Handmade Christmas Gifts Bring Joy

Today, almost a month after Christmas, I am sitting down to share my handmade Christmas gifts I made this year with you. This Christmas I was very excited to give my gifts because I made a good amount of them myself from bee’s wax wraps to a hand painted coffee mug tree. I spent months planning, creating, and finishing them. And I was so pleased with the outcomes I couldn’t wait to share them with my family and with all of you. I was overly excited with enjoyment when it was time to finally open them!

With Friends playing in the background, my favorite candle burning, and bone broth simmering in the crock pot I have finally put away the Christmas tree and the last of the Christmas decorations. With my bowl of today’s oatmeal and fresh brewed coffee from my coffee press I am pleased to finally share with you my handmade Christmas gifts.

First up is the hand knit wash cloth sets I made for my aunts…

I used Sugar N’ Cream yarn for a soft, cotton texture and the double bump seed stitch pattern for these wash cloths and the scrubby yarn for the circle scrubber. I topped this cute little package up with some Amish made goat milk soap.



Handmade gifts are so personal and each stitch was done with love. I included a little note to each of my aunts explaining which each piece was and shared a little love with them.

 

Next up I made some Bees Wax Wraps for my friend…

She was always telling me she loved my Bees Wrap wraps and the concept of them. I always replied with yes I love them! They are a terrific alternative to plastic wrap which is always a pain <grin> plus it adds to our landfills. Lucky for me I found a recipe to make bees wax wraps at home in the summer edition of Daphne’s Diary. They have two simple ingredients: decorative pieces of fabric and bees wax pellets. My friend’s kitchen’s main color theme is red, well Joann Fabrics just happen to be having a sale on their square fabric pieces, so I picked out a variety of fabric pieces in reds and blues and ordered some yellow bees wax pellets.



I ordered the yellow bees wax wraps, but I think in the future I’ll order the white. The yellow ones leave a yellowish tinge to the final product.


Next are felt peppermint earrings…

In the winter edition of Daphne’s Diary I found the directions for these earrings. Included in this lovely edition were ideas for handmade peppermint gifts, when I saw these earrings I was like I have to make those! I made four pairs – a pair for my mom, 2 pairs for a couple of girl friends, and a pair for me <grin> They were a little tricky to do at first because I didn’t have the hooks, however I had some spare wiring from previous jewelry projects. They turned out very cute!


Daphne’s Diary was a great find, it is chalk full of ideas and inspiration. The inspiration I found to get creative was just what I needed after the year we had. And it was great to be able to give some handmade gifts this year that my family and friends loved.


Next up hand drawn bookmarks...

My brother asked me to make a couple of bookmarks for a lady friend of his. I showed him pictures of the drawings I've been working on and he really liked them, so he wanted to give a couple to her for Christmas. Each one took a bit of time to draw up and color, but for me it is art therapy!


Last up I did a couple of paintings one for my brother and one for my mother…

My brother asked for some wall hangings for his apartment, after sending him a really cool rock climbing poster I found on Etsy I also decided to do a painting of a rock climber. I painted the background with acrylic paint and used my Silhouette cutting machine to cut out the rock climber to give it a 3-D look.

My mom wanted a coffee mug tree stand to hang her coffee mugs on. I found a really nice rustic wooden one also on Etsy. Before it arrived the idea came to me to paint it. She loves and keeps chickens and has been filling her home with chicken pieces, so I finally decided to paint some chickens on it to go with her motif.


The chickens were a little tricky and they looked odd by themselves, so I added some vines to fill in the negative space. The chickens turned out well and my mom loved her gift, which is the only thing that matters.


It was really fun taking the time to make each gift, and oh boy did they take time, but the love I put into each gift will be cherished by them for years to come. I hope to keep this creative bug going into the rest of the New Year… maybe with some earrings and things for Valentine’s Day  <wink>

Have a lovely weekend my people…

Namaste.

xo

P.S. I have been continuing my journey of 30 Days of Yoga this month. At times it is stressful to come home after a long day of work and jump into yoga when all I want to do is crash, but then there are other days where I am eager to get it done because my frantic, worrisome mind needs a break, a pause, a recharge. And I breathe and sink in. If you are looking for a journey that will challenge you and change your life, or at least bring a little bit of peace check out the website here.

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