Homemade Gift Tag for a Young Child

I love this home-made gift tag made by our friend Lyndal for this year's Secret Santa!

Isn't technology great? To make this simple gift tag, perfect for a young child, all you need is a colour printer and access to the internet. Lyndal found a picture of Thomas on my facebook page, and printed it up along with a picture of her daughter, Isabella. And I just love the cheeky grin in this photo, when Thomas has chocolate custard smeared all over his face! This kind of gift tag is perfect for young children who are learning to read.

Thanks for this wonderful idea Lyndal, I think I might just have to use it myself this Christmas!

Handmade Christmas Card 2010

In case anyone is wondering where I have been, I have been recovering from an emergency caesarean to deliver our baby boy, whom we have named Thomas!

All I can say right now is that this has been an incredibly humbling experience, and both David and I are still shell shocked. We are still coming to terms with the fact our baby is born. On Monday the 13th I went to my G.P. to get some abdominal pain checked out, which turned out to be pre-eclampsia. By midday the next day I was being wheeled into theatre for an urgent c-section. Thomas was born on Tuesday the 14th December at one minute to one weighing 1.250kg. I like the neatness of the numbers of his date - 14.12.10

The steroid injections they gave me to help his lungs develop worked very well, as he didn't need any assistance breathing, despite being born at 31 weeks gestation. He is being fed formula, and just in case anyone is out there thinking I should have breast fed, believe me please I wanted to and tried very hard, but it wasn't to be. He has started putting on weight every day and the nurses in the special care unit are very happy with him, telling us he is a sprightly little one with lots of spirit.

Here are two pictures of the lovely card they made for us, it's so very special. An imprint of his feet in the card makes this a very thoughtful gift for us. The hospital also gave us a stocking of cute little toys and baby clothes, they are so kind.

I can't help but wonder, when I think of the staff at the hospital that saved us (if they didn't perform the operation we both would have died), that I was amongst angels. These people had what I like to call 'Hudson River Pilot' coolness and professionalism. Being part of it has been very humbling indeed.

Every Heart stands for Love

What do you give the couple who has everything? Something sweet, simple and thoughtful, complete with your very own homemade touch - homemade is best!

I have named these homegrown second generation chilli plants "Spicy Hot Love Trees", to bring good luck and passion to a newly wed couple. I'll pick the most handsome tomorrow, but I'm thinking the one with the red fruit is a favourite to win! To bring spicy hot lovey-doveyness into the home, this chilly plant will need lots of sunshine and happiness. A good drink of water everyday is in order, but this special plant will not like to sit in water for too long,  so it's best it doesn't have a saucer and is well drained. Keep it in a pot, so that in the winter its easier to move into the sun, or to a sunny window indoors. I've written about our homegrown chilli plants in a previous post.

Fresh herbs are usually best, but these "Love Sprinkles" are a lucky love charm to add when cooking food to share. These herbs were homegrown, dried and prepared with love for good luck! Marjoram is well known as the herb of weddings, rosemary is for love, and just a few little chilli flakes are for spicy passion. These herbs would be good to add to a pasta sauce dish. I've written about drafting this idea in a previous post.

I've also made my own gift card and wrapping paper for our other gift (another simple gift for goodluck, to help with homebaking). This is a magical gift card with its matching paper. Every time a heart was handdrawn, the word 'love' was whispered for goodluck.
xoxxox

Heart-themed Gift Paper and Card

I printed up three pieces of butchers paper yesterday to make gift paper. I'm not sure what a gift will look like when wrapped in it, but hopefully the result will be a charming rustic-earthy look! Goodness knows, all there is to wrapping paper is a simple pattern, and isn't it a nicer thought if you made it yourself?

The technique is very simple, this is something I learnt during teacher training. I used a heart-shaped cookie cutter, a potato and a paring knife to cut away excess to make two stamps. I painted arcylic on with a brush, then printed that on the paper and did that with two pieces of paper. For a different print, I chose three constrasting shaped leaves from the garden, lemon myrtle, grevillea and strawberry. I painted them, and using a paper towel, pressed down on the leaf to leave a clean impression. I liked the choice of colours, if I do say so myself!

I've also been making some gift cards, which I think should be nicer than the store bought thing. I tried the kissing cards which looked like a nice idea, but it didn't work out. To make the two sides stay together I had to make a slit at each lips and push the cards in tightly, which made the rest of the faces mishapen.  Another card I tried was this cute little pop out, it's a simplified version of this pop up card video. I glued some scrap from the love-heart print left over from the boxers in the background. Cute!