Loveliness of Handmade Gifts

In preparation for the holidays, Dawn at By Sun and Candlelight is graciously hosting the Loveliness of Handmade Gifts.

As of late I have not been as good about making gifts. I can't imagine why I don't have time like I used to - 3 boys under the age of 4 will do that to you!

In years past I truly enjoyed making gifts to give to family and friends for holidays and birthdays. It began when I was in college and had no money to spend on elaborate gifts. One gift that I enjoyed making for my mom and my best friend was a heart shaped wreath. I took different colored fabric, cut it into 3" squares with pinking shears, and then took a pencil and pushed the squares into the heart shaped straw wreath until it was all filled. My mom still has hers years later. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of it, but this is similar to what my wreath looks like.
I also am a big fan of cross stitching. One year I made an elaborate cross stitch for my sister Lori. It showed 3 sisters (of which there are 3 of us in my family) hugging. Lori still has it hanging.

I do so love the significance of homemade gifts and would love to get back to them as the boys get a little older. In the meantime, while I don't make gifts I do make cards. I love the thought and feeling that goes into making cards for my friends and family. Here's a sampling of some of the cards I've made. Sorry there aren't any Christmas ones to show - they are on my other computer which is packed away somewhere with the rest of my household belongings!

In the spirit of the Florida sunshine and perpetual summer here are some fun summery cards

This card just reminds me of a hot summer day and drinking a nice tall glass of lemonade. The crystals in the glass have Dazzling Diamond Dust applied to them for some fun sparkle.

The image on this card reminds me of me :-) standing on the shore just breathing in the salt air. I tore the edge of the Tempting Turquoise paper to give it a rugged look. It's almost like peeking into someone's world.

I stamped the bird across 2 different colored paper to give the effect that they were standing on the beach. I used Dazzling Diamond Dust again to give the ocean waves some glitter.

I just love flip-flops! They just remind me of being at the beach. This card has a peek-a-boo window that shows the highlighted flip-flops that are on the inside of the card. The bottom edge is torn and I wheeled flip-flops across the inside of the card.

I made this card to send to a friend that needs cheering up or just to say hello. The image is stamped and then water colored with Watercolor Wonder crayons.

Next I have some more specific cards that I have made.

This Happy Birthday card was just fun to put together. I was trying to come up with an idea that I could use for men/boys or kids. I have a lot of "girly" stamps, and as anyone who knows me knows that I have a lot of boys in my life. I just love the bright cheery colors.

Here is a welcome baby card. Can also be made in pink for a girl. The stamp for a girl card has the pram with a phone next to it and the phone cord winding its way up into the pram. It say "Oh yeah, it's a girl!" - pretty cute!

These were some graduation cards I made for a client of mine. I embossed the cap, star and diploma with Silver Embossing Powder. I then added a blue star eyelet for a little punch. These could obviously be made for any school using a variety of school colors.

These are some simple Thank You cards I made for my husband a few years ago. They were super easy and not too girly. The "T is for Thanks" tag is tied on with gold cord.

This is a card that I gave to my husband for Valentine's Day a number of years ago. I embossed the clinking glasses with Silver Embossing Powder, and tied silver cord on the fold of the card. This could be used for a wedding or anniversary or even for New Year's if you omit the "love".

Thanks for taking a walk with me through some of my homemade gift ideas. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else has in store and gathering some more ideas for myself!