Holiday Gift Guide: Crafters' Delight

Since returning from sunny St. Croix to a New York winter, I've been in serious hibernation mode: I'm eating holiday cookies for dinner, consuming tea by the potful, eschewing errands for Christmas specials, and seriously considering taking up knitting. Lucky for me, The Purl Bee (Purl Soho's blog) is chock full of project ideas. They also sell great DIY kits, which make great gifts for the crafters in your life, or, if you're feeling arts-and-craftsy yourself, you could try your hand at a homemade gift for a lucky recipient. I'm currently obsessed with this garland, and dreaming of the day I'll have a tree to dress up and string with yards and yards of fuzzy felt in candy cane colors.

Looks great in traditional red/white as well as hot pink. Instructions here.

Adorable felt birds will come sit in aforementioned imaginary tree. Each kit makes 16, so you can spread them out among friends. Felt Bird Ornament Kit, $45.

A Liberty Print Baby Bib Kit is great for the new moms and babies in your life. $35 for a 4-bib kit.

If your giftee lives in the NYC area, you might consider a fun class, such as Traditional Japanese Sashiko, a lovely hand-sewn quilting technique. $50/class.

Photos: www.purlsoho.com

A Book By It's Cover: Old Favorites, Dressed Up

I can't help it. I'm a total sucker for book covers. Though my shelves are already teeming with a stack of beauties from Coralie Bickford-Smith's Clothbound Series,  a selection of Harper Perennial's Fifty-Two Stories, a set of postcards featuring Penguin Classics vintage book jackets, and the Miroslav Sasek-designed  city series for children, I just can't say no whenever I see an old favorite dressed up in a gorgeous jacket. I dream of having a library room in some future home and attempt to justify these purchases by telling myself that they'll someday line the shelves in said imaginary library, and that the pretty covers will make reading old claasics an even more wonderful experience.

Childhood favorites are perfect for revisiting on cold, rainy evenings or a gift to a special little someone (though I wonder, do children even read nowadays?) and the latest on my lust list is a a vibrantly outfitted clothbound edition of The Secret Garden. Clothbound Penguin Classics for Children (and nostalgic adults), $16.99 @ Anthropologie.

I've been trying very hard to resist Ms. Bickford-Smith's beautifully adorned F. Scott Fitzgerald series for the sake of my sagging bookshelves, but the gilded art-deco motifs are just too lovely to ignore. I won't allow myself to get the entire collection, so I've limited myself to just two and have been lingering over the (impossible) decision ever since. I think I'll go with The Beautiful and Damned and Flappers and Philosophers. They're hard to find, but I've had luck in the past with Amazon UK, and the shipping cost isn't too terrible.

Photos:

1) www.anthropologie.com
2) www.cb-smith.com

Holiday Gift Finds: Luxe Leather Lifestyle Accessories

Whether it's an English hunting flask or a fancy passport holder, there's something so luxurious about well-crafted leather goods. They're often the kind of little indulgences we wouldn't buy ourselves, which makes them perfect to give as gifts.

This pebbled leather English hunting flask comes with two aluminum cups that neatly tuck away into the cap. $48 @Apartment48.

If English hunting flasks aren't really your style, here's a more traditional one from J.Crew, embossed with a fun phrase. Let the mischief begin. Leather flask, $34.50.

I love the rich, caramel leather of this laptop sleeve. It seems so much more grown up than the bulky ones you've been toting around in college, and the more scratched up it gets, the better it looks. Wood Wood Laptop Sleeve, $138 @UrbanOutfitters.

Delvaux's intricately woven passport holder has a beautiful, vintage charm about it. $204 @ the Monocle e-shop.

Photos:
1) www.apartment48.com
2) www.jcrew.com 
3) www.urbanoutfitters.com
4) www.shop.monocle.com

Holiday Gift Finds: A Touch of Red

Is there a color that screams "holiday" more than dear old red? I think every stocking needs at least a hint of our favorite festive hue. Here are a few suggestions that are sure to please.

These adorable mittens have myriad uses: keeping hands toasty, clutching a cup of hot cocoa, or hurling a snowball. See by Chloe Wool-blend mittens, now $45 @ the Outnet (originally $100).

Listening to music just got way more fun with this Music Balloon Speaker, $45 at The Future Perfect.

The Morris Memo helps you stay organized and makes checking out your to-do list a bit more fun. $12.95 @ Mxyplyzyk.

Photos:
1) www.theoutnet.com
2) www.thefutureperfect.com
3) www.mxyplyzyk.com

Holiday Gift Finds: Tools for the Baker in Your Life

It's no secret among friends and family that I'm an utterly terrible cook. I haven't the talent for it and quite frankly, don't have the patience or interest either. Curiously, however, I'm an avid baker. To satisfy my insatiable sweet tooth, I will happily throw myself into my kitchen to putter about and emerge an hour or so later, covered in cake batter, with a decadent cookie, cupcake, or brownie in hand and sugar-drunk smile on my face. Here are a few lovely things I wouldn't mind having around the kitchen:

Pretty blue ergonomically shaped potholders to get a good grip on hot pans. $9.96 each.

An icing knife to get a perfectly smooth finish on a cake.  $9.96 for the smaller one and $12.95 for the big guy.

And of course, a pretty spoonula (spoon + spatula) that's as good for licking as it is for scraping. $13.95 each.

Baker's twine is perfect for gifting homemade goodies. Divine Twine comes in an assortment of colors. $2.25 for a 5-yard spool.

Photos: 
1-3) www.donnahay.com
4) www.artfire.com/users/cupcakesocial

Holiday Gift Finds for Her: Southwestern Beaded Barrettes

If you're looking for a unique stocking stuffer, these Southwestern-style beaded barrettes will tame lovely locks with a touch of pizazz. And everybody loves the pizazz. 


Beaded Barrettes from the Southwest, $30 for a set of two at General Store.

Photos: www.shop-generalstore.com

Holiday Gift Finds for Him: Pendleton's Tartan Robe

Most guys I know don't own a bathrobe and are therefore (lamentably!) oblivious to it's warm, cozy charms. It makes me sad that they're missing out, and nostalgic for the days when a robe was a mainstay in a proper gentleman's wardrobe, allowing him to shuffle about the house on a lazy Sunday morning or step outside to fetch the paper without appearing entirely unkempt or slovenly.

That sense of sartorial decorum may be all but lost on the modern dude, but I have a feeling this Pendleton topper might make him reconsider his stance on robes. The tartan print lends it a rugged feel while the slim fit hearkens back to the crisp, gentlemanly silhouettes of yore.

Pendleton Lounge Robe, $198 @ Blackbird.

Photo: www.blackbirdballard.com

Winter Must-Have: A Candy-Colored Wreath

Is it too early to put up a wreath? I just found the one of my dreams. It's soft, fuzzy, and totally reminds me of a Froot Loop. Anthropologie Warmest Greetings Wreath, $148.

Photo: www.anthropologie.com