Christmas Gift Ideas 2019 for her or him: a few of my favorite things

Holiday Gifts for her or him. Favorite Things © ShannonSews

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas where all the best gift ideas come to me in my sleep as I lay dreaming of sugar plums dancing in my head and when I awake refreshed, all those lovely gifts will be on my doorstep, wrapped and ready to go under the tree. Ahhhh. Wouldn't that be nice? Give me a couple more minutes to live in this Hallmark Movie reality...

But here's the thing, I know Christmas gift giving can be very stressful (at least it is for me). It's hard to dream up new ideas year after year, especially because the people we are giving gifts to mean so much to us and we want to find them the perfect gifts.

I couldn't pass up the chance to make your Christmas gift-giving a little easier this year, by sharing with you a few of my favorite things that make great holiday gifts for the people in your life.

Christmas Gift Ideas for Her and Him
aka A few of my Favorite Things

The majority of these products are ones I have tried myself and love enough to recommend (if I haven't tried something I'll mention that). Please feel free to let me know what your favorite Christmas gift ideas are! It just might be the perfect gift for someone else!

*some affiliate links are included for your convenience. see full disclosure below

1. Silk Hair Scrunchies

Ok, here's the deal on silk scrunchies. They are so pretty and smooth and help prevent hair breakage and frizz. Plus, if you are the type that likes to put your hair up, you can do it without worrying about it leaving deep hair creases (which also makes for easier hair revival on non-hair-wash days if you sleep with your scrunchie in!).

MY FAVORITE: Slip Silk Hair Scrunchies  

*we used to offer Fairface silk-cotton hair scrunchies but don't have any currently available. If we bring them back, I'll let you know! Those are also amazing!

2. Luxury Skincare Washcloths

You know how I feel about Fairface Washcloths (insert heart eyes emoji). There are no other washcloths I trust to use on my sensitive face! These are the best washcloths for your face. The soft flannel glides across your skin, calming skin as it cleanses, gentle to your skin, the way it is supposed to be. Once you've tried Fairface Washcloths and see how much better your skin can look and feel, you'll never go back to scratchy old washcloths again!

MY FAVORITE: FairfaceWashcloths.com or on Etsy

3. Dreamy Silk Pillow Cases

This could be its own blog post! I love to sleep on a silk pillow case. They are so gentle to my skin and hair and feel so good against my skin.  No face creases, no frizzy hair and they keep your face cool through the night which is important for sensitive skin and rosacea!

I have purchased these myself, and personally use them. I have also given them as gifts and highly recommend them. 

THESE ARE MY FAVORITE:  Fisher's Finery Silk pillow cases 

*As some of you know, our Fairface Washcloths shop used to make and sell beloved Silk-cotton pillow cases but we sold out and I'm sorry, we are no longer offering them. Fisher's Finery are my silk favorite.

4. Hallmark Channel Gifts and Accessories

Are you a sucker for Hallmark Channel Movies like I am? I swear the minute the clock strikes 12 after Halloween I'm ready for a Hallmark Christmas movie marathon. These look like fun gifts for someone you know who loves Hallmark movies. I'd literally buy these socks for my sister if she didn't live in a tropical climate that averages 89 degrees year round. But for those of us in the colder climates? They look pretty darn good.


WHERE TO FIND THEM: Hallmark Channel Gifts on Amazon
***I have not tried this merchandise myself but the socks look fun!

5. Houseplants Gifts

I LOVE houseplants. Sometime I'll show you how many I have in my house. I'm actually babysitting someone's plants at the moment while they're out of town, so my front room has started to look a bit like a nursery, but bring it on! Plants make people happy. Plants bring fresh air into the house. Plants bring texture, color and warmth to any space.

A few of my favorite plants:

• Fiddle Leaf Fig
• Myrtle tree
• Bonsai trees
• Succulents

WHERE TO FIND THEM:

• You can go to Lowe's, Home Depot or a local nursery (prices vary). 
• Buy online and ship - my husband and I sent my mother-in-law this pretty Bonsai from Costa Farms and it was delivered with no problems ($29.99).

