Just a few more handmade gifts

This cute vintage tag was on a gift from my grandmother many years ago.

 Here are just a few more handmade gifts.  I know some people have wanted to see these, so here are some pictures.  Most of these were made for grandkids, with one exception.

I made more felt strawberries and gave a dozen to each of two grandkids.  They continue to love the felt food and are always happy to get more.

I packaged these in plastic berry boxes.

Julia opening her felt strawberries

I sent felt pie slices to two of my Nevada grandkids.

Lemon pie

Pumpkin pie

Chocolate pie

Oh yes, and felt pancakes for the little guy.

Here are the pillow fight shields I made for seven of the kids.

The Nevada four

The local three

The backs of the shields are fitted with elastic handles.

Sam with shield

Julia's sparkly purple shield

Josiah with shield

Flannel hand warmers filled with rice seemed to be a hit with the local five.  Hope they are using them when they play in the snow!

Sam's favorite color is red.

And lastly, I made some crocheted hot mats in Christmas colors for my daughter's birthday.  Only one was included in the package, as I only had one completed when it was time to mail the box.  So the hot mats don't look exactly like these, which I made last year for someone else.
 

This year's are  mostly the variegated Christmas colors with a dark green edging.  One great thing about this pattern is that it comes out different looking every time with the different color combination.  And it is also very easy, although it looks complicated.

Hope you have enjoyed this look at the last few handmade gifts.  Now I am starting some new projects for birthdays and next Christmas!

Round Steak Italiano

(Photo by Taste of Home)

The other day while grocery shopping I found several packages of round steak with $1 off coupons attached to them.  So that afternoon I prepared this tried and true recipe, which I adapted from one I found in Simple & Delicious.  (I do have the recipe elsewhere here on my blog, but it's in the 2007 archives and honestly, I hate to have anyone miss this.)  This is true comfort food and just wonderful for a busy winter day.  All you will need to add to round out your meal is a salad and/or a vegetable.  (I used frozen mixed vegetables to make supper really easy!)   You will be amazed at how perfectly the potatoes bake in the slow cooker.

ROUND STEAK ITALIANO

1 to 2 pounds boneless top round steak
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
2 Tblsp. onion soup mix*
1 Tblsp. olive or canola oil
2 Tblsp. cider vinegar
1 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. pepper
Garlic powder to taste
6 to 8 medium potatoes
1 Tblsp. cornstarch
1 Tblsp. cold water

Cut steak into serving-size pieces; place in a 5-quart slow cooker. In a small bowl or a 2-cup measure, combine the tomato sauce, soup mix, oil, vinegar, oregano, garlic powder and pepper; pour over meat.

Scrub and pierce potatoes; place on top of meat. Cover; cook on Low for 7 to 8 hours or until meat and potatoes are tender.

Remove meat & potatoes to a serving platter and keep warm. Pour cooking juices into a small saucepan; skim off any fat. Combine the cornstarch and cold water until smooth and gradually stir into cooking juices. Bring to a boil over medium heat, cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

* Here’s my recipe for:
ONION SOUP MIX

3/4 cup dried minced onion
1/3 cup beef bouillon granules
1/4 cup onion powder
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. celery seed, optional -- I usually omit this

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl; store in an airtight container in a cool dry place for up to 1 year. When a recipe calls for onion soup mix, use 5 Tablespoons mix for each envelope of onion soup called for. So many recipes seem to call for a package of onion soup mix, and this is far more economical.

More handmade gifts

The adorable graphic is from Little Birdie Blessings.

Here are a few more handmade gifts, all for grandchildren.  Perhaps I can show more tomorrow.

I had posted on my Christmas blog about these cute carriers for the Matchbox®-type cars.  My young grandkids all seem to love these cars, trucks and other vehicles and often seem to carry them in their pockets.  I had seen this pattern for a Car Caddy and so I made three of them for gifts.  I thought I would share on this blog as well, since I know that not all of my readers visit my Christmas blog.

The front of the caddy is shown on the left; the back of the caddy is on the right.

The inside of the caddy has pockets and a track for the cars.

