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Hello! I'm Suzannah, a serious DIYer and mom of two little ones. Follow along with my DIY fixer upper house renovations, sewing and crafty projects, real food recipes, and de-stressing goals.
I believe you can love your home just the way it is, AND have the power to design and make big changes to make it better.
I'm also the author of DIY Wardrobe Makeovers!

11.29.2013

Holiday season thankfulness and partially DIY holiday cards

Phew! The holiday season is officially here! Thanksgiving has come and gone, it was delicious, and we can all talk freely about our holiday shopping without making half the room groan about how it was practically just October. ;) (I'm sometimes in that category. I don't feel ready for Christmas yet but I do always love the holiday season, so I figure I ought to start now and make it last!)

However... holiday stress may also be coming. It's definitely ironic that Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year in the US and our first shot to "get it all over with" (the gift shopping, that is), is less than 12 hours after the day we all come together and celebrate things we're grateful for. It's awesome to practice gratitude with friends and family, but does it really only last for the few hours of the meal and TV-watching?

But in more practical terms, we do buy gifts for people we care about, and we all chose the extent that makes sense for us. I sometimes complain about having to do holiday shopping, but I realize I'm grateful that I have people in my life to shop for. I'm so happy I'm surrounded by family and friends and it's nice to express that every year! (Wish it didn't have to be material things, but I'm trying to stay positive here.)

So, maybe you did some Black Friday shopping today, maybe not. Maybe tomorrow you're celebrating Buy Nothing Day or Small Business Saturday and supporting your local bookstore?

Or maybe you're having a DIY party with friends and making gifts together!! I have that planned with a couple other crafty ladies later this weekend. (We're gong to make some real food holiday recipes from Beyond Bacon and do some small crafts like beading!) This weekend seems like a great time to DIY instead of/in addition to shop. Maybe some of the lovely dresses in my 7 Days of Holiday Party Dresses inspiration series have got you excited to spend some of the long weekend sewing! (That, and, so many DIY gift ideas out there!) I've already shared some holiday ideas and posts this year, and been pinning away to my holidays and parties board!

And, if you haven't already, you can at least order Christmas cards. I did a very minor DIY on mine!!

Holiday card time?


Regardless of your Black Friday plans, if you haven't ordered your holiday cards yet, now is the time. I feel like we procrastinated on this because when I started to shop around for card and ideas, I realized the ones I liked best were the ones with the greatest photos. Happy family in a beautiful setting, gorgeous sunlight, all that. And, uh, we don't have any of those photos from any recent time. I didn't think I had time to figure out getting some good ones taken. Haven't done that in a while. (My husband has lost 40 pounds since we last had photos taken, and I look totally different, too, and isn't the point of the photo card to show what you currently look like?) So that was off the table.

So we set up a tripod and the camera and made our own little photo booth in our room one afternoon. Took down the art, pretended we were at a party with a "photo booth"! Here's a couple pre-cropped...

And here's the one we went with. Wish it were a little sharper, but it was like baaaaarely light enough when we took these. I did what I could with editing, but, ya know, we're not going for fancy here. Just friendly. Fine for a relatively small printed card!

I've never ordered from Zazzle before but they have suuuuuper cute holiday cards (and holiday gifts--husband will definitely be getting some of these). They sent me a gift card to use on these! We debated on several choices...

We went with the Gold Glitter holiday photo card. Gold glitter=kinda my thing right now. ;) Even the backs are cute. They also have tons of cute holiday stamps! Got some of those as well. (Use code HOLCARDSSALE to get 65% off cards right now!)

Embarrassingly easy DIY holiday card idea


So, I got the cute cards and stamps in the mail, but I couldn't just send them out without adding a little DIY touch. So I pulled out some red ribbon, a nice bright contrast against the mostly neutral colors of the cards, and tied little ribbon pieces on them!! Makes it a little more fun and personal, amiright?

Now that's checked off the list.

Thanks to Zazzle for providing our cards this year!

8 comments

11.27.2013

7 Days of Holiday Party Dresses: Andrea's classy red swingy party dress

I love this one!! Wrapping up my series of holiday dress inspiration, 7 Days of Holiday Party Dresses, and I'm super excited about this incredible dress by Andrea of Four Square Walls. Seriously gorgeous! Here's Andrea!

