Scottish Pride

A few months ago I went to the Missouri Tartan Day celebration down on Main Street St. Charles. My maiden name/middle name is Lenox hence Lenox Knits. I knew that Lenox/Lennox was an old Scottish clan name but I had no idea how old. I started talking to the vendor St. Croix Weaving and when he heard my name was Lenox he got excited. He said that it was the oldest of the known tartans and he had never woven it before.




I decided to get my father a golf towel for Father's Day and my mother 2 place mats for her birthday which was last week. The bold red and green plaid above is a representation of the old Lennox tartan. The colors are very Christmassy and I'm sure Mom can use them as part of her elaborate decorations for the holiday if nothing else.

I was blown away by the craftsmanship of their work. The colors are rich and the details are lovely. You can special order on-line and they will custom weave your family tartan for you. I think they make very personal gifts with that handmade touch.

You can look up you surname at this free site and see what your family tartan is if you are originally from Scotland or Ireland. Most of the tartans date from the 18th Century with a revival of the Highlands but there is some documentation of the colorful plaids throughout Scottish history. I think it would be really cool to trace my Lenox roots back to the old country and have always wanted to travel there before I die.

I found this info on the site:

Families with the surname 'Lennox' are usually considered related to Clans Stewart or MacFarlane. Some of this surname also choose to wear this distinctive and ancient 'Lennox' tartan. D.W. Stewart reproduced the sett from a 'lost' portrait of the Countess of Lennox dating from the 16th century.

Handmade Under the Tree!

Merry Christmas everyone! We will be going over to Mike's Mom's house in a few hours to celebrate Christmas with the in laws. And then tomorrow we'll head down to the farm for a few days to celebrate with the Lenox clan. I thought I would share a few of the handmade goodies that will be under the trees this year from me.

I just got Betty's Hershfeld pendant in the mail yesterday. It is so absolutely adorable. It's in black and white and is practically a work of art. You can see examples of The Lost Earring's work in the shot above. She was so sweet to work with and made sure I got it on time even though I ordered it rather late and it was a custom job.


Speaking of amazing custom pendants, I got my Mom a Circle of Love custom family pendant in gold from Mu-Yin Jewelry. It has all of her kids and grandkids birthstones in order. It was heavy on the green and purple stones. So when I found Gray Cat Designs on a trade thread and saw these gorgeous earrings in gold with all the same colors and stones I asked for a trade. She fell in love with one of my scarves and a perfect trade was made. She was so sweet to include a pair of earrings for me in moonstone which just so happens to be my all time favorite stone.


I'm sure that my ultra conservative sister will not be thrilled with my gift to Savannah, my 3 year old niece who loves to dress up. I got her a custom made hot pink and black tutu and a matching tee shirt from Punky Monkey Kids. I choose a slightly less wild tee shirt, hers has a guitar instead of a skull but it is definitely still a very punk look.






I also got a variety of Kawaii jewelry from Fighting Dreamr Designs for the girls including this fun pendant with a real dried beetle inside for Kate. She loves insects right now, especially round ones, her words not mine. I got Jess a pendant with candy sprinkles inside and I also got Kate some cute earrings including some pink tiny koosh balls which I know she will love.

That is just a sample of the handmade goodness under my tree this year. I hope you get all the treasures you are dreaming of and more this Christmas. If not than I'm sure you can find some one perfectly willing to make it for you on Etsy!

Graduation Gift Guide

I have spent the last 18 years of my life on a college campus in one capacity or another. Just to be clear only 4 of those were as an undergraduate student. My current day job is all about helping students graduate. I'm an academic adviser and career-technical counselor. So graduation season is a very real part of the cycle of the year for me, whether I know someone personally who is graduating or not. I have always loved graduations, high school or college. So many kids don't want to go through with the ceremony and I tell them to do it for their parents. I know that it will be more meaningful to them than they can imagine at that moment. Even here at the community college, were for many it is just a stepping stone to the next degree, it gives the graduate that real sense of completion and recognition for their hard work. I think everyone deserves that. The print above, by theloveshop is perfect to be framed and given to your favorite grad, male or female.

