1.50 I snatched it!  It was adult size so I simply took some elastic and sewed it around the back half of the cap while stretching it so it cinched up the cap that fits over the head.  It worked fairly well, though mini was NOT excited about the itchy wig.

Also, she had shiny silver dress shoes already, so she just wore those.

And that's that!

The robots were a hit everywhere they went.  I was excited that I was able to pull it off.

As a side note, we try to dress up as a family for our church party, usually.  So mr. and I wracked our brains to come up with a scientist duo that would have created robots.  And this is what we came up with:

Can you tell who we are?  People usually couldn't until Justin started saying, "me me me me me me me." In a really high voice...

Our inspiration photo:

via

So maybe I couldn't pull out two awesome muppet costumes in 2 hours, but at least he's got the green shirt, brown tie, and orange hair and I've got the red tie, glasses, and skull cap for the bald head.  And the lab coats - which are admittedly the wrong colors but were the closest we could come on no budget or time.  I think we did alright.

Besides.  The robots are the important part, amiright?

*Be sure to check below for all the fun parties I link to!*

Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto.

(Robot Costume Part 1: the robot body)
(Robot Costume Part 2: the helmet & limbs)
(Robot Costume Part 3: the Feet)
(Robot Costume Part 4: Girl Version)


Today's the day.  The day I finally share THE Halloween costume tutorial.  It's been forever since I left you that teaser (like 2 years???) and for some reason, the tutorials just never got written.  But I'm ready.

You may remember from past posts that I actually kind of love making costumes.  

And I especially like it when our family matches.  Like the Batman themed costumes when the kids were little. 

And the Mario themed costumes from about 3 years ago.  Though the best was probably before bug even turned 2 and I was pregnant with mini.  That kid looked awesome.  

So when bug requested a robot costume I was actually pretty stoked.  I was positive that if I started early enough, frequented the thrift store, brainstormed and took my time I could come up with something crazy awesome.  I even sketched out some designs, patterns and specific ideas.  Now, something I want to warn you about is that these pictures are not stellar.  This was before the awesome camera and it is impossible to take good pictures AS I am sewing since I sew in a dungeon.  (No, literally.  There's chains and shackles and everything...)

I'll be sharing this costume in bits and pieces - we'll tackle the main body, helmet, accessories and then the girl version I made for mini.

Here we go!

First off, for the main body, you'll need:
1 mattress pad (I used a queen and got two robot costumes out of it)
fabric for lining
batting (like for a quilt)
1 long zipper (coat zipper is best)
1 small square of tulle or mesh
12 metal grommets 
1 mini Christmas tree light necklace, tiny battery operated with a small on/off switch
3 small (thick) glow sticks
6 large buttons
3 extra large buttons
felt scraps in multiple colors
embroidery floss
needle and thread

First off, let's talk about the separate pieces you'll need to cut:

Top picture: two large rectangles for the body, two skinny rectangles with a curve cut out of one end for the sides, two small rectangles for shoulder straps.
Middle picture: These pieces are for "robot shoes".  Two rectangles with a small curve for the ankle, 4 skinny rectangles for the sides of the shoes, 4 small rectangles for the fronts and backs.
Bottom picture: Felt "gauges" to embellish the body.  I actually looked up pictures of vintage robots to get an idea about how the gauges used to look.  (I know, I'm ridiculous.) 
For the circle gauge: I placed the white circle on top of the aqua circle and used gray embroidery floss to sew the marks around kind of like a clock face.  That was the only thing holding the two together, but it worked out great.  I placed the tiny green felt circle in the middle, used red embroidery floss to sew it on with an "x" and then sewed a small arrow with a line on the back.  
For the rectangle gauge: I used black embroidery floss to sew the tiny red felt strip to the white felt trapezoidal piece at the edges, using small stitches that chained together, and continued that stitch to the edges of the white piece - making a black box to indicate the number window of the gauge.  I used the same floss to make the small and longer markings all through the window area, and a long arrow coming from the bottom of the white piece to the marks.  I sewed the white trapezoid piece to the yellow rectangle with white embroidery floss, then the aqua circle to the bottom with aqua floss.  In both cases I just hand stitched around the edge.

