Today I’m sharing handmade gifts that Santa brought the girls, as well as gifts I bought for friends and family. Some are things you’ve already seen here in my holiday gift guides or in Wednesday’s handmade picks, and some are things I’ve had to keep quiet about until now!

Custom embroidered heart by Miniature Rhino
Letterpress Philadelphia print by Louella Press

“Nest Sweet Nest” bird in nest by Sugar Elf
Turquoise nutcracker constable by Knock Knocking

Arinna necklace by Megan Kathleen
Magic fairy portal/door by Lovinglee Crafted

Apple tree winter embroidery by HARE and DRUM
White carnation pincushion by The Daily Pincushion

Doll with custom name stitched on back by Sophie & Lili
“Forest Friends” messenger bag by Mee a Bee

Appliqued table runner by Anna Joyce
“Karine” earrings by l’atelier des bijoux

“You Can’t Borrow My Notes” necklace by Gas Up the Zamboni
“The Ranuculus Gathering” print by wren & chickadee

Vintage camera appliqued t-shirt by b children’s wear
“Carnival of Elephants” pouch by Downtown Girl Designs

Merry and bright needle felted acorns by truLuxe
2010 letterpress calendar by Parrott Design Studio

Vintage “budget bank” from Every Eskimo (this was a fab gift to me!)

“Bunny with Radish” and “Tiny Chipmunk” prints by yumi yumi

“Good Friends” print by Helen Dardik/Orange You Lucky!
“Tea Cups” print by Sol Linero

Did I just inspire you to do some post Christmas shopping?

When the weather outside is frightful. (We got a foot of snow last weekend!)

Embriodered mittens 5 ($100) by dadaya
Housemade peppermint hot chocolate mix ($10) by Edible Dreams

Kimono embroidered sweater ($120) by Jo’s Knits for Kids
Golden lace diamond point shawl ($98) by K G Krafts

In-line fleece scarf ($19.50) by foil
Ruby red dotted baby booties ($34) by pedrosprout

Belgian chocolate spoons, set of 12 ($15) by Nicole’s Homemade Treats
Victorious afghan ($315) by Spiffy Spooner

Fiona and her cub ($35) by Creative Thursday
Porcelain tealight Delight N3 design ($35) by Wapa Studio

Next Wednesday, I want to share some of the handmade items that I bought for my friends and family for Christmas. It’s been so hard to keep quiet!

I wish I could have been a fly on the wall when Rosa’s little friends went home and unwrapped the layers of surprises and treats from their surprise balls. I just love how they turned out.

Awhile back, I saw this post on Sandra Juto’s blog about a surprise ball she received.  I resolved to make them as party favors for Rosa’s party.

(It’s staggering how many things her friend packed into that ball and how round the final shape was – that’s hard. Also, you can see how delicate and elegant hers is, with the many different colored strips of paper.)

I searched around and found this tutorial by Not Martha. At the same time, I went searching for very small, mostly flat treasures to put in the surprise ball. An unexpectedly difficult task. I also searched for a plastic ornament that I could use as the center of the ball (not totally necessary, by the way), and found it at the dollar bin at Michael’s (filled with that bathtub soap/confetti, which I dumped out).

At the center, a kit to make a small butterfly, which I got at the teacher supply store.

Pick whatever colors of crepe paper you like. I used all of these colors in each ball, so not only were the kids unwrapping treasures, they were revealing different colored layers.

Here’s what was in the balls: different kinds of stickers, a bracelet, a little animal eraser, a tiny paint set, the butterfly kit, and not pictured (I added it later), a tiny envelope with a quarter in it.

Right before I was going to make the surprise balls, I came across this tutorial by Skip to My Lou on Alpha + Mom on making a surprise ball ornament for the Christmas tree (awesome idea), and it was the one I ultimately used, minus the ornament part.

It’s an easy tutorial to follow,  but I’d recommend one small change: cut the crepe paper strips longer than 36″. Maybe add another 10″ or so. I just liked having them a little longer.

