Frugal Babe

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A Homemade Christmas Present

November 30, 2009 By Frugal Babe

Last week, I decided to make a Christmas gift for a friend’s daughter.  The little girl is about the same age as our son, and we get the two of them together every month or so.  They’ve evolved from looking at each other, to poking each other in the eye, to running around the playground and taking turns on the slides. 

I wanted to make her some wooden blocks, and a bag to put them in.  The project ideas came to me while I was out on a walk with the dog, and the whole thing was very simple.  For the bag, I used fabric from a huge mu-mu that I wore to a costume party (and got at a thrift store).  As an outfit, it was pretty horrible, but as fabric for a little girl’s bag, it’s fabulous.  I lined it with flannel from those sheets that I bought last year to make diapers (those sheets just keep on going – I’ve used them for a whole bunch of projects, and they aren’t even close to gone yet).  For the handle and the velcro tabs on the bag, I used a waistband from a pair of jeans that my husband didn’t wear anymore.  Here’s the finished bag, filled with blocks:

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For the blocks, I bought two sizes of wooden dowel, and the rest are just made from scraps of wood (mostly 2x4s) that we had in the garage.  My cuts aren’t the straightest, but it gives stuff you build with the blocks a bit of a Dr. Seuss feel, which I think is pretty cool.  I didn’t measure anything, I just cut the wood randomly, so the blocks are all different sizes.  The most time-consuming part of the whole project was sanding the blocks, but even that was fun.  I sat on the back patio sanding blocks while my husband worked in the yard and our son played in the grass with the dog.  Here are pictures of the blocks:

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I finished the blocks on Black Friday, which I thought was appropriate.  Sitting outside sanding blocks of wood was a lot more fun than standing in line at a store somewhere.  I spent $8 on the dowels, but everything else for this project was from scraps of wood and fabric that we already had. 

Filed Under: baby, gifts, the simple life 5 Comments

Comments

  1. This Thrifted Life says

    November 30, 2009 at 5:11 pm

    How great! You have so much talent and generosity on your pinky finger.

    When my borther and I were young, my dad made us a beautiful set of wooden blocks and a tray to hold them. We treasured that set and played with it constantly. I *think* it’s in storage now, but I should really find it before it gets lost to the ravages of neglect.

    Reply
  2. Kelly says

    November 30, 2009 at 7:38 pm

    LOVE IT!!! What a cute and simple idea. Will you be my friend and make one for my daughter :) just kidding! Those are awesome and I am sure your friend’s daughter will love them!

    Reply
  3. Carol says

    November 30, 2009 at 10:13 pm

    This is such a cute project. We are all about simplifying the holiday financial stress by hand making gifts this year.

    Reply
  4. GC says

    December 4, 2009 at 11:32 am

    that is awesome.
    I want to make a “valet and charging station” for my husband. I see some nice ones out there but I think if I really tried I could make him a lovely, large one for less. No idea about woodwork but totally believe it can be done.

    Reply
  5. Jess says

    January 4, 2010 at 12:02 pm

    i love this. i don’t know why i never thought to make my own blocks when i thought about buying blocks as gifts. silly me. thanks for opening up my eyes. can’t wait to break out the table saw and go to town on some random wood in the house!

    Reply

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