The holiday season is a bit overwhelming for seamstresses, isn't it? Since I can sew, I often feel that I should sew every gift. As well as make all my holiday decor by hand, and embroider some stockings, and oh yeah, sew a holiday party dress. For me, the dress is the most (...only?) exciting part.

(Just for the record, I don't actually have any plans to embroider stockings.)

This is a pretty conventional holiday dress, so I'm glad the other ladies in this series delivered a variety of colors, shapes and styles before me. My dress ticks all the ole predictable boxes. Red. Slightly shiny. Worn with a bow on it like a little present. Mrs. Claus would approve, and I do, too. I haven't owned anything like this in forever, if ever, so I think it fills the void in my wardrobe for a red, slightly shiny dress with a bow on it. Doesn't every woman need one?

When I was thinking of what to sew, I wanted something simple but relatively fancy. I sometimes browse Modcloth for dress inspiration, but their collection is so vast that you can spend weeks scrolling through their solid color fit-and-flares until your eyes cave in. I did come across their Ladylike Luster dress early on in my search and was drawn to the neckline and circle skirt. I immediately recalled the Minnie Mouse dress that Neeno of Sew Me Love made for a costume party awhile ago (found here). I decided to go in a similar direction, so I bought the pattern she used -- New Look 6723 -- and, like she did, swapped out the gathered skirt for a circle skirt. Let's hope Neeno doesn't mind copy cats.

The fabric is a drapey poly crepe, which I love sewing, love wearing, but hate pressing. It can get wicked shine and seam indentations if you're not careful. Speaking of not being careful, I actually first made this dress in a royal blue crepe (first pictured in Suzannah's teaser post for this series), but I, uh, accidentally sliced out a sizable chunk of fabric from the back of the bodice after the whole thing had been constructed. Watch those rotary cutters, people! So I was incredibly lucky when I was offered some cranberry red crepe in the same weight and drape as the original. I helped a woman with a sewing gig last week, and she let me shop her stash! I feel much better about this color anyway, and sewed the dress quickly, having done it already.

Oops, half-ironed. The construction of this dress was fairly straightforward. The bodice is fully lined -- I just used self-fabric to line mine so the colors would be exact. For those interested in this pattern, I'd definitely recommend following the instructions and fusing interfacing to the lining side of the neckline to help keep its shape, and understitch as much as possible to keep the seam line out of sight on all edges. I also cut my lining slightly smaller along the neckline and armhole curves so it wouldn't be tempted to puff out as much.

What's not included in this pattern is the bow belt, which I made after being inspired by Tilly's tutorial. I should have followed her dimensions exactly, but I was in a rush making this one and thought I could wing it. It's not my dream bow belt, but I still think the effect is cute enough. I interfaced the bow so it would stand straight.

Thanks for featuring me in this fun series, Suzannah! I hope everyone has been inspired to sew something pretty for yourself this holiday season. (P.S. If you want to see this dress in person, I am open to all holiday party invites, as long as you're serving wine and cheese and are willing to pay for my flight. What will you be wearing?)


OMG, Andrea, so fabulous! The swingy skirt, the bow belt, the great deep red color... the perfect holiday party dress! 

And a great one to wrap up the series! Hope you all are super inspired now, after 7 great holiday party dress posts the past couple weeks!!

Here's to sewing on the long holiday weekend! Let the holiday season begin!!
12 comments
7 Days of Holiday Party Dresses: Krista's bright and cheery colorblock shift dress

11.26.2013

7 Days of Holiday Party Dresses: Krista's bright and cheery colorblock shift dress

For today's post for my holiday dress inspiration series, 7 Days of Holiday Party Dresses... a different look, this one from Krista of Lazy Saturdays. Check out her bright, mod-inspired shift dress!

