For the Romantic "Men" in Your Life....

My youngest son (who is not all that young at 16) loves to burn candles as much as I do.  As soon as the sun starts to set, we both bust out the matches and light up the room.

He also has an affinity for mason jars.... drinks his home-brewed ice tea out of one of my vintage Ball jars every day.

Yet another handmade gift for him... a set of three soy wax candles (burns cleaner and longer than standard paraffin wax) in various fragrances melted into pint sized canning jars.

So much better than the dirty sock smell that normally permeates his room!

A Handmade; Homemade Christmas Day 3...

I realize this post is coming "after the fact", but most of the items I made for the boys could be for any occasion (not just the holidays) and may inspire someone to make a birthday, anniversary or any other time a little more special.... without a lot of time or money invested.  Just a lot of imagination!

A friend of mine had picked up a small half-round side table for me recently.  It had a REALLY bad black paint job and was rickety as all get out.  Not something I would pick out myself, but she thought I might be able to fix it up.

Unfortunately, I could not get it fixed to properly support anything and it basically fell apart during the process.

I took the top off altogether and had my son sand the warping out until it was smooth.  Little did he know at the time it was going to become a gift for him!

I left the black paint in the grooves around the edges, stained the flat surface and custom cut vinyl for the lettering.

Now he has a custom made sign to go over the door to the workshop... and he loved it!

Just another example of taking one thing and re-styling it to become something else.  What do you have that you can repurpose?

A Handmade; Homemade Christmas Day 2

As promised (though a day late), the next item on my Christmas gift list is homemade aftershave.

I slightly modified the recipe I found here and it turned out great.  All of the ingredients are easily found and very inexpensive... the fragrance oil is the most expensive part.  I ordered two "manly" scents, as most of the soaps and toiletries I make are for women.  Bay Rum & Barbershop Blend are the 2 I choose (from here).

Different fragrance oils have different properties.... some are "heavier" than others and will not incorporate as easily.  Not to worry if your aftershave separates (as the one of the right shows)... the mix needs to be shaken before use each time anyway and will blend back together!

I had the bottles on hand, but you could easily use containers you have around the house.  I created the label using a blank advertising label from The Graphic's Fairy (awesome site for free images) and created my own text.... "Pop's Barbershop" is the barber my kids would go to in Mass. when we used to travel up there during the holidays.  My sons will get a kick out of that!

Next up... a canvas fire wood tote for my youngest. 

A Hand-Made; Home-Made Christmas

Things are tough for myself and so many others this year, and more importantly, at this TIME of year....

That being said, my sons & I have agreed (more on my part than theirs) that this year will be the year of the "Hand-made/Home-made Christmas".

We have a pact to MAKE our gifts this year, rather than purchase them. That is not to say that NO purchase can be allowed....rather, if you have to purchase something, it has to be for the purpose of making a gift. 

Basically, what you purchase must be something you need and can't replicate in order to make an actual gift.  And the purchase cannot exceed the cost of the gift itself if you were to buy it outright.

It's an undertaking, for sure, but I can't wait to see what we all come up with. 

And I know for a fact that whatever we make or receive will be the most precious things we could give to one another. 

I digress.....

Two weeks before Thanksgiving, I started "Google-ing" hand made gifts for men...

Not much to choose from... but in the event you have men in your life (or in my case, older teenagers) that you would like to "hand-make" gifts for, maybe I can give you some ideas.

Luckily, none of my children (or family, friends, etc. ) read my blog, so I feel safe sharing my ideas.

My youngest son hates an electric razor.  He has always opted for a "regular" razor, or simply to let his beard grow.  And, yes, at 16 his beard rivals his 30 year old brothers'! 

For him, I have made "Mom's Homemade Shaving Soap"... (recipe found here)

I made 4 bars, which I custom wrapped and labeled, and will present them along with a vintage shaving mug (Old Spice given to him from his Dad... from his Dad), a new shaving brush (purchased from here), my vintage Gillette shaver (circa 1950) that I have had forever and the double sided razor blades that can still be purchased at WalMart.

I know he'll love it and I can't wait to figure out a cool way to box it up.  If you would like a copy of the vintage inspired label I created to make for yourself, just let me know and I'll be happy to share.

Check back tomorrow for my home-made aftershave lotion.... which is so very "cool" that I'm thinking of making a line for women as well!