Crafting for the Holidays

If you love making gifts for the holidays, as I do, you know that it's never too soon to begin planning your holiday giving list.  (In theory..I do have a tendency towards procrastination and have found myself in previous years pulling all nighters with a pot of coffee and several skeins of yarn ;-)

I have vowed, however, that I will be organized this year!!  In this spirit, I have started sorting through some of my pins on Pinterest to identify what I would like to try my hand at, and who the gifts would be suited for..because, truthfully, I do sometimes find something I reallllyyy want to make that would only be suited as a gift for me :-)

Here are a few things I'm thinking about so far:

For her

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 These gorgeous origami fabric butterflies would be perfect for hair accessories, brooches or as an accent on a necklace.

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Hand scrub, great in a gift bag with a nail file and some pretty nail polish!

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Embellished cardigans..soooo easy.  (Incidentally, this is also an adorable blog with several other fantastic ideas!)

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Cozy sewn felt slippers (also a great idea for kiddos!)

For Him

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My husband LOVES these.  They're pretty easy to make..I may enlist the children to create a few for their Dad and uncles ;-)

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Despite his protests about the "Fudge Handles" he acquires every holiday season, The Man loveeesss some homemade fudge.

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Create a playlist, could be songs for your sweetheart, running songs, songs to brighten your day, type the list out on fun paper and attach to an itunes gift card..it's like a mixed tape for the 21st century ;-)

For the Kids

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Create a bunch of these.  Use to embellish overalls, sweaters, hats, mittens or stitch them all together to make a scarf.

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Rice filled heating pads to snuggle up to on a cold night!

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I'm a sucker for a cute hat, and this one's about as cute as they come..

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This link is for 25 Christmas Books and crafts to go with them, but you could do this with any book for any age!  My oldest daughter loves the Hunger Games, and I thought a neat combo would be the Hunger Games books and a craft project to make arrow hair sticks out of chopsticks and feathers or felt feathers.  My youngest loves Diary of a Wimpy Kid, so to go along with that, a craft for making your own diary. 

So that's my (preliminary) list!  What are your ideas for the holidays?  Do you make gifts as well?  What sort of items are on your crafting list?  Feel free to share here or over on facebook!

Book Review - Have Yourself a Very Vintage Christmas: Crafts, Decorating Tips, and Recipes, 1920s-1960s

This fabulous little book was one of the recommendations that popped up on my Amazon page a few weeks ago.  Christmas AND Vintage??  Count me in!

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The book is set up by decade, beginning in the 1920's and ending in the 1960's.  The first few pages of each decade covers a little history of what was going on at that time (ie, the depression, WWII, etc.) and how it affected the holiday.  It discusses color schemes, decoration preferences and the reasons for them and then goes on to offer a few project ideas geared towards decorating your own home.  A few of my favorites:

• Paper Cones (made from pretty patterned paper and decorated with ribbons and maribou) used to hold treats
• Tulle wreaths in bright 1960's colors like pink and teal with little bird decorations
• Candles with glitter stripes made to look like candy canes
• Matchboxes made from Christmas cards (one suggestion is to fill them with M&M's and give them as party favors!  Such a cute idea.)

The back of the book has a section on recipes for candy and treats.  Mackinac Island Fudge, Caramels and Butterscotch Haystacks are a few of the really yummy offerings.  There are also color templates included with the book to use in making some of the projects, or for gift tags and Christmas cards.

This was such a wonderfully sweet, nostalgic book with really easy to use craft ideas and recipes.  I highly recommend it for the vintage Christmas lover!

(Because I liked the recipes for the fudge and caramels so much, they will be the subject of the next Home Ec post!)

Hugs and Smooches,
D

My Grown Up Christmas List

The holidays are always a source of joy for me...

Pssh.  Who am I kidding?  I would LIKE the holidays to always be a source of joy, but sometimes, just sometimes, they make me a big ball of stress.  But I want to love the holidays.  I want to soak up all the family time, drive around and look at the beautiful decorations and enjoy the gift giving.  Which is where my steps for holiday planning come in..

