on homemade christmas gifts

Hey! As I said a few weeks ago, I had a post written up and all ready to publish on the homemade gifts this year.. but it's taken so long for everyone to get theirs and the post itself was outdated so I'm re-writing it!

Well.. it probably won't give anybody "warm fuzzies" to see Christmas gifts now.. but here they are anyways! Maybe it will give someone a good birthday, valentines or next year Chirstmas gift idea.

My big brother LOVES pickles.. more than anyone you know, I promise! He drinks the juice and all. So I had the idea of making him some pickles.. and also gift all the uncles and grandpas some too! Guys are so hard to buy for sometimes.. homemade treats always seems to be a hit though.

Canning was as difficult as I anticipated it would be. I couldn't find canning tools ANYWHERE so I used my grilling tongs and meat thermometer.. ha! Won't do that again. Mild cussing tantrums and and 10 hours later, I managed to churn out 10 jars of these...





Pretty right? I love the fabric I found at Joanns for the tops. As for the product itself, I hate pickles so I didn't taste test.. but everyone has called to tell me they're fantastic and are requesting a next batch! I used the Williams-Sonoma recipe from Art of Preserving.

Homemade gifts for the ladies were fun this year. I designed personalized recipe cards. I wanted to send them off to be letterpressed, but time didn't allow. Oh well.. they still turned out lovely. Pictured is only one of the 3 designs I made.. but you get the idea.





While not EVERY gift I give is handmade.. I do always try to make a little something for everyone! Merry late Christmas post! :)