Christmas Gifts 2010

2010 was a good year for hand-made Christmas gifts. It took me a while to come up with the exact right idea for each person, but in the end I was very pleased with both the quality of the gifts and how well they fit with each recipient.

For Sarah, I made another bird feeder. The feeder I made for her a couple years ago is still going strong and is a lot of fun to sit and watch. I wanted to make a feeder that would contain different seed and accomodate more birds at once. This is the design I came up with. You can't see it from the photo, but the upper part of each hole is half-covered by a small piece of wood to prevent the seed from just spilling out. It spills a bit when I pour it in, but once it settles the seed stays put. The feeder is about 24" high by 4" square. I used half-inch poplar from Home Depot. I like this wood for this kind of project because you can buy it already milled and ready to go. The paint should look familiar: it's the same paint I used on the generator enclosure.

For Elizabeth, I made this treble clef mounted on a piece of maple. The clef is about 9" high. I cut it out on the scroll saw and spent quite a while sanding it but it was worth it: it came out quite nice. Elizabeth is very excited about playing her violin in the Green Mountain Youth Symphony, so this was a good gift for her.

Helen spent some time last summer singing and touring with a vocal group called Village Harmony. They spent a couple weeks in Canada and then came south to the states. She had an absolute ball and loved every minute of it. I have to confess that I did not cut out all of these letters. There are too many and I could not have done as good a job as the folks at SJA Wood Design. I have bought letters from them a few times in the past and have always been happy with their work. I stained the mounting board black before gluing on the letters. I think it came out quite well.

As always, I ended up really enjoying making and giving these gifts. I always get  a bit tense leading up to it as I feel the pressure to create something unique and beautiful for each person, but the rewards are just great. I think the kids look forward to exchanging our handmade gifts on Christmas Eve as much or more than the gifts we open on Christmas Day.