handmade Christmas

My extended family draws names at Christmas for gift giving.  Last year we began the tradition of not just purchasing a gift for "our person" but giving a handmade gift as well.  Well, I am knee-deep in my handmade project with no time to breath.  No time to blog, no time to eat or sleep.  No time to parent.  You get the idea.

Are you giving anything handmade this year?  I would love to hear what you're doing.  Oh, and if your project is stressing you out.

{image by Sofia Katariina}

terrariums

As the weather changes and all the green begins to die back I find myself more and more drawn to little bits of the color to bring inside.  Terrariums have become very popular and I think that they perfectly fill this role.  I never knew that they could also be cute, and yes, funny, until I saw these.

They are from the etsy shop weegreenspot and I am afraid that my windowsill will be quite discontent until it provides a home to all three.

spotted here.

Etsy Guest Curator

I was so excited to be invited to be todays' Etsy Guest Curator.  My love for Etsy runs deep and if it isn't already a first stop for you when you are on the lookout for gifts or unique purchases, now is the time to jump in. 

I know that people can feel overwhelmed with where to begin - there is just so much stuff to browse through....Which is why I was really thrilled to find out about the Etsy blog.  There you can find Artist Spotlights, how-to's, reviews, events, as well as Guest Curator pieces like mine.  This allows you to scope out people's favorites and once you begin to find others with a similar style to your own, it's easy to find great new pieces, artists and shops. 

To hear about my Etsy picks, click here.

black accented wedding details

I just came across these really lovely wedding invites by super talented Libby who illustrated and printed these by hand for her upcoming wedding. I love all the detailing and how the white and cream come off as subtle and romantic.

They remind me of a post that I just saved from Delight by Design about weddings with black detailing.  I have to say, I have never been a fan of black as a wedding color.  Until now...

It's love.

"i am 5" announcements

When I asked Eva how she wanted to celebrate her birthday this year she said that she wanted to pass out invitations.  She didn't so much want to have a party but she really wanted to distribute lovely hued envelopes.  I have no idea where she gets it.  We decided on creating 5 year old announcements, a take-off of her birth announcement that she has always loved to hold and inspect as often as possible.  These are what we came up with.

We only sent them to family and a few close friends.  We addressed them to any little people in the home to avoid any chance people might think we were looting for gifts.  Certainly not!  (You can read about my thoughts on that over here.)  All in all, it was a really fun project to work on together and Eva was just thrilled with the whole thing.  Love that.

Nie Nie

Did you see the Easter baskets that Nie made for her kids?  

The woman inspires me at every turn.

the program

I love all things paper and a wedding allows for lots of paper goods so that was one of those most fun parts of wedding planning for me.  

Sadly, this is the only program that I have left over from our wedding.  This sad, ripped, wax-seal busted copy.  But you get the gist.  I did these myself, had them professionally printed & cut, and we had a wax sealing party with friends. We were happy with how they turned out.  (Had I known how popular P22 Cezanne would ended up being I probably would have chosen another font)

homemade-ish valentines

We were originally going to make the twig & thistle valentines for Eva's class but I couldn't find small brown paper bags.  Then I spotted these adorable tags that are a free download over at Inside a Black Apple.  

So, I ended up deciding to blend the two ideas. Here's what they ended up as: small clear bags, red heart doilies, heart shaped brownies, je t'aime tags, ribbon & twine.  Eva wrote her name 27 times and it nearly ended her.  I'm glad we chose a short name for her. 

Jonathan Adler faves

We live in the middle of nowhere and don't have too much culture around us. There's lots of things that I will glimpse online but I rarely have the chance to see in person. So though all things Jonathan Adler may be the norm in some circles, they are not in mine and I was excited to get to see the store. Though lots of his stuff is not my style, there is plenty about his aesthetic that intrigues me and enough items that I really adore. Both Sean & I ended up liking the store more then we anticipated. I had to drag myself out of there to leave empty handed.

