It’s been a long time since I posted on a Friday. The last month in particular has been a long one as we all did our part to help Daddy fight his cancer.
Last week my husband had his right kidney removed. The days leading up to the surgery were difficult due to pain, nausea and fatigue. The surgery was more difficult than anticipated which led to a longer stay in the hospital.
That’s all behind us now though. My husband is home. He has finally turned the corner on his nausea and is starting to eat again. He’s almost pain-free, and life is beginning to feel a little more normal.
We’re cherishing this time before chemotherapy starts knowing that life will probably be difficult again for a while. This has been a hard time, but also a sweet time as we’ve learned once again just how good God is in His care and love for us.
It’s that gift-giving time of year again so I’ve been searching the internet for simple gifts my children could make for each other, their grandparents and their dad. I thought I’d share some of the results with you.
I’ve also been learning how to thrum. It’s a way of adding wool to your knitting to make it warmer and water-proof. I’ve enjoying learning this new technique, and it wasn’t as hard as I expected.
I love this idea of giving someone a personalized wax seal. I think I would write more letters if I had one just so I could use it.
This is a simple tissue holder. What grandma doesn’t need one or two or these for her purse(s)? And the bonus is that it only needs scrap fabrics. Anyone who does any sewing at all always has scraps around.
This is going to be an easy gift for little hands – fun too.
DIY Fabric Necklaces that Cost Mere Marbles
Here’s one I’ve made for my husband. It’s the gift that keeps giving.
This is another good way to use up larger scraps in your fabric stash. My children all used theirs until they were worn out.
Do you have any ideas for simple, handmade gifts? I’d love to hear them.
Intentional Simplicity 
I love the idea of wax seals — my mom had one with a little flower on it that she let me use when I was a little girl sending notes to my pals.
Thrumming looks amazing! And far beyond my very rudimentary knitting powers, lol.
For the last few years, my kids have made simple Christmas ornaments for each of their grandparents — we started out just markering on wooden ornaments that had designs printed on them, progressed to stickers, then paint — this year, I found “stained glass” ornaments for them to paint that we’re going to have so much fun with.
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I figured you would like the wax seals. I know Eva-Joy would. 🙂
Thrumming is a lot of fun, and honestly if you can knit you can thrum. Maybe you can look for a YouTube video showing how. Or we could Skype. 🙂
I bet the grandparents look forward to those ornaments every year. Nothing beats handmade. So many memories for the one making the gift and also for the receiver. That stained glass sounds awesome.
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Well, I only knit like once a year, though I have a sudden desire to knit myself a huge long scarf like Newt Scamander’s in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, having just seen the movie today and loved it. But I’ll do that and look at some videos — might find some on Craftsy too.
The “stained glass” ornaments will basically be like suncatchers, but for hanging on the tree instead. Something different and fun!
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I love to knit. I find it very therapeutic. I love the rhythm of it.
I enjoy doing “different and fun”.
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Man, I want to look up all your craft ideas. I need to do that soon. I’m jammed packed with sewing for Christmas but we all LOVE to craft here. Wish my time was more for crafting then other things lol.
We will continue to pray for your family and for Hugo’s health. Thanks for the update. I will update the 3×5 card we have for you all. Going through health issues can be scary but knowing God is walking right there with you helps tremendously.
I’m going through a painful health journey myself this year but God has given abundant mercy and grace through it all.
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