Wednesday, January 5, 2011

handMade ...

... not hand maid ... something i feel like once in a while when i am running errands and favours, and cooking, and cleaning and hand-washing & driving and you know ... all of that stuff ...

but for the purpose of this post ... the made is in handmade ... i do love to give handmade gifts for Christmas and all other gift giving celebrations

This is one of my favourite gifts that I made this year, for a dear friend who knits ... oh, and she is a bit of a witch ... the best kind of witch!


So this is the cover ... this is a little photo journal for my friend to record her knitted projects in ... I thought it would be cool for her to take pictures of her family and friends wearing the gifts she had knit for them.


Cast a spell ... this page contains a wand ...  The tiny wand pocket has a tarot card image ....the create page is actually an envelope

A little close up of the wand ... I just could not get a good picture of it, but it was painted with a clear glimmer glam and it is shiny and sparkly without being glittery ... hand stamping the wand was fun!


One envelope contains enchantments (small knitting needles, a gift certificate and other goodies) and the envelope with charms does contain actual charms and necessities ...


I loved this toadstool digital image from Land of Enchantment  (a very cool etsy shop for all of your digital needs) ... it serves as a title page to the journal.


Cast on ... just really means begin writing ... the pages are all 7Gypsies journal pages but i have added images to most of the pages ...


Cast off ... basically the end of the journal

A larger photo of the wand ... the end is tipped with many many layers of copper embossing powder and the tip is coated with iridescent embossing powder which changed the colour of the ink to a reddish looking glow ...

oh, and she made me a beautiful purple scarf knit with cotton/silk yarn (cuz my skin is kinda fussy) and she sewed cool little buttons on the corners ... yeah, she knows what i like!


I am joining Jenny Matlock and her alphabe-Thursday meme .... check it out, there's lots of good reading all about the letter M!

Peace, love & paper
~Jo

35 comments:

Amanda Lee said...

Your friend is so lucky to have you! This book is just amazing.
~Amanda

Amanda Lee said...

And so is the wand!

Susan Anderson said...

Oh my gosh. You are two of a kind. Amazingly creative and talented.

What a gift of love that was.

=)

~✽Mumsy✽~ said...

Gorgeous design, Jo! Your are so talented and creative!

Unknown said...

Such fun! They both are beautiful!

Izzy said...

wow! such a fabulous personalized gift and the scarf you received is gorgeous!

Pat said...

Hand Made is always the best - and your gift is something she will treasure...very creative and unique.
Your work is so lovely.

Coralie Cederna Johnson said...

Love the reference to "Hand-Maid"! Ha! Sometimes I feel like that too! Thanks for visiting...love your blog!
Hugs,
Coralie

fredamans said...

You are very creative! Nice stuff!

maggy, red ted art said...

As mine is a crafty blog, I love all things Hand Made and love your post! Fabulous!

Maggy

Rachel said...

How very crafty! I admire your talents.
~M

Judie said...

Jo, you are way too clever and gifted! What an excellent gift for your friend. She is sooooo lucky!!

Lynn Stevens said...

Ohhhhhh Jo the book you made your friend is Fabulous!!!! I'm sure she LOVES it but does she know you call her a witch? LOL Just kidding of course!
hugs Lynn

NanE said...

What a gorgeous book and such a thoughtful gift! have a great weekend, Nan

Pondside said...

What a great gift - lucky friend! I love the whole idea, the style, the images - I hope your friend was thrilled@!

Su-sieee! Mac said...

Handmade gifts are totally the best! Your friend must've been in high heaven when she opened your gift. :-)

Theresa Plas said...

Love your creativity! Awesome details Jo!

Mary said...

What a fabulous gift for your knitting friend! I'm sure she was THRILLED to have such a beautifully detailed & thoughtful journal!

Vicki/Jake said...

Marvelous!!

jlshall said...

Oh, I love handmade journals and albums. And this one is just gorgeous! I'm sure your friend loved it.

Thanks for visiting my blog, and Happy New Year!
~ Joy @ Joysweb

Personalized Sketches and Sentiments said...

Love your sense of humor :o) hand-made not hand maid :o)

What a lovely, creative idea you designed for your friend to keep track of her knitted creations. and what a lovely scarf that she made for you!

Blessings & Aloha!
Thank you so much for stopping by and for your sweet comment :o) I am happy that you enjoy the art that I do and that you make it through my extremely long posts! Have a wonderful weekend too!

hayleycreates said...

Spectacular. seriously.

Gattina said...

I love handmade things too, but made by others, I am too lazy, lol !

Marie Lost Bird Studio said...

WOW, what a wonderful book! Lucky friend.
Have a great weekend.
Hugs,
Marie

Cheryl said...

That cover is to die for. Love the innards too. Cast on and cast off is a great play on words for a knitting journal.

That sweater? I'd wear it every single day.

Jenny said...

Jo! This is incredible. YOu should send this idea in to a knitting magazine. Or make them and sell them on a knitting magazine.

This is really, really clever and beautiful.

Your friend must have been overwhelmed.

I'm overwhelmed and I don't even knit!

Wow.

Just a magical and magnificent stop on our little journey through Alphabe-Thursday's letter "M".

Amazing.

A++++++++++++

H said...

Wow. You are so creative. Your friends must love receiving hand made presents from you. They are so unique and special!

mub said...

The book is beautiful! I agree with Jenny, it does need to be submitted to a magazine!

The scarf is gorgeous too. I adore the buttons on the ends.

EG CameraGirl said...

OH! This is such a thoughtful gift! Your friend is very lucky!

mrs. c said...

To me, handmade gifts are the best ones and you did such a great job. I make alot of gifts too and I have so much fun planning what I am going to make. I think I have as much fun making them as they do receiving them. I hope you have a wonderful weekend and thanks for reading my post.

Cheryl D. said...

I've never seen Jenny give that kind of grade before! You should feel honored! What you made is quite lovely. I can't make things! That wouldn't be kind to my friends!

Beansieleigh said...

Hi Jo! Just stumbled here by way of another Blogland friend, and am pleasantly surprised! I am only JUST BEGINNING to try my hand at scrapbooking, and hope to post at least something about it soon. I will ALWAYS love crochet, but already LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this new craft!! I am having so much fun just making a simple TP Roll Mini Christmas album for my first scrappy project! What a kick! In fact, as I read this post, I had to tell you it was already on my To-Do list, to make myself a couple more scrapbooks; a general journal type of scrapbook, and then one just for my crochet projects!.. Oh, and THEN I want to put together some TP Roll Mini Album kits for Valentines Day!.. (Tell me. Do I SOUND excited about this?!)... Nice to meet you, and I look forward to visiting again soon. Have a nice weekend! ~tina

laterg8r said...

the wand rocks :D

love the mini you made her - you've got talent girl :D

Unknown said...

oh Jo, the journal is just wonderful!!!! I love the wand too and I can tell you really put a lot of love and work into this....I bet she treasures it!
I also wanted to say thank you for being such a good friend and for your support during my hard times.......You are awesome! Melinda

Something Special said...

Yes handmade is the best for gifts for sure!