Hello fellow sewing adventurers! I'm Krista and I blog over at Lazy Saturdays. I was thrilled when Suzannah asked me to share a dress I've sewn! Dresses are my favorite things to make. This dress is made from Colette Pattern's Laurel dress. The pattern is a great basic pattern to add to your library. You can use it to make loads of other dresses and tops from it. I highly recommend it. It also has a great fit for curvy gals. Score!
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This pattern alteration is a simple one and is perfect if you're new to altering patterns. To create the block of color, I traced the pattern out in my size on paper. Normally you one place the front on a fold to cut it out, but for this, it needs to be all laid out. No folds. On the pattern, I drew a diagonal line on the front pattern piece where I wanted the red and turquoise to meet. Then I did the same for the back pieces, making sure the diagonal lines met at the side seams. I had to create two different back patterns: a right and a left side. Then I cut the pattern along the diagonal and added seam allowances along the cuts. I cut the bottom pieces out in red and the top in turquoise and sewed all the pieces together. Then I continued to follow the original directions.
dressmaking

This shift dress is super versatile! It can be dressed up with heels and bold jewelry for a party, or worn with some flats for a day date. You can also throw a sweater over it with some boots and run some errands. The best thing about this dress? It's crazy comfy. So while all your friends are fussing with their dresses at your holiday party, you can have your hands waiving in the air like ya just don't care on the dance floor, then go home and crawl straight into bed without changing. I told you it was a versatile dress! Happy sewing!
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Love it, Krista! The diagonal colorblock is so cool, and great colors! 

Readers, stay tuned for the rest of the holiday party dresses series this week and next!
4 comments

11.25.2013

7 Days of Holiday Party Dresses: Simple Simon and Co's black and white velvet babydoll

A super cute black and white velvety party dress and a great model! ;) Today's holiday dress inspiration for my series, 7 Days of Holiday Party Dresses, comes from liZ at Simple Simon and Company. Her 5-year-old looks so festive!

Hello, Adventure in Dressmaking readers! I'm liZ, one of the two Elizabeths over at Simple Simon and Company. Yes, there are two of us...we are sisters-in-law with the same name, age, number of children, former professions, and too many other things to list... and yes, that does make things confusing but it also makes things fun since we both share the same passion for designing and sewing children's clothing!

Today we are so excited to be here and participate in Suzannah's 7 Days of Holiday Party Dresses. (7 Days of Holiday Party Dresses??? Sign me up!!!)

I'm a sucker for extravagant party dresses. Actually I'm ready at anytime to sew up anything soft, feminine, and fluffy especially for my girls. They are like life-sized dolls and I love sewing for them. So this year, when I realized my oldest daughter will be 5 at Christmas, I knew that I needed to make her one last glorious baby doll dress.

You know the kind...high waisted, tightly gathered, shorty short, ridiculously poofy...
I just love them... and I wanted Grace to have one last baby doll dress before she's too old. And since it may very well be her last one I wanted it to be a good one. So I used some heavy, buttery white velvet and then added some gathered tulle at the hem and a black satin bow at the waist. 
The high waist, the short length, the velvet, the tulle...sure, some may say it's a bit much. But Grace and I, we think it's just right!

And....I still have 2 yards of that white velvet left.... Just enough to make the same dress for my 2-year-old.
And have enough left over for a bodice for myself. (I'm thinking of a white velvet bodice with an attached black chiffon skirt....and all of us with black stockings and shoes....and gold accessories...and then a night out to see the lights and getting fancy hot chocolates.)

Ahhh!!! Holiday dresses. They may just be my favorite item to make... and wear... and see worn... Thanks again, Suzannah, for letting us join in the fun!

If you want to know more about this dress, join us over at Simple Simon and Company and see other dresses that we've made from the same pattern!

So pretty, liZ!! What a lucky little girl! =) I always admired these classic fancy dresses when I was little, but never had something so fun and dressy!

Great to have a little girl's dress in the holiday party dresses mix! I've got two more to share this wee, so, stay tuned!
1 comment

11.22.2013

How to Wear DIY: Simple gathered stripe skirt made edgy

Hope you've been enjoying the posts from my 7 Days of Holiday Party Dresses series this week! Happy Friday, and how about a How to Wear DIY post to finish off the week?