After you get one ball under your belt, you’ll see how easy they are to make. I’d say they take about 15 minutes each, depending on how many little treasures you’re hiding in each ball (i.e. how many layers of crepe paper you need).

Here are some pics from Rosa’s party. It was a very sweet, small, low-key party. We had a lot of fun.

(It’s hard to capture how I decorated with the walls with scenes cut out of construction paper)

Who doesn’t love clementines?

Rosa wanted everyone to have a candle in their cupcake.

The birthday girl is in the plaid dress.

Two other quick crafts we made that are so simple there’s no need to show a tutorial: these ribbon wands (which is now one of my all time favorite, easiest and prettiest crafts to make) and jingle bell necklaces (see Rosa’s necklace?) which I saw on My Paper Crane last week.

Last weekend we decorated the house for Christmas (a little early for us, actually). And as I took out our stockings, which the girls had been begging me all weekend to do, I got that feeling like I was seeing an old friend again.

My grandmother made my stocking. It’s a sequined tree with “presents” underneath, and my name at the bottom. Made from red felt (and maybe a little worse for the wear, after 37 years):

(My real name is Mary, and my middle initial is L, though I’ve always gone by Molly).

Here’s a closer look at the tree:

Each of my siblings had different baubles under our Christmas trees. I don’t know if you can tell in the picture below, but I’ve got a camera and a set of tools, a cookbook, a baby, a strawberry and Santa on a sled. I think those are the original presents.

Occasionally we’d ask my mom to add something under the tree—like the time I asked my mom to add a tiny Speak and Spell toy (remember the Speak and Spell?) – it came with an E.T. figurine. (It’s to the right of Santa – you can only see part of it in this photo):

My grandmother also personalized what was at the top of our tree (mine: an angel, some doves, a moon and stars), as well as what material she used to write out our names at the bottom of the stocking.

I was always jealous of my brother’s stocking. He has jingle bells dangling like pom poms from the bottom of his.

After my grandmother passed away, my mom took up the job of sewing stockings for each new family member.

Here’s Rolando’s:

We lived in Texas when we got married, hence the cowboy boots and Willie Nelson record. Rolando is also a good cook and a big soccer fan. I can’t explain the Cat in the Hat book or the American Express card.

And here are Elena’s and Rosa’s stockings:

And see how Rosa’s top of the tree is reminiscent of mine?

Look at the work my mom has put into the trees. Aren’t they beautiful?

The girls spent a good long time looking at their stockings after I hung them up, just like I used to. The stockings have always been my favorite part of Christmas.

Do you have special stockings too? I’d love to hear about them – or better yet, I would love to see them. Does anyone want to send me a snapshot of your stocking to charlottesfancy@gmail.com? If I get any, (GIGANTIC HINT),  I will feature them in a little gallery.

What do you think? Sound good? Good.

On Monday, I’m going to share pics of some other fun, Christmas-y things from my childhood that you might want to turn into your own craft projects. But first, I have approximately 10,000 things on my To Do list this weekend, including running a 5K tomorrow morning. The entrance fee is an unwrapped new toy for local needy families. Yay for all the generous people who are participating!

Happy Weekend to you all!

Taking a break from the holiday-themed posts so that we can ooh and aah over this illustration by Jacqueline Czarnecki of Degrees Latitude which caught my eye last week:

She says, “Style tip #1: Tuck in a bunny to support the height of your hairstyle.”

This made me laugh. But the woman is so beautiful, isn’t she? I had to take a look at the rest of Jacqueline’s work, and I wasn’t disappointed.

Another from the Beauty Bunny series of her personal work:

“Style tip #2: A well-placed bunny will give your bustle proper padding. “

“A truly domestic animal” (personal work)

Patron Saints of Procrastination, Perspiration and Prevarication. Screenprinted, hand-pulled. 3.5 x 4.5 inch cards.

Illustrated bookmark for 2nd ed. Booksellers in Raleigh, North Carolina.

“Park Walk” (personal work)

If you want to see more, visit her website and her blog.

Spotted via Share Some Candy (which I love)

As usual, too many good things to choose from. Do you have a favorite?

