I wish I was having the above evening right now. The evening where I cooked dinner with friends (who are in massage therapy school and made me able to turn my neck to the right again after sleeping weird), ate homemade apple crisp, played a game, and drank hot chocolate prepared by an ex-barista.
Instead, I’m home sick instead of going to see Synecdoche, New York and then watching a basketball game downtown. But, I can’t complain because the term craftivism has now been used by CNN.com, which means being one step closer to world craft domination. See article here.
And seeing that that article is all about making your gifts for the holidays, have you taken the Handmade Pledge yet? If not, you can go for it by clicking below…
I’m not sure if technically I need to sign it again because I signed it last year, though?
With the economy in the tank, you might be finding yourself in a situation where you need to make your holiday gifts instead of buy. A situation that you may not have been in since the 3rd grade.
If this is the case, you may even be a little shocked that there are hordes of people making their holiday gifts in years past, too, before you started to wonder if Warren Buffett was really going to take over the world. Even more shockingly (and probably much to your relief) these presents were good presents, not the fabled 3-sleeved sweater from your aunt in Tulsa!
Have no fear, as one of the greatest things about all these crafty people are their ideas, which make gift giving less stressful and much more fun. So, need some gift ideas so you can turn your house into an elf workshop? (Ok, I confess I love elves. Especially Buddy the Elf and Hermey who should totally be in the Elf Hall of Fame. Every year I have to watch the 1964 Claymation version of Rudolph or it isn’t Christmas, even though I know it all by heart.)
To get you started:
*Martha Stewart’s holiday ideas
*HGTV’s Last Minute Handmade Gifts
*Upcycled Wrist Cuffs at craftingagreenworld.com
*10 Elegant Inexpensive Handmade Holiday Gift Ideas
*Better Homes & Gardens holiday ideas (link via Whipup)
*Giant thread of handmade children’s gift ideas over at Cafemom.com
*Domesticdiva.com’s list of SewMamaSew’s 30 days of crafty ideas from last year (rounded up from here)
*Handmade Holiday Craft Ideas from the awesomely awesome Susan Beal
(I can’t even begin to say how helpful this is!)
And if this still leaves you cold, you can find what your heart desires over at Etsy or a local handmade shop near you. For those of you seriously needing ideas on the cheap, I love this Recession Gift Guide of presents under $5 from Indiefixx!