I made this brown and black striped gathered skirt last fall, and I knew it was an unconventional length. It's nice to have something longer than a flippy miniskirt, but easier to walk in than a maxi, but it's been a little tricky to wear without feeling dumpy. I've worn it to work before with something structured on top, but last weekend I wore it to the farmer's market and a date with a friend, in a little more casual/edgy way.

As I said last weekend, we picked up our last CSA box of the year. It's been so wonderful to have a big plastic tub of local, organic veggies waiting for us at the market every Saturday, all for an amazing price we paid months ago. I never thought we'd be able to afford such quality food on our budget, but I'm so glad we found our CSA this year and it was so worth it!! We're signed up for a winter CSA that starts in January, but until then I don't know what we'll do! ;) I seriously have hardly bought anything at a store all summer. We've been mostly eating CSA veggies, our cow share, our half hog, the lamb we bought, and eggs we buy from a coworker who has chickens! It's been an amazing, nutrient-dense, local food summer!

So here I am wearing the skirt picking up our last veggie box!

Surrounded by gorgeous organic, local veggies!


It's great to wear the skirt somewhere other than work!
Jacket: Ross (similar). Tee: Old Navy. Necklaces and booties: F21 (similar booties/similar).
Skirt: DIY, here!
8 comments
7 Days of Holiday Party Dresses: Melissa's red silk high-low skirt

11.21.2013

7 Days of Holiday Party Dresses: Melissa's red silk high-low skirt

Something new in my 7 Days of Holiday Party Dresses series! Today the very talented Melissa from I Still Love You shares this super cute high-low skirt in the perfect color for the holiday season, along with some holiday outfit ideas!

Hello!! I'm thrilled to be writing over here today!! Dressing for holiday get-togethers is one of my favorite things. It wasn't always that way. I'm such a picky dresser. Growing up there was always some kind of tantrum coming from my room because something didn't feel just right. Now that I can make my own clothes, it doesn't happen as often.

I'm all for things that scream both comfort and style. Enter the pleated elastic waist skirt and the blouse-y woven tee. They're my favorite for feasts like Thanksgiving dinner. These clothes will look good and remain comfortable no matter how much I stuff my face. And that's bound to happen when you get me near tasty pumpkin pies.
  istillloveyou-sewing-silk-skirt-holiday-dress-2

This silk skirt may not be the most practical fabric to wear, but it's so luxurious. I had never sewn with silk until last January, and I am a huge fan. It's still a scary material to work with, but the results are dreamy.
  istillloveyou-sewing-silk-skirt-holiday-dress-3a

I sewed this pleated high-low skirt in about three hours. I had previously drafted the pattern for a rayon high-low so I knew it worked well. I went slowly and didn't seam rip a single stitch! That's saying a lot for me. Going slowly was the key ingredient here. The top was made at Sewing Summit from Jessica's simple blouse pattern (not sure if that pattern is available yet). I used a light-weight rayon challis. For some reason, my texture-loving soul is so happy to feel the contrast between the soft rayon and the silky silk.
  istillloveyou-sewing-silk-skirt-holiday-dress-4

I love pairing this skirt with a slouchy cardigan or tailored blazer and neutrals. These blush flats have been my go-to shoes this fall. I can't not wear them.
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Also, wearing a neutral flat will do the same wonders for your legs as a pump would. And flats are so convenient when party-hopping and going for comfort overall. What are your go-to items for Holiday parties? Are any of them handmade?

 Outfit details:

Thanks, Melissa! I love how versatile this skirt is, and still so festive and different!
Readers, that's it for this week's holiday party dress posts, but I've got some more seasonal goodness planned for tomorrow and then more guest dresses next week!!
3 comments

11.20.2013

7 Days of Holiday Party Dresses: Maddie's magical natural dye dress

A truly special ethereal custom-dyed holiday dress as part of my series, 7 Days of Holiday Party Dresses! Today Maddie from Madalynne tells us about the gorgeous dress she made with natural dye and simple lines. (See her post on the dying process here.)

