The Sweetest Gifts

Painting From Susan Rios--love these red cars and trucks with wreaths and trees.

Hello Dear Ones,

It is always nice to open the sweetest little gifts; the hand made ones you never see anywhere else, and today I'm sharing some that I received. I don't usually show off, but I thought you might be greatly diverted with these little gifts, and I'm sure you got some like them too.

Above is what looks like a hand made Victorian scented sachet. Isn't that little bird  a pretty thing?

All year I've been the recipient of these Dollar Tree vinyl bags, and now I have a little collection of them. They are bought for me because they have such delightful art on them, and how I like this one!  

Hand made cotton dish cloth which I try to get every year, and

Dollar Tree cups. They look very refined and are called "Royal Norfolk"--hand wash recommended.  I got them for the men who would rather have a larger cup to drink tea from.

Very comfortable to hold and very elegant looking; lightweight too.

Hobby Lobby had a 90% off sale on some things, and I got myself this tray (for a little more than a dollar)  which I think is also vinyl, as it is quite lightweight but very sturdy as it carries a full pot of tea and several cups without buckling ;-) I try to find lightweight trays because by the time a tray gets loaded with things, the weight can be just a bit much for my wrists. In fact, I have mostly lightweight things in my house so I can manage to move things about by myself. I saw a mirror on sale for practically nothing, the other day, but it was too heavy, and if it ever fell from the wall it might injure someone ;-) So all my mirrors are as light as I can manage.

A friend sent me this card with the loveliest art work, and a little verse. I hope you can read it, because the message is something we can all use: to aspire to be servants of our Saviour, Christ.

We have a joke around here that Mr. S. gave me something for a gift, but he doesn't know what it is yet. Do you do that?  It is because when he is unable to go shopping, he gives me the money and says "buy yourself something from me."

The ceramic light plates were on sale half price, so I got these, to improve the look of the house. But, should I ever re-locate, they go where we go and the old plastic ones go back on the wall.

My grandchildren are being taught to shop frugally and they got me some luxurious things. Above, a cinnamon pecan swirl candle (apparently got for free from a store promotion) , and below, some cardstock cri-cut ornaments in white. I love them because they don't take any room to store for the next year; just put them in a little zip-lock or an envelope.

A bag of cute bite sized cookies:

There is a cardstock key, bow, candy cane, three or four ornaments, a heart, crown, and a flower. Those cricut machines are amazing, and you can create your own designs to be cut.

A pair of gloves from Mr. S., who was very surprised when I opened the gift ;-) 

I've saved the biggest gift for last, as I am so thrilled to have it. It is a kitchen scale that works quite well, and as I had one years ago, it is nice to have the reproduction that looks like an old one: 

I am showing off my chalk rock slice of cake that everyone who comes is so intrigued with, and I've requested more of them from my grandchildren:

I have seen a lot of fake cakes and fake food in staged houses, show-homes and tour-of-homes events, but this one takes the cake, doesn't it?

I hope you are enjoying your small treasures too! The Victorians spent a lot of time making things or saving up for just the right gifts for their loved ones. They knit wool socks, which could hardly be bought anywhere, and made men's handkerchiefs, created blankets, slippers, wall pockets for letters, and all kinds of things that would never be available commercially.  People depended on these gifts coming on birthdays, Christmas, anniversaries, etc. because that would be almost the only way they would acquire them. 

One thing I have enjoyed receiving is little hand made books from my grandchildren. I'm developing quite a library of them. I also like to write little books for them, one of a kind, stapled together.