If you'd rather keep it simple and order faux plants that don't need water, sunlight or much of anything, 

Shop Faux plants on Amazon

6. Instant Pot for Christmas

I don't know who does the cooking in your house, but as the woman of the home, it defaults to me 99.9999% of the time. I'll admit I was late to the party getting an Instant Pot because A) I already have a crock pot that I use a lot throughout the year, and B) I'm not a kitchen gadgets person and figured I didn't need something else to take up more space in my kitchen.

HOWEVER, during an Amazon sale several months ago, I decided it was time to try an Instant Pot to save time in the kitchen. And I've got to say, the space it takes up is worth it because it cooks food in no time! So far I've made delicious pulled pork, Hawaiian pork, pot roast and gravy and even your basic white rice. I even started an Instant Pot Pinterest Board to gather up some good recipes to try.

WHERE TO FIND IT: We got this one on Amazon ($55-$99)


*Affiliate Disclosure: we are happy to offer you convenient links to our recommended products. Links that go thru Amazon.com allow us to receive a small commission, as an amazon affiliate, for purchases made through our links. We are also proud to be a Fishers Finery affiliate and we do earn a small commission for purchases made through our link. Thank you for your support so we can continue to offer you suggestions on products we love or want to try!

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Do you have any favorite gift ideas you want to share? 
Leave us a comment and let us know! 
We'd love to get as many gift ideas as we can! xo

Share this post with someone who can benefit from these great gift ideas and Pin it so you don't forget!

My Favorite Silk Pillow Cases - great for my hair and sensitive skin

I can't remember how long ago it was that I first tried a silk pillow case, but I was hooked from the start. 

The way my skin and hair slid effortlessly against the fabric, the way it kept my skin cool through the night, and when I woke up I looked pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.

I've always been a little apprehensive trying new things that touch my face, since my skin seems to react to anything and everything. 

However, I am here to tell you that I LOVE sleeping on a silk pillow case and confidently give you 2 thumbs up! 

I made some for about a year and sold them in our Fairface Washcloths Etsy shop, because we are all about sensitive skin and the more products we could provide that could help sensitive skin, the better! 

My New Favorite Silk Pillow Cases

Since we have sold out of our own Fairface silk pillow cases and won't be making any more, I wanted to share my New Favorite Silk Pillow cases that you can get on Amazon  

(Disclaimer: as an Amazon affiliate I earn a small percentage of each sale if you purchase through this button)

***These lovely silk pillow cases from Fisher's Finery are great quality and I want to make sure you get the best silk pillow case you can to get the full benefits for your skin and hair.

Benefits of Sleeping on a Silk Pillow Case

• Gentle to skin and hair 
• Less likely to cause wrinkles or creases to skin
• Less likely to cause breakage or frizz to hair
• Reduces friction to skin and hair
• Helps retain moisture to skin and hair

Better than Normal

I don't know about you, but I'm almost always a little skeptical when someone promises something miraculous from a product. It's not like you look 10 years younger with full flowing locks when you wake up from sleeping on a silk-cotton pillow case, but I can say, "I look better than normal when I sleep on one". ha! 

Benefits to my Skin and Hair

My hair is much smoother and doesn't look as disheveled when I wake up, in other words, it looks much less "slept on". 

And as for my skin, it looks less red (less friction + keeps my skin cooler) and I don't get lines on my face like I have gotten from cotton pillow case crinkles, which means no new face wrinkles! Yay! 

Have you ever woken up with deep pillow case creases on your face? I've slapped, pinched and massaged to get those darn pillow case indentations out of my skin and am left with fainter lines + big red marks. Not the best look - especially for sensitive skin that doesn't like to be slapped or pinched (not that most skin does). Luckily I have not had that same experience with these silk-cotton pillow cases. No creases!

Silk pillow cases make lovely personal gifts for your mom, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, in-laws and friends

When I find something I love, I enjoy giving it as a gift to people I think will also love and benefit from it, whether for Mother's Day, birthdays or holidays.

My mom, in particular, who has been a cotton pillow case sleeper the majority of her life, is now a silk pillow case sleeper for life!

