Handmade for Christmas

It's not often that I go the hand-made route for gifts. First of all, I'm just not that crafty. Most sewing projects leave me gritting my teeth and trying not to swear at my sewing machine, or throw things. (I'd like to say the machine is the problem, but it's much more likely that I'm the problem. My machine and I have gotten on a little better in our past couple of meetings, so maybe there's still hope.) Then of course, there's the whole time crunch thing I run into. By the time I get around to whatever project, I've run out of time to actually complete it. However, this time, I was thinking way in advance, and managed to pull it all together in time for Christmas.

These are the waitress kits I made for 2 of my nieces and for my two younger girls. (I have to admit, I got the idea from my friend Eliza. Her sister-in-law gave this to her girls as a gift last year.) My girls love playing restaurant, taking our orders and delivering the food (pretend or real), so I hoped it would be a hit. When I found the owl fabric, I thought it would make a cute apron. It just so happened that when I went to Target looking for some sort of tray, I found the owl plates and decided they would work perfectly. Each apron has a pocket just the right size for holding a pencil and a restaurant check book. And of course, you can't play restaurant without menus, so I included 2 of those - well laminated - as well.

And then, since I was on a roll and had planned in advance, I dug into my fabric scraps and pulled out felt pieces to make some felt food to go with it. I made each of the girls eggs, pancakes and bacon:

and bowtie pasta with red sauce. (Both of these meals, were of course, listed on the menus.)

I have to admit, that was the most fun I've had playing with food in a long time. The felt food was so easy and fast. I think next time I can find a little spare time, I'll whip up some more. Here are my nieces taking orders at our family party.
It was a little tricky keeping it a secret from my girls. Obviously they saw me working on them, but I just told them I was making them for their cousins, and surprised them with their own sets on Christmas.
It was really a fun project. And clearly, since I was able to do it, then you know it was also a fairly easy one. Now we have to see if this leads to any more sewing projects for me in the future. (Don't hold your breath, though.)