Happy First Day of Fall, Dear Readers! It’s a perfectly sunshiny and warm Fall day, so we enjoyed a classic apple pie and ice cream outside with a cup of tea this afternoon; it was lovely.
“He has made everything beautiful in it’s time….” Ecclesiastes 3:11.
I hope you enjoy all the beautiful things that this season has to offer!
Fall might not officially be here (we’ll have to wait until next Tuesday), but the weather tells me that it is here. Waking up to frosty mornings, which turn into warm days, the days are shorter and the leaves are beginning to turn. So it was time to add some Fall touches to my space: amber glass, acorns and leaves, feathers and touches of gold….
The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady, open to the page for September. I painted the leaves gold since they were originally much-too-bright oranges and yellows.
The cover of Northanger Abbey is so perfectly seasonal, I had to face it outward.
These little wooden mushrooms I got from the dollar store are such a whimsical addition.
These interesting dried flowers are Sea Holly, Eryngium, from my mom’s garden.
The message of the “All is Vanity” skull illustration by Charles Allan Gilbert is applicable all year round, but it looks especially appropriate for Fall.
The covers of some books really are too pretty to hide: I also turned Anne’s House of Dreams face out, even though it’s a very Spring cover.
Are you ready for Fall? Do you change any of your decor for the seasons?
I love to make gifts for people! Do you? The only problem with hand making gifts is that you have to do a lot of planning ahead…which is why people used to practice “Christmas in July”…or Christmas in September, this year as the case may be! I also love to thrift shop for gifts, which can also take a long time to find the right items, so I’ve already begun planning and preparing for my Christmas gift giving this year.
So, it is time to share this post of 30+ handmade, personalized and thrifted gift ideas with you all, in time for you to begin planning your handmade gifts for this year too. I will link to any tutorials for any of the items I have shared before on the blog.
From Your Kitchen/ Consumables:
Food is always a good choice since it’s consumable, so it’s perfect for people who don’t want a lot of “stuff”. Check to make sure that your recipient doesn’t have allergies first! At this time of the year, it’s perfect to start thinking ahead whether there are any preserves you could make with produce from your garden such as…
1.) Pickles
2.) Jams, jellies and fruit syrups
3.) Herbal tea blends, such as peppermint; maybe paired with a tea infuser or a tea cup?
Baked goods are always a hit…
4.) Pair homemade cookies or cakes with a thrifted dish to make it extra special. Making something that freezes well is also nice. I made my dad a bunch of mini blueberry pies to put in the freezer and they lasted him a few months.
5.) Homemade hot cocoa or mocha mix paired with a nice thrifted mug
6.) Truffles or chocolates are such a nice treat! My favourite recipe is this one by Sally’s Baking Addiction.
7.) If you aren’t able to give baked goods, how about the ingredients for the recipient to bake it themselves? One year I gave a jar of homemade cranberry pie filling and a pastry mix paired with a tart pan for a DIY gift. Write out the recipe on a pretty printable recipe card, such as these.
8.) Balm/ body butter- not something to eat, but definitely still consumable! See my tutorial here.
9.) Candles poured into a thrifted teacup, votive or tin
10.) Press flowers from your garden to decorate taper candles
Gifts to Sew:
11.) Tote bags are so useful. Add some embroidery or quilt one for a fancier book bag. Here’s my tutorial for this upcycled tote.
12.) Zippered pouches, use up some fun fabric scraps, add some cute embroidery to a plain fabric and tie a ribbon on the zipper pull. For men, make them a toiletries/ shaving case.
13.) Felted slippers made out of old wool sweaters. Find my tutorial here.
14.) Mittens – also made out of old wool sweaters. Find my tutorial here.
15.) A beret- also made out of old wool sweaters. Find my tutorial here.
16.) Games such as a tic tac toe game with felted shapes or beanbag toss
17.) Kids are fun to sew for: clothes, bibs, hats, bonnets, headbands, booties etc.
18.) Corner embroidered felt bookmarks
19.) Quilted potholders
20.) Quilted coasters
21.) Aprons- my new favourite is the crossover style
Gifts to Craft:
22.) Journals or sketchbooks decoupaged with fabric or paper covers. A ribbon tie adds such a pretty touch!
23.) Covered button magnets made out of fabric scraps
24.) Create a wooden wallhanging with their favourite hymn, or use another piece of clip art and decoupage it to create personalized wall decor
25.) Covered button rings made out of fabric scraps
26.) Miniature embroidered necklace pendant
27.) A miniature of their favourite book. If you add a ribbon to hang it from, it can be an adorable Christmas tree ornament, but it could also be displayed year round. This mini Pride & Prejudice I made last year is probably my favourite thing I’ve ever crafted.
28.) Christmas ornaments of all different shapes and sizes. These are also fun to top a gift with in place of a bow.
