christmas gift making

I'm working on a budget this year, and I've cut right back on what I would normally spend on people. This has made me think a little more, which is no bad thing.



So far I've finished 3 sets of gifts; 2 for the girls  - a wash bag with either a shop bought wash cloth with a little hexagon appliqued on (by me)



or some handmade crocheted cotton wash cloths (that I bought from etsy), a smaller zipped pouch and some handmade soap bars



And 1 boy gift of a flannel wash bag, face cloth (again with a little hexagon appliqued on), a soap bar and some shaving soap. I really cannot recommend this shop on etsy high enough. I bought the shaving soap from here, and the wooden soap dish and she sent me a whole heap of samples as well. I'll definitely be going back again for more.



I also bought some goats milk soaps from this shop, which aren't heavily scented like the shaving soap (I wanted some very gentle soap as well). I really like the look and feel of their soap, and service was great here too. So if you fancy putting together some quick and inexpensive gifts think about giving these UK based sellers a try.

For US people looking for similar sellers - I really recommend Dana at Old Red Barn Co, she makes some delicious goats milk based soaps and amazing sugar scrubs with a heap of different scents.

I'm really pleased with these little sets, I tried to think specifically about what kind of skin type each person has and what kind of scent they may like. I think the recipients will be happy with them (I hope so!) It's always so hard to judge what is a good or bad handmade gift. There's a long list of people in my family that are not handmade gift types, and I know not to try and force the issue with them. Some people just don't want that kind of thing, and that's totally fine with me. It's not my place to try and thrust craft down their throats, just the same as I would not like to have someone's political or religious opinions thrust down my throat.