Good Find: A Very Etsy Christmas

A girl (well, at least this one) can't possibly make every single Christmas gift so here's a few Etsy shops that provided some really lovely holiday gifts for our friends & family. I am so thrilled with the products I found and the overall cheery & accommodating spirit from each of these shops.

My friend in D.C. loves written correspondence so I thought I'd order personalized stationery. I found just the thing at PeonyPaperie where Michelle is so friendly & helpful. This style is perfect- simple & sophisticated...though there was a cute little frog prince design I was tempted to purchase for myself! I even selected the color & font for my friend's note cards & when tied up with a pretty ribbon they made a really wonderful gift.

Bath & Body products always make great gifts but really I just wanted an excuse to buy something from Cottage Garden Therapies whose line is amazing. In addition to the bar of soap I paired with a set of my washies to make a little gift set, I also indulged a bit & ordered a Honey Sugar Scrub for myself (I figured I earned the relaxation from all the Christmas orders!) What will really keep me coming back to this shop though is there packaging, it is just drop your jaw gorgeous- I am already thinking ahead to all the great gifts their line will make; mother's day, Valentine's Day, Grandma's birthday, my birthday......

Sweet little crocheted food stuffies from MonitaBonita made great gifts for Jack's little buddies. They also would've been nice tucked away in his stocking but we decided to share them with his pals...I did let Jack check them out first! Lysa who runs this shop is a fellow Portland crafty mama & is just as nice as her items are cute! I ordered a set of veggies & a strawberry ice-cream cone (can't always be healthy right?) and although I'm vegetarian the bacon & egg set really is just too clever!

Finally, I found a super sweet little personalized ornament at LittleBitFunky - a shop that offers a variety of unique little bitties- from gift tags to hand embroidered onesies. I looked around a bit for a personalized ornament & was so happy to find this one- it has a clear pocket to add your own photo...plus my interactions with the shop were so pleasant & accommodating to my personalization request. It turned out great & Jack's godparents will be thrilled when this arrives in the mail.

On Christmas Morning- My baby's very first Christmas

Jack seemed to really enjoy his very first Christmas.... he relished taking apart the presents & inspecting each little piece of wrapping paper- carefully rolling the pieces of tape back & forth between his fingers. He loved staring at the tree we finally brought in (as we'd been keeping it on the porch knowing both he, and our kitty Boston, would have it destroyed in no time- hence the lack of ornaments...) in awe of the twinkly lights & probably just the mere fact we had a tree in the house. Like a sweet little child who has yet to figure out that there are sometimes more than just one present to open, he was more than happy to continue playing with his first gift- an xylophone and needed to be coaxed into checking out his others- a tambourine & a baby music player- our little budding musician.
My heart cheered when he peeked into the handmade Christmas stocking with a new lovie blanket & felty ornament with his name & a little deer (which some have commented looks like a lamb.....) tucked inside. I had made him these gifts with the hopes of giving him something straight from my heart...I envisioned him looking back someday as an awkward teenager, embarassed by the sentimentality of his silly mother, but at least momentarily touched by something made especially for him. I do that a lot- I write in his journal & make him things & take photos- all while thinking- someday, I hope he looks back & knows that he was really loved. I know that I so treasure the few existing photos of me & my mother & cherish the bright yellow baby blanket she made just for me.

As if often said, it's easy to forget or neglect-or perhaps avoid- Christmas' real meaning of promise & hope & faith & sacrifice. How blessed I am to have my little baby boy's authentic joy remind me. All the weight heaped on by years of trying to create perfection, avoid heartache, find love, fill voids, are all shed through my motherhood...

...because for me, it is not so much that Jack is mine, but that I am his.

Somethings Got to Give- My Handmade Christmas

I'm happy to say I avoided the malls this year.; no angry SUV drivers cutting me off for parking spaces, no loud & obnoxious teens, no sulky men desperate to find something-anything. No high priced what-me-nots, no crazy red slashed prices, no settling on just whatever's left.

Instead, I'm making most of our gifts this year...of course, I've always loved giving away handmade items but I started a little earlier this year (though not early enough-I've still got a few left!) and am hoping that nearly all our gifts will be sewn by me. Partly because of the economy, partly because our family just keeps growing and mostly because it feels so much better to give something I've actually spent time creating. The downside is, there is always such anticipation watching someone open a gift I've made myself- I mean what if they grimace or crinkle their nose....But then I remember that the gifts I love most are the ones folks have made or put together just for me- the drawings from my husband, the wooden bowl my brother made in shop class, the photo DVD collage from my two best friends, an apron my mother sewed, and the little baby quilt Jack's godmother made- these are what I love the best.

Here's a few that are finished...and let's just hope the recipients don't start reading this blog now!

If You Got the Money Honey, I Got the Time - Ode to my new checkbook cover

Oh my poor, poor neglected blog! It's been ages since I last posted anything. Well, yay for me though I've been busy with holiday orders & making Christmas presents. The month has been a wee bit stressful- but then again, I kind of thrive on the chaos. I think I actually get more done. I'll soon be sharing all the Christmas gifts I've managed to make this year but here's a peek at one of the gifts I made- inspired from the famed checkbook cover tutorial I found through Sew Mama Sew. I used one of my all time favorite Alexander Hnery prints, ev-er, Noguchi & contrasted it with a dark chocolate brown. Then, I just couldn't stop & went right on making the whole darn bag accessories gift set. Yes, I'm giving this away....it will be hard.

Put A Little Holiday in Your Heart

Oh how I wish I could really go all out decorating for Christmas. I seem to be finding some cool things everywhere I look. This week I'm determined to start (and finish) Jack's stocking...Here are some Christmas goodies I have completed so far though....Now off to watch Elf & Christmas vacation for the millionth time along with my peppermint cocoa.....