Homemade Gifts For Kids

Some gifts to make for kids:

Felt hand puppets. I found the pattern for this monster in this book (from our library) and then began creating my own patterns. Chicken, cow.... It's really quite simple and very inexpensive, but could be time-consuming depending on how many pieces you put on each puppet. Monster, for example, time-consuming. The cow and chicken were not so bad. (I'd be glad to make and sell some puppets or share a pattern and instructions-if I could figure out how to do so!)
Aprons and cookbook. I will be making some of these dish towel aprons (little sewing required) for our kids and cousins. For our cousins, we're going to include a small collection of kid-friendly recipes we like. If you want to buy a cookbook to accompany the aprons, check out Kitchen For Kids or any other book specifically designed for little chefs.
Custom t-shirts. We bought a couple wee t-shirts and some iron-on transfer paper and will be creating custom shirts with our daughter's face drawing. Take a simple drawing of your child's and surprise them by making it wearable (in the way you want your children to wear their art)!
Custom totebags. Another simple dish towel project here at I Have to Say.... What a great way to make the most of your time and money and end up with a nice gift! Make a tote bag for your child or buy one and customize it with the iron-on transfer.
Edibles. Make these cute lollipop cookies (with the sticks) and package them in clear cellophane bags (try Michael's or any craft store that carries baking supplies) tied off with colorful ribbon for your playgroup friends.
Pillowcases. My kids have been asking for Sesame Street pillows, for some reason, and eventually I'll get around to it. For kids who already have their own normal-sized pillow, here are some tutorials, along with additional ideas for customizing, for pillowcases.
One, Two, Three.
Biographies. Make a book about your child to give your child. Kids love to see pictures and hear stories about themselves. Blurb.com offers a free downloadable program that you can use to create your own book and have published for as little as $12.95 (that's the 7"x7" softcover with 20-40 pages). It's too late this year, but I was thinking a good idea for our daughter would be a little book with 3 short stories in it:
1) Brynnen-pics and thoughts on her life from birth to now.
2) My best friend Kellan-pics and thoughts on her relationship with her brother-how they play and work together, take care of, love and help each other, etc.
3) Mommy and Daddy-pics and info about us from kid-dom to now.

Stay tuned for Homemade Gifts By Kids.