Sewing projects and crafts for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes which are given to underpriveleged children around the world through Samaritan's Purse. #operationchristmaschild

Sewing projects and crafts for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes which are given to underpriveleged children around the world through Samaritan's Purse. #operationchristmaschild

Easy tutorial to sew a crayon bag. Store coloring supplies in these drawstring bags. Perfect party favor or Operation Christmas Child gift.

While rearranging my sewing room I came across several hand towels and bandannas that I had tucked away in my Operation Christmas Child cra...

Updated March 2019 This is my favourite category from the year round suggestions from Operation Christmas Child. Any excuse to get crafting! I’ve crafted for different causes over the years…

We've compiled a list of over 125 Operation Christmas Child Ideas to pack in your OCC shoebox. Check out these ideas for your shoebox.

Here's how to make easy mini sewing kits. Perfect to tuck in your purse and travel suitcase, as well as include in Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes.

Easy and affordable handmade Christmas treat gifts are thoughtful and delicious. Everyone on your list will love these edible holiday treats!

I've had the pleasure of working with lots of lovely ladies all around the world donating Dolls made with my original Dolly Donations Fre...

Have a drawer full of old t shirts that no one is wearing? Upcycle them into something useful and FUN! You can repurpose t shirts into Jump Ropes!

I created this pattern so I could make reusable pads to put in Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. Anyone is welcome to reuse the pad a...

We've compiled a list of over 125 Operation Christmas Child Ideas to pack in your OCC shoebox. Check out these ideas for your shoebox.

I posted about my drawstring bags I made that a shoe box could fit inside to include in my shoe box gifts. Operation Christmas Child...

Here is a Tutorial for How to Make Hand Puppets from Fleece. Comes with free printable patterns and instructions for 8 different hand puppets.

A variety of sizes of drawstring bags comes in handy in shoe box gifts. In my Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes I always include hygien...

Necklace or Bracelet Bead Kits for Less than $.10 each kit! Materials needed: Cording: 18-24" (Lacing $.99/10 yds at Michaels) Beads: 4-5 ...

Want to crochet for charity in Fall of 2020? Join my Operation Christmas Child Event - we will be crocheting Christmas gifts for kids.

Tips and helps for planning an Operation Christmas Child party, including free printables, gift ideas, and more.

We always give the girls a new loofah in their stocking each Christmas, but I couldn’t resist making these soap pockets for this year instead (especially since our new puppy loves to find and destroy loofahs!). Although it’s too late for this year, these would also make a great addition to an Operation Christmas […]

Hi friends! Hallo Freunde! I'm forever trying to find ways to use up all my fabric scraps (I have plenty). Scrunchies are an easy and quick way to use up those scraps! * Ich suche immer nach neuen Ideen aus Reststücken (davon habe ich unzählige) etwas zu nähen. Scrunchies sind einfach und schnell gemacht! There are plenty of tutorials on the net explaining how to make these, but here's my mini-tutorial just in case you can't find one: * Im Internet gibt es ganz viele Anleitungen, wie man diese Scrunchies (Zopfhalter) macht, aber falls ihr keine findet hier meine Mini-Anleitung: 1. cut fabrics strips 4" x 20", cut elastic 8 - 10 inches (let's face it, some ladies just have a lot more hair than others!) Stoffstreifen schneiden ca. 10 cm x 50 cm, Gummiband zurechtschneiden ca. 20 - 25 cm (machen wir uns nichts vor - es gibt halt Frauen, die viel dickeres Haar haben als andere!) 2. fold the fabric in half lengthwise, right side in. Sew the long edge starting/stopping 1 inch from each end. Turn tube right side out. Den Stoffstreifen der Länge nach zur Hälfte falten, rechte Stoffseite innen. Die lange Seite nähen, dabei am Anfang und Ende ca. 2cm offen lassen. Den Schlauch auf rechts ziehen. 3. fold the tube so that the short ends come together, pin right sides together and stitch all around. You should now have a circle with a gap on the side for inserting the elastic. Den Schlauch nun so zusammenlegen, dass die kurzen Enden recht auf rechts liegen. Rundum zusammennähen. Du solltest nun einen Kreis haben, mit einer Öffnung zum Durchziehen des Gummibands. 4. Hold one end of the elastic and thread the other all the way through the circle using a safety pin. The fabric will bunch (or scrunch!) up as you go along. Overlap the elastic and secure with a couple of stitches. Close the gap by hand with small stitches. Das Gummiband mit einer Sicherheitsnadel durchziehen, dabei ein Ende festhalten. Der Stoff wird beim durchziehen "gerüscht" (scrunch). Die beiden Gummibandenden überlappend fest zusammennähen. Die Öffnung per Hand mit kleinen Stichen schließen. And now you can wear it! Und jetzt einen Zopf binden! Store in pretty container on your dresser! Hübsch aufbewahren! Or put in a cute box and give to your friend! Oder nett verpacken und verschenken! Happy sewing! Viel Spaß beim Nähen!

