first giveaway of the new year

i am so very thankful for all the beautiful handmade, vintage, edible and carefully chosen gifts and cards that i received for christmas this year 

here are a few that i managed to photograph on the rare occasion the sun peeked out over the holidays

I would love to have a giveaway to celebrate a new year of making and giving

the winner will be able to chose from something already made ( a covered stone) or the creative materials to make something ( hand dyed and vintage) 

so leave a comment, let me know about something handmade you gave or received 

or a special recipe you cooked up over the holidays 

or just say hello

i will close the comments on sunday at midnight 

xo

Comments

[Sonia]

you deserve all these gifts
you give yourself so much (and proof is that giveaway !)
don't count me in though
just wanted to stop by, say hello & send you a big hug
xoxoxo

[Camilla Schouw]

This Christmas, my mother made a lovely christmas ornament for our christmas tree, and gave it to me for christmas... you can see it on my blog here: http://mulleskreativeverden.blogspot.com/2011/12/more-christmas-ornaments.html

[Dale Smith]

The best gift that I received, this Christmas: snow falling, off and on, all of Christmas day and all of us warm and cozy inside beside the tree.

Happy New Year to you and all of your loved ones!

[Lyn Z... Long Island NY]

aside from the gift of continued good health for myself and my extended family; the best gift I was able to create was a tiny little cocoon for my best friend's nephew who was a 28 week preemie! Little man weighed in @
close to 2 pounds and 14" long.... and has ben slowly but steadily gaining weight and after almost 2 months has had his breathing mask removed... His warrior spirit amazes me and brings back memories of the sweet little Korean baby I adopted nearly 26 yrs ago!!! Strong persevering souls who bring so much Joy, Love, and the promise that All things are possible within their wee little bodies :)) <3
A Blessed good New Year to All~

[Jacky]

My gorgeous little sister gave me the gift of a day of sketching and drawing with an artist I have admired for a long time ...so thoughtful and I will create a pen and ink drawing as a result of this gift with lots of lovely memories. Not actually handmade, but my gift will result in a drawing that will always remind of that gift.
Jacky xox

[barbara]

Christmas was pretty spare at our house this year. However, we had a wonderful meal at my sister-in-law's where everyone contributed. I'd say that was Hand-made.

But I guess the best was the laughter we shared.

[F9]

I gave to my co-worker a necklace made by me because she made an accident with her car, she says it's the best thing and really likes it :)
Fillis

[KarenLR]

I had such fun sewing and knitting for the holidays. http://sewandsowlife.blogspot.com/2011/12/some-handmade-holiday-gifts.html.
Our family has a deep appreciation for handmade gifts. I have a cousin who just moved from Santa Fe to Vermont. I knit her a thick, bulky, snug mohair cowl. She takes a walk everyday and she wears it to keep her neck cozy. I put love into every stitch of the cowl...I think that's part of the magic of handmade.

[Barbara]

I made play-dough for my nephews. I planned to make 6 batches in different colours, but ran out of cream-of-tartar after only 4. I substituted citric acid (which I have for dying yarn), which messed with the colours a bit, but seemed to work in the end!

[Crafty Gardener]

I made lots of items to give away ... most recently mittens and hats for the grandchildren. I also gave yarn as the recipient loves to create their own items.
Enjoy today.

[Amy]

my father is a woodworker and makes my girls toys for xmas. This year it was two wooden laptops with magnetic chalk screens and gorgeous tops for spinning.
Thanks for the giveaway!

[Michaelanneneal]

I gave alot of baked gifts..we also made peppermint bark for the first time which many of my friends seemed to truly enjoy! My favorite gift..some extra time off to relax at home with my beautiful family..and the smiles on my little Zach's face:) Your gifts are lovely! There is NOTHING better than handmade gifts in my opinion:)xo

[Ashley Lee]

Although I didn't get around to making handmade ornaments like we did last year (Time was limited since my daughter had 8 performances of "A Christmas Carol."), we did make gingerbread houses on 2 occasions with friends and I made some delicious mint chocolate brownies. Happy New Year Margie! May God richly bless you in 2012!

[natalie]

:) those are some wonderful handmade gifts. i love the act of making by hand the gifts given to loved ones. this year i gifted homemade preserves from the summer's harvest & beeswax/coconut oil lip balm from soulemama's blog.