For the past year and a half, my affinity has been in bra- and dressmaking, and can you blame me? Who doesn’t love a good dress and a pair of underthings to go underneath? But this project called to me. A friend recently told me about the blog Blooming Leopold: in my old stomping grounds, Savannah, Georgia, Lauren of Blooming Leopold naturally dyes and sews simple, ethereal dresses. And she provides tutorials on many of her makings too! A month after I introduced myself to her, I asked her about doing a collaboration. Since September, when she sent me her dyeing steps and tips, this project has slowly come together. The long process wasn't a hindrance to my other projects, though; as I sat in front of my sewing machine, this project was either cooking, cooling, or drying.

Before choosing the pattern, I bought the dye and the fabric – alkanet and bamboo rayon. I love purples and magentas, especially with my hair and skin tone, and bamboo rayon is just heavenly. Have you ever had your hands on it? It’s light and airy and smooth as butt-ah.

The interesting thing about alkanet, which is the name of several plants in the borage family that give a red/purple color, is that it’s not water soluble. Under most circumstances, natural dyes are simmered anywhere between 1 to 3 hours prior to dyeing the fabric and the mixture is then left to cool, strained (to remove roots and powder), and then used as the dye bath. When I left alkanet over a stove for 3 hours, the mixture was light grey, not purple, and a test swatch barely picked up color. I emailed Lauren in a panic, but she calmed my nerves and wrote that most reviews said alkanet produced more of a greyish than purple tone and that I should double the amount of dye I used. I did another batch, this time increasing alkanet to 1 pound, the following weekend. On a whim, I called Dharma Trading Co to see what they had to say about my first test. The packaging of the alkanet said to soak the roots in a bath of isopropyl alcohol for up to two days, but because Lauren's directions didn't include this step, I left it out. Turns out, alkanet roots don't release their color in heated water like other natural dyes. The only way to get it to dye is by leaving it in rubbing alcohol. So, that what I did and for two days and boy, did my apartment wreak! Sorry, neighbors.

The coloring of the fabric didn't come out as I intended--I was going for a charcoal grey--but I love it. It’s not purple, but it’s not grey. It’s somewhere in between and both colors shine through just slightly. Because I dyed so much yardage at one time, the coloring was mottled and uneven, but the imperfections were consistent so it looks like it was the intention.


When choosing the pattern, I wanted the standout feature of the dress to be the fabric, so I chose a pattern that had lots of it - McCall's 3912 (I omitted the sleeves).



The construction of the dress was simple. Inspired by kimonos, I left the side seams open at 5" below the armhole and wore this slip underneath. Both the side seams and bottom hem have a 1/4" double turn-back and the armhole was finished with self fabric bias binding. To make sewing the side seams easier, I switched the order of operations. First, I finished the edges, and then I sewed the seam. For me, it was easier to make a tiny hem such as a 1/4" double turn-back when the side seams are open. The neckband was clean finished to the body and the top ply (layer) was fused with my newest obsession, Pro Sheer Elegance Light. People, I don't think I'll ever go back to JoAnn-bought interfacing again. This interfacing doesn't shrink or bubble, and comes with clear instructions and maintenance guidelines. Interfacing for dummies.

Summer, fall, winter, or spring, this dress works. The design doesn't fit in with my usual style, I'm drawn to structured fabrics and silhouettes, but this project taught me that I can look and feel good in garments outside my comfort zone.

Wow, Maddie, that was amazing!
Readers, stay tuned for the rest of the holiday party dresses series this week and next! 
15 comments

11.19.2013

7 Days of Holiday Dresses: Kelli's chic silk print dress

It's time for the second post in my holiday dress inspiration series, 7 Days of Holiday Party Dresses! It's purely coincidence that we have two Kelly/Kelli guests in a row... ;) Here's Kelli from True Bias with this beautiful silk creation from a Megan Nielsen pattern!

Hi, I'm Kelli from True Bias and I am so excited to get to share one of my favorite dresses with you today as we all dream up the amazing outfits we are going to make for the fast approaching holiday season.