Scroll back up to purchase your own Silk Pillow Case on the link I've provided and let me know if you love them as much as I do!

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Do you have Sensitive Skin? 

A silk pillow case can help, and so can our 

Soft Flannel Face Cloths! 

They are so gentle and soothing to sensitive skin 

SHOP now through our -

Fairface Washcloths Etsy Shop 

or

FairfaceWashcloths.com 

5 Cold Weather Indoor Craft Ideas to Keep your Kids Occupied

Hello everyone! We survived #SeattleSnowmageddon2019 and eventually were able to dig ourselves out of our garage and driveway. It was a doozy of a snow storm, but we had everything we needed to stay warm and keep our tummies way more full than usual for a week (stress eating during an emergency is a real thing).

What I keep hearing from my friends, is while many had enough food to eat, and were lucky enough to have power, they didn't have enough to keep their kids occupied. The stress on parents this past week multiplied as fast as the snowflakes fell and it got me thinking, it might be nice to create a post with activities for kids to do during the cold, and sometimes unexpectedly stormy, winter weather.

I pulled a few of my favorites from the archives that I thought you might like. While being housebound wasn't very fun and cabin fever set in rather quickly, I'm hoping these crafty ideas for cold weather will come in handy for you or your kiddos so no one goes too stark raving mad.

Indoor Craft Ideas for Kids during Cold, Winter Weather

(*affiliate links included in this post. See disclosure below)

Make an Ink Blot T-shirt

Ink blot t-shirts -an easy, cool, indoor kids activity © ShannonSews

All you need is a blank t-shirt, a piece of cardboard (old cereal box works perfectly), and some fabric paint. This link is to an ink blot t-shirt making party I had at school and the kids LOVED it! They wore their t-shirts for years after.

Keep some fabric paint on hand and, in a pinch, you can use an old shirt that has a stain on it that you can cover up with a paint design.





SUPPLY LIST:
FolkArt Brush on Fabric Paint Beginner Set
Gildan Kids' Ultra Cotton Youth T-Shirt, 2-Pack
Youth Cardboard Shirt Form (or just use the cardboard from a cereal box)

Faux water color painting

Faux water color projects for kids © ShannonSews

This craft is SO easy if you have some washable markers and small paint brushes on hand (I used Crayola Washable Markers). If you have access to the internet and a printer, you can print out free coloring pages, clip art or even draw something yourself in a pinch. And it's more fun than just using the regular old kid set of water colors.

This link will take you to my step-by-step instructions (+ a video!) on how to keep anyone occupied for hours (I know, you'll count yourself lucky if your kids focus on this for 20 minutes) but I swear they and you will love it. Even if they knock the water glass over.

SUPPLY LIST:
Crayola Washable Markers
Kids Paint Brushes
White Cardstock
Clip Art (google to find free-bees)
Computer & Printer (or just let them paint their own designs)

Sew easy bean bags or rice bags

Kid friendly sewing- beanbags / rice bags © ShannonSews

I know, the point is not to give your kids ammunition while you're stuck inside the house, but think of all the fun they could have throwing bean bags at targets, downstairs - away from you.

Create a target by cutting out a hole in a box or draw a target and tape it to a box. It can't get more easy than that on a cold, indoor, winter day.

However, for this project you really do need a sewing machine, although, you could use strips of stitch witchery and a hot iron to bind the fabric together, but a sewing machine is the best route. Follow the link to the full tutorial. They are just squares, so even a new little sewer may not have too much trouble with this. I made these as sewing weights, but you follow the same instructions for bean bags the kids can toss and toss and toss - just hopefully not at you or each other.

SUPPLY LIST:
Cotton fabric squares - cut them yourself or buy pre-cut 5" cotton squares
Sewing Machine and thread OR stitch witchery and a hot iron (optional, this method not shown on tutorial)
Dry beans or rice
Old Cardboard box for target practice
Scissors to cut out target hole

Make Paper Roses

Easy paper roses - kid projects for rainy days © ShannonSews

This is a really fun activity for kids that know their way around a pair of scissors and can roll up a strip of paper. And if you don't want to get involved in the making, just let one of your older kids help, that you trust with a hot glue gun. I didn't mean that as a joke.

