Gift Giving, Catalogs, Inspiration and DIY

(c) Nuno Magazine

Time again to think about what to make, get and give for the holiday season. Luckily in my family we have an easy agreement. One gift per person, inexpensive, homemade and re-used welcome. Kids are excluded from the one gift rule. As you can image, I enjoy making as many gifts as I can. Usually I have more ideas than time, because many of my projects require a lot of it. For ideas that don't take forever to complete, I often browse around on the web and get inspired. But with a myriad of sources to choose from, I find the Internet somewhat overwhelming during the holiday season.

Here's my holiday gift giving strategy for this year: First there are books and book related gifts, like book covers or book marks or audio books or note books. And then I make stuff. Scarves, decoupaged items, lockets etc. Food gifts are lovely, too. A cookbook and a dish made from a recipe in the book are always well received. If I can't make everything myself, and I never can, there's always Etsy with their collection of talented artists and makers. And last, but not least, some items just can't be made or bought second hand. These I do buy at a store; a small store if possible.

But as there's still plenty of time to make, I've been browsing these beautiful online catalogs to get inspired. 

Here are a few of my favorites:

Anthropologie - Go straight to their online catalog. They have great stylists and their theatrical interiors are incomparable. A fantastic place for inspiration.

Toast UK - Beautiful, very British with great photography. Makes me want to eat a scone with clotted cream, right on the spot.

Gudrun Sjoeden - A Swedish designer whose is has been producing fashion and accessories sustainably since before it became mainstream. Their home collection is the quintessential Scandinavian feel.

Marie Claire Idees - You can browse for free or pay 1.50 Euros to access their entire how-to section. And it's well worth it. Even if you don't know any French, you can guess some of it and the rest goes into the google translator. Tres jolie!

Nuno Magazine (pictured above) - The feel of a catalog, but everything inside can be made by you. For US$ 5 you get 125 ad-free pages of doable projects of craft, sewing and knitting projects made from recycled and salvaged materials. The ideas are simple, and the execution marvelous. A reminder that beautiful things don't have to be complicated. Here´s a free preview with 4 complete projects.

As always, your dollar is your voice.

What I haven't told you yet, is we'll be staying in Germany for the holiday season, with trips to Cologne and Berlin! Can't wait to explore the museums, shops and coffee houses. I'll have a lot of inspiration from the old world, including holiday markets with Gluehwein, art, craft and tasty food. It's going to be so gemuetlich! Sound good? Wanna come?

Almost packing my suitcase...