my people. tomorrow is the natalie creates holiday craft party & i am a hot mess with excitement. erin’s in town & we spent the late hours of the night prepping for the workshop.
it’s going to be the very best!!
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of course, as i wrap up this year & start thinking of the new year ahead, i am reminded of all of the good stuff.
i love this blog space & the creative outlet it gives me. i love that i can write about the meaningful things in my life as well as the silly & mundane little things.
i have been writing in this space for seven years now. i am thankful that you keep coming back each morning as i share our adventures, struggles, successes & everyday moments.
this morning, i want to know. speak up, my people.
what do you want to see more of in 2015?
what brings you back to this space? what do you love? what could you use less of? what makes your heart flutter & inspires change in your life?
i’d love to read your thoughts. please share!
2015 is going to be so good & i’d love to read what you’d like to see as we approach this fantastic new year.
love,
natalie
friends, i am so excited to share a little series i am working on throughout the holiday season! on wednesdays i am going to share a unique gift idea for those special people in your life. these gift ideas will be thoughtful, meaningful & unique.
& today is no exception!
friends, have you heard of uncommongoods?
i love this company & their hearts. their goal is to feature handcrafted designs that don’t hurt the planet, people or animals. most of their products are created right here in the united states!
i love that we can support companies this holiday season who have a mission to do good in this world.
& so i decided to craft up two holiday gift ideas for those men in your life using a six pack of beer & two products from the uncommongoods shop!
first up is this fantastic wooden beer caddy. we have a beer caddy that i gifted luke a couple of years ago. we carry it to all of our little get-togethers & it’s just so handy. i love that this one has the bottle opener, too.
to make this caddy “giftable”, i simply added the recipients favorite new belgium beer & added a lovely burlap bow around the sides. i included an adorable tag from the dollar bin at the craft shop. we plan to gift this wooden caddy & six pack to luke’s brother who enjoys a good drink with friends.
total cost: $54 – a great gift price point for the husbands, partners, boyfriends, brothers & dads in your life.
next up is this fantastic beer opening glass. at $13, this glass is a perfect stocking stuffer or hostess gift to your holiday parties. this pint glass is made of thick glass with a stainless steel bottle opener on the bottom.
to make this glass “giftable,” i removed it from the box, added shredded paper & placed a beer inside the glass. i clothespinned our family gift tags (purchased at shindig paperie) & a sweet little burlap christmas tree purchased at the craft shop to the glass.
total cost: $15 – the perfect gift price point for a meaningful stocking stuffer or hostess gift
i hope that you love these gift ideas! i can’t wait to feature more ideas.
& if you’re in doubt, uncommongoods has several unique gift ideas for christmas found here, gift ideas for the fantastic men in your life found here & gifts for the handmade enthusiasts found here.
guess what else?!
uncommongoods is excited to partner up with natalie creates readers to offer a $150 gift certificate to their shop just in time for your holiday shopping!
as always, it’s easy to enter. simply:
1. check out the uncommongoods gift ideas.
2. follow @uncommongoods on IG or like them on facebook.
3. comment below with your email address & one person you have a difficult time finding a gift for each year. i might even create a gift idea for that person!
i will pick a winner at random next wednesday, november 19th. happy winning!
love,
natalie
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giveaway closed
congrats to maureen for winning the giveaway! uncommon goods will contact you shortly! yay!
years ago when we were first getting our hands dirty & grew a modest little garden in the backyard at our friends’ home, we planted different seeds at random, hoping for the best outcome.
sometimes our little seeds germinated & oftentimes they didn’t.
we learned so much that year & we ate well.
most of all, we grew in our love for gardening & a passion was born out of that little garden.
seven years later, with a horticultural degree under our belt & a hobby farm (always) in-the-making, we’ve learned a thing or two. we’ve learned that you can’t control the weather, but just like the seasons, our gardens are rhythmic & a well-worn planting calendar is useful.
we had a big dream of designing & creating a planting calendar that was beautiful & practical; useful & pretty. that big dream is in print & we’re downright giddy about it!
if you haven’t heard about our planting calendar already, it’s designed to inspire & enable you to grow & harvest from your own garden. every page includes a seasonal farm life photo taken by me in addition to a month-at-a-glance formatted calendar.
our planting calendar is printed on sturdy card stock & measures 6×9 in. with a matte finish. each calendar includes a metal clip for easy hanging (as pictured in the above photo).
we’ve even allowed space for you to write down garden notes & specific planting dates on the pages of your calendar. we invite you to fill up each page with notes & allow this calendar to be a resource for years to come!
this is my favorite & the most useful part of our calendar! at the bottom of each calendar page, you will find our “garden notes” or suggested crops to “seed & plant.” on the left side under “seed,” we’ve listed crops that should be directly sown during that month. on the right side of the page under “plant,” you will find crops that should be transplanted into the garden.
this calendar was designed for the mid-southern united states (zones 6b-8a). not sure if you’re in the mid-south region (zones 6b-8a)? check the above photo for U.S. zones map. if your area is in the green, you’re within the targeted region for this calendar! hooray!
my etsy shop will open on tuesday, november 11th, at 9am CST with our a year in the garden: a planting calendar for the mid-south. each calendar is $20 + s/h. we hope you’ll pre-order a calendar & gift it to your loved ones & dear friends this holiday season!
let us know what you think of our calendars! we’d love to hear!
love,
natalie