etsy

The women on my Christmas list may be the hardest to buy for this season.  Not that they are difficult, but they are so diverse.  I love that.

Normally I’m not for publicly sharing men without shirts, but this is for a great cause.  2015’s Men of Cornell University Vet School annual calendar fundraiser.  Plus it has cute animals too.  My brother in law is an alumni and I’m more than happy to help support their program.

I have been loving boot cuffs since last fall.  My purchase was put off due to my big calves.  Adding more bulk around my leg with the crocheted ones would probably be uncomfortable.  These lace ones do the same thing, just less bulk.  Done.

My friend Bri loves her yoga classes on weekend mornings.  I have been admiring this Etsy shop on Instagram for a while.  Great fabrics and useful products.  This yoga mat bag could get some good work with Bri on weekends.

Last year I picked one of these up for Melissa as she finished up treatment.  It’s incredibly soft.  Now she’s a workout inspiration and could probably use a new one.

My friend Lyndsay has a running joke with my husband about cards.  He doesn’t like cards and she loves to send them.  For her birthday I thought these would be perfect for her.  We have yet to see one of these in our mailbox, hint hint.  Also another great use of scraps.

The list is getting tougher.  For Emma it’s a toss up.  She loves craft beer, handmade things, and wonderful accessories.  She picks out great t-shirts too.  This would be great with her collection.

Sarah is the hardest person on the list.  She moved out here a few years to be with her now husband from New York.  She loves home and her family, pretty sure she misses them more than she will admit.  This key chain would be a small reminder of home throughout the day.

If you’re wondering what to get me this year, it’s one of these rings.  Yes hubby I want jewelry.  You haven’t actually bought me jewelry in years.  I would love one with our anniversary or P’s birthday.

For a homemade option I would whip up a quick infinity scarf.  All my girlfriends have LOTS of them.  This is one of the best infinity scarf tutorials, this is one I used.

Dear friends, these are not your real gifts this year.  I’ve got something else in the works.

Add your favorite handmade or homemade gifts for her to the link up below.

 

After the Saturday we had here at Case de Nagel with our wonderful toddler I could have used a pampering day on Sunday.  Toddlerhood is a special magical time to remind you that having a newborn is nothing.

I’m going to imagine that I had all day Sunday to myself and could really do all of these things to rejuvenate and pamper myself.  So I throw the bath toys out of the tub and start a bath for myself and add in these bath salts.

As I’m done with my bath I put my robe on.  How cute are these in Amy Butler fabrics?  I’m going for cute and functional not slinky folks.

My go to face wash and products come from Frangipani, a company here in Indy.  Tracy offers a trial size of most of her products and many varieties for your skin type.  If you have questions, ask her.  I started using her products this spring and love how my skin is.  Can’t wait to test them out this winter.

Another local lotion favorite of mine is Mocha Tree Organics.  I play with fabric all day when I’m not at my grown up job.  Fabric will suck the oils from your hands.  Plus having a toddler around means many opportunities for hand washing.  Together that equals some VERY chappy hands all year round.  I bought this for my dad last year, his hands get so dry with work and crack in the winter.  He’s not really into body products but likes the feel.  Take that as an endorsement from the typical man’s man?

After all my lotions are on it’s time to do my nails.  This is where I’m really torn for products.  My favorite a shellac nails because they last so long, but concerned about the health ramifications from UV lights.  I’m a fan on Jamberry nails, they did start as a very small business with just a vinyl printer in an extra room.  Three sisters created an empire.  They aren’t really small anymore, but I’m sure you know someone selling them if you want some theme, etc for the holidays to last for days.

Many of my crafty friends recommend this nail polish.  I admit I rarely wear nail polish, read above about hand washing.  I do trust their judgement and haven’t given me bad recommendations in the past.  This is my color of choice.  So daring right?

As for my hair I love this salon only brand.  Maybe they aren’t handmade but I love small businesses.  Their products are environmentally safe and serve many purposes.  My stylist uses one of the shampoos as a face and body was too.  Visit Euphora here.

