Ordinary Saturdays » gifts

wool cardigan corgi

julia::ordinarysaturdays — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 21:27:49 +0000

On Christmas Eve an unexpected package was delivered from Kim. Well actually, from Kim. Same Kim, different storefronts. She’s a talented lady.

Inside was this little guy.

A perfect felted wool replica of this little guy:

He’s a Wool Cardigan Corgi! To match my Welsh Cardigan Corgi!

About a month ago Elizabeth Anne Designs had a little crafty Christmas swap. Mo sent me a beautiful paper wreath, complete with handmade flowers. I love it! It’s still hanging in our front window, long after the rest of the decorations have come down.

Mo took several pictures before sending it to me. Hers are good pictures, like the one above. Mine all look like this: ick.

My giftee was Allison from HaselBride and EAD Living. She had a pretty wedding with spring yellow and greens, and loves owls. I sent her a felt owl ornament and owl stamp, neither of which were made by me. December was busy! Again, I took some terrible pictures. Maybe she’ll post better ones!

Maybe 2010 will be the year I learn to take better pictures. Or maybe I’ll find excuses to visit Kim with bunch of props.

Posted in gifts

gifts for the ladies

julia::ordinarysaturdays — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 20:22:00 +0000

The wedding is over and the gifts have been given, now I can talk about them! Deciding on gifts for the bridesmaids was both fun and nervewracking. I was afraid the gifts would seem self-serving, since they were very wedding-related. DJ kept telling me it would be fine, but I kept worrying about it.

Each girl got a hatbox, tied with satin ribbon. Inside the hatbox was a pair of earrings, a monogrammed pocket mirror, and a clutch purse lined in green silk. The clutches were handmade by me; which could be sweet or not, depending on how you see it.

Fortunately they all liked their gifts – at least enough to wear the earrings and carry the clutches for the wedding.

For the purses, I used this tutorial and purse frames from Etsy. The most difficult parts were testing the pattern (twice! use cheap fabric first!) and gluing the fabric to the frame (buy at least one extra frame and don’t rush yourself.)

My mom’s gift was sentimental. She had inherited a pearl ring from her mother (my Grandma Julia), which she loved and wore frequently. Several years ago it went missing when she moved, and since then she’s said many times how sad she was to have lost it.

The potential cuteness of replacing it was irresistible – recovering something you thought you’d lost for good – so I went antiquing, and hunted down a very similar ring of the same era. It came to me boxless, so I threaded it on a ribbon in a small box full of moss, along with a note explaining the lost and found idea. My mom loved it, and it’s even the right size. Perfect.

Posted in gifts

ladies’ luncheon: bake me a cake!

julia::ordinarysaturdays — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 00:44:00 +0000

I have been making cookie dough and cakes and mashed potatoes with my old mixer. Actually, DJ makes the mashed potatoes. Our division of labor is usually based on talent, not fairness. His mashed potatoes are incredible. But I have a reputation for cake and cookies.
My mixer is a Sunbeam, probably from the late 60′s. It came from a garage sale when I was setting up my first kitchen. The finish is wearing off the beaters a bit. It’s been used a few times.
It’s done a good job, but it’s headed for the Goodwill. Because DJ’s mom gave us the much-coveted Kitchen Aid. (DJ says mashedpotatoeswillbesomucheasierthaaaanksMOM!)
I love it. (Slightly less than I love DJ.) Everyone at the shower was shocked that I didn’t already have one. Which I think means that I bake too much. Now, remember this! When I go for my dress fittings in September and it won’t zip, this is what happened. Feel free to point and laugh.

Posted in gifts, showered

ladies’ luncheon: hostess gifts

julia::ordinarysaturdays — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 12:52:00 +0000

I put together a little thank you for each of my bridal shower hostesses. They wouldn’t let me help with anything at all, so I went shopping. Each bag had Philosophy Red Velvet Cake shower gel, pink pomegranate soap, and two fancy chocolate bars. I wrote a note on paper left over from printing wedding invitations: Thank you for the sweet shower… Enjoy these sweets with your next shower! I know, not original. And cheesy. But like I’m always saying while shamelessly copying, the classics are the classics for a reason. Also, I think I’m addicted to lining envelopes. Is there a support group for this?

Posted in gifts, showered

evidence

julia::ordinarysaturdays — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 00:38:00 +0000

Ladieeees. Not to belabor the point, but my sister sent over some pictures she took with her camera at the shower. And… hee.
Bloomers! See, I wouldn’t lie to you.

Posted in gifts, showered

ladies luncheon: great idea

julia::ordinarysaturdays — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 12:24:00 +0000

One of my shower gifts was so sweet and creative that I had to share.
On a stack of recipe cards that match my kitchen (it’s the details, right?) were handwritten recipes along with stories of their significance.

“The Best Chocolate Cake” was an office treat – and surprise, low in fat! “First Dinner Apple Pie with Cheddar Cheese Crust” was dessert for the first dinner she cooked for her husband while they were dating. “Monk Bread” was a family favorite, from a monastery in New Mexico. “Crazy Conductor Cappucino Brownies” carry fond memories of a choral conductor. “Grandma’s Sugar + Spice Cookies” look very much like my Grandma Julia’s molasses cookie recipe – I will have to compare them side by side.

It’s a sweet idea. A little ::something borrowed:: for my kitchen!

Posted in gifts, showered

ladies’ luncheon: memorable gifts

julia::ordinarysaturdays — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 20:47:00 +0000

You may remember that my mom wanted to give me lingerie “for the wedding night.” After a short conversation with her it seemed like we were on the same page. Some kind of sweet nightgown or slip, time of actual wearing TBD. Like this:
So I wasn’t surprised to open a box from her to find a pile of white silk.

Nightgown! More see-through than I’d like, especially to open in front of DJ’s young cousins and my grandma – but, okay!

Robe! Ah, that addresses the see-through issue.

But wait, there’s a second box. The card said “from Mamoo and Papa,” my grandparents. Both gone for years now. My mom started to tear up, so I assumed that this was a deeply sentimental gift.

I’m a deeply sentimental girl. Lower lip quivering and all. So you can imagine my surprise to find…

Bloomers.

XL, transparent bloomers. What do you think about that, Julia?

(To be fair, XL is probably the correct size. For me. In BLOOMERS.)

Really. True story.

(All photos from my camera except the nightgown and bloomers. Source unknown for the nightgown. Bloomers here.)

Posted in gifts, I can't possibly be serious, showered