I'm not sharing a pattern or anything, because you have different sized kids than I do, so I'll share how I measured my kids and you'll be able to customize your robot pieces!

Piece 1. A - from shoulder to shoulder
              B - From shoulder to however long you want it to be... I chose upper thigh.
              Cut two pieces.
Piece 2. C - from the front of the shoulder, around the arm to the back of the shoulder.  
              D - from armpit to however long you want it to be... for me, upper thigh.  (same 
                    length as B above)
              Cut two pieces.
Piece 3. E - from next to the neck to the shoulder
              F - from the end of the collarbone over the top of the shoulder to the back of the
                   shoulder at the top of the shoulder blade.
FOR 4-6 USE A SHOE to measure, NOT A FOOT.  These are made to wear OVER SHOES.
Piece 4. G - from left side of shoe to right side - straight, not curved. Add a half inch.
              H - from heel to toe. Add a half inch.  For the curve - center it and cut enough for
                    ankle to comfortably fit through.
Piece 5. I - from top of shoe to bottom of sole.  Add 1/4 inch - 1/2 inch.
              J - from heel to toe. Add a half inch.
Piece 6. K - from top of heel to bottom of sole.  Add 1/4 inch - 1/2 inch.  (should be the 
                    same as I)
              L - from left side of shoe to right side - as with G above - then Add AN INCH.
Piece 7. M - the aqua circle is about 3.5 - 4 inches in diameter.
              N - White circle is about 3 - 3.5 inches in diameter.
Piece 8. P - Height of rectangle is about 3 - 4 inches.
              O - Length of rectangle is about 5-6 inches.

Phew!  Now that that's done...

Cut a mattress pad piece, a batting piece AND a lining piece for every single part of the robot body and shoe.
I used a thick mattress pad for two reasons.  1, I liked the quilting detail.  I thought it would look like imprinted metal.  2. I needed something thick and able to keep its shape well.  This way the robot would be soft and pliable for kids' movement, but also boxy and stiff looking.  This is also why I added batting to every piece.  3. It was free.  I got it from someone who didn't need it anymore... and free is the best price for fabric!

FRONT.

1. Cut a small square of tulle (or mesh).  This is a pocket for the glow sticks (or fluid/fuel indicators, if you will) so make it tall enough for the glow sticks and wide enough to fit three across.
2. Pin the felt pieces to the front body mattress pad piece.  I lined them up vertically, but you can do it however you want.
3. Pin the tulle rectangle to the same piece of mattress pad.  I pinned it across from the circle gauge horizontally, but it's your choice.  Each glow stick will have it's own little compartment, so place pins to mark where you will sew down the tulle for pockets.
4. Sew around the outer edge of the two felt gauges.
5. Sew from the top left corner, down, across the bottom, up to the right corner.  Then sew straight down in two spots to make the three see-through pockets.

Now your font piece is ready, and we can start construction!

1. Cut out your lining pieces and batting pieces.
2. Place your front mattress pad piece and front lining piece right sides together and sew up one side,
3. Across the TOP, and down the other side.
4. Leave the bottom open.  Turn right side out.  Insert your batting.
5. Sew across the bottom.  (I was careful to use selvaged edges so I didn't need to hem this.

NOW - I didn't take pictures of this entire process, but you need to do that with every single piece.  Just put right sides together, sew, turn right side out.  Insert the batting.  Sew the opening closed.  For EVERY PIECE.

Some notes:

 1.  Cut the back piece in half FIRST, before lining and stuffing it.  Just cut up the back - halving it vertically.  Line and stuff and sew up the two halves.  Then sew on the exposed zipper.  Just pin the zipped up zipper to one half, sew it on, then pin along the other half and sew.
2.  Topstitch anything that won't be sewn directly to another piece for added stability and a more finished look.  So, top stitch the long sides of the shoulders, 
3 and 4. and topstitch the curves of the side pieces, but leave the side edges.

