Feste fatte a mano / handmade Holidays

 [cliccare il link per andare alla versione in italiano]

I made it last year at a wreath-making party

Here are three proposals to counteract the consumeristic Holiday drumroll that has started weeks ago:

1. make [some of] your gifts or cards by hand
2. purchase [some of] gifts or cards handmade by an artist, possibly local to you
3. contribute to a handmade project on a crowdfunding site as a gift to someone (who will then receive the gift attached to your contribution)

I hope you will join the party by doing any or all of the things I listed above and also sharing what you did on this post so others can be inspired. I will regularly update the post and also broadcast it on my social network accounts.

Important note #1: What interests me is not what people could do by hand, but rather what you have done this year using your creative skills and/or in support of other people's creative skills.

Nothing from your archive, please: this is about the year 2014. (I know I broke the rule by posting a photo of last year's wreath, but I haven't made this year's one yet and I wanted to post this announcement before Thanksgiving.) Exception: if you have a very recent post pertaining this Holiday season, feel free to share it.

Important note #2: Baked or otherwise prepared edible goods are a popular gift choice and also part of the Holiday table's traditions. Please, share here what you made to gift or give away, rather than for consumption at your table.

Here are the sharing instructions:

1. If you have a blog, post about any of the three things you did and leave the link in linky tool at the bottom OR send an e-mail to simosite AT mac DOT com and include your name, blog name and blog address, and a permanent link to your post. Please, include the words "Handmade Holidays" in the email subject, so I can more easily retrieve the message in my inbox. Maximum two posts per blog.
2. If you don't have a blog, tell us what you have made or done in a comment to this post and/or an e-mail to simosite AT mac DOT com; include your name and a photo or a link that best complements your accomplishment (for example, if you supported a crowdfunding project, specify the link; if you made something by hand, share a photo, maximum width 400px and maximum file size 130kb). Please, include the words "Handmade Holidays" in the email subject, so I can more easily retrieve the message in my inbox. Maximum two contributions per person.

The deadline is Wednesday, December 24, 2014 (midnight, Pacific Time).

Note: If you send me an email and don't receive an answer to it within two days, please contact me again: sometimes email messages get lost in cyberspace. Or leave a comment on this post.

[jump to linky tool & roundup]

Feste fatte a mano

Ghirlanda che feci l'anno scorso ad un "wreath-making party"

Ecco tre proposte come risposta ai tamburi del consumismo delle Feste che hanno cominciato a rullare da qualche settimana:

1. fare [alcuni] regali o biglietti di auguri a mano
2. comprare [alcuni] regali o biglietti di auguri fatti da una o un artista, possibilmente locale
3. contribuire ad un progetto fatto a mano su un sito di crowdfunding come regalo a qualcuno (che poi riceverà il regalo associato al contributo)

Spero che vi unirete a questa festa speciale mettendo in pratica una o tutte le cose che ho elencato qui sopra e condividendo quello che avete fatto su questo post im modo da ispirare altre persone. Aggiornerò di continuo il post e lo condividerò sui miei canali sociali.

Importante nota #1: Non chiedo di sapere che cosa si potrebbe fare a mano, ma quello che avete fatto a mano quest'anno usando la vostra creatività e/o a sostegno della creatività di altre persone.

Per favore, niente post dal vostro archivio: questo evento è per il 2014. (Lo so che ho contravvenuto alla mia regola con la foto della ghirlanda, ma non ho ancora fatto quella di quest'anno e volevo postare prima del Giorno del Ringraziamento.) Eccezione: se avete un post recente che riguarda le Feste di quest'anno, condividetelo pure.

Importante nota #2: Prodotti da forno e altri cibi sono un regalo popolare e fanno anche parte della tavola delle feste. Per favore, condividete cose che avete preparato per regalare, non cibi da consumare alla vostra tavola.

Ecco le istruzioni per condividere:

1. Se avete un blog, postate la vostra realizzazione di una o più delle tre proposte in alto e inviatemi il link usando linky tool in basso oppure mandatemi un messaggio a simosite AT mac DOT com e specificate il vostro nome, nome del blog e link al post. Per favore, "Fest fatte a mano" come titolo del messaggio in modo che lo possa identificare facilmente. Massimo due post per blog.
2. Se non avete un blog, descrivete quanto avete fatto in un commento a questo post e/o in un messaggio a simosite AT mac DOT com; specificate il vostro nome e mandatemi una foto o un link che correda il vostro operato (per esempio, se avete dato un contributo ad un progetto artistico, mandatemi il link che lo descrive; se avete fatto qualcosa a mano, mandatemi una foto, larga massimo 400px e file massimo di 130kb). Per favore, "Fest fatte a mano" come titolo del messaggio in modo che lo possa identificare facilmente. Massimo due contributi per persona.

