Christmas Time is Here...

Ah, Christmas. It's definitely my favorite holiday. I love the coziness, the togetherness, the simple message of joy and peace and giving. I got started on my list of crafted gifts this weekend, and it's left me feeling rather jolly. In fact, I think it's going to be a struggle to hold off on putting up the tree for a few more weeks! One of my favorite things about the season is crafting gifts. This year, I'm trying to keep things pretty simple, without making them less meaningful. If all goes well, among the crafted gifts will be the following:

For my three year old niece, I'm putting together UK Lass in US's fabric dollhouse. My three year old nephew will receive a garage for his toy cars made from the same pattern.

For my one year old niece, a sweet little Black Apple Doll.

For my sister, I've whipped up a flax seed eye pillow (officially the first completed gift of the season!). I LOVE these - they are simple to make (just a small pillow filled with flax seed), but so relaxing to use. They provide a nice soothing pressure on your eyelids, and you can microwave or refrigerate them for warmth or coolness. I'll be packaging this one up with some handmade cold process soaps from the farmer's market.

For my sister-in-law (that is, my brother's wife; I really wish English distinguished between "brother's wife" and "husband's sister" - does that bother anyone else?), I'll be making a tea cozy (unfortunately without irony, I apologize to Craftsters everywhere). Last year I sent her a teapot, and she tells me that she uses it nearly every evening. Now her tea can stay warm in between cups! I'm also sending along a pretty vintage tea cup to make her nightly tea drinking a little more special.

For my mom, a full apron. She requested it (actually, she requested an "adult bib," since she is always spilling things down the front of her shirt, but I figured that I would make something a bit more presentable in case she forgets to take it off before answering the door!). As a surprise, I'm also rearranging all of her family photos into a new, acid free album, and giving that to her along with a DVD of the digitized versions I've made.

For my mother-in-law, we've purchased this cake stand. I'm going to personalize it with some etching cream (this will be my first experience etching - wish me luck!).

I'll also be testing out my etching skills making a pair of etched beer mugs for my brother.

For my dad, I'll be stitching up Lady Harvatine's Quilty Mug (although her version is lovely, I'll be making it in more masculine fabrics pulled from my stash) to go with a few bags of the fantastic fair trade coffee from my favorite neighborhood coffee shop.

Finally, for my sister-in-law (i.e., Nate's sister), I'm working on a Charlie reusable shopping bag from Burdastyle, inspired by Jenny Hart's fantastic version.


That's the heart of the list; I'm buying for several people (the majority of those gifts will be handmade goodies from Etsy), and others have been omitted because I don't trust their prying eyes (I see you, sneaky people!). Now I'm off to get a little more crafting done before I head to bed!

Who are you crafting for this holiday season, and what are you making?