For the guys my husband has selected some items I will showcase with the Guy’s category.

My go to homemade option is a honey, lemon, sugar scrub.  This recipe is pretty close to my version.  There is even a coffee scrub recipe.  I’m going to make that very soon.

**As with all product selections I try to make sure the shop is a real person or small business and not a mass producer acting small.  This area is difficult to recommend products because it is so wide.**

Can’t wait to see your suggestions and products below.

 

While Home is my favorite area, pretty sure most of my gifts come from Food & Drink.  Food & Drink feels more practical and more likely to be used.  Many of these items have been given as gifts already.

Let’s set the scene and pretend it’s not 20 degrees outside with a dusting of snow on the ground.  We are going to have a BBQ and invite some friends over.  On the menu are hamburgers, beers, and a delicious dessert around the bonfire.

There needs to be some sort of side, but I’m really unsure what to make.  I head to the recipe box to get some ideas.  I will probably just ask our friend Melissa to make a pasta salad and we will handle the hamburgers.  Much easier with the kid to just focus on those.

From the cabinets I grab a mixing bowl and cutting board to prep the hamburgers.  We have a cutting board from this shop from Rob’s brother and it’s lovely and of course says NAGEL est 2010.  Don’t forget the spices to add some flavor to your hamburgers.

If you are making hamburgers you need this bacon marmalade to top them with.  Seriously, this stuff is life changing.  Don’t believe me, try it, you will order more.

My friend Emma will be in charge of bringing a couple of growlers of beer.  She will bring them over in her screen printed growler bag.  She is the other half of Growler Girls, I expect no less.  Cold beer from the brewery will stay cold in this insulated bag for at least six hours while we prep food and hang out.

All of our friends can pick a color and know which pint glass is theirs.  No more red solo cup with a Sharpie.

Tonight’s dinner will be served on these bamboo plates.  They fully compost in 6 months.  I won’t feel terrible using them one time.

After eating this you will need to wipe the drool from your face.  These linen napkins are stylish and coordinate well with these potholders.  Great for the cook in your life.

After dinner we will continue drinking and discussing our week around the bonfire.  I’m going to sit back and roast some marshmallows and make smores.  Not just any marshmallows but handmade delicious ones, 240Sweet Marshmallows.  I haven’t had a flavor I didn’t like.

Other desserts will be served on this cheerful platter.  To help curb our massive sugar high I’m going to choose some berries that are high in fiber.  Maybe some popcorn too.

Looking for a homemade hostess gift that is functional?  I know I would appreciate these plus would make evening dinner events  way less buggy.  We are in Indiana and the summer’s can be a bit ridiculous.

If you’re like my friends and have a get together every week around football this could be a great homemade gift.  There can be something for everyone.  Visit my friend Diane’s blog for the tutorial.

Pretty sure I will be making these for this Holiday season but I may use those spices from above.  The dip recipes are included on the link.  These will make useful homemade gift this Christmas.

Take a couple of minutes and link up your favorite handmade food & drink items or supplies.

Gifts for the Home may be my favorite category of this series and very excited it’s kicking off the Handmade Holidays. For Home I’m thinking anything that can be used by the whole family, art, and things non gender specific. I tried to pick things I would want in my home or see in a friend’s home.

This metal wall scroll would be a lovely addition to a living or dining room decor. Willows Grace offers a variety of colors to choose from as well. This red would look great in my dining room but other colors would work as well. Another lovely addition to any living space would be one of the rugs from the collections found here – HTTPS://BAZAARVELVET.COM/.

I let my husband run wild on my Etsy account and select a few favorites to get a male perspective for gifts. He immediately gravitated towards some pop culture items that I could have in my home.

Look for more of his suggestions on the Guys and Food & Drink lists. While the last two items would go more in a hallway or TV area, I see this fitting better in a bedroom. Maybe near family pictures in the living room.