Here are the top 5 things that made me swoon:

1. two of these Morrow slipper chairs, please:

2. this chandelier:

3. these sconces for the kid's room:

4. We wanted to get an "E" and "S" for our bed. The backside is black with white needlepoint.

5. I liked this little cozy to get my new iPhone safe and warm. Santa surprised me with this great phone. I didn't know how much I should have wanted it! (I know, I know, it's not exactly back to the basics. Sometimes I lose my way...) If it helps, I don't think that I'll be purchasing this cozy but it has inspired me to make my own.

Amaretto

When I saw this recipe on In(side) the Loop's great blog, I decided to whip up a batch of Amaretto to go with the cranberry liquor that I made for my sister. This recipe is so yummy and so easy. It was a breeze compared to the cranberry liquor.

Homemade Amaretto

3½ cups sugar
1 tbsp. instant coffee
1 oz. almond extract
5 tsp. vanilla extract
5 dashes Peychaud's bitters
1 fifth [about 25.6 ounces] of vodka

Dissolve sugar in 2 cups boiling water. Add instant coffee and stir until completely dissolved. Remove from fire and stir in remaining ingredients. Be sure to taste, but consider yourself warned when you're making this at 9AM.

{yummy in cocoa, champagne, amaretto sours & lots more…}

Homemade Cranberry Liquor

Each year around Thanksgiving, my extended family draws names to determine the person that they will buy for that Christmas.  For years and years we did a "real gift" and a "gag gift".  That tradition ended on a sour note and included something to do with an {read: my} ex- boyfriend and a {read: again, my} future spouse.  It was not funny and it quickly ended the gag gift tradition.  Many years have past. This year I had the 'genius' idea of suggesting that we again give two gifts to our person.  A purchased gift and a handmade gift.  As soon as everyone agreed, I quickly remembered that I don't know how to make anything.  After much anguish I decided on what to make for my sister.  Cranberry Liquor.  I mean really, how can you screw up sugar, vodka, & cranberries?  Doesn't it have to be good?

Well, it has been stewing or festering or matriculating or whatever homemade liquor does, for days.  And I just had a little sip.  

It is good.

In case you are wanting to whip up something festive at the last minute...here's the recipe.  This could become an annual tradition. 

I bought some swing-top glass bottles from World Market and the whole thing just looks very sweet and again, festive.  The color of the liquor is beautiful.  

I'll just go grab one more small sip. 

{image from MishaM}

Garnet Hill on the 8th day of Christmas

What can I say? I'm blanket happy this year. I must be chilly. I have gazed lovingly at images of this throw for going on three years now. I'm not sure what it is about it - the colors? the pattern? Not sure, but love it, I do. I would be more then happy for Santa to crochet this for me himself if he prefer that to the hefty price tag. I dream that one day I will learn to crochet. And then a day much further along I would be able to knit something like this, myself. That's right people, I dare to dream the big dreams.

I found this one here.

Etsy on the 4th day of Christmas

I haven't had personalized stationary in years. Probably since high school, a time when I would never consider using it. I feel like I am finally at an age when I would actually use it. I love these sweet cards and I really love that they are from Etsy, one of my favorite places to shop from. If you have never been there you need to go check it out. Take some time to stroll around the place. It can be intimidating at first but after a little while you can find some amazingly beautiful stuff. There are a kajillion artists on there selling their homemade goods. I love getting to support small artists rather then choosing from only the artists that big stores offer us.

You can find these ones here at EnfinLaVoila. 

They look just like the bumble bees floating around the artichokes on my dream farm.

Fair Trade on the 1st day of Christmas

...my true love gave to me (hint, hint).
I thought that there is no better spot to post my christmas list then here. Not only might it catch the eye of my True Love, but it may give you some ideas for your true loves, too.

First up, these hand forged scissors from India. they are fair trade, signed & beautiful and they have been made by the same Indian family for generations. They even come in a little burlap storage bag. Simply beautiful.

You can find them here.

write it down

Do you think I have time to whip some of these things up by Thursday, say four-ish? Sure, I could just buy them from Paper-Source {which I love, by the way} but I am really just wanting to find an old letterpress machine on Craigslist (with manual) read up on it for several minutes and go to town. Welcome to my fantasy world.

Ok - how about this. I go buy some nice, thick, cream-colored cards from Hobby Lobby and I jot down "I am thankful for:" with a pretty pen. Welcome to my reality.