I am an organized soul (no really!)  I know it doesn't appear to go hand in hand with creativity, but the only way I can truly feel free is to have a place for things.  Knowing where my supplies are, having a system of organization for my clothing and accessories and a process for buying, cleaning and selling my vintage items allows me to not have to think about the details.  The same holds true for planning my holiday gift giving.  Here are some of the steps I like to take to make the holiday season a joyous one.

• Make a list (and check it twice!) - Write down all of the people you need a gift for (don't forget teachers, postal workers, etc.!)  You can do this in a notebook or, if you're like me, on an excel spreadsheet.  Next to each name, jot down a few gift ideas and a budget.  As you gather gifts, check them off the list and adjust your budget accordingly.  If you plan on making gifts, this is also a good time to create a separate list of what you plan to create, along with a column of supplies that will be needed.  I like to use a second tab on my excel spreadsheet for this purpose (..and I maay cross reference it with the database I created that lists all the supplies I have on hand..  I told you I liked organization ;)

Sock Octopus from my Inspiration Pinboard on Pinterest

• Start gathering ideas - I like to begin with places like Etsy and some of the blogs I follow.  Sometimes something will get my creative juices flowing, and other times I will just purchase an item outright.  I like to use Pinterest as a tool for tracking my ideas, but you can also print down pictures and keep them in a folder, or add to your favorites on Etsy.  If you prefer to buy from more mainstream shops, you can also go through sale fliers from your sunday paper to get ideas or check out Black Friday ads for deals.

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• Create your plan of attack! - Schedule in time for gift making.  Make it fun!  Have some girlfriends over, make some cookies and cocoa and have a gabfest while you create.  Give yourself plenty of time and make it enjoyable.  Then, schedule a few shopping trips (or an evening to shop online) to fill in the items that you will be purchasing.  Try to schedule it so everything is completed one or two weeks ahead of the holidays so you can relax and take time for some fun ( like picking out your tree or watching holiday movies!)

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

• Wrap, Decorate, Give - Plan a day to wrap your gifts.  Include friends and loved ones (but not their gifts!) to make the time fly by.  Make the wrapping just as thoughtful as the present.  Everyone loves getting a pretty package :)  You can also plan to decorate your home or tree together on that day.  You are now prepared!  All that's left to do is give your gifts and receive hugs and smiles in return ;)

Hugs and Smooches,
D

A Few of my Favorite Things - The November Edition

Can you believe it's November??  I can't!  (Though the kiddos reminded me this morning that it's only 7 more weeks till Christmas..doesn't sound like enough time, right?)

Anywho, I've been working like a crazy person on the first Home Ec post and I want it to be just perfect, so it's taking me a little more time than I had planned, but I didn't want to disappear into blogging limbo, so today I'm going to share a few of my favorite things for November and a sneak peek at the book that I'm using as a reference for the first Home Ec. post.



Key Fabric

 Favorite thing #1 - I purchased some of this nifty key fabric.  I'm thinking of making one of the following with it..

McCalls 6123

I like the idea of this tunic with the key pattern fabric on top, solid black on the bottom and maybe a black and cream stripe for the trim.

McCalls M5591

I also like the idea of doing this skirt in the key fabric with the black contrast on the bottom.

Favorite Thing #2 - Thank you Turkeys

Thank You Turkey Craft

My girls will be doing a variation on this thank you turkey for each family member this thanksgiving.  The girls are working on making a turkey with 5 tail feathers.  Each feather will list one thing that they are thankful for about that person.

Favorite thing #3 - Ummm, pretty much this entire outfit from Modcloth. 

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Favorite Thing #4 - Fun with Elf on the Shelf!  I actually have a vintage one that my Mum put in my stocking last year.  Click on the link and it will give you some suggestions for fun things to do with your elf this holiday season :)

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Favorite Thing #5 - Dying buttons!  (Who knew??)

Rit Dye

..and then you can use them for fun holiday projects like this..

..Or this..

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..Or stocking stuffers like these!

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(Have I mentioned my mild obsession with buttons?)

Ok.

On to the home ec post sneak peek..

The first project will be from a really nifty book I got as a gift for Christmas last year.  It's not a vintage book, but it's full of vintage ideas inspired by one of my favorite authors of all time, Jane Austen.



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 The project is a secret, but I will tell you that it's perfectly perfect for the cooler weather ;)

Have a wonderful day!

Hugs and Smooches,
D