National Handmade Day
Today, April 7th is National Handmade Day and the definition of handmade is made by hand or by a hand process. This day recognizes those who turn their creative talents into gifts to warm the hearts of others. Handmade items can be craft projects, baked goods, quilts, toys, handcrafted woodworking and even artwork.
When someone makes a handmade item, it may also be something that is passed down through generations and the skills can also be carried on. Giving someone a handmade gift is like giving them a piece of love from the heart. Today I’m sharing some beautiful handmade items that have been made by my family.
This beautiful wall hanging was hand embroidered by my grandmother, many, many years ago. When my girls were younger, my mom took the panels, added the border and turned it into a wall hanging for each of them.
My mom was very crafty with embroidering, knitting and crocheting. She crocheted this little chair back long before I remember! She would use up all her left over yarn to come up with the pattern.
Some handmade gifts are like a gift from God. In 2017 my granddaughter was undergoing major thoracic and spinal surgery. Our friend and members of her church made the most beautiful handmade prayer quilt for us to take to Alex during surgery. God must have had his hands on that quilt and guided the hands of her surgeons because with all the love and prayers put in the quilt, our granddaughter made a complete recovery.
http://themarthareview.com/finally-time-for-alexandras-surgery/
Our second born granddaughter has two little boys and were we so excited when we received this adorable handmade hand-print plaque for Christmas last year. It will be fun to see how our great grandsons hands grow throughout the years!
Another wonderful Christmas gift we received was this beautiful handmade ornament made by our 3rd born granddaughter with a picture her first born.
A handmade item I like to make is coconut sugar scrub. It’s made with simple ingredients, I can add a variety of essential oils for fragrance and it makes a great gift.
http://themarthareview.com/another-coconut-sugar-scrub-recipe/
I handmade this little clay dish for a Christmas gift for my mom and dad when I was in Kindergarden! I got it back when my mom passed away and it’s a memory now.
A beautiful handmade Christening gown with delicate lace was made by my grandmother in 1907 for her children. It was then passed down to my mother, then me and has been worn by 5 generations!
http://themarthareview.com/christening-gown-passed-down-through-generations/
This gun rack was made by our now 50 year old daughter when she was in 4-H. I think she was maybe about 13 years old and hubby still uses it to store is rifle and shotgun!
My third born grandson has been hand crafting origami cranes since he was about 5 years old. He sent hubby and me an entire family of his cranes for Christmas!
Our third born granddaughter made these handmade items. Ms. Egghead was for a contest our local newspaper ran back when she was about 4 years old. Not sure what year she made her little clay pot but it sure is cute.
Boxes can be used for many handmade items and I love creating things from boxes. This is my latest project I made from a box! It’s a kitchen utensil holder and here is the blog about it:
http://themarthareview.com/kitchen-utensil-organizer/
Baking is another wonderful handmade item. My grandmother made the best chocolate mayonnaise cake and she passed her recipe down so now I can make her delicious cake! If you want to try this moist cake, here is the recipe:
http://themarthareview.com/chocolate-mayonnaise-cake/
This is another handmade quilt my mom made in 1981. She made two of the same, one for each of our daughters. They are twin sized with hand embroidered horses on alternating squares and hand tied. I’m so glad she embroidered her initials and date on this heirloom.
When hubby and I met in 1965, he would always send my handmade cards. 54 years later, he still makes me cards from the heart! I love them more than any store bought card!
When I read that today was National Handmade Day, it brought back so many memories of items made by my family and me. What a gift to be creative.
This is so sweet. I love it. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Bonnie, writing it sure brought back many happy memories.
I handcrafted my coffee today – would that count? LOL
Well Paul that may work. It does say baking and you had to use your hands to hold the scoop for your coffee. LOL Thanks for stopping by.
My most favorite handmade item was a dress my grandmother made for me when I was a little girl. My mom had to beg me to get it off so she could wash it. I have no idea what happened to it though.
The memories of things from the past! I still have the first dress and bonnet I made for our oldest daughter for her first Easter. She is 50 years old now! Thanks for sharing your memory Mary!