This post is part of a series related to the C+H Handmade Holiday Shopping Challenge. This holiday season, I am attempting to purchase all of our family’s gifts from Canadian handmade sources. I have plans to make a few gifts as well, and have allowed myself the exception of purchasing books (because I can’t imagine a Christmas without new books) from a local independent retailer. You can see all the details in the original post here! Update #1 is here.
We waited until December 1st to decorate this year, and suddenly as I pulled out our “countdown” Santa from his tissue paper bundle yesterday, I realized there were only 24 days left until Christmas. 23, as of today! Eep. So, time for a little update on the Handmade Holiday Shopping extravaganza that’s been going on over here. Part of our goal for this year was to give less, but give better – better quality, more thoughtful, lovely things. I think we’re meeting that goal and I can’t wait for Christmas morning!
A few of our favourite finds so far, for the little people in our lives:
Cute little ponytail bobbles by OnceUponAButton
Puzzle from an original print by Monika Brint (CranberryLicorice)
Gorgeous, snuggly housecoats by Pixie Dust Kids
And for some of the adults on our list this year:
Great teacher gift, don't you think? Mini Chai Tea Kit by Purpose Design
Custom magnet tile set by Dombots
Mmm, deliciously yummy smelling! African Red soap by Olive Bath & Body
I can’t give away all my gift-giving secrets before the 25th, so you’ll just have to wait to hear about the “big” stuff :) Let it be said, though, that I’m having so much fun with this challenge and I think I’ll start even earlier next year so that I might have more time to source some of the ideas that are giving me trouble! I also haven’t had as much time to work on the handmade gifts that I’d like to make myself, but I’ve finally got a work space back and will be putting together some projects over the next couple of weeks.
We’re also making a concerted effort to bring the focus of the holidays back to family time – to that end, we’ll be doing a “12 Days of Christmas” advent at our house, with a different family activity every day for the last 12 days before Christmas. I’d love to hear the ways that you bring family and tradition into your holiday season – do you always watch The Grinch when it’s on TV? Do you make a special trip out to look at the lights? Do you drink hot chocolate with marshmallows on Christmas Eve? Do you have a special Hannukah or Kwanzaa tradition that you’d like to share? Do tell!
I’ll be back in a couple of weeks with one last update before the jolly old elf makes his appearance – until then, happy handmade shopping!
Cheers,
~Sarah
This post is part of a series related to the C+H Handmade Holiday Shopping Challenge. This holiday season, I am attempting to purchase all of our family’s gifts from Canadian handmade sources. I have plans to make a few gifts as well, and have allowed myself the exception of purchasing books (because I can’t imagine a Christmas without new books) from a local independent retailer. You can see all the details in the original post here!
So, first of all, let me tell you that going to the mailbox these days is lots of fun! A couple of times a week there is a package waiting there for me from an Etsy or Cargoh seller, and after I get the kids settled with a snack I can sneak into my room and rip it open to see exactly what that little piece of art or crafty goodness looks like!
I’ll admit that I didn’t really have a “list” in mind when I started this challenge, and I’m finding myself having to get more creative than I expected – no more relying on DVDs, Wii games or trips to the big box store for stocking stuffers, right? Trying to satisfy my hard-to-buy-for husband is proving tough, too, but I’ve found some fun goodies that I wouldn’t have expected you could find handmade (on the off chance that he’ll read this, I don’t want to spoil the surprise!).
The kids are easy because I know they’ll love anything they get, but I want to purchase intelligently. Our goal is to have fewer but better gifts under the tree this year, so buying yet another doll – even a gorgeous handmade one – or yet another costume tutu isn’t in the cards. I’m looking forward to some great craft shows in the Edmonton area in the next few weeks (Weestock and Make It! Edmonton) as well as a much-anticipated weekend in Vancouver with my girlfriends, which happens to coincide with the OOAK Vancouver show.
Eventually, I’ll post a full list of shops and vendors, but for now here are a few of my favourite purchases so far (good thing my girls can’t read yet!):
Sweet little travelling family house by Fee Vertelaine
Felt Princess Crown by Her Flying Horses
Oh Canada Map Envelopes by Prairie Peasant
Please share in the comments if you’re shopping handmade this holidays, link to a favourite purchase or seller if you’d like to, and let us know how it’s going!
Cheers,
~Sarah
Since starting Canadian+Handmade with Jenn this past spring, I’ve discovered so many incredible artists and crafters, that I’ve decided to challenge myself.