When I think about the perfect party dress for the holiday season I immediately think of the show New Girl. Pretty much every thing that Zoey Deschanel's character plays in that show is the perfect blend of retro innocence with modern chic. In my mind that is what a holiday party outfit is all about. You want to look gorgeous, but still classy in a nostalgic kind of way. That is why I decided to show off this dress for Suzannah's holiday dress feature. I love that it is a classic style with some feminine romance. I can wear a bright fuchsia lipstick with it and feel totally modern and 1950's chic at the same time.

When I made this dress it was the first time that I had ever sewn with 100% silk fabric (and boy had I been missing out). I bought it at Vogue Fabrics in Evanston, IL for about $10 a yard. I love the turquoise/pink print and the small graphic nature of the pattern.

The base of the pattern is Megan Nielsen's Darling Ranges dress. I fell in love with the simple silhouette of this pattern and have made it multiple times. This time though I knew that I wanted it to be a little fancier. There were a few changes that I made to do this. First is the bow at the neck. The original pattern calls for single fold bias tape around the neckline. I made double fold bias tape and encased the entire neckline edge. Then I extended the bias tape for at least a foot at center front to make the ties. This is my favorite detail. I feel like it added the extra retro touch that I was looking for.

I also felt like buttons would be too busy and too casual for this dress. Instead, I added snaps to the bodice and top of the skirt. I sewed the bottom section of the skirt together from the hem to about 6 inches below the waistline. This way I could easily slip in and out of it from the top, but not have to worry about the possible wardrobe malfunction of a completely snap from dress.

I usually wear this dress with some bright lipstick, high heels, and a skinny belt and I feel pretty confident at any party.

Thanks so much Suzannah for having me! Can't wait to see all of the other amazing dresses featured during this series.

Thanks, Kelli! I love the flowy silk and bright colors! And YES, I, too think of Zooey's dresses on New Girl for holiday party looks!!

Readers, stay tuned for the rest of the holiday party dresses series this week and next!
2 comments

11.18.2013

7 Days of Holiday Party Dresses: Kelly's rich purple wrap dress

Welcome to the first post in my holiday dress inspiration series, 7 Days of Holiday Party Dresses! Today Kelly from Sewing in No Man's Land shares a gorgeous bright shirtdress from a pattern she drafted herself! (She has a tutorial for this pattern here!)

This dress was inspired by glamorous Christmas parties. I have always wanted to go to a holiday party where everyone is dressed to the nines, a band is playing and glasses are clinking. Oddly, with four cuties in tow, I have never been to such a party. But with this dress hanging in my closet, I am ready to go should the occasion ever arise! Luck favors the prepared, right? Maybe this year will be the year.

It is not a particularly difficult dress to sew, just a simple wrap dress, but it does take a good three yards of fabric. I love that there are no zippers or buttons to mess with and absolutely adore a dress with pockets. 

I have only ever made this dress out of cotton and cotton blends. It needs a nice crisp fabric to keep the structure. I have toyed with the idea of making a floor-length one, and may do so if we get invited to a New Year's Eve party here in Paris (fingers crossed and tossing hints!)!

This dress is the perfect canvas for a statement necklace, which is really fun during the holidays! The pattern is called "The Merry And Bright Dress" and is available on Craftsy here.

Thank you so much Suzannah for including me in such a talented group of ladies and happy holidays and happy dress making to all you lovely readers!

Thanks, Kelly!
Readers, stay tuned for the rest of the holiday party dresses series this week and next! 
6 comments

11.15.2013

7 Days of Holiday Party Dresses!

Super excited to announce this series! I've been thinking, I love holiday dresses, but I don't need a million more and would love to share with you a collection of wider inspiration ideas.

So I asked some of my favorite sewing bloggers to share their holiday dress ideas, and they created and shared some incredible things!! You'll see the inspiration, pattern or patterns, fabric and materials, design tips, and final products of seven lovely dresses!

So for the next couple weeks, I'll be sharing seven guest posts from seven great bloggers, to get you ready for sewing some wintery, Christmas or holiday party-ey dresses. Let's do this!

Get ready for lovely things from:

11/18 Kelly from Sewing in No Man's Land
11/19 Kelli from True Bias
11/20 Maddie from Madalynn
11/21 Melissa from I Still Love You
11/25 Elizabeth and liZ from Simple Simon and Co
11/26 Krista from Lazy Saturdays
11/27 Andrea from Four Square Walls

So excited to get started! Let's talk holiday party dresses!

