Holiday Making, Part 1

I love to give gifts. I love picking out the perfect something for someone to open. I love it when I get it right, and I can tell they are delighted. I love it when I give a silly gift, and it really hits home for the giftee. I love giving personalized gifts, and I love giving handmade gifts.

This past holiday season, I did a pretty good job of planning ahead and was able to make a lot of handmade gifts. I'll share them over the next few days, starting with this:

My college roommate, Erik, got married on January 2nd. Although I like wedding registries and I think they are very helpful, it didn't feel right for me to gift Erik something that did not come from me.

I knew I wanted to make them a sampler, something they could hang in their home that would include their names and the date of the wedding. But what remained was the design. If there's one thing I know about Erik, it's that he has great hair. Tiffany, too, so it just sort of worked itself out. I drew the design out on paper, and then transferred it onto the fabric. I filled in the large areas with colored pencil and embroidered the rest! The frame is a thrift store frame, re-used. Ah! The quote! That was part of a quote they used on their wedding invites, so I thought it was fitting.

All around, it turned out to be a great wedding gift that I hope they'll keep around for awhile.