29.) An advent calendar filled with homemade goodies. This one is made of paper origami boxes, but there are so many other types of calendars to make.
Gifts to Thrift Paired with Handmade Items:
30.) A travel cutlery set paired with a napkin that ties and can be reused over and over again.
31.) Artwork (either made by you or another artist) in a thrifted frame. I like to get greeting cards for a more cost effective option. Paint the frame or cover the mat with fabric for a fun twist. (Artwork pictured above by Jenni Haikonen, Terre Pigment Studio and Oh Jess Marie, and me)
32.) A book in a “pretty” edition, paired with a coordinating bookmark (there are so many easy bookmarks to DIY! Pressed flowers, papercrafted, ribbon with charms, painted, embroidered felt….
33.) Their favourite book paired with custom bookplates. (Also, don’t forget to check the thrift stores for books.) And you can always wrap the books like this, tucking a bag of tea, a bookmark or other goodies into the pockets.
34.) Thrifted kitchen items (I often see new-in-package items) such as baking dishes, serving ware, cookbooks etc, paired with a handmade apron, potholders or dishcloths. Arrange the items in a thrifted basket, bowl or platter, or wrap it all up with a tea towel for the finishing touch!
35.) Handmade zippered pencil case with their favourite craft supplies inside it.
36.) Propagate a cutting or divide a favourite plant and put it into a thrifted pot or a mismatched teacup.
And Gifts For Those Who Have Everything:
37.) A cheerful bouquet of flowers from your garden (maybe not possible in December if you’re in the cold North, but perfect for other occasions!)
38.) A donation to a charity they like, but give them a custom “certificate”. You can also do this with “coupons” for an experience gift (or like I did, inserted an image of butter tarts which I was going to bake at a later date). I used some free vintage Victorian Santa clip art and inserted images of the gifts into the illustrations.
And don’t forget to finish your present off with an upcycled greeting card tag or decoupage a gift box with pretty fabric so they can keep and use it afterwards!
Well, I hope there was something in this list that sparked your creativity. Now, excuse me, I’ve got to go… I think it’s time to do some crafting!
Hello Dear Readers! It’s feeling like Fall and lately I have been….
Reading:
I just finished Northanger Abbey so I’ve completed my goal of re-reading Jane Austen’s books this year! Now I’ve started Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport which I’ve been meaning to read for several years. It is very interesting.
Loving:
Bouquets of “volunteer” sunflowers and cosmos from my mom’s garden.
Making:
A little Fall garland out of fabric scraps, above.
And a new apron; I love this crossover style. This one was made out of a tablecloth and there was enough fabric to make two.
Working on:
Pickles, syrups and jams, applesauce and juice… so much produce to process this time of year.
Eating:
Garden produce! My favourite recipe for this time of year is Zucchini Italian.
Sauté onion rings in butter and olive oil. Once transparent, add thinly sliced zucchini, diced tomatoes, a teaspoon of dried dill (or fresh if you have it), salt and pepper. Reduce to a simmer until cooked- delicious!
Finding:
The time to write letters and mail some Fall greeting cards to friends.
What has your September looked like so far?
Happy September, Dear Readers! The air is feeling crisp and it’s beginning to feel like Fall, but before the season completely changes, it’s about time I shared this dress-turned-skirt I made back in June. I don’t know why I forgot to take photos of if (I’ve been wearing it quite a lot!) but it actually turned out well leaving it until now to take photos, because look how nicely it matches the front flower garden. Cosmos, petunias, evening scented stocks and sunflowers. This flower bed used to have two giant peonies in it, but this Spring the bed had to be completely excavated for plumbing issues, and the pink peony didn’t end up back up in this flower bed. (It’s been planted elsewhere now…)
So yes, this halter dress came up on our church’s free group last year and I hesitated to claim it since I was thinking of altering it, so I let it go to someone else. And then a year later it came back up for grabs and I didn’t hesitate to claim it then! And I am so happy that I did because I love how it turned out. As far as refashioning projects go, this was one of the simplest and it only took a few hours to complete.
Paired with my navy tie front blouse (or a navy t-shirt some days) it has been perfect for summer.
I’ve been really into tying scarves onto handbags lately. I don’t always like wearing scarves because I find them too hot, but they add such a nice touch to a bag.
I’ve been wearing my dainty heart pearl pendant on repeat lately. It pairs well with a more casual outfit to elevate it, but it’s also not overwhelming with a more dressed up outfit.
It’s definitely starting to feel like September. I hope we get a nice warm Fall this year. I never thought I would say it, but I’m sad Summer is almost over. It’s never been my favourite season (re: heat), but this year we didn’t get much sun, so I would love a little bit more!
How is your September so far? Are you ready for Fall, or still holding onto the vestiges of Summer? And how does your garden grow?