6 comments

11.14.2013

Home tour on Apartment Therapy, OMG!

Yes, our home is featured on Apartment Therapy today!! See the tour here!

Here's a few sneak peeks...

Thanks to the gorge photos taken by my friend Nakalan! (See more pics of our home tour on my blog here.)

Arthur wrote a very complimentary piece about our home, and I filled in some AT questions and a loooong source list with links back to the DIYs. So excited to be on AT sharing them!! Check it out and share with friends! =)
No comments

11.13.2013

Holiday planning, and a gift guide for DIY junkies

So you may have heard me talk about my reluctance to start the Christmas season, not because I don't like Christmas (I love it!), but because it's just been a little bit of a shock to my system. Wasn't it just August? What happened? Now all the websites I go to are red and green and somehow, and I already (I have no idea how! Where have I heard them!?) have Christmas songs stuck in my head.

But, we sent out holiday party invites last night (cutting it sort of close! Party's December 7! Oops!), and over the weekend I did a holiday craft party with The Paper Mama and other local crafty friends (pics hereherehere, and here). And I know Christmas isn't supposed to start till after Thanksgiving, but if you're planning a party or going to do DIY gifts (yes and yes), I guess it has to start a little earlier!! (Hence my "early holiday season" post last week, right?!)

But really, I guess if I'm planning ahead, I ought to plan for the holiday season to start right after Thanksgiving, and just get used to it. *Acceptance.* ;) It's time for me to start thinking about gifts, too!

So, gift guides...


Let's talk specialized gifts; that is, not any generic kitchy commercial thing you can get at the mall, but stuff for cool people like you who appreciate uniqueness and creativity. People who don't really want more stuff, but who appreciate when fun is also practical. Last year, I shared this gift guide--gift ideas for people who love to sew! This year, I want to share with you all this amazing collection of gifts for DIYers of all kinds, from crafters to food makers to scientists. A little more applicable to men and kids as well as my demographic!
(This is a sponsored post by very cool company UncommonGoods!)

All these ideas are from UncommonGoods, a 14-year old company from Brooklyn whose "...feature[s] unique designs and handcrafted gifts created in harmony with the environment and without harm to animals or people." Half of what they sell is made by hand; they support artists and designers and also pay all their employees far more than the minimum wage. Most of their products are made in the USA, and about 1/3 of them include recycled or upcycled materials.

They have a ton of good Christmas gift ideas (here), but what really struck me was all the DIY kits--both science-ey and arts & crafts-ey (here). The latter is more my area, of course, and I was seriously overwhelmed by all the cool make-your-own starter kits and DIY ideas (see?!). But I wanted to share a few of my faves with you.

Gift guide for DIYers!


So here goes a gift guide for people like me and people I know--the DIYers, the cooks, the artists, the science nerds (cough*myhusband)... DIY projects and goodies that support the DIY fan!



  1. Stamp carving kit (here). Basically the cost of one big stamp! I would love one of these!
  2. Bath salts kit (here). A classic DIY, complete with glass jars and organic lavender!
  3. Chai tea making kit (here). One of the coolest things I've heard of in a while.
  4. Artisanal cheese kit (here). Cultures for 15 hard and soft cheeses. My husband and his mom have both made soft cheese before and loved it.
  5. Whiskey and rum making kit (here). Wow. Intense. Intense food DIY, people.
  6. State aprons (here). To wear while working in the kitchen, of course! These are just so cute.
  7. Lip balm kit (here). It's been my goal to make my own balm-ey products and lotions for a while but I'm intimidated. This kit has the essentials!
  8. Slate/chalk lazy susan server (here). Most fun way to serve fancy appetizers!
  9. Star map (here). Really beautiful poster to display and show the constellations.
  10. State dish towels (here). More state stuff. So cute.
  11. Periodic table of the elements in cards (here). Just had to include this one because it is so cool! My husband would looooove this.


What are you getting the DIY enthusiasts in your life this holiday season? Have you ever tried any UncommonGoods?

19 comments

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