last december, my sweet friend jenn hosted a homemade Christmas gift gathering at her house... (note - jenn is one of those gals that can buy a piece of furniture for $3 at a yard sale and turn it into the cutest thing you have ever seen - super crafty, to say the least!) there were four of us total - each person had decided on a Christmas gift idea, bought supplies for the total number of gals coming, then brought those supplies. at jenn's, each person took a turn demonstrating how to make her gift idea and we all did it together... at the end of the day, we had made cinnamon pancake mix, glass bead magnets, spice rubs and sugar scrubs.
prior to this little event, i did not at all consider myself to be a crafty gal... i knew how to hem pants with the $100 sewing machine i got for Christmas about 10 years ago and i dabbled in jewelry making, but glue and scrapbook paper and all that stuff was a bit foreign. but those glass bead magnets sparked something in me and i caught the crafting bug.
i have since become a very crafty crafter. a few weeks after that, i learned how to crochet. i posted a little something on facebook about wanting to learn after getting SUPER frustrated trying to learn by watching a video and a facebook friend - who lives 3 doors down from me - came over for an hour or so and showed me. i had only met her a couple of times, but we talked like we'd known each other for years... it was then that i realized that women are much more likely to share their hearts when they are DOING something.
so i bought some more yarn, invested in some supplies and have had a monthly crafting event at my house ever since. (these events, by the way, have been nicknamed "crafty crafters making crafts" by my friend ashton - who happens to be a big fan of my potato soup) each month i make a pot of soup, a few people bring snacks, everybody brings whatever projects they've been putting off and we just spend a few hours visiting and working on our projects. it has been such a sweet time with my friends...
well, about a month ago, i re-visited jenn's idea of a Christmas gathering and decided to have THREE. i sent out an email to about 30 women explaining the idea and asking who was interested.
21 of them were...
so i picked a date in october, limited my event to 8 people total, set a $5 limit per gift (so that no one had more than $40 invested in supplies). after 7 gals responded, i sent out invites to pinterest. if you haven't found pinterest yet, beware. it is TOTALLY addicting. a friend sent me an invite about 6 weeks ago and i have found myself on there EVERY day looking for recipes, crafting and gift ideas and all kinds of other stuff...
well last friday our first gathering was a HUGE success! i made a big pot of chili, baked Christmas cookies and played the best Christmas music i have ever heard and we got to Christmas crafting. here are some pictures from our festivities:
by the time the night was over, we had made candy cane sugar scrubs, dry erase boards, m&m cookie mix, tile coasters, glass bead magnets, etched glass mugs, steak rub and tea wreaths.
we had such a great time! even the gals who were nervous about their lack of creativity felt confident and are excited to do it again... if you are interested in having some some girl time, making awesome gifts for minimal cost and getting a jump start on your Christmas gift getting, then consider hosting a gifts gathering of your own. other than making sure everyone knows what they're doing and cleaning your house, it's not much work at all. :)
i really can't wait to see what everyone will bring to make next month! i know it's not quite halloween yet, but it's beginning to look a little like Christmas at my house!
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