Homemade Gifts should be mandatory

I remember the good ole days, when I used to hand-make gifts for my Maw-Maw each Christmas. There was the year I made her a wreath out of those plastic things that hold together a 6-pack of Cokes, the year I made her a decorative peppermint parfait, or the year I painted her a picture from a Christmas card we had gotten the year before.

But gone are the days when I had the creativity (or maybe it was the time!?) to hand-make gifts for my Maw-Maw. This year she repurposed a "pig pencil holder" I had made for her as a toothbrush holder, wrapped it up for me, and gave it to me at a "Shower" shower.

Gift cards are fun to get, and you can surely meet the price minimum set for you (erg, don't get me started!), but where is the creativity?!

Let's slow down and start putting more thought back into our gifts. Because, after all, it's the thought that counts, right?

Why don't all bowls have handles?

For a wedding gift, we received a big pottery bowl and 4 small bowls with handles that are absolutely adorable. When I first got it, I thought what a great way to serve some chili, but must admit now I use the bowls every day for my morning yogurt and granola, and think that all bowls should have a handle.

When I was putting the big pot up on the shelf in the kitchen, I found a small business card in it for the store in Hardy, Arkansas, where the gift was purchased. I looked on the back, and guess what! They have an Etsy shop! Who doesn't love Etsy? I could spend hours on the site, looking at what the inspirations and passions of people drive them to create and share with the world.

Check out the site: http://www.hardypottery.etsy.com/

They don't have the cute bowls for sale, but the big pot is beautiful. The inside is a really unique speckled, enameled sage green color. I love attention to details!