 Here's a closer look at the zipper functionality.  If you are sure to cut the back in half and line, stuff and sew up the halves separately BEFORE adding the zipper, there will be finished edges inside and the zipper won't get caught on any unfinished batting and threads hanging out (see pic. 3)  I love the look of the exposed zipper - more industrial, I guess.  If you have a coat zipper, that is awesome because the whole back will open then.  I didn't have one, so I just added a normal zipper that stops at the bottom.  It opens all the way down to the bottom, which is more than enough space for bug's shoulders and arms to get through.

Once you've sewed your details to the front piece and your zipper to the two halves of the back piece, then lined, stuffed and sewed every single piece, you can put everything together!

1. Pin the shoulder piece to the top corner of the front piece.  Place the short end against the top edge of the front piece and the long edge along the side edge of the front piece with right sides together.  Sew straight across the TOP.
2. Do this with the other shoulder piece on the other top corner of the front.
3. Pin the side piece to the front piece.  Place the long edge of the side piece against the long edge of the front piece with right sides together and sew it down.  Then repeat with the other side piece on the other edge of the front piece.
You should have a front piece with two rectangles flopping off of the top and two long rectangles flopping off the sides.
4. Now connect the side pieces to the back piece.  Just line up the long edges and make sure to sew right sides together.  Do this with both sides.
5. Sew the shoulder straps to the back piece at the corners.
6. The back will look like this when unzipped.

A few detail shots:

1. Once everything is sewn together, the whole body should be able to practically support itself since you used thick mattress pad PLUS batting AND lining for every single piece individually.
2. I sewed a "vent" to the bottom of the front mattress pad piece.  I thought it added detail and it also made the front stiffer and boxier.  I just sewed parallel lines about 3-4 inches long and about 1/2 inch apart.
3. I sewed the points of the side pieces - the pointy parts of the curve for the arms - to the body at the front and back at an angle after sewing up the sides.  This reinforced the connection there which added some stability, but it's not entirely necessary.

Now, let's give it some color!

 Yes, I realize that if I had painted it first and THEN sewed the stuff on the front, I wouldn't have had to tape them off, but I wasn't thrilled about shoving painted fabric through my machine at the time, though now I realize it probably would have been ok.  Ah well.
So, tape off anything you don't want silver - the two felt pieces and the zipper in my case.
Then spray away!  
The bottom picture is after one coat - I did three total.

One last important note.  And I mean super duper duper important.  Use normal, indoor/outdoor spray paint.  Like Krylon.  READ THE LABEL.
Do NOT - NOT NOT NOT NOT NOT - use ENAMEL spray paint.  Right now you're thinking DUH.  Let me tell you a story.

Once upon a time, a mom made a robot costume.  She put a lot of thought, time and effort into it, and because she was only a moderately good sewer, she was very excited for how it came out, despite the amount of time and deep thought that went into every decision and every stitch.  Finally, the day came to make the costume silver.  She had silver spray paint in the garage, ready and waiting, and it was a beautiful, shiny, sparkly silver she had meticulously picked out - not realizing there was a difference between types of spray paint (you see, she may have been a moderate sewer, but was a spray paint novice.)  She sprayed and sprayed that robot costume until it shone and she was very happy.  An hour later, she went to check the costume, which she had finished a week ahead of schedule!  Curiously, it was still wet with paint.  Perplexed, the mom figured spray paint would simply take longer to dry on fabric and left it overnight.  In the morning, she check it again, and it was STILL wet!  Confused, the mom read the spray paint can and in horror realized she had bought ENAMEL spray paint, instead of the normal stuff.  Being completely unsure if the enamel paint would EVER dry on fabric, she nearly collapsed in despair upon realizing that she had ruined her lovingly created costume.  A day later, when it still was not dry, she set to work making a new one - which involved buying a new mattress pad, re-creating the felt gauges and other hand-sewn details, lining, stuffing, sewing, zippering, sewing, detailing, and FINALLY painting the costume once again - this time with NORMAL EVERYDAY SPRAY PAINT in normal silver.

Can I tell you the worst part of that story?  Yes, it's true.  But that's not the worst part.  The worst part is that I decided to sew up both bug's and mini's costumes and THEN spray them all at once.  Which means I ruined not one, but TWO costumes and had to re-create not one, but TWO costumes.  In a week.  AHHHHH!!!