Operation Christmas Child shoebox time is approaching! My heart for this ministry has grown over the years - especially since I had the great joy of delivering boxes to Ecuador in 2013. I saw firsthand the POWER of a box, and how important it is to fill a box with love, prayer, and han

FaveCrafts is your home for all things quick and crafty. We add new projects and tips every day, and with 1000s of free craft projects, home decor ideas, knitting and crochet patterns, and more, you can get inspiration for your next DIY project here.

If you have ever upcycled old t-shirts you always get to the sleeves and wonder what to do with them. ...

Here is an index of all the posts I have written with craft how-to's or DIY tutorials. Click the image to find the post of instructions. ...

Tips and ideas for packing Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts!

Make a magnetic playset from an altoid tin! Great recycled project and kids craft. It is perfect for a travel activity or to include in Operation Christmas Child shoebox gifts!

Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Coloring Page [Free Download] - This week is National Collection Week for those of you who also put together Christmas Shoeboxes. Each year we pack shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child with our church youth group. Last year we shared some details about what we pack in those shoeboxes in Operation Christmas

Operation Christmas Child shoe box packing is in full swing at my house! Tap in to your creative side and try out a few of these DIY projects that are great for packing in a OCC shoe box! DIY Operation Christmas Child Crafts Sewing Kit Empty Altoids tin (decorate ideas) Multiple needles Thread Buttons Straight pins Safety pins Soft tape measure Add all the items to an Altoids tin, or you can get even more creative and put everything in to a pot holder. Mini Boxes I saved some Altoids and gum containers and left it up to my girls