For little girls, I had seen this tutorial for a Bracelet Purse and really wanted to make one each  for my younger two granddaughters (ages 4 and 6).  They came out quite cute, I thought, and the girls seemed to like them.  I filled them with little boxes of crayons, lip balm, tiny bottles of bubble bath, and so on.

Here is Emily's purse.  Emily loves color.

This shows the green lining.  Vibrant!

Here is Julia's.  The lining for  hers is a sparkly purple.  These are fun because you can do them using fat quarters.

Julia investigating the contents of her purse.  I love her shirt!  It's an icy blue and says "Snow Princess".

 Hope you have enjoyed this look at a few of my simple handcrafts!

A few pictures of handmade gifts

Graphic from Little Birdie Blessings

I don't have time today to share all of the crafts I made for Christmas gifts, but here are a few.

I made three sets of mug rugs:

These were for a friend whose name I drew in the Sunday School gift exchange.  This shows the fronr and back sides.

Just the front sides of these Christmas mug rugs.

I made these for a friend.

I made these for a Yankee swap at church.

 I used the same pattern (adapted somewhat) for all three, but the author of the tutorial encourages creativity with the side panel -- the larger panel where the embroidery is on some of the mug rugs -- and suggests using not just embroidery but other possible options as well -- applique, or just showcasing a particularly pretty piece of fabric.

This is the pattern I used:  tea time mug rugs.  I chose to use only a 1/4" seam allowance with the strips, rather than 1/2", so I ended up needing only 6 pieces rather than 7.

And I made 2 aprons for middle school age girls.  I think these would fit teens as well, and probably even adults.  The picture on the pattern (from Gooseberry Patch Christmas book 12) showed a young teenage girl.

These were made from tea towels and turned out simply adorable.  They were very fast to make, just simple cutting, pressing and sewing.  The neck/waist tie is grosgrain ribbon.

And here is a cross stitch trivet I made for my daughter's birthday.

It's actually a plexiglas trivet with cross stitch insert.  The pattern is from Cross Country Stitching and is one of several projects with a tea time theme.

Hope you have enjoyed this look at a few recent crafts!

December 27

 It's been snowing here a good bit of the day, and tonight the trees are so pretty.  The scenery on our road looks just like a Christmas card!

Today is a very special day in my life.  It's my youngest daughter's birthday.  She had been due on December 11, so as each day went by I grew increasingly more concerned that I might have to be in the hospital over Christmas.  God was gracious (as He always is) and held off the delivery until the 27th.  Close enough to Christmas to have a cute little stocking on her crib in the hospital nursery, but missing Christmas itself, thankfully.

Today she is 34 and the joyful mother of four little ones ages one through six, living many hundreds of miles from here.  We had a few minutes to chat on the phone tonight when Mr. T and I called to sing "Happy Birthday" to her. 

This evening we went out for a bit to do some grocery shopping and to check out the after-Christmas sales.  Oh, the bargains and beautiful things we found at Marshalls!  Some of them will be gifts for next Christmas, others are practical things like coffee.  I hope to get a picture tomorrow of a lovely wall hanging I found for only $3.20.

Soon I also hope to post some photos of my Christmas crafting, now that all of the gifts are safely in the hands of the recipients!  Maybe tomorrow; we will see!

December 26

It's been a day of beginning to catch up with things around the house and getting back to what passes for normalcy around here.  I was happy to have a good quiet time with the Lord this morning and to get some laundry and other tasks done too.  I also made up another batch of hot chocolate mix for a few belated kitchen gifts.  I spent time at my dad's this afternoon doing some cooking, bill paying and housework, and of course tonight was prayer meeting at church.

Tomorrow is predicted to be quite stormy, with possible accumulations of 12 to 18 inches of snow.

A few minutes ago I walked past this wintry cross stitch on our bedroom wall.  I know I posted about this when I finished the project awhile ago, but think it was on my Christmas blog.

I see such a spiritual application here to what our pastor often calls "our pilgrimage from here to glory".  The way is long.  Sometimes it can seem cold, stormy and difficult.  But, in just a few moments ... we'll be Home.

Merry Christmas!

Mr. T and I hope that each and every one of our friends has had a truly blessed Christmas day, and that we will never lose sight of the true meaning of this season.  May each of you have a happy and healthy 2013 in which you grow increasingly closer to our Lord!