[Katherine of Kitten's Lost Her Mittens]

Beautiful gifts you received! This year I made a lot of handmade gifts, but I think my favorite was a memory box for my guy, filled with photos and bits collected on the beach when we visited the Pacific Ocean this past summer.
Thanks so much for the chance to win!

[Melissa 8*)]

I carved a lighthouse and a monkey on 6 inch square pieces of pine board. The lighthouse was a Birthday gift and she loved it!!

The monkey was a Christmas gift for some artist friends. We all went to the same art school, but at different times. They are incredibly talented, so I was worried whether they would like it or not... They loved it!! I am so happy!!

The best part of giving those hand carved gifts was the look on their faces when they saw what I had made for them!! 8*)

[j]

Last August my younger brother flew up to PA so we could drive down to a short family get together in NC. While hanging out with the family I taught him how to crochet a simple dishcloth. He was hooked and immediately wanted to start an afghan. I never thought he would finish it but when I opened my Christmas gift from him there it was. It was the most special gift I have ever received. He's now making hats!

[Kathleen]

I made paintings for my parents and my best friend. On Christmas day, I also told my daughters that I would make a painting for each of their rooms this year.
There were many handmade gifts from Etsy sellers under our tree this year. I received a beautiful Bookhou pouch, 2 gorgeous paintings and a print from lucileskitchen and a painting from jodyvanB. My daughters received iPod Touch cases made by FeltLLang and telahmarie. It was an Etsy Christmas! The other gift that is always given at our house although isn't handmade is books!

[simona]

oh, hallo! I'm Simona from Italy; id' like to participate, sure! I love your blog and your works; i spent part of the holiday making my mini books that you can see on my easy shop: www.anticovalore.etsy.com.

See you!
simona

[Rebecca]

I received a yummy jar of eggnog from a dear friend who doesn't think she is crafty. I drank it all in one sitting and enjoyed every last sip!

[Hallie]

My dear husband spent hours in a bead store asking questions and picking out pieces to make me a vampire bite necklace... he knows how much I love the Twilight books and wanted one of these necklaces! I was so surprised he had actually been listening!! lol

[Heather]

I love your blog. The photos inspire me. I loved spending time with my daughter over the holidays and going cosmic bowling with her on New Year's Eve. (bowling with disco lights)

[Elisa B]

As soon as I learned how to knit last year I made a baby blanket for my best friend and her baby boy. That was a labor of love too. :)

[Shawna]

Sweet little giveaway. We draw names in our family and I drew my dad and his new wife... talk about stumped! I am still learning their new style together and they already had duplicates of a lot of things from merging their homes together... and then I thought of it. Their wedding was a low-key thing one evening with just them, the pastor and his wife so no one made a big deal out of it... I found a sweet little wedding sampler online (Wedding Row), tweaked the colors a bit and presented it to them for Christmas, rolled up like a party cracker. They loved it! Now to buy the framing for them for my new mom's birthday this month!

[Dita]

I love making and receiving handmade.For my mom I made crocheted afghan and same for my dear aunt. And my mom made me absolutely perfect long cardigan. Really great gift.

[Melissa R]

You are so generous!
I had a great handmade Christmas!
I handmade 80 cards that I sent to friends and family... it was assembly line work, it took a long time but well worth it!
I also hand carved two rubber stamps for a friend and enjoyed making the wrapping very special.

[hanna]

I made a necklace for my sister.

[iamrushmore]

Handmade gifts are the best. This year I made and gave lovely little beeswax lanterns, and received a beautiful necklace handmade by my niece.

[Sandra]

I try to make most of my gifts - this year it was pillows. I love your covered stones!

[Els]

Hi there, at first: all the best for a creative and happy new year ofcourse. I'm a bit slow at the moment ...(didn't even post in the new year !)
We had a bit of a rough time, so the christmas cards weren't homemade this year (uuuuh : lást year)
But for christmas I had some very special loved ones who were in need of a little guardian angel: so I made three, and they've flown to their destination ;-)
(they're on my blog)

[Ariadne]

This Christmas I gave some cross stitched ornaments and cards but I really adored a handmade loop scarf my Austrian pen pal Sigrid made for me!
AriadnefromGreece!

[Jan (jcoop on ravelry)]

Your pictures are wonderful! But I hope you'll blog about that first one; I'm so curious to know if that's a handmade coffee grinder and what Kitea is!

