Handmade Holidays

Our first Handmade Holidays post is up and running.  Share your thrifted or crafted gift or decorating  ideas on Mr. Linky below:>)

I have a couple quick and easy (and best of all cheap!) ideas for some really great gifts this Christmas.  With so many feeling the bite of the tanking economy, it is only smart to give our friends and relatives a little bit of our time and ingenuity and some really memorable gifts from our hearts and hands!  My first idea is a thrifted find straight from the greatest source of treasure there is, that's right, good old ebay.  I found a mixed lot of silverplate (38 pieces!) for the paltry sum of $10.  That's a lot of gift potential for very little money!  How about some wonderful home made jam wrapped up with a silverplated spreader?   A pretty gift that can be used lots of different ways.  Gae at Cherished Hearts at Home asked if I had any ideas for gifts that boys could make, well what about a rustic tray like the one shown here?  You can find the wood plank at Michael's and with a coupon it is very affordable.  The handles are beautiful twisty lilac wood that has been cut and screwed on from the bottom. I am sure that you could find some great twisted wood of other kinds too, just make sure it isn't poison ivy! The screw holes are covered with self adhesive cork dots. Imagine this presented with a loaf of home made bread or an assortment of cheeses.  Cute!

These sweet dangles are made from vintage screw back earrings. I will be posting a tutorial for these later this week. Find the vintage earrings at garage sales and flea markets, or maybe grandmother's jewelry box! The sterling hooks can be found at any good craft store and they cost a little over $1 each.  You can do this without any special jewelry making equipment, just a pair of needle nose pliers. My daughters are 19 and 21 and they love the repurposed vintage earrings I have made for them. They wear them all the time and have received lots of compliments so this is something that would be a great gift for any age and they are one of a kind!

Now it's your turn!  Share your handmade gift and holiday decorating ideas with Mr. Linky below.  Please link only to the post that shows your thrifted or handmade gift or decorating idea , and please don't link up until you have finished the post :>) Lets all have fun with Handmade Holidays!

just keepin' it real...

This is what my dining room table has looked like all week, because in "Kathy World" you have to make a really big mess in order to get anything done.  As you can see, I am working on more pillows, but I am also working on 2 quilts and a throw for a sweet friend who has been there for Earl and I in some pretty special ways.  I had today off for the end of the marking period (yay!) so I plan to get lots done. I hope to have this mess cleaned up by tomorrow at the latest. I've made good progress on the pillows and they will be up on etsy soon.

I have also been clearing out clutter and displays in most other areas of my home in preparation for a little holiday decorating. I plan to begin with greens throughout the house and natural elements and save most of the glitz for after Thanksgiving, but that way my decorating will be 90% done for the season! With the economy the way it is, and hubby still looking for work, it's going to be a handmade, thrifted, Christmas. I bet a lot of people will be doing that, don't you think? Is thrifting a gift terrible? I don't think so! How many of us LOVE that thrifted piece of silverplate, transferware or special vintage find?  As for the handmade part, I was thinking just last night, the only gifts I really remember from my childhood (aside from the Barbie doll I got at age 16, please, I was so over Barbie!) the only gifts I really remember are the handmade ones! Grandma made my sister and I a treasure trove of Barbie dresses when we were 6 and 7 years old, my uncle made us a kitchen with wonderful wooden stove and refridgerator. I loved those gift because I loved the people who gave them to me.  I still have the Barbie clothes. The gifts circled in the Sears wish book? It was more fun wishing for them than getting them most of the time and I couldn't name a single one today.  So I am working on some special handmade and thrifted gifts for loved ones this year. I can't show them all but I will show some and I would love to see what kind of handmade gifts you have planned too! Ideas? I'm thinking every Tuesday of posting a Handmade Holidays idea and I would love for you to join me. I'll hopefully figure out Mr. Linky and you can share your gift ideas here with us.  It isn't too early to begin thinking about these things! If you aren't crafty, feel free to link to a post on a thrifted treasure or a handmade item you have available on etsy. Lets not forget handmade decorations too!  I would love to see them!

Feel free to use this button on your blog to share the fun.  I can't wait to see what we all come up with. Now I need to get busy on that table!

Sweet November

Well I have to say it, I'm glad to see the backside of October.  October in Michigan is rainy and cold, where I used to drive through a tunnel of brilliant flaming trees, now I drive through mostly bare grey branches.  Not my favorite thing.  Add to that the fact that I am not a huge fan of Halloween and it's buh bye October!  Today was fairly nice and mostly sunny so Earl and I went to a beautiful outdoor mall just to get out and get some sun and air.  Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn was our destination.  Love those stores and I knew they would have some new holiday things to look at.

Like these cute nutcracker mugs filled with hot chocolate and home made marshmallows.  Cute!  Oh I know what you are saying, "Kathy, lets not forget Thanksgiving!"   I never could. I love that holiday, but right now I need to start thinking of Christmas, I NEED to.  It's been a somewhat crummy year and I need a little festiveness and Christmas frou frou.

Like this table setting at Pottery Barn. Oh, do I see my favorite color? Why yes, yes I do!  I love the polka dot napkins, white dishes and mercury glass with the brilliant red touches:>)

And some very Christmasy displays. Tree candles, sparkles, natural birch bark thingys to go around a vase. Kind of a cool idea♥

And some simple white candles in a tray filled with fake snow, wood slices and pinecone potpourri that smells just like Christmas trees.  I could do this, minus the $900 ottoman it's sitting on of course.

Yeah, I'm ready to start what I like to collectively call "The Holidays" which encompasses Thanksgiving and Christmas. I plan to start decorating early this year so I have plenty of time to enjoy the decorations and I don't have to feel rushed at the end of the month.  Time to shake things up.  Are you ready?

Happy Halloween:>)

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A Walk in The Woods

Today was sunny and 60 degrees. A fine Autumn day after a week of relentless rain and cold.  I am taking a little time off from other responsibilities this week to recharge and I thought a walk in our woods was a fine idea.  I was right.  I followed the path into the trees. The cool quiet shade where every sound stood out. I heard something run away, maybe a squirrel, maybe a deer.  I saw fire in the colors of a shrub and each leaf seemed like a jewel. Coming up to the old bridge over the creek, I heard frogs splash into the water as I approached.  I heard a single leaf fall.

I listened to the trickle of crystal water as it ran past a fallen tree covered in velvet moss.  Do you see the lichen on the tree?  Such a beautiful color and texture.  The leaves on the ground , like colored confetti, nature throwing one last party before winter.

I'm glad I could attend :>)