-- Dare to... Give Homemade Gifts --

Its that time again - Dare to DIY party time with Kim at the NewlyWoodwards!  This week its all about the homemade gifts and if you know Lucas and I we do lots of homemade gifts every year for Christmas.

The thing is... most of the people that we are giving gifts to this year also read the blog and I really don't want to give it away.  But here's a glimpse at what we gave our family last year...

Both sets of Moms and Dads received a desk clock and matching pen/pencil holder (not pictured).

We made this photo key holder for Lucas' grandparents who had sold their home and moved into a smaller condo during the year.

My little sister wanted a walnut end-grain cutting board and this one had an especially beautiful grain pattern.

And the big one for last Christmas was a hall table for Lucas' sister.  It was a combination of a bubinga top and a black stained ash bottom.

For this year I do have one special set of gifts that I can share and that's because they are for the pets of the family - chances are they aren't reading the blog :)

I made them little winter coats with a beautiful snowflake fleece.  Here's Izzy modelling the coat that she will be tearing open and my parent's dog Levi will have a matching one.

They have the nice fleece beside their fur and a coordinating grey on the outside.

And just so that the other pets in the family don't left out - I made a much bigger version out of just fleece for the family golden retriever...

And a tiny, miniature version with matching blanket for my niece's pet hamster "Runner". I was actually talking to her on the phone when I told her I was making something for Runner and she actually guessed that it was a shirt... 5 year olds aren't supposed to be so good at guessing :)



Check out some of the other neat gift ideas at the Newlywoodwards!

 And many other DIY projects here:

-- Christmas Vignette --

In celebration of Holiday Vignette Day, which Courtney is hosting at A Thoughtful Place, I wanted to share my the way I've styled my hall table for Christmas.

Around our house we typically stick with a red, white and silver colour scheme but when I found these shiny green candle holders on sale last year I knew I had to have them.  In order to avoid the red and green thing though I'm trying to keep the green fairly removed from anything red.

Of course, this is still a hall table so I needed to include a little dish for random small items that need a place to live until I get a chance to put them away.

Trying to keep the heights varied, I also brought in a green glass luminary that I got a Crate and Barrel earlier this year and some acrylic letters that spell "JOY" my favourite Christmas word (it shows up all over the house).

Hey, neat, I can see my reflection in some of the globes :)

We also got a chance to put up our garland on the banister.  I've posted about this before but its basically a wire garland with lights, glitter-y cording, and silver and red globes mixed in.

In other SUPER EXCITING NEWS - my amazingly talented husband was featured in a Holiday Gift Guide by the folks at Custom Made.  So he's created 10 limited edition end grain cutting boards to be featured.  We are so excited for this great exposure and I'm especially proud!!

If you happen to be in the market for a handmade Christmas gift for a friend or loved one, we would love for you to check out the gift guide and get in touch.  We also just finished up some edge grain cutting boards that we are selling for almost 50% off the regular price for the holidays.  All are priced between $20 and $40 and are a cinch to ship within North America!  If you are interested, send me a message or leave a comment and I'll be in touch!

-- Clark Wood Creations: Rocking Horse --

I've mentioned before that Lucas follows a blog called The Wood Whisperer.  The author of the blog, Mark, recently welcomed a son and a couple months ago started a project that he invited his readers to participate in.  Everyone got access to a free template for a rocking horse and Marc got sponsors that committed to donate money for every rocking horse that was built.  The money is going to be donated to Woodworkers Fighting Cancer.  

We haven't quite decided what to do with the rocking horses yet.  We are choosing between donating the horses to a local children's charity and trying to sell them and donating that money to Marc's fund.

Lucas did all the hard work but I did some of the detail painting on the saddles and also the eyes and nose.

What do you think... donate them or try to sell them?