Sneak Peek

So, I may or may not be a little nutso when it comes to Christmas presents. I like to make at least a few of them which causes me to start thinking early about what it is I wanna make.. early, like, August. Last year, I blamed that early start on a baby in October. This year I don't have that excuse, so I am forced to admit that I just like to start early.

I've got a pretty big family. As more and more of my brothers and sisters have started being grown-ups, we've started exchanging names rather than everyone giving everyone something. This changes the dynamics of my shopping list, in many ways for the better. But it definitely means that I spend more time thinking about that one person (or family) that I have that year. Generally, they are the lucky recipients of whatever handmade thing I'm cooking up.

Most of my idea gathering comes as I peruse the internet in my everyday way. I don't really love Pinterest, but I do love reading many many blogs (Feedly is my new best friend since the death of Google Reader). These blogs often have all sorts of gorgeous pictures (it's not so different from Pinterest now that I think about it); gorgeous pictures that draw you in, wake creative desires within and whisper - You could make that, eeeeeeeasy!

Yeah, I'm a sucker for that especially at Christmas-present-making time.

Happily, since I do start early, I have all sorts of time to make my way through projects that turn out to be a bit larger than the very simplified tutorial suggests that they will be.

The down side? I can't post any pictures or even talk too much about what it is I'm making since presents are supposed to be a surprise. However, since it's coming along nicely and I'm very excited about it, here's a sneak peek at my Christmas-present-making project: