I'll make you one!

For me growing up - there was a lot of DIY in our house.  Dad was always very handy around the house and garden, making all sorts of things out of wood and metal.  Mum was a whiz with the sewing machine - able to make anything and everything you could imagine.

The preferred option was defnitely to make it ourselves if we wanted something. Mum made lots of soft toys for my brother and myself, endless clothes, funky fun rubbish bins for our bedrooms, bags.... and Dad made tables, a TV turntable, a dolls house for me, a castle for my brother......  It was great!

Now I myself sew and love making things for the girls.  They seem to like anything and everything I make - even the disasters!  Their friends also like handmade gifts for birthdays, which is brilliant as it means you know you're giving something unique!

On our recent holiday, the girls spotted an arcade grabber game which was full of cuddly Angry Bird toys to win.  They both wanted to play the game and try to win - but instead agreed that I could make them their own Angry Birds .

So on our return from holiday, I found a tutorial online and made a red bird to test the pattern.

Both girls loved it and then chose which birds they each wanted.

They then spent the next few days gradually making and adding to 'homes' for their soon to be made Angry Birds!

Today I finished the birds and so they can be welcomed into their new homes.

The girls are slowly learning to sew too - and as you can see from these Angry Bird Houses - are already little budding DIYers!

I think it's good that the girls are growing up knowing there's an alternative to just buying things you desire.  The Angry Birds they wanted to try and win - may have cost $2 each if they had been successful in the arcade game first time.  But those games are not designed so that everyone wins every time. So it could well have been a lost $2 each and no Angry Bird toy!  Or you can find Angry Bird toys in the shops for a few more dollars.

The Angry Birds I made for the girls cost nothing but a little time and scraps of fabric that I already had. Making things yourself also lets you personalise and make things that extra little bit special and unique!

Do you ever make things for your kids? Or did your parents, aunties or grandparents make things for you when you were younger?