You don't know this, but I come from a family of giants. I am the shortest child & I'm just short of 6 feet tall. Both of my brothers are over 6'2, my dad is 6'4 & my husband is 6'5. See, GIANTS. Sometimes people stare if we're all standing together in a crowd. Or maybe they're just trying to see over us. Not gonna happen people. Anyway, since we are giants regular blankets just don't cut it for us usually. My MIL made a 6' fleece blanket (made of fleece from our alma mater) for us a few years ago & I'm pretty sure we've used it more than any other gift EVER. Seriously, we use it everyday...it's wonderful. I thought it would be great to make one for both of my "little" brothers. The littlest bro's school does not have fleece by the yard that you can purchase (or at least that I could find), so I had to go with camo. Perfect since he's a hunter & general outdoorsman. The middle bro's alma mater is regularly available, even though it pained me to purchase it - I did it anyway. That's love people. LOVE. Of course, he loves me too - he took this picture with me right after we beat them for the 3rd year in a row in football. See lots of love in our family. Anyway - I purchased 2 1/3 yards of each, hemmed them up & here are some pictures.
Told you they were big! This is hanging over a door.
We decided to do a "service exchange" with my BIL, the Reddneck (I promise this is not derogatory, he likes this name & has it as part of his business title - including this spelling which drives me nuts!). He might be a Reddneck, but he has a heart of gold & always helps us whenever we need him. And he loves Little Man to pieces! The only thing I really wanted from him was to detail my car. He did this once & oh my goodness. It looked better than when it was new! Since money is pretty tight, we thought it would be perfect to do a service exchange - free & exactly what we each want. He's a single dad & has his boys every other week, so I thought the following were perfect "coupons" for him:
Now, my wonderful husband couldn't think of a service to offer, so who knows what he'll end up doing with this coupon:
I made these "coupons" on my Digital Scrapbooking software. I can't remember where I got these kits, but I'm sure they are from a generous person who has free kits on the internet. If you recognize them, please leave a comment & I'll be happy to give credit where credit is due.
To recap, we gave away 20 jars of pickles to friends & coworkers, created 4 "Garden Goodies" Baskets for grandparents & friends, made one Kid Toolbelt for a friend who is getting a tool table for Christmas (now I need to make one for my own Little Man), sewn 2 HUGE fleece blankets, and made one set of service coupons. I am way more excited about these items than the things I bought in the stores, although those items are nice too.
And a follow up...Little Man's girlfriend LOVED her apron & chef hat. She put it on immediately & trotted around the house saying "Tank You! Tank You!"
It's all adjustable, so it actually fits better than this picture shows. She just wouldn't stay still long enough for us to tighten it up.
And she loved pulling the hat down over her head...she's just too funny!
Happy Handmade Holidays to you & your family! I'd love to see your handmade presents, please leave a comment with a link if you've made some.
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