Christmas Gifts for Women

Tis December now and everyone is running around, getting their houses all decorated and presents all bought, wrapped and shipped off to friends and relatives. Then again, there are still some of us who are sitting there, at home or at work or driving, wracking their brains trying to figure out what to get So-and-So this year. Well, I can't make those decisions for you but I can give you some great ideas for you to run with. At least, I can try. The gift ideas featured in this post were made by my husband and are for the ladies - wives, girlfriends, aunts, nieces, daughters, grandmothers, the bridesmaid, etc. So, ladies and gentlemen and that bored guy scrolling through the blog listings, check these neat finds out for yourselves.

My husband is good with his hands and fingers, and an eye for beauty when it comes to jewelry. These necklaces he hand-makes in a matter of minutes.

What he does is he takes a small stone that catches his {or my} eye - they're usually about the size of a nickle or a quarter, give or take - and he sticks the stone in a spiral cage. These little cages he gets from a local alchemy store. 

He is something of a perfectionist so he tends to play with the stone for awhile before it fits just right in the way he wants it to, usually showing off the most interesting or majority of the stone, as pictured. Then he slips it on a chain and hangs it up, admiring his handiwork.

With the stone in the cage, it lends the otherwise pretty but plain stone an air of elegance, grace and beauty.

This particular stone, while not captured in this picture, is very interesting in its flaws and colorings. It's also a tad larger than the other stones, and a lovely burnt orange shade.

A crystal clear stone infused with cracks, pits, and veins of a gorgeous golden color highlighted by the choice of a gold cage and chain {optional}, while still retaining its simplicity - and about the size of a nickle, this piece is one of my favorites. This necklace's mate is in my own personal collection.

This is another gorgeous piece in the growing selection of necklaces. A dark burnt orange in color, the "flaws" in this stone are primarily what make it so interesting. Pitted on one side, the stone has the appearance of battle scars. Surrounding the pitted area is a circular vein of color, in three layers that catch and dazzle the eye, looking as though a very skilled painter had graced the stone with a touch of white, light pink and cherry red.

This stone, longer than a quarter but the width of a dime at its widest point, is black in color with a rich depth and so pitted and scarred on one side that you could spend hours tracing the markings and wonder what stories this stone would tell you if it could. Along the surface layer of the stone face are specks and veins of  an earthy red shade, lending more eye-catching interest to this piece.

While this particular necklace pictured was recently sold to a good friend, it is still a wonderful blend of the crackled gold veins and the frostiness of the stone below.

Roughly the size of a quarter and having a noticeable, comforting weight when held in the hands, this stone is quite lovely. Clear with a frosted appearance to it, anyone can easily imagine this stone representing Winter or belonging to a fictional character who in some way or another represents Winter. Or it could be the ideal gift for the woman in your family who was born during the Winter months or who favors Winter above the other seasons.

We are also experimenting with clay jewelry. This is a trial bracelet my husband and I made together awhile back. The beads {which are not uniform in size or shape - my fault - though that does lend the bracelet its own unique look} are a blend of a light shade of blue and a rosy pink, folded over and swirled together in an interesting and pleasing way. The two lighter beads are likewise blue and pink, just different shades and with glitter in the clay. The pendent is slightly glittery purple with one of the main beads pressed gently in the center. Its well-made with a sturdy clasp and simple enough to add a touch of beauty to any outfit for most any occasion. More will hopefully be made soon and we do special color combinations upon request so if your favorite color is brown and your sweetheart's is red or turquoise, you can have a tasteful blend of both worlds in a memorable piece of everyday jewelry.

Tired of jewelry or perhaps the recipient of your Christmas gift has every single piece of jewelry you can imagine and could probably benefit from and appreciate something different? Then you will probably like our new unique Autumn hair clips. Simple and effective, all you need to do is add two or three to just about any hair style or length, and smile sweetly, satisfied with wearing the season's colors in a fun way. You've probably seen hundreds of flower clips and several butterfly ones, but what about Autumn leaves?

This is the clip attached to the leaf. Very easy to stick in your hair and it won't fall out. Trust me, everything falls outta my hair at some point during the day and these don't. We currently offer them in three colors; orange {as pictured}, red and green. My husband, pleased with the success of these hair clips with his test subject {me}, is already making plans to turn real Autumn leaves into hair clips. If that's more to your taste than fake leaves, stay tuned for future updates on his experiments.

Please note that all of these gifts are hand-made by my husband and therefore can be customized in pretty much any way you want. Different colors, different pairings, mix-and-match, two of this - three of that, etc. If interested in purchasing from us - and if you've read all the way to here then I really do hope you're interested in purchasing from us - please contact us at daltonwrites@gmail.com or on Facebook at E.J.'s Library and "Like" us. 

The necklaces, unless otherwise stated, are all only $5.00 with discounts if you know us personally and/or purchase more than two. The clay bracelet {and any other clay jewelry items upon request} are also $5.00. The Autumn hair clips are $1.00 each.

Thanks for reading this! Merry Christmas ya all!