Thanks to my mom, my most prolific source of inspiration, and her insatiable taste for things unique and handmade, I've recently been introduced to the MULTITUDES of handmade/homemade "indie" goodies available for online shopping. Add to that my every autumn urge to paint, piece, sew and render things lovely and my sister-in-law's "never met a project I wouldn't tackle" approach to art and crafting and an idea begins to brew in my mind.
I'm talking about a handmade Christmas. I've had ideas of things to make for my loved ones filed away in the "some Christmas" category of my mind for years, and I think this just might be the year. I think it sounds a little ambitious, but I don't plan on doing it alone. There are suitable, one of a kind gifts for the men, women and children we love at Etsy, and better still there are craft sales and boutiques just about everywhere you turn in your own neighborhood this time of year -- including the one at my house. Last year was the first of what I hope will be an annual boutique I held with a few of my creative friends and family members where we sold jewelry, candles, art, ornaments, gifts, and decor stuff we each made in our own little kitchens and craft rooms. With a little Christmas music, some hot apple cider and my moms snickerdoodles, we sold a few things (some of us sold a LOT of things) and just generally had a really great time. This year friends and neighbors have started to ask us if we're doing it again, and when.... and you know you've got to give the people what they want.
I don't think this will be as easy as the typical year where 75% of my shopping is done at Target the rest at cute little shops and yes, even the mall, but I do think it'll be fun. Now, I don't imagine I'll be able to find homemade equivalents of the bike we intend to buy my son, and the sunglasses my husband visits weekly at No Fear, so I'm not going to be ultra strict about this, but I do plan on altering my mass-produced/thoughtfully rendered ratio.
So as I formulate my plan to make or buy handmade gifts for as many people on my ever-growing list as I can manage, I think I'll keep you updated on my sources. If I find something cool, I'll share it with you. If I make something cool, I'll post it (and I suppose if you see anything you like, you can buy it too, wink wink). And if you have any brilliant ideas or resources to help in my quest, comment or email me, and I'll share your ideas too.
2 comments:
I wasn't inspired when you told me that you were doing the boutique again, but after reading your blog I'm totally inspired :) I've found three ornaments I want to make, some muffin mixes, and ofcourse the ever so popular cocoa mix from last year! Thanks for the sweet comment about moi too ;)
That's our plan for this year, too. The kids will get regular toys, but everyone else in the family is more grown-up, and could do with a dose of "meaningful" this holiday season. We'll see how much I actually get done with the move at the same time, though. At least I can always work on gifts in my classroom!
Check out my blog at: http://jandmbaker.blogspot.com/
:-) Melinda Jackson Baker
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