Christmas planning

I've noticed I'm not the only one in blogosphere that's thinking ahead to Christmas, as you'll see by the links below.

I stumbled upon The Houseworks Holiday Plan at Organized Christmas. It's free, has lots of helpful printables, and it takes you from the first week of September through New Year's. Go check it out - you can thank me later! :)

This past week was "Calendar and Creativity Week," and I've been inspired to clean up my craft space (i.e. my scrapbook room) and look into some projects I'd like to make for Christmas.

With all of that looking, of course I ran across gobs of great ideas whose instructions are free for the using on the good old Internet. So, without any further ado, here are some of the best ideas I found for homemade Christmas gifts ...

For the seamstress

• If I had a dog (or cat), I’d be sewing this pet bed!
• Why buy a grocery bag dispenser when it’s so easy to make your own? I’m thinking about making a few of these for gifts, if I get the chance. (Ours is in desperate need of a replacement, too!)
• Here’s a nice heating pad that’s cheap and easy to sew.
• Make some headbands for the girls on your list.
• I always wanted one of those roll-up cases for my crochet hooks, but I didn’t want to spend the money for them. Now (if I ever again find my large collection of crochet hooks) I can make my own!
• Here’s a cute apron for kids who like to help out in the kitchen.
• Do you know a little boy who likes to be a super hero? This cape would be a perfect, easy, inexpensive gift!
• Here's a great gift idea for kids who like to color on the go.
• I’ll have to convert the metric to our measurements, but this notebook and pencil holder is a project after my own heart! If I get any extra time on my hands, I’ll probably be trying a few of these.
• Did you ever want a customized wallet? This might be fun!
• Do you know any mother who couldn’t use one of these backseat organizers? Here’s one you can make yourself. The bonus: use any fabric you want to personalize your vehicle!

Other craft-type gifts

• This soap dispenser is the perfect gift for a friend who decorates country-style (or yourself, if you decorate country-style)!
• Here's a great idea for a recipe card holder– decorate to your heart’s content!
• Wool dryer balls? I’d never heard of them before, but if using them means I don’t need any more fabric softener, I’m interested!
• I need to make a hair bow holder like this! The one I’m using for my daughter can’t hold all the bows, and it’s not nearly as decorative.
• And if you don’t already have an overflowing boatload of hair bows, here's how you can make some more!
• Learn how to make a beautiful etched glass canister– with no etching involved!
• Here’s a card portfolio that looks pretty easy. If you’re not the cardmaking type, you could put a gift of pretty storebought (or computer-designed) stationery inside!

And just in case you need to make identical gifts for gobs of people, check out these decorated water bottles!

Are you inspired yet? I wish I could share two other links with you, but I can't find the exact same thing online. I found them in Singer's Quick & Easy Sewing Projects book that I picked up at a thrift store.

The first is a children's teepee. It's something like this, but a lot easier! My kids are forever making tents out of my furniture, so I'd like to make these for them and eliminate a lot of the mess!

The second is a child's bath poncho, made from large bath towels. It's something like this, but the book's instructions make a puppy poncho.

So ... have you thought yet about Christmas? Are you working on making anything yet? I'd love to hear about it if you are!