Homegrown Bouquets for Giving

{Re-posted from Beth H's blog, Crafty Mishmash}

Taking fresh flowers when visiting friends & family is one of my favorite things to do. Everyone appreciates the gesture, & flowers are perfect for every occasion. Plus, when you've grown them yourself, they are extra special & impressive! : )

Since March, when our garden began bursting into bloom, I've been gifting flowers left & right. It all started when I took my mom & dad a bouquet of pink heirloom roses & rosemary for their wedding anniversary, arranged in one of the canning jars I was returning to Mom. The simple beauty of that arrangement & the joy I got from giving it to them really inspired me. Since then, I've tried to take a homegrown floral gift whenever I'm invited to someone's home.

The bouquet pictured here is one that I took to my mother-in-law as a housewarming gift when Patrick & I first visited their new home in late April. It contains Verbena, Spanish Lavender, Gaura, Rosemary & California Poppies. Granted, none of these flowers are very hardy, so not usually recommended for cut flowers. They are delicate & droop & wither after a day or so, but I don't mind. Their beauty is fleeting, which to me, just makes them more amazing & worthy of our adoration.

 my ribbon stash; saved from gifts & packaging & project scraps

Tips for creating your own homegrown bouquets:
- Save empty food jars & bottles of interesting shapes to use as vases; you'll want to have them on hand when the need for a host/hostess gift arises! Plus, it's a great way to reduce/reuse/recycle. I used an olive oil bottle for the arrangement pictured here.
- Tie a ribbon around the mouth of your vase to give it that finishing touch - tres shabby chic!
- Put a few inches of water in the vase before adding the flowers.
- Check for bugs on each stalk; you don't want to gift those tiny stow-aways!
- When arranging the flowers, start with the tallest ones in the middle, then add shorter ones around them.
- Keep turning the vase around as you add the flowers, to ensure that it looks pretty from all angles.
- I aim for an interesting mix of flowers that are tall & short, large & small, bold & delicate (in form & color), and upright & billowy. However, a gorgeous arrangement can also be made from only 1 or 2 kinds of flowers. Just trust your own eye - flowers are so pretty that it's hard to go wrong!

Beth H's Appliqued Towels - Christmas in May!

On Monday we had a WonderCraft meeting & I finally gave my biz partners
their Christmas gifts! Geez. It's May.

 

I made a seahorse towel for Beth A, lover of island vacations & scuba-diving explorer of the sea.

For Kim, a true Parisienne at heart,
an Eiffel Tower in the clouds.

And I designed this Robot Chef character especially for Jen, lover of robots & all things sci-fi.

I had every intention of giving these handmade goodies out during the actual holidays, but... I didn't get them finished until February or so, then I wanted to wait until we were all together & our schedules were crazy (although there were several times we were all 4 together when I just forgot them). But anyhoo, I finally gifted them & they were a hit. Better late than never! : )

Fabulous GO Vendors: Baby Bolt & Craft Chi

More vendor awesomeness! Baby Bolt & Craft Chi are two more local faves who'll have lovely handmade gift items on display at our Grand Opening tonight.

First up is Becka Spellman of Baby Bolt. In addition to the brand spankin' new & awesome trailer bibs she'll have at our Grand Opening, Becka also makes crazy-cute clothes & plenty of functional items to make life easier for parents and kiddos. Pacifier Bibs keep drool in check and the pacifier nearby. Crayon Rolls keep your little artist's tools on hand whether inspiration strikes at a restaurant, car trip, or the doctor's office.

New-Baby Gift Sets, available in custom combinations like this cute little cowboy, are the perfect, stress-free gifts that will stand out at any baby shower. What a great idea!

At BabyBolt you will find designs that combine new, upcycled/reclaimed, vintage, and imported fabrics - resulting in unique, one-of-a-kind or limited-run clothing and accessories.

Becka says, "Through my life I have attempted to find a home in all sorts of arts and crafts. From oil painting to photography to knitting to collage, I never really felt I had found my "thing." Shortly after my son was born I pulled out my mom's old Kenmore and started working on small projects and took a few sewing classes. As I gained skills and confidence, I turned our spare bedroom into my studio."

Come out & say hello to Becka tonight; she is super-sweet & also quite a funny lady. You'll enjoy meeting her and you will love her ah-DOR-able kids' stuff!

Next I'd like to tell you about the multi-talented Amy of Craft Chi, "the universalizing life force of craft." Love that! Amy makes all kinds of things, all handprinted with her original artwork. Her beautiful handmade wares include bags, pillow shams, tees and pretty linen tea towels.

I love the fluid patterns Amy creates & her screen-printing technique is impeccable. Amy also keeps a wonderful blog about her craft process that is full of great tips & interesting behind-the-scenes pics.




















In addition to her printed items, Amy sells cute rubber stamps made from her own drawings and screen-printing screens that can be custom-made with your own image on them. She also offers a wide assortment of screens for sale with all kinds of cool images that are ready to use. We carry these in Stella's boutique & they are awesome!



Tonight at the GO we'll be using some totally cool screens on loan from Craft Chi for screen-printing on neckties. It's gonna be super-fun! Join us, won't you?

Gifts to Beat the Winter Blahs!

Here are a few inspiring gift ideas I've seen on the web recently. Any of these would be gifts I'd love to receive (hint, hint!) because they are all about making the cold days of winter more comfy-cozy. I've also put links to a few of the coolest gift guides I've found at the end of this post. Enjoy!

The Woodland Draft Buster from Betz White is so cute! You can find the pattern in her book, Sewing Green. The book itself would make a lovely gift for someone crafty, but if you have the time, why not buy the book as a gift to yourself & whip some draft dodgers up for your loved ones? Helping them stay warm & cozy this winter would be a wonderful gift.

















This next project is totally tempting me, because my skin gets horribly dry during the winter. I'm sure you have someone on your list who also suffers this winter affliction, so how about making them an indulgent brown sugar scrub?

Find the incredibly simple instructions on Craftzine and get to it! This is one that children will love making, too. Mix it up, put it in a jar & use fabric scraps & ribbon to pretty it up - so easy!



Lastly, a fashionable & functional classic: a pretty scarf. This scarf has a twist though: it's made from an old sweater (yay, upcycling!) & gathered using a long ribbon (clever!), so that it has a very ruffly look. How pretty is this? and it looks like it would keep your neck nice and warm (very important for short-haired girls like me)! This project is another one from the amazing folks at Craftzine. Check out the Sew a Ruffled Scarf post for a detailed how-to. Don't be scared; it actually seems very simple to make as long as you have basic sewing skills.

Wouldn't any of these make a fantastic, thoughtful gift? Sure wish I had started on them earlier... maybe I'll be able to make some gifts for Christmas 2010, if I start now! Oh well, if you're in a time crunch like me, you can still find tons of fabulous gifts online by checking out the gift guides below. Or better yet, shop at your local craft shows & support handmade! If you're in Austin, come out & see us at Cherrywood Art Fair this weekend!

Great Holiday Gift Guide Roundup 09:
- under $50 gift guide from design*sponge {they have many gift guides to browse; see their full list}
- Slow Holiday gift guide from Treehugger
- and of course, there's a plethora of gift guides on Etsy!

Happy shopping &/or making! Please leave links to your fave gift guides or DIY gift ideas in the comments!