I knit 16 little whales filled with catnip to give to various feline friends. They call me the 'nip pusher, lol.

[mari]

just made little things - fleur de sel caramels, t-shirts for my children with their favorite critters on them, a little tote for my SIL and my favorite: snowy, verrrry snowy, little pastel collored paper houses with my kids for a tiny winter village (i love this - i leave it out all winter). O, and a resolution to be more creative in the new year!

[craftydabbler]

I made peppermint meringues for Christmas and gave them all, at least the ones that were left after lots of taste testing, to our neighbors and friends. They were so good. I found the recipe on epicurious.

[Adam]

I was lucky enough to get a pinecone ornament from Arounna that you made for Christmas. I love it.
For my mothers Christmas gift all she wanted was for me to make an arrangement for the dinner table. Davis and I also got her an alphabet from bookhou. I love waking up each morning and reading your blog.
Cheers and thank you.

[Jill Wignall]

Oh how fun and generous of you Margie! You saw most of the things I made on my blog but one thing I didn't show was a hanging tent for my neice. Kind of like a mobile with huge strips of fabric hanging from it. I sewed flowers on and called it a reading tent. I think she liked it.

[kristy]

This Christmas I knitted a moebius cowl for my mom, mittens for my sister-in-law and a hat for my niece

[Gigi]

A giveaway -- how lovely! I always give hand knitted socks to my grown up guys (and I think they really like them -- so I'm told ;), and as many other knitty things as I have time to whip up for all my 8 grandchildren. This year, I just gave them them the knitted things around Christmas and not actually as Christmas gifts, as I'm afraid getting another cardi from granny just isn't that exciting for them -- if you know what I mean.
Blessings,
Georganne

[amy]

How generous of you! I tried to make the majority of the gifts I gave this December. I think the best though were the flannel/voile "blankies" I made for a few loved adults. I made one as a newborn gift in the fall and its cozy sweetness prompted me to wonder why adults don't have special blankies too. So I sewed up a pile of adult-sized blankies and they were received with great enthusiasm.

[Jane Bratton]

I received handmade gifts from my daughter and grandchildren. They made handprint ornaments for me. The greatest gift is knowing my love of making and crafting has been passed down to them!

[Jane]

I just discovered your blog and love it.
I also love making homemade gifts. It has made clear the the gift of giving! So I made: woolen fingerless mitts for bro and bro-in-law, tote bags for sis and sis-in-law, zippered pouches (for the gift cards) for teen nieces, set of zippered pouches for a dear friend, crocheted poinsettia pins for my ballet friends, and a quilted wall hanging for my best friend! And a partridge in a pear tree!

[elizabeyta]

My Beloved built me a firepit and is working on a patio in the back yard :) I make almost everything I give but it is rare that I receive something homemade and I do so love homemade gifts!

[Mousy Brown]

my favourite handmade gift this year is the blanket my little one asked for only a few weeks before Christmas and that thanks to beautiful yarn and a clever pattern I still managed to have finished - without any stress! - before Christmas. A memory and a blanket that will hopefully be treasured for many years! :D

[rae]

i have had an emotionally loaded year and the holidays were the strangest yet. i had to let go of most of my handmade intentions for gift giving. i did find solace and serenity in making sweet little matroyshka ornaments that i wood burned and painted. they are cute and working on them gave me a little peace each night.

[Catherine]

Thanks for your blog - I always love your beautiful photography.

I made my children tiny quilts (my first) for their favourite soft toys - a bit rustic but inspired by affection!

[Jane S.]

My favorite gifts this year were the ones that my husband and girls gave me. I got a bright and cheery lap quilt from my husband (no he didn't make it himself) and each of my girls drew me a picture. They're both artists so I get some really nice stuff!

[Andrea in Argentina]

I didn't knit anything for Christmas, but yesterday, in a couple of hours, I knit a lovely bib for a wonderful baby who was born yesterday morning. Does it count? :)

[Jo]

I "finally" crocheted my own rock this year following your pattern-love it! thanks

[Noga from Israel]

Your blog is a sunshine! Happy new year from far Israel!

[Carmen Vincent]

The handmade gifts I gave this year were pillow cases out of holiday prints; decaf mocha coffee mix; chocolate dipped dried fruits; knitted dishcloths (wrapped around soaps); and a knit alpacs scarf and hat for my brother.

Your blog and photography are beautiful!