Designer Craft Connection December - Handmade Holiday

Here we are with the holiday season upon us.  Decorations are up around the house. Those lovely twinkling lights are going on allover the neighborhood. We have celebrated the season of thankfulness just a couple of weeks ago.  Now we are coming upon the biggest time of the year for giving.

What better theme for this month then "Handmade Holiday".  I have always enjoyed the giving and receiving of handmade anything.

When it comes to giving at Christmas time I enjoy giving gifts that are for the season.

I have been knitting and crocheting scarves and they will make wonderful gifts for giving for the girls and ladies.  Here is a crocheted pattern that I came across at a wonderful new shop in the area.  The original pattern calls for only one skein of yarn to make the scarf.  This first scarf was made with the yarn bought from the shop.  I liked the look of it so much that I needed to experiment with yarns and length.

This second one is made with yarn purchased from Michael's.  Love the bright, variegated colors.  The longer length makes the scarf wonderful for wrapping.

The third version was made using a solid, neutral color, with the length somewhere in between the two other scarves.  It's a fairly quick project to crochet and many can be made in any variety to suit the receiver of the gift.

Here is a ruffled scarf that knits up easily with only one skein of yarn.  There are different versions of this yarn available and each yarn gives the scarves a different look.
This "blue" version was made using Sashay.  There is a wonderful selections of colors available  in this brand.

This second scarf was made using a similar yarn from Hobby Lobby.

All of these scarves were quick to make up and would make lovely handmade gifts.

My kitchen has been a busy place too, with mixing going on for lots of homemade holiday goodness.  Later today there will be loads of baking happening, with ten different varieties of cookies being made for more giving.  I hope to be sharing a post about the baking and making of more holiday gifts.

Here's one more handmade idea.  I found these great wooden cut-out trees at Michael's.  I painted them and glittered them, added ribbon for a hanger.  Strips of red and green papers were cut to make a 25 loop paper chain.  I made these reusable "countdown to Christmas" hangings for my two young granddaughter's.  Once the paper links get to the Christmas tree that special day will be here.  The top part with the tree can be saved from year to year and all they will need to do is add a 25 link chain each season.

I needed a new idea for my front door this year and the result was this pretty quick wreath made with a purchased wooden wreath form.  It was covered with scraps of white fabric, then adorned with snowflakes from the dollar store and a simple white bow.

Other family gets into the "handmade" groove too.  This tree was made by a brother-in-law from leftover pieces of willow from the bent willow chairs he makes.  There is another out front of the house with lights on.

These little reindeer are one of the last holiday projects my husband made.  He made them to decorate our very long table three years ago when many of the family were visiting for Christmas.  After, several were given to the guests along, with a handmade ornament that were at each place setting.

In our house "handmade" has always been big, especially during the holidays.  From handmade decorations for every purpose to crafting eatable gifts, all for our home and for giving.  We gave up the act of exchanging gifts among our many family members years ago.  For a while we were given a needy family through our church that we gave gifts to.  Now the next generation takes turns choosing  an organization of their choice and all family members can make contributions to it. With family across the country, each year brings a wonderful chance to help in different areas.

Giving comes in many ways, but "HANDMADE" has a special way of saying it comes from the heart!

So I will say this: Make Handmade, Give Handmade, Buy Handmade, Live Handmade.