I have put together a gift guide of handmade gifts for the graduate. If it is a special graduate that you want to recognize there are some very unique and creative ideas on Etsy. The Handmade t-shirt quilt is a personal way to honor where they have come from and is a useful item for the future. You send the shirts to WARM KEEPSAKES and she puts them together for the very reasonable price of $125. You can use shirts from the different sports and clubs they were a part of in high school and whatever else reflects who they are at that moment.


For the artist or wanderer this vintage train case by GetReadySetGO has been screen printed with the JRR Tolkein quote on the back "NOT ALL THOSE WHO WANDER ARE LOST", a black tree on the front, and a black skeleton key on the lid. It can be used as a carry on, to store artist supplies, makeup or whatever else they want to keep safe.


One of my favorite gifts to give a graduate is a journal. I will write something personal in the front to hopefully inspire them to record what they are thinking and feeling at this point in their life, because I know it will be gone before they can even imagine. The hand bound leather journal on the right is by Julie Boyles and can have personal monogramming added for no cost.



















This journal by Elvie Studio is probably more appropriate for a girl and it has plain white paper inside with some decorate paper added that would be great to put pictures on. The VanGogh quote says "The way to know life is to love many things" which couldn't be more appropriate for the graduate.







If you are a teacher who has lots of graduates you would like to recognize there are some smaller handmade gift ideas as well. There are all kinds of buttons and magnets on Etsy that would be a good little gift that can be personalized to the grad's interests. I like these Smart Girls Are Cool buttons by Pure Vintage Gold. She also makes these Tiny Origami Blank Notebooks, a Set of 5 is only $5 so you could combine a button with a book for a great little gift.




There are tons of personal jewelry ideas on Etsy that would make good gifts for graduates but if you want to get something inexpensive yet meaningful you can find Scrabble pendants with just about anything on them. I like this little Fly pendant by LaVieIllustree. It is simple and direct with a great message.


For a boy you could give these Paperclip Bookmarks in neutral colors by RowdEClips
either with a card or your favorite author's book to introduce them to someone that could open their minds.

There are lots of other great personal handmade gifts to be had on-line or to be made by you. These will hopefully be around a lot longer than the $20 you could slip in their card that will be gone before they walk across the stage.

Handmade Mother's Day

My family is pretty used to get handmade presents from me now. I like to think that I am seen as giving thoughtful and unique gifts. I have had some big hits and a few misses, just like everything else in life. My mom is one of the hardest people to buy for since she really does have everything. She is also a big shopper so if there is anything she actually needs there is little chance that she will wait until a holiday comes around for someone to give it to her. She started collecting frogs like 10 years ago which was great for the first 5 years. I could just look for some quirky frog related item to give her. Unfortunately everyone else had the same idea so the house is now full to the rafters with all things frog related.

My mother in law is much easier. I talked about what a sweet mother in law I have in this post. She loves gift cards to Target or Office Max which I will usually supplement with something handmade for the personal touch.

This year for Mother's day I'm giving them both yummy products from fellow blogger and maker of all things delicious smelling The Soap Seduction. She has an etsy shop here but it looks like she is filling up an Artfire shop to make her home base. Mom is getting the lovely rose soap above with a soy candle and sugar bubbles all in the black currant scent. Betty is getting the Marley and me soap, her favorite movie from the past year, with a matching candle and soap bubbles in strawberries and cream. While I was at it I couldn't pass up the yarn ball soap trio in her shop for myself.

I got my mother in law a locket and a heart book mark from Hub Girl's shop for Christmas. I love this rose book mark which would make a great gift inside Mom's favorite author's newest title.


















I recently bought 2 of zcatstudiocreation's Print NotePad and Assorted Pen Sets. One is a birthday gift for my sister and a more manly one for my Dad. He is always scribbling notes on random scraps of paper and I thought it would be nice if he had a handy notepad to keep in his truck. It is functional yet lovely which is the perfect gift idea for Mom too. Please share your handmade mother's day ideas while there is still time to use them.

If anyone would like a knitted Mother's Day gift I would be happy to come up with something perfect for your Mom.