Handmade Gifts

At the craft fayres I went to before Christmas there were so many lovely handmade things for sale – I would have bought so much if my budget had let me!  Here are a few things I did get…

I did a swap with my sister on lip balms from Naturally Maldon. She picked the Cheeky Cherry flavour and my favourite was Very Vanilla.  They’re made from natural ingredients and not only smell gorgeous but are very moisturising too.  My sister also bought me some lavender soap – I love the smell of lavender and it’s supposed to be calming too.  I’m trying to grow a lavender hedge in my garden, I’ve been growing the plants from seed and it flowered properly for the first time last summer.  Although it didn’t do very well after our house was painted (there seemed to be something in the paint that killed off a lot of the leaves on plants near our house) hopefully it will survive the winter and grow well this year.

I also bought some porcelain buttons from Julie Pettitt Ceramics.  I bought the glossy heart for myself and the pick’n’mix buttons for my sister who loves all things to do with sweets and food!  Julie’s developed a beautiful range of pretty pastel colours which she uses on all her products, which include vases, bowls and pots.