Now, you will understand why the costume looks a little different from here on out... I changed the positions of the details and gauges on the front and was a little more careful with sewing the details - plus I had to use a different lining fabric, since I was all out of that awesome polyester I inherited from my grandma.

On the upside, I think I'm forever an expert on making robot costumes.

Ah, yes, to finish the body, all you have to do is:

Use a scissors, hammer and the grommet tool that comes in the grommet package to place 12 grommets in a grid on the front of the robot suit.  Cut a little hole through ALL LAYERS (easier said than done...), stick the grommet pieces through, use the tool and smack with a hammer.  DONE.
Use the little Christmas Tree Lights necklace to light up the grommet holes.  Place the necklace inside the suit, then make sure to stick lights out of the grommet holes.  There will be more lights than holes, that's ok.  Just makes sure all the holes are filled.  Then hand-sew the necklace into place with embroidery floss.  Secure it to the suit in many places - I sewed the necklace to the suit at each grommet to make sure the lights would stay in the holes - and I only sewed into the back layer - the lining fabric - not all the way through.

A note: I realize the Christmas Tree Lights Necklace may not be so easy to find.  I happened upon mine at Menard's - a local hardware store.  If you can't find one, THIS is the EXACT necklace I used and it's only $5.99 on Amazon.  Also, I was planning on using normal white battery operated Christmas tree lights.  I would have sewn a little pocket to the inside of the suit to accommodate the bulky battery pack.  So that's an option too.

Tomorrow: The helmet!

*Be sure to check below for all the fun parties I link to!*

About time.

Ok, ok.  As promised, I'm done with the DIY gift posts now.  It dragged on and on, but I hope you stuck with it and got some AWESOME ideas for the now approaching all too quickly holiday season.  (yikes)

If you need a quick reference back to all things Gift it. 2014, here's your wrap up!

1. 5 Favorite Handmade Gifts for Kids - Red Ted Art

2. Stud Earring Holder - Young and Crafty Sisters

3. 5 Grandparent Gift Ideas - Hi! It's Jilly!

4. Fat Quarter Doll Quilt Tutorial - Simple Simon and Company

5. Birthday Sack Lunch - A Girl and a Glue Gun

6. 8 Gifts for Gadget Lovers - Melly Sews

1. Personalized Recipe Book

2. Gift Wrap Cut-Outs

3. Friendship Bracelet Kit

4. Top Secret Spy Kit

5. Easy Peasy Art and Photo Display

6. Pretend Play Dr. Kit

7. Light Up Reclaimed Wood Wall Art

8. Mini Photo Block Necklace

9. Underwater Superheroes (Superhero Inspired Rashguards)

1. Giant Stuffed Drinking Jar

2. Encourage-mints

3. Lemonade Basket Teacher Gift

4. Best Pop Gift

1. 30 Gifts Parents Will Love - 

10 Must-Make Gifts For Mother's Day, 

10 Fabulous Gifts For Father's Day, 

5 Fantastic Gifts for Grandma, 

5 Super Fun Gifts For Grandpa

2. 100 "Newbie" Gifts - 

25 A+ Gifts for Teacher, 

25 Highschool Graduation Gifts, 

25 Friendly New Neighbor Gifts, 

25 Lovely Housewarming Gifts

3. 50 Great Giftwrap Ideas (+ 6 Awesome Sources)

4. 20 Cute and Clever Gifts for Cat-Lovers!

5. 30 Lover-ly Gifts - 

10 Valentine's Gifts (for anyone and everyone), 

10 Wedding Gifts (they'll love to use), 

10 Anniversary Gifts (for those you love)

6. 113 Awesome, DIY Baby Gifts!

There you have it!  Gift it. 2014!  That's exactly 362 gift ideas for you to make for every kind of occasion you could imagine! Also, don't forget that most of these come with free printable gift tags, etc., just click on the post and scroll to the end. Now get cracking!  We've got gifts to make!

If you don't know what this series was all about, read the explanation here.

