I don’t have any daughters.  {We have 2 boys.}  But I have 3 nieces.  {No nephews.}  So, I take advantage of any opportunity to make something sweet and girlie for them…for example, Christmas.  My oldest niece, Lillian, is 7.  She’s a hippie chick and loves anything with flowers or peace signs on it.  I decided to make canvas artwork for her room with a peace sign on it. Here’s how I did it…

I started out with a blank 12″x12″ canvas and scrap fabric.

I drew a peace sign free-hand on some newspaper, cut it out, and laid it on my canvas to check the size.

Then I traced my peace sign pattern onto the wrong side of scrap fabric, making sure to line up the pattern of the fabric the way I wanted it.

I cut out the fabric peace sign and laid it onto the canvas…

…and decided the white canvas was too stark.  So, I found a light gray-green {Benjamin Moore’s Harbor Town} paint sample in the basement and used it to paint the canvas.

I Mod Podged everything several times over, waiting 10-15 minutes between each coat.

And here’s the final product…

I hope Lillian will think it’s groovy.  For my other 2 nieces who are sisters, I decided to make them canvas monograms.  {Can you tell I found a 3-pack of 12″x12″ canvases marked down?}  They just recently started sharing a room together to leave a third bedroom free as a playroom.  I thought personalized monograms would work well in either their shared bedroom or playroom.  Plus, in my experience at least, kids like to see the first letter of their name in familiar rooms.  This is what I came up with…

I painted a striped pattern onto the canvas with the same light gray-green paint I used on Lillian’s canvas.  I bought a wooden “A” for Audrey and a “C” for Caitlyn from JoAnn’s for $2 each on sale and painted them Valspar {Lowe’s} Magic Spell – the same color as my powder room.  Audrey likes animals, so I Mod Podged a bird made from fabric scraps onto her canvas.  {I made sure to Mod Podge the entire canvas – not just the fabric bird – so the entire canvas would have the same sheen.}  I made the little bird appliqué the same way as Lillian’s peace sign by using a pattern drawn on and cut from newspaper.  My trusty hot glue gun adhered the “A” to the canvas.

Caitlyn is an eater.  I joke that she is an emotional eater…she’s happy when she eats.  I Mod Podged a fabric apple onto her canvas.

I tried to keep them fairly neutral so they could work in either their bedroom or playroom.  As you can see, some paint seeped under the taped stripes but, once again, I like a little imperfection.  It’s your first clue that it was, in fact, hand crafted by me.  I hope Audrey and Caitlyn like their monograms!

For me, receiving from someone who spends more time than money on a gift definitely makes me feel extra special.  And while I can’t give all handmade presents {well, I guess I could but I’d need to start today for Christmas 2011!}, I try to sprinkle some in here and there.  {Check out the Valentine’s Day gift I made for Handy Hubby last year.}  What about you?  Making any gifts this year?  What’s your favorite handmade present you’ve been gifted?

images:  all by Dana Miller for House*Tweaking

…December in Ohio.  Ha.  You thought I was going to say Christmas, didn’t you?

We got dumped on yesterday.  By my guesstimate, we have about 7 inches of snow.  By Layne’s, it’s more like 3 feet.

Of course, school was cancelled so we had an official ‘snow day.’  I laid out a blanket on the floor in the family room, and Layne, Everett and I enjoyed a picnic lunch indoors.  We watched The Flintstones while we ate.  Later, while Everett was napping, {boy, was I glad he napped…he was crabby…probably because his big brother was stealing some of his mama’s attention} Layne and I went outside to shovel the driveway.  I mean, I shoveled the driveway while Layne pretended to swim in the snow.  He proclaimed, “This is the best day ever!” and then took a huge bite out of a clump of snow.  It took me an hour and a half to clear our short driveway.  I considered it my workout for the day.  The crisp, icy air actually felt good in my nose after being holed up inside the last few days.  I love how a lot of snow insulates everything around you and muffles the everyday sounds, so all you can hear is your own breath and the scratching of your hood on your head.  So peaceful.

A comical couple that lives across from our neighborhood’s school bus stop has continued their first snow tradition.

It makes me giggle.  I like funny people.  My Christmas shopping is finished but I have a few homemade gifts to tackle and lots of wrapping to do…all of which will make it onto here next week. Until then, I wish you a cozy, warm-toesie, red-nosy kind of weekend!