Handmade Holidays

Here are a few pictures of the handmade happenings in our house the last few days. Mostly my handmade, but Little R. got her fingers in there too.

First, our new family Christmas stockings.



Inspired by the custom order I did for the G. family, I decided to make stockings for my family too. Actually, I was going to make one for Little R. only, but when Nathaniel saw Little C's custom number he asked if I would make one for each of us. I actually made stockings a number of years ago for just Nathaniel and myself - this was long before Little R. graced our lives - and when I finished them he stated, decidedly, that they were too small, and he has complained about them every Christmas since. I have to agree with him, they were basically the size of a sock he would normally wear - and that definitely is not enough room for holiday booty.



Made from Vintage Wool Suiting, lined with Organic Cotton. Not reversible. I'm thinking about making these for sale next Christmas. Around $55. Feel free to place your order early. ;)

Second, ginger sugar cookies drizzled with dark chocolate.







I didn't get around to photographing the final product - the dark chocolate drizzles where so artistic and free and eat-me-up-inviting. You'll just have to take my word for it. Check out SillyCon's fantastic oilcloth aprons, we *love* ours.

Third, organic and paper-free wrapping.

I was really struggling with gift wrapping this year - paper wrap to me is just wrong (with no offence to those gifting me with paper-clad pressies!). I can't bring myself to buy new rolls and this year I didn't spend as much time in thrift shops looking for roll ends, so we're quite short on gift paper, Christmas or otherwise. I've also been thinking a lot about intention, call and environmental stewardship, and reflecting on the handmade pledge I took last Christmas.

For the most part I have really stuck to my commitment (I even stopped buying ready-made stationary and note cards. For my dad's birthday this year Little R. and I found it a giant chestnut tree leaf and wrote on it in gold pen, one of the most beautiful cards I've made.). This Christmas it seems so in congruent to take the beautiful, hand crafted gifts we've discovered and made and wrap them up in something so not hand crafted in every way. I thought about it and thought about it and decided that cloth wrapping does not have to be the formless sack leaving your gift to float somewhere in the bottom. This is what I did instead:



Organic (because I have a LOT of it on hand) Cotton cut into flat 'sheets' with rounded corners, serged edging in red and blue and browns, folded up and both pinned and tied closed with jingly bells and cute badges with nods to The Regional Assembly of Text and Smitten.

And I can not wait to hear how my sister reacts when she opens that long, skinny one. Happy Christmas, Amie! xoxo