Give & Get: Thoughtful Gifts and Reviews
This special post-holiday post is dedicated to thoughtful design and hand crafting the holidays. I use the word 'crafted' with special cringing quotations, as all things coming to mind were floral, frilly and feline. If I could say without totally betraying the English language that I 'built' a pillow, I would. I'm not that manly. Give & Get will always endeavor to be reasonable in price, should any readers be tempted to procure a self gift.
Give
I had reluctantly posted my present to my brother-in-law on Dribbble, a forum generally reserved for more art and less craft.
Jason is stricken/gifted with Down's Syndrome, which enables him to freely quote Disney movies under his breath at dinner and bestow spiritual animals on family and friends without shame. His self appointed creature is the Elephant for reasons unknown; to the rest of us he is known as the Oracle. I was moved by his overwhelmingly positive response, which I had expected from the female members of our family alone.
The pillow, while not expending tons of actual capital made up for it in time spent. I had a few hiccups in the process, clocking out at five hours. Thankfully my process is streamlined for next time, whenever that is. Design Sponge had a great post on reverse appliqué, which was perfect for the feel of the project. Jas is the silliest 28 year old I know, hence the imperfect letterforms and mix of upper and lowercases, roman and script. The cost of the project including both fabrics and thread clocked in at $10. Even with time considered, this one still gets an A.
Get
Some back story: my father moved to Hershey, PA almost immediately after he and my mom divorced. As little kids visiting during Christmas break, we would take the chocolate tour together fifteen times in succession. No lie. This was the 'two Christmasses' silver lining of divorce reborn into sweet cocoa goodness.
My father, well acquainted with my love of the well designed and delicious, bequeathed me this curious gift from Trader Joe's called Chocolate Passport.
As a venerated snob of all things beverage and cacao (not cocoa), I was extremely thrilled by the eight single origins chocolates and suggested drink pairings (everything from wine to tea). All the samples are color coordinated and range in cacao percentages from 60 to 73, which are ideal for dark chocolate consumption.
all images taken by Danielle Evans. if borrowed, please credit. thanks!
The design gives a gentle nod passport and currency images, all somewhat different- even the inside of the box is gorgeous! Essentially everything noteworthy in a box: chocolate, design, and gastro snobbery. A++ gift and a steal at $7.99.