There has been a LOT of holiday-making at our house lately — very exciting!! Now that Emily has one of her surprise gifts ready for Clara, I thought it would be fun to help Clara create a fun surprise gift of her own to give to her big sister. We had lots of fun sneakily crafting these pretend donuts while Emily was at school! They are super-frugal, and very easy to make — NO sewing!!!
I’m sensing a pretend bakery shop in our future. Yum!
To make the pretend donuts, we used a pair of mens socks from the dollar store. Long brown or tan socks work very well for this, and one sock makes one donut. While we were there, we picked up a few thermal pairs to donate to The Joy of Sox (an organization that distributes new socks for the homeless) — totally killing two birds with one stone!
I cut the toe off, leaving a long tube of fabric. I opened the sock at the toe-end, and rolled it all the way up to the opposite end forming a donut shape.
I carefully hot glued some felt “icing” — way faster than sewing, but if you want to sew it on, I’m not going to stop you!
Then I invited Clara to decorate her donuts with fabric paint “sprinkles”! GREAT fun!!!! She was super-proud of herself for making a surprise gift for her big sister!
I couldn’t resist decorating a few of my own! They are a bit addicting to make!!
November 10th, 2011 on 1:15 pm
Very cute! Love that your girls are making gifts for each other =)
November 10th, 2011 on 9:35 pm
lol – Yes, lots of sneaky, top-secret crafting going on around here!
November 10th, 2011 on 1:18 pm
Love…love….love these. Definitely will have to make some of these
Thanks for sharing!
November 10th, 2011 on 9:36 pm
Yay!! They are so much fun to make… Enjoy!
November 10th, 2011 on 1:18 pm
Dear Valerie,
Man, I thought those socks were for me!
Love,
Mark
November 10th, 2011 on 9:37 pm
Socks are over-rated…. what you REALLY want are donuts.
November 10th, 2011 on 9:39 pm
Dear Valerie,
Fine, but I’m gonna need more sprinkles than that.
Love,
Mark
November 10th, 2011 on 1:21 pm
These are SUPER clever. I love them and are possible with the lone socks in my laundry basket. I love this. We made muffins out of napkins and egg cartons but I think your donuts have better toppings.
If you want to take a peak. http://bloggingthemoments.blogspot.com/2011/05/recycable-treats-for-our-sweet-shop.html
November 10th, 2011 on 9:39 pm
Eeeek!! That is SUPER cute, Becky!!! Thank you so much for sharing — looks like your girls had SO much fun!
November 10th, 2011 on 1:22 pm
Cute! You inspired me with the felt pretzels and now those, I will make a bunch of felt food for my boy this christmas. He will love it, he “cooks” everyday with his little plastic stash of food. But I think he will love the food I have planned for him, now if I could only find felt! Much harder to find here in Quebec
November 10th, 2011 on 9:41 pm
Perfect!! I know he will love the felt food you make for him! I sometimes make my own wool felt from old or thrifted wool sweaters. Nothing is safe from the crafty after-life in this house!
November 10th, 2011 on 1:24 pm
off to the lone sock pile on the dresser to search for materials… Great idea!
November 10th, 2011 on 9:42 pm
Sweet!! Have fun!!
November 10th, 2011 on 1:31 pm
I stumbled upon your blog a couple weeks ago…YOU ARE AMAZING
I have found (and pinned) so many wonderful ideas from you and am keeping them all tucked away for as my little person/people grow! Thanks for sharing your ideas – they are a gift.
November 10th, 2011 on 9:44 pm
So sweet, Becca!! Thank you so much for your kind words, and welcome to FFFB! It’s so nice to “meet” you!
November 10th, 2011 on 1:34 pm
Love this! I’m going to pin it & maybe make them as favors for my daughter’s donut shop birthday party.
November 10th, 2011 on 9:45 pm
Wow! A donut shop birthday party sounds AWESOME!! Thanks so much for pinning! xoxo
November 10th, 2011 on 1:57 pm
Only you could come up with donuts out of men’s socks
They look great!