Also, you can see even more ideas:

Gift it. 2013

Gift it. 2012

*Be sure to check below for all the fun parties I link to!*

It's My Favoritist Round-Up

I know I keep saying I don't want to drag this series out... and then I keep stringing you along.  But you'll be glad I did when you see what I've got in store for you today!

I just couldn't bypass my favorite round up theme - baby gifts!  I don't know why I love gathering ideas for this one - probably because everything is cuter in miniature (I mean, that's a proven fact.)

The first year, I rounded up 101 ideas and last year I did 102.  So it made sense to go for 103 this year - but I just couldn't stop!  Seriously.  So I settled on 113 (still has a 3 in the ones place, see?) and this is being very selective.  There's so many awesome ideas out there!  I've rearranged my pinboards a bit and now have a "baby gifts" board (my "gifts for all occasions board" was getting out of control) where you'll find even more (yes, that's right, EVEN MORE) baby gift ideas to make.  These are just my top picks this year for blankies, clothes, accessories, toys, necessities and more!  PLUS, there're bonus cute packaging ideas down at the bottom! (seriously.  So cute.)

Soooo, just this one more gift post and then I'm done.  I swear.

1. Basic Baby Quilt - 30 Handmade Days

2. Warm and Cozy Ribbon Blanket - Victoria Brikho

3. Rag Quilt - Poofy Cheeks

4. Baby Sleeping Bag - Burda Style

5. Little Sheep Baby Blanket - Two Sisters Crafting

6. Reversible Flannel Baby Blankets - Stay At Home Artist

7. Boy-Themed Knit Receiving Blankets - Make It and Love It

8. Rainbow Baby Quilt - Stitched By Crystal for So You Think You're Crafty

9. Hand Stamped Swaddle Blanket - Live it. Love it. Blog it.

10. Easy Swaddle Blanket - A Joyful Riot

11. Crocheted Bobble Blanket - All Things Bright and Beautiful

12. DIY Stamped Baby Blanket - Hello Copeland

13. Ric Rac Receiving Blanket - Fort Worth Fabric Studio

14. Easy Car Seat Swaddle Blanket - U Create Crafts for Riley Blake

15. Ombre Baby Blanket - Kaley Ann

16. Easy Baby Blanket - Sew Fearless

17. Football Blanket - Thriving Home

18. US Map Baby Quilt - Sewn Studio

19. Circle Quilt - Jaybird Quilts

20.  DIY Moon and Stars Outfit - Small and Friendly

21. 3D Tie Onesie - A Day in My Life

22. Knit Baby Cardi - True Bias

23. Just Hatched Baby Leggings with Cuffs - Made by Rae

24. Suspender Shorts - Crafting Zuzzy

25. Homegrown Onesie (and other cute DIY onesie ideas!) - The Thinking Closet

26. Baby Sophisticate - Ravelry

27. Bow Tie and Suspender Onesie - Make It and Love It

28. Sweater Pants - Red and Honey

29. Baby Onesie from a Boys' Button Down - Burda Style

30. Hand-Stamped Hipster-Style Onesie - And Then We Saved

31. Sweet Baby Sleep Bag - Sew Fishsticks

32. Tiered Jacket - Ravelry

33. Ruffled Onesie Dress - Jedi Craft Girl

34. Rainbow Bias Tape Skirt - Make It and Love It

35. Ruffle Diaper Covers - See Kate Sew

36. Baby Kimono - Habitual

37. Baby Ringer Onesie - Shwin & Shwin

38. Baby Gown - U Create Crafts

39. Beribboned Onesie - Major Hoff Takes a Wife

40. DIY Baby Skirt - Bulldogs and Babies

41. Baby Leggings Free Pattern - Go To Sew

42. Baby Bubble Skirt - Delia Creates

43. Simple Baby Jumper - ikatbag

44. Woodland Animal Hats - Moth and Sparrow

45. Leaf Garland Headband - Casa de Lewis

