Handmade Homemade Holidays

at the risk of sounding Cliché. I LOVE this time of year. The gardens are sleeping, the bees are tucked in , and my sewing machine has been dusted off after months of neglect. A time to warm myself by the woodcookstove, cook comfort food, bake treats for the family and prepare for The Holiday Season!
Of course, like any mom with a little girl, I succumb to some commercialism to make the little gals Christmas morning nothing short of spectacular. Although it is kept to a minimum, and I really enjoy focusing on handmade and homemade, and teaching Norah to enjoy these things too, as they really are the most special and genuine of all Christmas moments.

Here are some things we have been working on the past week.............................



Homemade
Chicken sausage

 17 lbs to be exact... we processed birds last week , froze some whole, and decided to make sausage with the rest. We ended up with ; Italian, hot Italian, Breakfast style, and Bratwurst,, all equally tantalizing!
Sounds like a good addition to Christmas morning breakfast, to me ;)


Handmade Bows ( and arrows)

My husband made these, and they are AMAZING. He made enough for the whole family , plus a couple more for Christmas gifts. Norah loves hers, and boy is she a natural! I just am not as good a aim, she told me I just didn't have the skills .. haha
He made arrows to go with the bows, but also bought some. The handmade ones are made with doll rods, and eraser tips.
I had a lot of people ask how to make these! I did say I would blog about it, but we just haven't had time .. I do promise to edit this blog and post a link on how to make them soon!


Handmade Quivers

I stitched up these quivers so the kids have somewhere to put their arrows.

Handmade Basket

I had so much fun making this and do believe I have found yet another hobby ;) after a walk through the woods yesterday morning, I decided to collect some ( what I believe is) Honeysuckle vine, and gave a try at making a basket. not to shabby for my first one. Ill be making more for sure. This may to go someone with some handmade gift in it, as it would make a lovely gift basket.


Handmade Hot pad

 

 These Hot pads are they result of a Rug gone wrong.. I braided miles and miles of fabric to make a rug last year. Well the rug was not turning out as expected. The larger the rug became,the harder it was to keep it from "waving" despite my efforts to wet the rug and set something heavy on it,, the large the rug got the less that worked.. SO, I turned these braided beauties into hot pad. I made one for myself and love it, and will be making a few for gifts.





Handmade Snowmen

We will be making these every year !! free, fun, and earth friendly :) Oh,and they won't melt ;)




and last ( well last for now) but not  least.. Handmade Snowflakes!

 I was a bit addicted to these this year. Norah and I spent a good couple hours experimenting , trying to cut out the perfect snowflake, A great craft to try with your kids!!!



From our Homestead to yours

Have a most blessed Holiday Season..

The Cools ~