I thought I’d share with you the gifts that I made Liberty for her birthday.
I made her this necklace and this bracelet.
I bought the pink beads many months ago at Michael’s when they had a 40% off bead sale. This was one of the least expensive stings of beads.
The chain and 2 jump rings were purchased on Etsy last year when I was buying supplies for Christmas gifts. I bought several chains at once from this seller.
The silver beads (both sizes) were part of a lot of beads that I bought last October at a garage sale.
The wire between the beads on the necklace was from a little kit that I purchased at Walmart for $2 last year for Christmas gifts; each piece was .04 and after I cut it I saved the other half and used it to make another necklace for Winter in green, making each piece .02. It would have been even less if I had used wire and just bent it. (My needle-nosed pliers and wire cutter are ones I picked up at a garage sale last year for $1 each).
I’ve had the elastic that I used for the bracelet for many years.
The change purse was made from an old pillowcase that belonged to my grandmother for the outside. The lining is from the back side of a pillow sham that I bought at a garage sale last October (I used it again in another gift further down; it is another rose print, with smaller roses. I just wanted the quilt but it came with shams so I cut up the back side of one. The zipper is one that my grandmother had in her stash; I sewed it shorter and cut off the excess to make it the right length.
This bobby pin rose was a quick project. The bobby pin was purchased on Etsy last year for Christmas from the same seller. I attached it to the bobby pin with E-6000 glue (I bought a tube of E-6000 glue on Amazon last year). The embroidery thread was some that I purchased on sale last year. The fabric came from the daughter of a friend of my mom’s. She gave me a lot of it, as you’ll see further down.
The dress was made with the pink and white gingham that I mentioned earlier. It’s polyester and is very thin, so I lined the dress with poly/cotton broadcloth from my grandmother’s stash. The buttons were ones from my button jar. The collar was made with fabric that a reader’s daughter sent to me (it was leftover scraps from a dress shirt factory; I sewed a purse and some wedding dress hangers for the daughter’s wedding, made from the reader’s [her mother’s] wedding dress; you can see a picture of those on my facebook page). I made a flower to put on a ribbon belt; the ribbon was purchased by the spool on sale several years ago; I sewed loops on each side of the dress with pearl cotton to help keep the ribbon on while she is wearing it (I’ll take the belt off for washing).
The total cost for these gifts was $15 (the scissors were $8.95), and none of it was spent this year, which was also a blessing to me at this time.
I made her a cake from scratch and we used things we already had to decorate for her birthday, including the fabric banner that I made several years ago.
I took her on a bicycle ride first thing in the morning on her birthday. She loved it.
This post is linked to Fabulously Creative Friday, Frugal Friday at The Shabby Nest, Inspiration Monday at I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Motivate Me Monday, Craft-o-Maniac Monday, Make It Wear It.
Ive loved all the gifts! But the sewing kit, an envelope with a stamp! What a creative idea! Congratulations and all the best for Liberty in her birthday.
“The only gift is a portion of thyself. Thou must bleed for me. Therefore the poet brings his poem; the shepherd, his lamb; the farmer, corn; the miner, a gem; the sailor, coral and shells; the painter, his picture; the girl, a handkerchief of her own sewing.”Ralph Waldo EmersonLovely, your gifts are just lovely! And what a genius idea the Sewing kit is!! I’ve been trying to figure out how to send a sewing kit to my daughter (she lives in another country) Her sister got a sewing kit in a tin, but tin is so bulky and expensive to send.Thank you!!
Oh my….your handmade gifts are just precious! I hope your children realize just how blessed they are to have such a thoughtful, caring and creative Mother! You are an inspiration!Blessings,Lisa
These gifts are absolutely beautiful…the stitching of her name and the attention to detail on everything!! MY word. What a wonderful mama you are. Happy Birthday Liberty!
