Shopping blog featuring products made by people not factories.
This year my sister feels very fortunate in her life and has asked us all not to give her anything for Christmas. I’m glad that she’s feeling fulfilled this year, but unfortunately I found the perfect gift for her ;)
These upcycled Bingo cards make fantastic sketchbooks! By Soma Venus.
Who says boys can’t be cute? I have 3, and they wore these shirts from Super Sweet Creations all last fall and winter for Thanksgiving, Christmas parties, birthdays, and other special occasions. I love having an outfit that gives a nod to a formal event, but is made by someone who clearly understands that kids aren’t miniature adults.
Due to family commitments and an unexpected emergency I was unfortunately unable to get this post up the week it was written. Please transport yourself back in time a little and enjoy this wonderful post of Ellie’s with my apologies for the timing :) – Erika
It’s that time of the year – next Friday, or Christmas Eve as it’s commonly known, my husband and I will be travelling across the country to stay with our respective families for the holiday period. This may sound like a long trip, but being as how we live in the UK, it should only take us about two hours (snow permitting)! I love spending the holidays with my family, for the first couple of days at least, and in honour of this special time I’ve rounded up some fabulous, family-inspired handmade goodies. If you’ve still got gifts to buy, this little lot should certainly inspire you!
“Home is where the heart is” has always been my favourite cliched saying and in my case is certainly true. Although I haven’t lived where my parents are for nearly ten years, and although we own our own house here, I always describe going to my parents’ place as “going home”. So I’m really looking forward to spending some time there, catching up with old friends and re-visiting all my childhood haunts.
I may have mentioned once or twice that gifts for my family this year are almost all handmade, by me or others! I’m just a little bit excited about being able to offer my nearest and dearest totally unique items that are so different from the mass-produced goods I’ve bought in the past. I’m also hoping to receive a few handmade accessories of my own this Christmas – hopefully I’ve dropped enough hints with my husband…
Every family has its traditions for the holidays and mine is no exception. On Christmas morning, we eat avocado and bacon sandwiches while opening our stockings, then move onto presents before toasting the occasion with prosecco. My dad then makes the most delicious Christmas dinner you have ever tasted – no kidding – which we eat before collapsing in front of the fire to watch the Doctor Who Christmas special. It’s difficult to say what makes these simple traditions so special, but to me they really are.
I hope you all have a fabulous holiday period, whatever your plans are! I’ll see you in 2011, when I’m looking forward to discovering more wonderful handmade items!
Photo credits:
Preloved Penny Lane
Terrordome’s Extractionarium
Indira Albert
Cross Street Press
It’s winter here in the UK. The car was frozen over last week, temperatures have plummeted to zero (celsius) and I’ve broken out the scarf, hat and gloves more than once this week. Unlike most of my friends and family, I love winter. Even though in Manchester, where I live, the weather is less like on the stereotypical snowy Christmas card and more like constant rain. Even though I may not see a sunny day for weeks at a time, I love winter.
The reasons why I love winter are plentiful. For one thing, I am an avid knitter, and there’s no better excuse to cast on than freezing cold days! For me, knitting is also the perfect pastime to while away the gloomy evenings while snuggling up on the sofa with my husband. At the moment I’m knitting Christmas gifts – I won’t tell you what they are or I’ll spoil the surprise, but I hope the recipients will love them!
Not only do I love knitting woolly accessories, I adore wearing them too. That’s why I’ve been enjoying the chilly days this week – it’s given me a great excuse to layer up an array of vintage hats, crocheted scarves and toasty mittens. What better way to show off gorgeous handknits and raise the profile of the handmade movement?
I also love winter because that wonderful holiday Christmas falls smack bang in the middle of it! From the end of the summer, I look forward to Christmas because it means ten days’ holiday, spending time with my family and friends, and excellent food, courtesy of my dad. This year, I’m also trying to buy mostly handmade gifts and I’ve already got some amazing presents for my family!
When I was about 10 years old, it actually snowed on Christmas Day – really snowed, enough for sledding. My parents live right next to the beach, and we had so much fun sledding down the sand dunes! It doesn’t really snow very often here in the UK but every day during winter I wake up hoping that there will be a beautiful white blanket outside when I open the curtains (although I hate scraping ice off the car!).
So, I’m really excited that winter has arrived, even if it’s a little bit early this year. Although I expect that in February, I’ll be waiting most impatiently for spring to arrive!
Image credits, top to bottom:
HidenSeek
Dollyknits
Zukas
Ialbert
AnnasEmporium
WallEnvyArt
So, you’ve taken a pledge to give only handmade gifts this Christmas. Your ornaments and decorations are all one-of-a-kind creations gathered from the local craft fair and visitors to your home are going to be treated to local artisan cheeses and breads before being sent home with homemade fudge and gingerbread from your own kitchen. It sounds like you’ve got the bases covered…but you’re not planning to use boring old store-bought wrapping paper, are you? Of course you’re not!
I have always been a proponent of the fabric gift bag. Not only do they look so cute under the Christmas tree, they are almost infinitely reusable. Considering the cost (and waste!) of paper wrapping and plastic ribbon, fabric bags will pay for themselves within just a couple uses. These colourful, reversible gift bags by Pidoodle are doubly-good for the environment because the fabric used to create them was repurposed from thrifted garments. A dedicated thriftier and “fickle crafter”, Carissa seeks out used (and sometimes damaged) pieces at charity shops and gives them a second life by dying, silk-screening and sewing them into gift bags. She even includes a piece of tulle to replace expensive and fragile tissue paper. How clever!