I know, I know, nobody is ready to start thinking about Christmas yet. Well, this might surprise many of you, but I love to plan ahead. I'm always planning ahead. The trouble is, I just don't do what I plan. That is why my parties and gifts are last-minute. Anyway, there's no harm in getting ahead of the game, so I wanted to begin sharing a few gift guides, not only for the holiday but also for birthdays and other occasions. Those who know me may be shocked to hear that they are not all handmade gift ideas, but mostly store-bought. It is unusual for me, but many adults buy their gifts and some of these are gifts that I have received myself. This gift guide is for the Alice-obsessed (like me), and I created it from personal experience:
1. Assuming that the person doesn't already own it, the book is obviously the perfect choice. The book below was from Barnes and Noble.
2. This mug was a gift I received last Christmas. I love it! It's great quality, and I drink from it every single day. You can't go wrong with this! Mine was from Amazon, but when I looked on Amazon recently I couldn't find it. I did see lots of other cool ones, though.
3. Every Alice-in-Wonderland fan would love a pocket watch! This was a pocket watch necklace I bought from Amazon around 5 years ago. This thing is durable, let me tell you. I have left it out in the rain, drenched it in spilled shampoo, and put it through the washing machine (all by mistake, of course), and although the chain rusted, and even the door to the watch is rusty, the clock is still intact! (Not sure if it works still, though). Mine was $5 from Amazon. You could even buy an Alice pocket watch.
4. Antique skeleton keys!!! Ok, I've had an obsession for these since I first laid eyes on one. Maybe their not for everyone, and not especially practical, but I think they're awesome! I bought all of these (except for the two smallest) for a dollar, even the actual antiques. You can sometimes get a deal at antique festivals and stores. Most antique stores are way overpriced, though, so I guess it's 'hit or miss.'
5. An extremely talented friend handmade me these amazing notebooks on two occasions as gifts, and I love them! Pinterest has plenty of tutorials on how to make notebooks.
6. I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow or other I forgot to add this to the gift guide image above. I received this Alice's Adventures in Wonderland coloring book for my graduation. It is based off of the original illustrations by John Tenniel, but made into zentangles. I love it! The pictures are fascinating, beautiful, and zentangles are very relaxing.
That concludes this gift guide. I have more to come, and I will eventually do some more handmade gift guides. Hopefully you will discover inspiration in at least one of them. I also have several parties to catch up on. I will post again soon!
-Lauryn