You are an inspiration. Such thoughful and meaningful gifts that come from the heart and made with love are a true gift. I strive to teach my children to appreciate the idea and thoughfulness put into each present rather than the concept of owning things. It’s so hard in today’s society, but one must not give up. Thank you for helping to inspire me in how to provide wonderful things for my children regardless of cost. You are teaching me how to be a better mother.Blessings,Mercedes
The gifts are beautiful and very thoughtful. I just realized that Liberty and my son have the same birthday day. I hope her day was full of joy.BlessingsDenise
You are very, very talented, and I love learning from you on this blog! I’ve been reading for a few months now and it has become one of my very favorites! Thank you!
Her birthday was Tuesday.
I’m so glad!
I know this has nothing to do with your post but I thought I would let you know that the Gorilla shelves Gorilla Rack 5 Tier Steel Shelving Unit 34W x 14D x 72H are back on sale (34.99) at Ace Hardware from now until September 30. I remember the post you did about them so I thought I would let you and all the readers know.
The gifts you made are so lovely. Your napkins in the first photo are beautiful. How do you keep them clean?
It’s actually a small dresser scarf. For everyday use, we use cotton/poly broadcloth napkins in red and blue.
What wonderful gifts! I am sure her birthday was very special.
Those are wonderful gifts, Brandy! One of my daughters enjoys sewing, and that sewing kit you made is adorable — I think I’ll be “stealing” your idea, for that daughter’s christmas gift! I love the dress, too, so very sweet! thanks for sharing!
Beautiful gifts and it is wonderful to see children being raised without the belief that everything must be the latest electronic gadget, fashion, or must have toy. Don’t get me wrong, I am grateful for the technology we have now but we really go overboard sometimes. I teach in a public school and my students are boggled by the thought that we do not have a TV or any kind of gaming system. (My youngest son, who is almost 15, has no idea what it is like to have a TV or a gaming system of any kind. We made a decision when he was born to not have one in our home.) They often ask me what we do. I smile and say, “Read, talk, play board games, or he plays/writes music.” He is a very talented musician. He plays bass, piano, organ, acoustic guitar, and electric guitar. He had 12 bass lessons when he was 10 and has taught himself the rest. The Lord has blessed him with a wonderful gift. Sometimes we just need to unplug and live simply. Thank you, Brandy, for your inspiration and ideas. I do not sew very well but there are a lot of other things I can do that can easily be made into gifts. Posts such as these gently remind me that I don’t have to run to the store for a gift whenever there is a birthday or other type of celebration. Blessings to all and I hope your daughter had a wonderful birthday.
Brandy, I’ll bet when your children are old, the way you showed your love by giving of yourself to make beautiful gifts during hard times will be one of their most precious memories.
I love seeing what you make for your kids. We are currently purging our house, because we just have to much stuff! I have been trying very hard for the past 2-4 years to limit what we bring in, but the kids just get so much stuff(junk) from other family members. I am the only one out of all my SIL’s that craft as a way to be frugal. It is hard sometimes on my self esteem when my own kids don’t appreciate what I make for them. They do however enjoy helping me make idea’s I have found on your site for friends and cousins.
This is one of the reasons we don’t do birthday parties with friends. We wanted to limit the amount of stuff brought into the house. We have had parties on other occasions with friends (for the children) but they weren’t birthday parties, so I didn’t have to worry about having more stuff.My parents usually give tons of stuff, but they have really cut down recently, for which I am very grateful.
What a lucky little lass! Such lovely treasures made with love.Have a blessed day!
Absolutely wonderful … Someone sent me the following to make cream when you don’t have it. I haven’t tested it yet, but thought I should share with you. Of course, if you have butter, you may not need to find a work around for cream.”HEAVY CREAM ~If you need heavy cream for a recipe, make your own by combining mix 2/3 cup whole milk with 1/3 cup melted unsalted butter. This will give you 1 cup of heavy cream….good to know!”
And that sewing kit! That’s just way too cute!
You are AMAZING!!! Thank you for sharing all that you do. You are a blessing to your family and the world!
I agree they are beautiful. I have driven myself half mad trying to learn to sew and I have given up. So I just admire other peoples skills.
I love that quote! Thank you so much for sharing.
Thank you for inspiring me.LauraHarvest Lane Cottage