This holiday season, I will endeavour to shop solely from Canadian handmade crafters and artists. I will definitely be making some purchases from some of the fantastic vendors found here on C+H, but I’m also planning to attend as many handmade industry events as I can this fall… Make It Edmonton and the One of a Kind Show in Vancouver, for example, as well as our local events in my small city and in Edmonton. Part of taking this stand is to support our fabulous small businesses and the creative talent in our fair nation, but it’s also about being a conscious consumer and really paying attention to what we bring into our home. I know that my family could stand to do quite a bit better in that area, and this is one way to keep us all thinking about where are money goes and the impact of that.
The “rules” that I’ll be following:
1. Buy handmade, and Canadian if at all possible.
2. One exception: books, which may be purchased from an independent retailer (no Chapters or Amazon!) since I just can’t imagine a Christmas without new books for my girls!
3. Gift certificates are okay, as long as they are for an “experience” gift – ie. a round of golf, tennis lessons, spa day, a flight across the Rockies! www.trythat.ca is a fun site with lots of choices for Canadians.
4. Make some of the gifts myself (I do have a few crafty skills I can put to use!)
This means no dollar store stocking stuffers, no Calico Critters or Disney movies. I’m going to keep track of what I buy and who made it, and will report back here after all my family and friends have opened their gifts. I’m working hard to convince my husband to join me and will be sending him Etsy and Cargoh links regularly :) I’d just really like to see what a Christmas without “Made in Taiwan” stickers looks like.
If you’d like to join me in this challenge, let me know in the comments below and we’ll compare notes after the holidays. Of course, you can make your own exceptions (I’m sure there are 13 year olds out there who would run away from home if they didn’t get the new iPad they’re dying for, or the latest Justin Bieber CD!), but the goal is to be as Handmade as possible. I’ll admit that I started shopping in earnest on the weekend, and I can’t wait to get creative for the “hard-to-buy-for” folks on our list.
Here’s to a Handmade Holiday!
~Sarah
I just realized that our 100th post was our Thanksgiving Roundup last week. How fitting!
I’ll just say again that we are very thankful for the lovely people and wonderful artwork that we’ve discovered over the last 5 months and we can’t wait to see what we find next. We’d love to get to know you a little better, too, so please let us know that you’re here – leave a comment, drop us an email (sarah@canadianhandmade.ca or jennifer@canadianhandmade.ca) or join us on our Facebook page!
Cheers,
~Sarah
We here at C+H have returned from a fabulous week at the beach with our family. We will be taking today to clean up all the sand that made it’s way into everything, and will return tomorrow with great handmade goodies to share!
We really hope you enjoyed our guest posts last week, we think they did a great job. Thanks so much ladies, your posts were fantastic!
Have a great day everyone, we will see you tomorrow with our regularly scheduled programing!
~Jennifer
Hello, everyone!
Just a quick note to say thank you for all the great feedback in our first month with Canadian+Handmade! Jennifer and I are having so much fun getting to know more of Canada’s talented creative community, and we hope that you’ll stick with us as we grow. We’ve got some fun plans ahead… and first up is a new site design. So, if you notice a few little quirks on the site over the next couple of weeks, please know that we’re working hard behind the scenes to add some new features and make C+H even better!
Thanks for joining us – we love hearing from you!
Cheers,
~Sarah
I spent a couple of hours this afternoon, puttering around the internet and I have the biggest smile on my face tonight! Obviously, we’re just getting started here, but I’m pretty excited about the plans that we’ve laid out and all the fantastic artists and crafters that I keep stumbling upon! I’ve been buying Canadian handmade for years, but the depth of talent and variety in the marketplace continues to astound me. It is such a JOY to see all the passion, hard work and pride that goes into each handmade item… they are worthy of every bit of attention we can shine on them!
So, if you, or someone you know, is a creative Canadian with an online presence we’d love to hear about it! You can follow us on Twitter (@canadahandmade) or email us at canadianhandmade@gmail.com to keep in touch. If you have an interesting story about how you started in your chosen field or just want to share about your process, we’d love to do a feature interview.
More great things to come!
Cheers,
~Sarah
Welcome to Canadian+Handmade… a place that we hope will become a reference point for anyone seeking Canadian-made art.
We are Sarah and Jennifer – sisters, friends and proud Canadians who know that there are fantastic artists and crafters in Canada that deserve a spotlight. Some of them we know about already, others we will seek out, and we will share them all with you! If you have a favourite shop or artist, please don’t hesitate to let us know about them so we can spread the joy!
We have big plans, and hope that fans of Canadian+Handmade goods will find their way here as we share our love for the artists and crafters in this great land of ours.
Come on in, let’s shop!