A fun Christmas activity puzzle for home, the car, or school

A friend was asking me advice about simple doll making. I've made a number of dolls in my day. The most recent ones I've posted (see creating toys above for references) have been quite intricate. Although possible for a beginner, intricate doll making is really a challenging first project. Enter memory lane. I used to mass produce these as a little girl. I had a singer purple kid sewing machine. All it did was a straight stitch and a zig zag. Perfect for whipping these up by the dozens. I think every friend I had received one from me. Ahh, memories. So, if you are in the market to learn to sew and want a doll, here's a project for you. Or if you know of a little child who wants to learn how to sew, here is a project for you. Or if you would like to upcycle one of your child's special flannel receiving blankets, here's a project for you. Or if you aren't a seamstress but still want to give a little homemade...this is also a project for you. Supplies: -Two rectangles of fabric. I used flannel receiving blankets, but you could use any fabric you have. Pillowcases work too, especially if you wanted a new sew option. You can pretty much make the rectangles of fabric any size you want, it's however big you want your doll. I used 13 inches/16 inches. -Polyfill or the insides of an old stuffed animal/pillow. -Lace (no more than a yard) -Thread -Glue gun -Ribbon 1) Cut your rectangles. These are 13x16. Or if you have a pillowcase already sewed, skip this step. 2) Attach the lace to the bottom edge of each piece of fabric or the bottom edge of the pillowcase. * Note, if the bottom seam of the fabric is already finished or the selvage edge, you can glue or sew the lace right to the edge. If it's not finished, you might choose to fold the bottom edge over/stitch, zig zag the edge or using pinking shears so it doesn't unravel. 3) Place right sides of fabric together, laced edges touching. Stitch and finish the seams of the left, top and right sides. Leave laced edge unstitched. Turn right side out, press. It should look like a pillowcase. 3) Take a small ball of stuffing and put it in the top of the pillowcase. Tie ribbon around that ball of stuffing tight to make a head. Make sure you leave the points untied so they can be the arms. 4) Add some stuffing to each point. Tie ribbon around to make arms. *Note-make sure ribbons are stitched in place and are short in length so it's safe for little ones to play with. 5) Cut piece of lace the right length to make bonnet. Stitch or glue bonnet in place. This is what it should look like. I gave it to my sweet girl. She usually isn't into dolls. She prefers tractors. Or anything that isn't supposed to be a toy. She appeared to like it. Gave it a hug when prompted. But... It wasn't long until she started shaking the life out of the poor doll. Ah, oh well. If you make one, I'd love to see your results!

Want to include more in your Operation Christmas Child box without taking up any additional space? Let's talk about using the lid of the box for a little extra fun. You can decorate it in a number of ways, from a race track to a prayer. Write a prayer and put your child's handprint. It says, 'This is my hand. When you place your hand on mine, think about me. I prayed for you to receive this box.' Decorate the lid. You can give your kids free range to decorate and come up with a Bible verse to include

DIY wood spinning top that's easy and inexpensive to make. "The Simple Toy that Brings Great Joy!" great for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes!