I made this red rose out of 2 pieces of scrapbook paper, and if I can make it, trust me, you can - or even your elementary school aged child can. This link takes you to another blog's tutorial, who showed it much better than I could. They even embellish their flowers with glitter, but this post is about lowering your stress, not heightening it.

SUPPLY LIST:
Colored Cardstock
Scissors
Hot glue gun

Make Your Own Soothing Lavender Water

Lavender water recipe even for kids © ShannonSews

Did you know they make something called Lavender pillow spray to calm and soothe before bed? Maybe if your kids make this lavender water it will make them really relaxed and they will want to go to bed. What a marvelous idea for a housebound snowy, cold or wintry day, don't you think?

You will need a few ingredients on hand like distilled water, though I'm guessing regular tap water would work in a pinch, Essential Lavender Oil, Witch Hazel (or a pinch of rubbing alcohol instead), a measuring cup & spoon, funnel and empty spray bottle.

Since many people have these items in their house already, it could be an easy go-to project...OR for us crafty types who keep a rainy day activities bin, you're set.



SUPPLY LIST:
Distilled water
Essential Lavender Oil
Witch Hazel (ethyl alcohol, isopropyl or vodka) *acts as an emulsifier & helps spray dry faster
Measuring cup & spoon
Funnel
Spray Bottles




I'd love to hear your cold weather stuck-indoors activity ideas for kids! Share in the comments below! And good luck through the rest of the winter. The groundhog may have been wrong?


*This post contains product links, added for your convenience. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases through Amazon.com. 

Reconnecting with what you love

Fall back in love with what you do
Photo by Chuck Hildebrant on Unsplash

Ever fall out of love with what you're doing every day?
I think a lot of people do.
Am I speaking for myself?
Yes, some days.

When I started this blog back in 2010 I was DIY fresh-faced and fancy-free. I loved trying new things. I painted, sewed, refashioned, wrote funny posts, designed my own t-shirts, dyed fabric, glued, glittered, decorated, and shared everything I was doing and couldn't wait for the next DIY project.

I created endless lists of things I wanted to try and some nights I couldn't sleep because the ideas where whirling around inside my head. I was blogging for myself and for the fun of sharing. It wasn't a job. I didn't try to make any money from it. I just loved creating and sharing.

And then I started my first etsy shop where I was selling some of the beautiful creations I was making. And I still blogged about what I was doing and how much fun I was having, but now I had to pay attention to SEO, word placement, alt tags, and images. And blogging wasn't quite as fun.

And my first etsy shop morphed into a 2nd etsy shop, and my focus shifted. As I went further and deeper into my new venture, the farther away I went from what I had once gained so much energy from. And it was harder to come up with blog posts and the energy just wasn't the same. So I stopped.

I no longer had time to create, design and imagine. Or at least I didn't give myself time to do it anymore. With so many other to-do's on my plate, the pulls I felt "off the clock" were to vegetate instead of create.

A new kind of wanderlust

The other day, as I pawed through the muted and mundane winter clothing I have in my closet, I had a spark of wanderlust return. Not for far off places, but for the crafty girl who had been hibernating for what seemed to have been a terribly long 5 year winter. I had a spark of wanting to decorate my own t-shirts again. It caught me off guard. Was it really ok for me to do that again? Oh, how I had loved making those ink blot t-shirts. It was the magic of the moment as I pulled the layers apart to see what un-planned design was suddenly created on purpose. And what if I actually blogged about it and shared it because I was excited to? I almost had to look around to see if anyone had also heard the voice in my head.

And all at once I was excited about pulling out my paints and finding a plain t-shirt to unleash my creativity on. I felt a fire and excitement that I hadn't felt in a long time. What if I really did things again for no other purpose than old-fashioned enjoyment?

5 Tips for reigniting your passion

Sometimes you don't even know what you love anymore. We get so stuck in our mind-body routines that we feel numb to the world outside of ourselves.