La scadenza per mandarmi il vostro contributo è il 25 Dicembre alle 9 ora italiana.

Nota: Può succedere che un messaggio si perda nel ciberspazio, quindi se non ricevete una risposta alla vostra email o un mio commento sul vostro post, per favore contattatemi di nuovo lasciando un commento su questo post.

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Submit your post here: URL and title / Aggiungi qui il tuo post: URL e titolo

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Cathy of Delaware Girl Eats used the last of her heirloom peppers — originally brought from Abruzzo (Italy) to the US by her grandfather — to make a Sweet-Hot Red Pepper Jam that once jarred, makes a wonderful edible gift.

Cathy writes: "It’s not too late to preserve the goodness of fresh fruit or vegetables as a gift for a family member or friend.  Farmers markets still are offering apples, which can be made into chutney, or tomatoes for your own homemade ketchup or chili sauce."

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Using dark chocolate and various types of dried fruit, Helen of Family-Friends-Food built some beautiful Festive chocolate (Christmas) trees  as a gift to her daughter's pre-school teachers.

The little girl helped with the decoration, though Helen had to watch closely to prevent her "from eating all the goodies before they made it onto the chocolate discs." 

Helen writes: "Oh, don’t be put off by the lengthy list of ingredients and instructions – these are really VERY easy to make."

I wonder if the edible trees will arrive intact to December 25. Somehow I doubt it. 

 

  

 

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Simona of briciole (your host for this event) beachcombed one afternoon and used the result of her hunt to create special Handmade Holiday cards. To hold the polished stones and shells, she made pockets out of strips of paper she had decorated earlier.

Simona tells the story of her afternoon walk on the beach looking for suitable material: "I stayed until it was time to wish the sun Good night. I saw it slowly glide below the liquid horizon, leaving behind a joyous explosion of orange light.

At home, I painted the new year's name on stones and shells and filled the zero with color."

 

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Ruhama of rumahama makes delightful cards all the time and this Holiday season was no exception: the Snowman Cometh!

Ruhama explains: "I always make our Christmas cards...

This year, I rediscovered the snowman die... He's not as fancy or rustic as the newer snowmen dies available, but my machine won't fit some of those, so I'm stuck with cute.

Several ideas later, I settled on a patterned paper, real wooden arms (thanks to Chip for cutting me thin strips!) and a fluffy scarf. I couldn't find Fun Flock, but while wandering through the paint aisle, I happened across fake snow paste. Perfect!" 

 

 

 

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What would the Holidays be without cookies? Sally of Cooking Lessons baked pretty Linzer Cookies which make a gift guaranteed to leave the recipient speechless.

"The dough can be made ahead. The cookies can be made ahead. Store them in an airtight tin for about a week. Fill them with jam a few hours before serving. Voila! To give as a gift, fill them and place between layers of waxed paper in a pretty cookie tin."

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Jann of Traveling Food Lady packed together a homemade edible gift (Banan-nut Bread) and a hand-written invitation to a party and hand-delivered it to her neighbors.

"This recipe never fails, loaded with goodness and is the perfect sweet bread this time of year. On the back of the Merry! Merry! cards I wrote our invitation to the dinner. The bread was baked early enough in the day so I could deliver these packages for my guests to enjoy with a cup of coffee or hot tea!"

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Comments

[Cucina Natalia]

these are great ideas :)
check out my blog at cucinanatalia.com

[Simona Carini]

Thank you, Natalia. And thanks for stopping by. I didn't see any Holiday-related post yet on your blog. I hope they are upcoming.

[Elizabeth]

What a super idea! I'm replying to your email about my upcycled Christmas tree - it was something I made in 2013 for Christmas last year, so it's not really relevant to this year's challenges. If I make anything suitable I will certainly link up though!

[Simona Carini]

Thank you, Elizabeth. I got so excited about the photo I didn't read the caption properly. I do hope you will make something this year as well and I am sure it will be beautiful.

[Studentessa Vegana]

Semplice e bello!! Ottimo :)
www.studentessavegana.blogspot.it

[Simona Carini]

Grazie.