The Office Gift

Wrapped pressies & paperwhites, chez moi!

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I could subtitle this post as "I took the handmade pledge" or "creative uses for vintage fabric scraps" or even "go preppy, go monogram"... And, while all of these apply, I'll just keep it simple...

This year I decided to make gifts for my coworkers. I know this prospect is probably making you, dear reader, groan with terror, I went into the venture knowing full-well of the pitfalls I may face. I am happy to say that with a little intuition, creativity, and minimal expense I came out with a fantastically-stylish handmade gift that has proven to be a major hit.

Here's the thing about office gifts: at this time of year you can a) do nothing, b) do too much and spend too much money, or c) do something homemade in mass quantities and hand it out to people. Most people choose either a or c - doing nothing is easy, but if you do something most people choose to bake cookies or make apple butter or something. If you choose to take the homemade path and it's NOT food-related then beware: the potential for janky-looking homespun crap skyrockets instantly.

While I do make a mean cookie, I decided to do something non food-related. I have a lot of vintage fabric in my collection, and I love classic flour-sack dishtowels, so I decided to put the two together in a simple monogrammed dishtowel. I had to tread carefully here since I work with a lot of stylists, designers and "tastemakers" for whom the janky-looking homespun crap would not suffice. By that same token though, a lot of these same folks are very preppy in their style, and if a preppy likes anything they like to see their initials emblazoned all over the place...(Preppy Princess, care to verify?)

I'm not going to get into a how-to, there are other blogs for that, so I'll just say that I cut out letters in vintage fabric, and with a lovely little invention known as TransWeb, I ironed them to the dishtowel and then gave them a little stitch-a-roo on the the machine. Yes, this takes thought, patience, and planning. It also takes time. Keep this in mind whenever you do anything; I think the gifts of the janky-looking homespun crap variety are frequently the result of poor planning and rushing. Just an FYI.

To wrap I used this fabulously-crazy vintage poinsettia print cotton that I got on eBay for like six dollars. The colors are so bright that I knew I couldn't really use it for anything but wrapping. I do absolutely love the print though! I bought a skien of the classic Red Heart yarn at my 5 & 10c store for two dollars and used that to tie it up. Oh, I also made pom poms.

Pompom 1: wrap the yarn

Pompom 2: lay it flatPompom 3: cinch itPompom 4: clip the endsPompom 5: pompom The finished productThe finishing touch was a bit of hand-stamped name cards on some scalloped-edge cards I'd had stashed away... et voila! Christmas gifts.

A useful, simple gift that is hearfelt, handmade, and memorable. And yes, the preppies almost collapsed in delight to see their initials on them.

I am now wearing a glowing golden halo of homemade-gift mastery and stylish giving.

Comments

[Jordan]

Love the pom poms!

p.s. Have you heard about giving alcohol to paperwhites to stunt their growth?

[The Preppy Princess]

Oh Miss P&C, these are awesome!

And yes indeedy, you are oh-so-correct about the love most Preppies have for all things monogramed. However....it is time for a True Confession from TP: we have very few monogramed items here in the Prepatorium! (If we ever figure out how to center the embroidery on the Janome, perhaps we'll have more!)

LOVE the post! Is that barkcloth? It looks like it has some great texture to it. Have we ever told you about the stash of vintage textiles we have from the 40's - 50's - 60's - 70's? Oh. My. Gosh. It is beyond an illness!

Grins & Giggles for the rest of your weekend Miss Annie!
tp

[Orlando Fabric Awning]

Love the fabric and the print!