We often keep ourselves in a box of our own doing, telling ourselves we're, "not that kind of person", we "probably wouldn't like that", we "really wouldn't be good at it", we've "already done that, or we "just don't have time for that".

Well, if you haven't tried it, you actually may like it. And I'm not talking about your mom telling you to try peas because you'll like them. I mean, you actually might really like it. And you may surprise yourself and find that your water color painting is actually a lot better than the one your kindergartner brought home! Snaps for you!

Here are 5 tips for "finding your passion" if you've lost it or never knew what it was in the first place.

1. Give yourself permission to explore 

Learn about and try new things you've never dared and give yourself the time to do it. Think of the advice you'd give another person if they were in the same position - you'd never put a cap on the things they could try, learn or become. Give yourself that same grace.

There are SO many different things to try - do something with wood, furniture, paper, hot glue, pottery, fabric, dirt, glass, metal, paint, photography, dance, you get the picture. It might spark a passion you never even knew existed or one that has been dormant for far too long.

2. Break old routines

When we are used to doing the same old things every day we miss out on the ones we've never tried and the spark of energy that new activities can bring. Do 1 thing every day that is different than you normally would. It could be something as simple as taking a walk through your neighborhood, drinking something different for breakfast, going to the library, buying a food you've never tried before, exercising an hour later, or wearing something you haven't worn for a while. Try something new that breaks stale habits.

3. Find energy from outside yourself

Get out of your own head and into someone else's. We are limited by our own beliefs about ourselves so spend time with someone who knows you and ask them what they think you might be good at or something they think you would like. Even finding out what someone else's goals and aspirations are might spark one in you. It can be fun and eye-opening to get an outside perspective.

Other places to try for new ideas, perspectives & inspiration:

Podcasts

I used to focus my podcast listening to work and business-related sources but when I add podcasts about things other than work, I get a boost of energy and perspective that also helps my work.
3 Podcasts I listen to right now:

• So Money, by Farnoosh Tarabi
• Organize 365, by Lisa Woodruff
• Productivity Paradox, by Tonya Dalton

Instagram

It's not just about finding like-minded business people to follow or those who share your same situation, follow people who inspire and do good in the world.
3 Inspiring people I'm following right now:

• Laurabpilates
• Elsielarson
• JoannaGaines

Library 

No need to spend a bunch of money as you learn about new things, I love checking books out at the library about everything under the sun. You may also find postings for free workshops, book readings, or community events that sounds interesting.

Pinterest

Give yourself a certain time limit to explore and then GO AND DO. Unfortunately, watching other people cook meals for 3 hours won't actually make you dinner. Dang it!

TV Shows

People give tv watching a bad rap. Just like other things that can suck us into a time warp, give yourself a certain amount of time to get inspired by what you watch. And no, watching 10 hours of other people renovating houses doesn't count as doing it yourself (yes, that was for me). I literally think, "I could do that" and then Alison Victoria, from Windy City Rehab, reminds me that I can't. ha! But it's still fun watching and imagining and sparking ideas and creativity while being thankful I don't have over a million dollars on the line, if I even had a million dollars.

4. Spend time outside

Nothing gets me out of my head and into a better, more creative, thoughtful, positive frame of mind than getting outside. Into the woods or by the beach is better, but a quick neighborhood walk can spark thought and ideas. If you don't have time for a walk, sometimes even getting out to the mailbox can give you a boost with the fresh air and sunshine (or splash of rain if you live in Seattle).

5. Stop chasing your passion

I hear so often about people trying to "find their passion", like there is only one thing that can ever truly fulfill them. They are often left empty as they pursue the unattainable. I have found there are things I try, like, and check off my list forever; other things I love and revisit many times; and a few things that really fill me up. Trying different pursuits brings out different likes, talents and passions. By widening your view you may actually find your passion without really looking for it.

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So while we may not love what we do every single day, we can definitely make more room for joy, reconnect with those things that once brought us happiness, and find new things to love.

What are some things that light you up that you want to try or reconnect with?

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Shannon Sorensen, author of Shannon Sews, is also the founder and CEO of Fairface Washcloths, the best washcloths for sensitive skin.