Letterpress “Tis the Season” ornaments, set of 6 ($16) by Louella Press
Polar Bear ornament ($10) by My Perennial

Red and aqua argyle ornament ($14.50) by September House
Toadstool ornament ($16 each) by Little Seedlings

Magenta Arabesque Origami ornament ($25) by Paper Affection
Popsicle Tree ornaments, set of 2, ($8) by Muna Luna Textiles

Vintage Ice Skates, set of 6, ($48) by Recycled Parts
Whirl Ornament ($16) by Kim Westad

Blue Bird ornament ($15) by Empty Stitch
Christmas tree bird ornament ($14) by Sugar Elf

Set of four ornaments in a lovely bag ($18.50) by Dutch Sisters
Natural History ornaments, set of five, ($30) by Minouette

I had to resist all the beautiful vintage glass ornaments on Etsy for this handmade gallery, but oh, they are so pretty!

I love the Flora Fauna print collections by Josh Brill of Lumadessa.

I come from a family of bird lovers, who were always spotting and naming birds in the yard, or outside my grandmother’s kitchen window when I was a kid, and we do the same with our girls. These prints really speak to me.

He included the bird sound at the bottom of each print. Sweet.

And these clever designs are from his Extinct collection:

(Woolly Mammoth)

(Saber-Tooth Tiger)

If you have an iPhone, Josh offers these designs as iPhone wallpaper.

Thanks to SeeSaw Designs for featuring Lumadessa (or I might never have seen these beautiful birds!)

Handprinted tablecloth with snowflakes, 75 x 63″ ($115) by jodii
Festive Starry Night pillow ($65) by Three Red Apples

Twas the Night Before Christmas embroidery, unframed ($48) by The Wise Olde Owl
8 foot tall birch tree wall decals, set of 5 ($110) by Leen the Graphics Queen

Handmade Christmas stockings ($26 each) by Roddy & Ginger
Letterpress Mistletoe Ornament ($4) by Sarah Parrott/Parrott Design Studio

Block printed snowflake tea towel ($15) by artgoodies
Nutcracker, in six different gorgeous colors ($22) by KnockKnocking

Hand printed winter trees with birds duvet cover, queen size ($179) by Urban Accent Home
Christmas in the Pines tree skirt ($50) by Kathy G Designs

Tori gift wrap (sale: $3 for one 24″ x 36″ sheet) by Erin Ruth
Turquoise Temari ball ($50) by suzik

Snowflake winter holiday garland, 9ft ($46) by Kaati Rocketts
Succulent wreath ($69.90) by So Succulent

Ok, NOW I have the Christmas spirit!

Happy Monday!

I made this little garland to put above the Christmas tree advent calendar. Just on a whim – I was getting into the Christmas spirit. It’s simply felt and yarn.

Elena made one just like it to put above her doll bed. And then the girls and I decided to experiment with other materials. Rosa made this one out of colorful sheets of (adhesive) foam and yarn:

Elena made this one with bakers twine and sea shells (she picked shells that already had holes in them):

And I made this one with bakers twine and sequins:

I think I’m going to take it to my office and hang it there.

Rosa made a bracelet for herself out of the twine and sequins too. It’s pretty cute.

Other materials that make nice little garlands: paper decorated with glitter, small scraps of fabric, and patterned scrapbook paper. I especially like the look of the bakers twine. The shapes and color possibilities are endless, and it’s a sweet way to decorate a little space in your house. Give it a try.

* * *

By the way, you know how I was gushing over the ikat bag blog from last week’s advent calendar craft? Take a look at these amazing Owie Dolls she made and featured on her blog last week. I would love to be able to sew and create like her; I look forward to every project she does.

I discovered Linzie Hunter on Share Some Candy and went straight to her website. What a treat to click through all the images of her work. Here are just a few examples. Don’t you love them?

“Coney Island”

Pages from “Lettering Sketchbook“

Illustrations for Baltimore Magazine’s “101 Things to eat, see, and do before you die” feature

Junior Magazine City Guides, Map of Glasgow

Illustration for Gardening Which? Magazine

You can find more of her illustrations on Flickr.