Handmade Stockings

Martin and I treasure a homemade life. You’ve probably guessed that from our kitchen remodel where we built our own cabinets or the recipes I share. Now that I’m off for the Christmas holiday (because – get this – average Germans enjoy twice as many national holidays and vacation days as average Americans)… well it seemed like a good time to start sewing our stockings.

I picked out fabric and strings of pompoms at a traveling European fabric market.  Then I found inspiration from the little elf-like stockings at Pottery Barn online:

stockings

There’s something charming and simple about little elf stockings, especially when we’re planning on squeezing four people into our apartment for Christmas: two in the bedroom, two in the living room.

So I started sketching, cutting, and stitching.

handmade stockings

I have no idea how Santa will manage to sneak over to our stockings or our tiny, unconventional Christmas tree without someone catching him on Christmas night.

making stockings

But I have made sure that our stockings will be just the right size for a small orange (which Santa loves to leave a lot of you, too!) and a few nuts and little German treats.

elf stocking

So what do you guys think about a homemade life?  We’re learning new tricks as we go – like sewing pompoms and drilling into concrete walls (yep – our walls are literally concrete and rebar).  Let’s chat about the homemade details you’re learning and incorporating into your home.  Some things you and I make ourselves; others we buy from etsy or local craftsmen and clubs.  Either way, it’s a personal touch.  What do you do to add that homemade flair to your home, especially now that we’re creeping toward the new year?

(first image from Pottery Barn)