Top 10 Gifts for Gardeners

Sorry for the unannounced hiatus! I have been diligently studying grading, drainage and storm water management for one of my LA licensing exams! I am happy to say that is over and I am moving on to Holiday cheer! Here's my top 10 well actually top 13 gardener gifts!

Sloggers garden boots
Diggers garden trowel
Seed gift certificates: Seeds of Change
Mandarins: S&J Mandarin Farms
Heat mats for starting seeds
Special items you have preserved and are willing to share
Share some of your own seed stores
Nursery gift certificates
Watering can...vintage is nice!
Garden Journal
Bypass Pruners
Herb trees
Book: Four Season Gardening

Top Make it Gift List

I am a lister by nature. I have whole sketchbooks of lists. They are like documentaries of my life in list form! Since it is the gifting season, I am going to share with you my list of favorite gifts to make. Maybe you will be inspired for the gift giving season! The majority of these you can find patterns or ideas for from many of the talented crafters on the internet. As I love to say "Google It!"

Grocery Bags
Scarf: knitted, sewn, crocheted
Pillowcases(kids love em)
Quilted wall hanging
Purse/bags Amy Butler has some of my favs but the possibilities are endless
Lap Quilts
Place mats/napkins
Covered/decorated journals
Monogrammed card set/thank you notes etc.
Kitchen Aprons
Digital Device Cover(haven't made one yet but love the idea)
Pajama Pants

Just One More Please

I don't know if you are like me or not; but when you see a box like this on the porch the little kid takes over and you are suddenly giddy with anticipation! Once I picked it up, I knew what was inside. This particular box has gleefully landed on my porch three years in a row now! My cousin sends them out from SandJ Mandarin Grove. They are truly a treat!

It is like an entire box of mandarin sweetness delivered to the door! Every one is just as sweet as the last and never disappoints. Sure, they may not come in fancy wrap or bows.....trust me, that stuff will just get in the way! You will be eating them straight out of the box! If you are looking for a thoughtful gift this season, don't forget the fruits of others hard labor!

Holiday Sewing Ideas

For lots of cool holday gift ideas visit Sewmamasew. There are a bunch of ideas for gifts to sew so if working on that handmade holiday don't miss it!

Simple Details

This year my family was lucky enough to get to host eight of our closest friends for the Thanksgiving meal. I didn't want to spend a lot on decor and really prefer things simple so I took this approach. I didn't have 10 matching place settings so I headed to the local box store for plain glass plates. For a large plate and small plate I spent $2.50 per place setting. I am actually going to clean out my hodge podge table ware and use these from now on. Napkins were $1.50 for two. The rest I already had on hand. The grass center piece is cut from the yard while gourds, pumpkins, and corn were from friends and the garden.

For the center of the table I chose unbleached parchment paper and scrapbook paper for place mats. The little bit of raffia makes it all look complete.

Lastly I used my leaf punch and some thread to label wine glasses for table assignments. In the past I have had a lot of anxiety about hosting. This simple set up could be used any time of year for a nice touch and not a lot of expense. With the help of my husband, sister and brother in law; it was really pretty low stress. I also had guests pitch in and bring something. Even though I forgot to make the gravy; it was fabulous!

Brussel Sprouts

One of the last lonely plants in the garden is this brussel sprout. It takes a very long time to actually get the sprouts ready to eat. I probably should have started this one earlier but it still seems to be holding its own out there despite the frost. The sprouts themselves are actually nestled in the axils of the leaves. Soon I will have to harvest and make myself a special treat! No one else in my house enjoys them quite like I do!

Mangle

I used this intimidating machine to iron my table cloths for the holiday. It worked famously. In case you do not know what this beast is...it is called a mangle. Translation: industrial sheet iron! My grandfather worked for Hilton Hotels back in the day so that is how it came to me. Pre wrinkle free fabrics the bed sheets in hotels and all the other linens were ironed by some poor sole who had to stand over this hot, heat generating beast.

It makes me laugh that it is called a Speed Queen. I suppose it is faster than the ironing board and definitely gets hotter! This thing will burn your flesh off in a hot second. So here's a post to doing things the old way, enjoying its simplicity, and remembering those family members long past. Is there something you enjoy doing "the old way"?