Favorite Things

Usually I find myself searching for inspiration to find the perfect gift (see post here).  This year I am looking back on my favorite gifts from the holidays after letting someone else do all the tough planning.  It really doesn't take much to please me, but a lot of people say I'm hard to shop for.  Agree to disagree.  Here are my faves:

 

I cannot wait to start the second book in this trilogy! Since it also has 1200 pages, it will probably last me until May.  Hooray!

 Ok, this is a gift to me, from me, and it is not so much my style, but I really love the hippie feel.

 

I received this watercolor painting already custom framed!  Margaret always gives the best gifts!

 

Technically a gift to myself...  Again, surprising to some, but this Navajo poncho from Orvis (I know!) is so awesome I don't want to take it off. Ever.

 My mother-in-law is the jewelry queen, and she is extra-careful in getting me small and delicate pieces.  I've worn this Shalla Wista triple wrap bracelet every single day.

Oops, not a present.  But it is a gift to have a day to myself to have absolutely nothing better to do than do loads of laundry, fold it, and put it away. And look at this little bear.

 

HANDS DOWN MY FAVORITE GIFT.  See... I told you I am easy to please!  Hot Booties are the bomb!  I am beyond obsessed, and I cannot get enough of their warm goodness. 

Of course, I loved all of my gifts.  My mother game me a Limoges jewelry tray from Paris that is beyond perfect for my dresser.  Ashleigh knows me so well--she got me a le Pen set and a personalized note pad.  My dad gave me an Army pen that is a "aircraft safe" weapon.  This was certainly Philip's favorite.  Of course.  However, I would not recommend flying with it since it delayed me 28 minutes!

Sometimes It's What's On the Outside

Case in point: a gift's wrapping.  I couldn't believe the lady at Bed, Bath, & Beyond wrapped my gift in a plastic bag.  Not the kind you use with tissue sticking out the top--that would have been fine.  Instead, it was clearly their official wrapping style to use it as "paper" and tape down the edges, gather the extra length in one end, and tie it up with a purple bow.  Nobody uses plastic baggies as wrapping paper!!  With all the showers and parties of the beloved wedding season, I take pleasure in the small things like buying gifts that are not on the registry.  And yes, the vintage juicer really was the hit of the kitchen shower!  I've also kept busy by wrapping each of my sister's gifts in different papers and bows.  This one, in particular, was exceptionally darling.  I saw the coolest magazine bows here, but I needed something a little nicer than that for a wedding shower.  Thanks to my past love of scrap booking, I now have a new use for all of those papers... bows!  This one was easy to make--just cut eight 3/4" strips:   three should be 9", three 7", and two 5".  Save a little bit of paper for a 3" strip as the center loop (not pictured).  Form loops with all of the strips and staple in the center.  The tutorial suggested double sided sticky dots, but mine were not working.  Instead, I used craft glue and a clothespin to hold it together until dry, then voila!!  I can't wait to make another!

Where to Find the Perfect Gift

When buying gifts, I've always gone with the mindset that if I like it, the recipient will too. This typically has served me well, but thanks to Pinterest, I can use my supersonic power of deduction to figure out what other people like and, therefore, would like to receive! My friend is having a birthday in about a month, and I have been brainstorming some ideas. Last year, my initial heart necklace was just perfect. Earrings? A bracelet? More jewelry??? Well, that's a tough call because I don't want to give the same thing each year! Lucky me, I found a pin of hers that looked simple[ish] and unique. Enter the hanging dishtowel. Thanks to all the quilts I have made, I have about 30 different coordinating scraps in brights and pastels and plenty of quilt batting (I used this instead of the recommended felt piece). I have no idea what my friends kitchen color palette is, but I figure that I would use any of these in my kitchen even though none of them "match". 

I found the suggested pattern, printed it, and got to work. The author describes this as a "quick, 1-hour project" but if you are anything like me, you will spend 30 minutes deciding on towels and coordinating fabric, 10 minutes choosing the perfect button, 5 minutes cutting your dishtowels perfectly in half, and at least 10 minutes arranging the pattern so that you can make as many of these as possible. That was how I spent my first hour of this project. In real-time, I think this is more like a Saturday afternoon project instead of a quick let's-make-a-cute-present project. And, of course, I had to make two "practice" towels for myself. Anyway, here is how it went down.

1. Lay out the pattern and trace onto your fabric.

2. Cut two top pieces and a piece of batting to match.
3. Face the two good sides together, and lay the batting on top.
4. (Not shown) Cut the tab pieces and stick on all sides except bottom. Turn right side out and add between the two facing pieces, above. This will save you a step later.



5. Pin in place and stitch on all sides except the bottom. Turn right side out.

6. Gather the towel, or pleat, and pin in place.

7. Turn the ends of the top piece under about a 1/2" all around. Sandwich the towel in between the top and bottom of the upper piece. Stitch in place.

8. Stitch a button hole on the top tab and a button on the upper piece. Sadly, I chose to order cut, matching buttons, and they still have not arrived!!

Voila!! The perfect birthday gift, plus two new-to-me yellow towels!

*Side note: I prewashed my fabrics and towels first, but I think the presentation of the gift would be much more crisp and "new" if I had not!