I Have a Visitor! Elizabeth from twelve crafts till Christmas!

I am beyond giddy! It was only about one month ago I had my first guest bloggers and I LOVED it so much. I so enjoy having visitors.
Today, I Elizabeth is here! Yippeee!
And now I am going to be quiet and let her take over....
{one more thing...you need to check out her crafts and tips in the DIY LIfe ezine}

Hello 504 Main readers!  I'm honored to be taking over Holly's space today.    I'm Elizabeth and this is my family.  (Notice the littlest one, Monkey, who was not in the picture mood that day.  I can't lie . . . she's never in a picture mood, but I love her anyway!) 

In January of 2010 I began sewing and I set a goal of making all my kids' Christmas presents for Christmas 2010 . . . one gift a month until December.  (And yes, I need an entire year to do that . . . trust me!)  In order to keep myself accountable, I began a little blog called twelve crafts till Christmas.  Originally, I started twelve crafts in order for family and close friends to keep tabs on my progress.  However, somewhere along the way other people started reading and following, and I took on a mission to inspire people to make at least one - just one (unless you're inspired to do more) - homemade gift this year.  There is nothing better than a gift that has been labored over and loved on, so I provide a bunch of tutorials and gift ideas mixed in with my own novice sewing and crafting antics.          

I also have a stocking stuffer share-along page on my blog so that you can join in by inspiring others too.  Come by and link up any homemade gift idea or tutorial that you think would make a fabulous stocking stuffer for boys, girls, women, men, pets, etc.

I truly believe that anyone can make something for someone because in seven months of sewing and crafting, I've gone from saying, "Oh, I could never make that," to "Hey, I think I can make that!" 

Here's an easy peasy gift idea to get you started toward your gift-making goal.  And remember this idea/tutorial is for your personal gift-giving or wearing use only. 

The Ruffled Ribbon Headband
Here's what you need:

-2 ribbons 40 inches in length

-1 elastic headband

Yep, that's it!  (Well, you need a sewing machine, scissors and straight pins too.)  See, I told you it was easy peasy.

Here's what you do:

1)  Pin the ribbons wrong sides together.

2)  Sew as close as you can all the way down one edge of the ribbons.  Then sew all the way down the other side.

3)  Starting about 1 inch up from one end fold over a small bit of the ribbon making a ruffle.  Pin.  Continue this all the way to the opposite end - leaving another inch on this end.  

4)  Sew directly down the middle.

5)  Put the elastic on one end of the ruffled ribbon and fold the ribbon over the elastic two times.  Sew at the top of the fold.  Sew back and forth a couple of times to secure.  Repeat on the other end.

6) Done and cute!  The black elastic part is at the bottom and back of my head (near my neck).  The ribbon is really all that shows.

Make two or three, tie them together with a bow, place them in a gift bag, and you have one homemade gift done.  These are comfortable and cute for women, teens or girls.

Here are a few more gift ideas . . . my favs.  Stop on over for tutorials.

Pretend and Play Mail Carrier Set

The Pillow Buddy

Pretend and Play Mommy (or Daddy) Set 

Also, right now I'm hosting an event focusing on holiday traditions.  Twelve (plus) days of traditions is full of guest bloggers (like Holly) who are sharing their special holiday traditions, giveaways and a linky party for you to share your own traditions.  Stop by and join the fun!

As I say over at twelve crafts . . . CRAFT ON!****************** THANKS ELIZABETH! GO VISIT AND BE INSPIRED TO GET CRAFTING!

Time is ticking away...Last chance!

Enter to win a Moen Faucet

{like the one below in chrome}

Click HERE for the giveaway post!