For those that have a special place in their heart for a certain city here are some great prints to help keep that love alive. I noticed there are a few New York City options but none for all my friends that have now run off to New Jersey in the name of home ownership.

Or maybe there is a deep love for a university. I know this house is Indiana University and University at Buffalo. Lots of red and blue, black and gold is not allowed. This pillow may be necessary during basketball games this winter.

Now I know this says unity candle in the description, but I would use this in my home right now. Of course I would add our wedding date to it. This would even be gift idea for a newly married couple.

Candles are a favorite gift I like to give. I try to avoid cinnamon or really strong smells since they flare up my allergies. I found this smell the other day and chuckled. I have the perfect person on my list for this. This is when I wish scratch and sniff worked through the computer, I’m probably buying this either way.

For a homemade option what about a calendar like this one. Keep track of multiple years in one place and reflect on where you were last year. All you really need are index cards and dividers, plus a container to keep the calendar in. I have a couple of friends that would enjoy something like this.

There are lots of great ideas for the home on Pinterest to make as gifts. I feel like you have to really know someone to give a homemade gift for the home.

**As with any previous posts I have done with Etsy and handmade sellers I try to make sure they are in good standing and not presenting as handmade and it’s mass produced.**

 

Below I encourage you to promote your items that are for the home as part of Handmade Holidays from Etsy or other sites. Only handmade items or supplies to make something homemade. Post items relevant to home, other categories like food & drink, bath & body come later. I will remove items that if needed.

Honestly, I can’t believe Christmas is almost here.  Hubby and I started talking about our gifts the other day for various people on our list.  We don’t have a long list but I like gifts that are personalized and of course handmade.  Supporting other artisans is a big part of our holiday shopping.

Friends and family if you read my blog you will probably see your gifts on here.  Can you guess which ones?

This year I have broken down my list into a seven categories:

• Home (11/13)
• Food & Drink (11/15)
• Bath & Body (11/17)
• Ladies (11/19)
• Guys (11/21)
• Kids (11/23)
• Quilter/Sewist (11/25)

Each post will feature items I think fit this year’s list from a small business and a DIY or homemade items to possibly coordinate.  Of course thanks to Pinterest this is easier that ever.  All items from each post can be found on my Handmade Holidays board.

At the bottom of the post will be products from Etsy sellers that fit the category or office supplies for the DIY.

Hope this makes your holiday shopping easier and of course handmade.

We are under 100 days away from Christmas.  I have a few handmade gift ideas on my list to be created.  What about you?  Well if you need a quick hostess gift, my potholders are ready to ship and travel to parties easily.

Here is a treasury featuring some Poinsettias to get you thinking about some potential Christmas gifts.

‘A Bouquet of Poinsettias ‘ by jeanniepelletier

Beautiful poinsettias from the HDM team…for a little early holiday spirit!

Poinsettia Christmas Ornamen… WintergreenDes… $58.5	Sequin Tipped Felt Poinsetti… woolhearts $3.5	Love Finished Cross Stitch … LittleRabbitMi… $10
ON SALE 20% OFF – Large Chri… ChristmasisMag… $4.8	Ceramic Bag Vase Christmas P… MyVintageTable $6	Poinsettia Potholders, Pink … anniekdesigns $12.99
Poinsettia Kitchen Tea Towel… SnowNoseCrafts $6	Poinsettia Christmas Ornamen… TreeTreasuresC… $18.95	Christmas Wreath Hand Made P… RoyalDescent $40
poinsettia round hand embroi… nikkissglein $12.5	Feliz Navidad Sign, hand pai… CarriageOnCher… $25	Tiny Christmas pillow for pi… artsyEVE $6
Large Gift Bag NancysWorkshop $12.5	Rustic Silver and Gold glass… JylMilnerCreat… $7.5	Winter, Christmas, Holiday Q… quiltytherapy $9
Poinsettia Ornament hand sti… HMCrafters $6

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