November 10th, 2011 on 9:46 pm
ROFL!!! Thanks, Natalie!
November 10th, 2011 on 2:15 pm
Loving your frugal, fun food ideas!!
November 10th, 2011 on 9:48 pm
I’m so happy to hear that, Jackie!!! My kiddos love playing with pretend food, and it’s even more fun if they can help make their own!
November 10th, 2011 on 3:34 pm
Yum, yum, yum….. I almost need to make a pretend food category on Pinterest, I’ve got so many under my role play category. Now to decide do I want sock donuts or wooden ones for our play food?
November 10th, 2011 on 9:49 pm
I think a pretend food board is a GREAT idea!! Clara votes for sock donuts.
November 10th, 2011 on 6:35 pm
Thank you so much for this wonderful craft idea! I will definitely have to make some of these as Christmas gifts for my daughter and her cousins! No sewing involved is an added bonus!
November 10th, 2011 on 9:50 pm
YAY!!!! Have fun!! We would have made a bunch more, but ran out of socks! They are very quick and easy to make… I hope the kiddos enjoy playing with them!
November 10th, 2011 on 8:42 pm
These look so good and so easy to make too!
November 10th, 2011 on 9:51 pm
Thank you, Deanne!
November 11th, 2011 on 6:16 am
What a fabulous idea!
November 13th, 2011 on 10:18 pm
Thanks, Kathryn! xoxo
November 11th, 2011 on 8:30 pm
This is so cute. I’m featuring it tomorrow at Dollar Store Crafts.
November 13th, 2011 on 10:19 pm
WOOT!! Thanks so much for linking, Heather! It totally made my day, and I hope your little guy likes his donuts!
November 12th, 2011 on 10:26 am
Wow, that is amazing. I wish i had that when my little girls was small. We had a play kitchen and we pretended I was buying burgers at Mc D’s. Got the Big Mac meal always and hot coffe. My son, well he is into soilders so we got rid of the kitchen….
November 13th, 2011 on 10:21 pm
Awwww… sounds like such a fun way to spend the day!!
November 12th, 2011 on 3:59 pm
I love these! I pinned it so when I have the time I can make a whole stack to put under a glass cake plate.
November 13th, 2011 on 10:23 pm
Fantastic, Anne!! Have fun!
November 13th, 2011 on 12:25 pm
I would say you’ve outdone yourself, but I think that everytime. This is simple genius and the cheapo in me loves it! We will be making some for our play kitchen. We can change up the icing colors to make some festive holiday ones. Thanks for the great idea! Vicky from Mess For Less
November 13th, 2011 on 10:24 pm
I think holiday ones are a great idea!! Enjoy!
November 15th, 2011 on 9:38 pm
Love it!!! Especially the “no sew” part!
November 22nd, 2011 on 3:19 pm
I love this..I think I’m going to have my little girl make some for her baker brother.
December 1st, 2011 on 2:09 pm
I just made these with my son, as well as the ‘sponge cake’ and it was so fun! We made them for my daughter for Christmas. Thanks for the great idea!
January 13th, 2012 on 2:47 pm
Great minds think alike, eh (http://www.rookno17.com/2010/12/sock-upcycle-gift-tutorial-how-to-make.html)!
Your sock donuts turned out beautifully! I LOVE the way the fabric paint sprinkles look!
So happy to discover your blog through this happy coincidence!
Cheers!
Jenn/Rook No. 17
January 13th, 2012 on 3:58 pm
Ha! That is amazing, Jenn!! Yes, you know what they say about great minds…
Mine were inspired by “sock buns”! lol Always so nice to meet other “like-minded” bloggers!!
January 24th, 2012 on 10:17 pm
I had to make these for my buddies. I think they are their current favourite plaything!
January 28th, 2012 on 3:09 pm
So cute!