homemade gifts for the states

So I'm back in Boston and my hometown of Plymouth right now, loving how nicely things work, how civil people are, what varied food there is, how I don't have to try to get everything done before 1 pm when stores normally close in Naples. But more on all that later. First a crafty post.

Every year when I go back to the US I bring back at least a suitcase full of gifts for family and friends because I hate sending gifts overseas during the year when I don't see them. And I normally spend a good amount of money for all these gifts. So this year I cut way back on expenses and sewed a bunch of gifts for very little if no cost at all, besides the time I put in, obviously. I wanted to do more things, but I just didn't have time. So here goes:

I made five marker or colored pencil rolls. I first got the idea for this in January in the shop at the MADRE art museum in Naples. Similar rolls with Fabriano colored pencils cost at least 30 euros, ridiculous! I studied how it was made and went home and made one with some extra material I had and some cheap Auchan pencils. I've since seen them on other blogs, some very fancy ones, too. So I decided to make some of these for the kids I'd see in the United States. They roll up and are tied with ribbon. This is what they look like when they're opened up:

Then for the girls I made headbands to match their rolls and some extras. This tutorial from Between the Lines (a very cool blog) is very easy to follow.

And finally some produce bags, some from netting, some from chiffon.

And so far everything has been a big hit! I feel good and spent hardly anything (at least for these things)! Yah!