The Story Our church always packs a large number of Operation Christmas Child boxes every year. This year, I asked God what he wanted me to contribute to the project and he told me to get out my sewing machine and make bags... lots of bags... As a person of fairly meager financial means who is also crazy busy all the time, I wasn't quite sure how that was going to work, but I gave it a go anyhow. I researched several simple purse designs online and came up with my own pattern that took elements from several others. It was simple enough to be made by an advanced beginner, and used pieces that were small enough to be made from scraps. Next, I asked for fabric donations. "Empty out your scrap bin", I said.... and they did. "Teach other people to make the bag," God said, and I did. "Sew, sew, sew!" and I did..... aaaaaaaand my sewing machine gave out. :( But no worries, God wanted those bags! I told my church family of my plight and was offered sewing machines from 3 different people! Somehow, the heavens granted me the supernatural ability to time travel... or something, because in the space of a couple of months, even with my hectic schedule, I managed to make 100 bags! ...and my friends, together they made almost 100 bags! So now that collection week is over, I am already gathering fabric for next year and hoping that this little tutorial will teach even more people to make these bags so that they get into even more Operation Christmas Child boxes. ....on to the tutorial.... The Pattern This is the only pattern piece you will really need. The whole thing is 28" tall, the body portion at the bottom is 12" tall. The width at the bottom is 8 and 5/8" and the strap width is 3 1/2". Make sure you draw that 5/8" line like you see in the image, you will need it. You'll want to curve the body portion into the strap portion. You'll notice 2 different curves in the image. I like to use a gentler curve for the purse version (bag 1), and a steeper curve for the school bag version (bag 2). Ultimately, the curve is up to you. This bag is pretty customizable, just pick something round to trace along... plate, bowl, cup, etc. Just depends on how gentle/steep you want the curve to be. To use the pattern, you can either cut whole panels or half panels. To cut a whole panel, fold your fabric and line up that 5/8" seam allowance line with the fold. Cut! To cut a half panel, cut all the way to the edge of the pattern. When you sew two half panels together, you'll get a whole. You'll need that 5/8" seam allowance to make sure that they are the same size as the whole panels so that everything fits together. You don't really need a pattern piece for the pockets. The Bag Designs As I said earlier, this bag is pretty customizable, you can change several things and make each bag a bit different. I have come up with two basic bag designs: the purse (bag 1) and the school bag (bag 2). They go together in virtually the same way with only a few differences. Theses differences, however could be mixed and matched however you saw fit. The Making of "The Purse" (Bag 1) Even though I believe this to be a fairly simple pattern, I am going to try to be as thorough as possible so that sew-ers of all ability levels can make it. Fabric Pieces First of all, to make either bag you will need to have the equivalent of 4 whole panel pieces cut from your fabrics. This can be from almost any combination of whole and half-cut panels, however, I like to have my 2 liner pieces cut as wholes. Most of my purses have half panels for the outside and whole panels on the inside. THIS purse, as you can see, is made from 1 whole panel and 2 half panels for the outside and 2 whole panels for the liner (the dark purple pieces). You will also need 2 pieces of fabric that are the same size for your pocket. These can be large, small, square, rectangular, or whatever. I highly recommend pressing your fabric pieces. I learned from experience long ago that it is easier to iron for a second than to fight with unruly fabric. Step 1 - The Pocket Sew your two pocket pieces, right sides together, and leave a 2" or so opening to turn it. Try to leave the opening on the bottom edge of the pocket. Clip corners, turn, and press. Step 2 - Half panels become whole panels Sew together any half panels along center seam, right sides together. Leave 5/8" seam allowance. Press seam allowance to one side. Step 3 - Attach Pocket Sew the pocket to the right side of the purse front. Sew close to edges on sides and bottom. Make sure that the opening that you had left to turn the pocket is at the bottom. It will get closed up as you stitch on the pocket. I recommend using a ruler to center your pocket from side to side. Make sure not to place it within an inch of any of the edges. Step 4 - Outside Edges Sew purse outside pieces together at outside edges, right sides together. This will require pinning to keep it straight. Do not stitch curve or the very ends of the straps. Step 5 - Corners If you were to turn it right-side-out now, it would look like this... But we're going to add some dimension to those corners, so leave it wrong-side out a bit longer. Use your hand to push into the corner and lay it flat. Line up seams, pushing the seam allowance to one side. Measure 2" from the corner, mark with pencil (1" or 1 1/2" would also work depending on what you want, just be consistent). Stitch along this 2" line. This will make a triangle. Trim off corner, leaving a seam allowance. repeat on other corner. Now you can turn it. It should look something like this... Step 6 - Purse Liner Repeat steps 4 and 5 with your purse liner pieces. You could even add pockets to those pieces as well if you wanted pockets on the inside of your purse. Step 7 - Putting the purse together At this point you should have your purse outsides done and turned right-side-out, as well as your purse liner done and turned wrong-side-out. Now you are going to place your right-side-out purse outer piece inside of your wrong-side out liner. Pin the pieces together along inner curved edge, one side at a time. Don't pin all 4 pieces together! Just pin the liner and outer on 1 side, flip it over, and pin the liner and outer on the other side. Sew together curved edge on each side. Leave ends of straps open. Step 8 - Turn and Press Reach through the opening at the end of one strap to turn the whole thing right side out. You'll want to work your hand through the inside, grab the strap on the other side and pull it back through the opening your hand is in. It'll get a little tough to turn in the middle, but just keep working at it. When you've got it turned, you'll want to press the straps and the curved edge. Step 9 - Finish Straps Sew straps together at ends. sew with purse outsides together so that the seam allowance is on the liner side. Press seam allowance to one side (or press open, either way). Turn strap edges under trifold style. Stitch on either side of center strap seam. Step 10 - Finishing Touches You could be done here if you wanted. ...but I like to add a little plastic snap closure. They're super easy and look nice. Have fun! ....and stay tuned for the instructions for Bag 2 (the school bag) Here are my kids sporting some sweet bags! My daughter has bag 1, my sons have bag 2.