The value of handcrafting
At the beginning of this year I set myself the resolution to make as many of the gifts I give as I could. I'm not normally one for new year's resolutions, but I liked setting myself this goal, and so far I've done really really well with it.
I've folded bouquets of origami flowers, carefully wired to sprigs from trees. I've stitched. I've sewn. I've painted wings (sooo many sets of wings this year). I've grown plants. And it feels so good to be making with a purpose.
I've just finished making a photo frame for one of the girls at work for her birthday. I should have taken photos of it completely finished because it is rather stunning. Black wooden base with swirls cut into it, with my own swirls in red painted delicately on top, and a gold wooden cutting glued on top. Gold and red ribbons to hold the panels together. It's her birthday tomorrow and I'm including a lovely little bunch of sweet pea blossoms from my garden too.
I'm happily getting into making for Christmas too. I have my list, and I've made a solid start on many of the projects.
Creating like this, giving things I've hand crafted, gives me time to really think about what I'm giving. For me, giving something handcrafted is about more than just the object you're giving. You're also giving your -time-, and my time is the most valuable thing I have.
I get tired of bought presents. It's so hard to know what people already have, how much to spend to make it a respectable present without blowing the budget or being 'cheap'. This way I give something I've spent -time- on. And I know I make beautiful objects, so for me it feels like something more precious, something more beautiful than you can buy, with the added beauty of being personalised, a peek into how another person views you.
I'd prefer something handmade to something bought. But if handmade isn't an option, we already have so much clutter so I love getting a card that says 'I donated $$ to this charity as a gift, here's some of the cool stuff they do'. Give time. Give empathy. Give hope and a smile to those who need it most. We really don't need more toys for the girls, more quirky 'stuff'. Though we can always do with babysitting vouchers, Mark and I would really love to go see The Last Airbender in the cinema.
At least the grandparents are fairly easy to make stuff for, now that Tali's big enough to 'help' on some projects ;)
Adn it's time to wrangle through the chaos monkeys' evening routine. *sigh* Far too little time to myself.
I've folded bouquets of origami flowers, carefully wired to sprigs from trees. I've stitched. I've sewn. I've painted wings (sooo many sets of wings this year). I've grown plants. And it feels so good to be making with a purpose.
I've just finished making a photo frame for one of the girls at work for her birthday. I should have taken photos of it completely finished because it is rather stunning. Black wooden base with swirls cut into it, with my own swirls in red painted delicately on top, and a gold wooden cutting glued on top. Gold and red ribbons to hold the panels together. It's her birthday tomorrow and I'm including a lovely little bunch of sweet pea blossoms from my garden too.
I'm happily getting into making for Christmas too. I have my list, and I've made a solid start on many of the projects.
Creating like this, giving things I've hand crafted, gives me time to really think about what I'm giving. For me, giving something handcrafted is about more than just the object you're giving. You're also giving your -time-, and my time is the most valuable thing I have.
I get tired of bought presents. It's so hard to know what people already have, how much to spend to make it a respectable present without blowing the budget or being 'cheap'. This way I give something I've spent -time- on. And I know I make beautiful objects, so for me it feels like something more precious, something more beautiful than you can buy, with the added beauty of being personalised, a peek into how another person views you.
I'd prefer something handmade to something bought. But if handmade isn't an option, we already have so much clutter so I love getting a card that says 'I donated $$ to this charity as a gift, here's some of the cool stuff they do'. Give time. Give empathy. Give hope and a smile to those who need it most. We really don't need more toys for the girls, more quirky 'stuff'. Though we can always do with babysitting vouchers, Mark and I would really love to go see The Last Airbender in the cinema.
At least the grandparents are fairly easy to make stuff for, now that Tali's big enough to 'help' on some projects ;)
Adn it's time to wrangle through the chaos monkeys' evening routine. *sigh* Far too little time to myself.