46. Baby Mary Janes - Varrohaz (I don't know what language this is... sorry)

47. Baby Bow Tie From Men's Tie - Erin Duggin Photography

48. Cloth Baby Shoe - thatssewnina

49. Pom Pom Headband - Kelli Murray

50. Baby Moccasins - tuts +

51. Crocheted Aviator Hat - Repeat Crafter Me

52. Flannel Baby Mittens - Made To Be A Momma

53. Baby Sunbonnet - The Purl Bee

54. Baby Oxfords - Shwin and Shwin

55.  Baby Shoe Tutorial - Yay! I Made It.

56. Tom's Inspired Baby Shoes - Homemade Toast

57. Pleated Headbands - Craftiness Is Not Optional

58. Chubby Bow Tie - A Lemon Squeezy Home

59. Baby Necktie - The DIY Mommy

60. Here Comes The Sunhat - Shwin and Shwin

61. Monogram Taggie Toy - 12 Crafts Til Christmas

62. Wooden Crate Wagon - woonideeen (it's in Dutch, sorry)

63. Stuffed Snail - Cook, Clean, Craft

64. Felt Shapes Book - Plain Vanilla Mom

65. Doll Softie - Seventy Piggies

66. Homemade Softball - Apple Green Cottage

67. Soft Lion Rattle - Things For Boys

68. Goldfish Teether - One Dog Woof

69. Camera Softie - Babybirds (in German)

70. Rainbow Ring Stacker - Rust and Sunshine

71. Little Seahorse Rattle - Hobbycraft

72. Little Hands Photo Book - Haberdashery Fun

73. Hedgehog Taggie - While Wearing Heels

74. Tactile Taggie Rattles - Curious Kangaroos

75. Tactile Taggie Toy Horse - Things We Do

76. Baby Scooter Rocking Toy - Killer B. Designs

77. Waldorf Style Rainbow Babies - Tayastepina (in Russian)

78. Whale Softie - Craftiness is Not Optional for I Heart Naptime

79. Baby Butterfly - Sew Mama Sew

80. Crochet Baby Noisemaker - Next To Nicx

81. Crocheted Hedgehog Taggie Toy - One Dog Woof

82. Rain Cloud Mobile - Black and White and Loved All Over

83. Little Fish Mobile - While Wearing Heels

84. Map Quote Nursery Art - Snappy Casual

85. Ribbon Curtain - Good Housekeeping

86. Faux Animal Head Trophies - Country Chic Cottage

87. Heart Mobile - Sweet Rose Studio

88. Monogram Mobile - Danica G.

89. Constellation Lightbox - Handmade Charlotte

90. Felted Hot Air Balloons - Le Petit Moon

91. Chipboard Nursery Wall Art (and 3D Star Branch) - Casa de Lewis

92. Name Collage - Honey & Fritz

93. Pacifier Clips - Make It and Love It

94. Monster Bibs - Stubbornly Crafty

95. DIY Babynest - Victoria Brikho

96. Monster Hooded Towels - Crazy Little Projects

97. Bandana Bib - How Does She

98. Baby Washcloths - 2 Little Hooligans

99. Baby Hammock - Life On The Roof

100. Snap-On Cup or Bottle Holder - Sew Can Do

101. Changing Pad Carry-All - Craftaholics Anonymous

102. No-Sew Fleece Car Seat Canopy - Fleece Fun

103. Catch-All Laminated Bib - Make It and Love It

104. Mustache Pacifier - Practically Functional

105. The Pea Pod Hip Carrier - Sew Mama Sew

106. Baby Cleaning Station - Modern Parents Messy Kids

107. Infinity Scarf Nursing Cover - Babble

108. Big Siblings Kit - Ducks in a Row

109. Upcycled Tablecloth to Baby Carrier - All Parenting

110. Tired Mom Gift - I Rock So What

111. Jersey Baby Wrap - A Load of Craft

112. New Mommy Gift Basket - Healthy Happy Home

113. Sleeping Baby Sign (and free printable) - House Mix

1. Cupcake Onesies - Club Chica Circle

2. Freshly Hatched Socks - Best Baby Clothes Blog

3. Washcloth Lollipops - Create Studio

4. Diaper Babies - Phar Ma

Ok, people.  Have more babies so I can make this stuff!

*Be sure to check below for all the fun parties I link to!*