They all said "I made this for you!"

As you may know I teach sewing and quilt camps each summer.  Last Fall I decided to try something new with my sewing classes.  In November and December I offered a Saturday class.

The purpose of the class was to provide the students an opportunity to make Christmas gifts for family and friends.  It was a huge success.  The girls had a great time and with each completed gift I would hear "My Mom is going to love this gift." or "I can't wait for Grandma to open this one."

 Here is the way the class worked.  I had 7 projects the girls could make.  We had 2 1/2 hours and they could make as many projects as they could complete in that time frame.  Every project was pre-cut so they could start sewing right away.  When they finished a project they had to gift wrap the item before moving to the next one.  The wrapping allowed for "no peeking" by parents when they picked up their child.  Some Moms really wanted to see what they made.  This only added to the excitement since they had to wait until Christmas.  

The key chain project.  This was
great for almost anyone.  It could be
used as a backpack tag also.

I kept the projects very simple and most required smaller pieces of fabric so I was able to use up some of my many scraps.  The projects are listed below.

1. Tissue package covers
2. Bookmark
3. Key Chain
4. Tic Tac Toe Game
5. Rice Hot/Cold Bag
6. Crayon Bag
7. Coasters

A few of the projects they could make more than one - tissue covers, bookmark and key chain.  The others they could only make one to make sure all of my classes had chance to make each project.

Key Chain supplies

Tissue covers, bookmarks and Tic Tac Toe Game supplies

For the gift wrapping I used brown lunch sacks, a simple tag and bakers twine for the closure. 

The wrapping station was a busy place.

Each class of 4-5 girls made a total of 40+ gifts since some projects could be done several times.  It was fun to watch the girls finish a project go to the wrapping station and then run find the next project to begin.

Working on a Tic Tac Toe game board.

Look at all of those gifts!  That smile says it all.

During these classes I was reminded of the true meaning of giving and receiving a gift.  It is not about the item it is about the love shared between two people.  Remember God loves us so much he gave the ultimate gift - His Son.  

I hope you will join me in encouraging young people to give of themselves and their talents each and every day.

Danna