10 Southern Style Christmas Gifts

Previously, I shared two Christmas gift guides: 10 Gifts for Rustic Dudes and 20 Birdie Gifts for Her. Today, I would like to share a gender-neutral gift guide in the Southern style. These gifts are made in the South or handmade by Southern artists.

1. Remembrance Bowls by North-Carolina artist Maggie Weldon
   
   
   
2. Handmade Whiskey Set by Nathan Falter. Pair with a bottle of Woodford Reserve Kentucky Bourbon.
   
   
   
3. Large Rag Quilt Throw by southerncharmquilts based in Gadsden, AL.
   
   
   
4. Texas Longhorn Cardboard Trophy Head by Cardboard Safari, based in Charlottesville, VA
   
   
   
5. Kentucky Road Trip BOX PRINT® reproduction, Art Print on Wood by Dolan Geiman
   
   
   
6. Double Play Turkey Call by John Tanner, Artwork by Ryan Kirby via the fabulous Garden & Gun Gift Guide 2010.
   
   
   
7. Magnolia and Goat's Milk Soap by sweetolivesoapworks based in New Orleans
   
   
   
8. Waist Candy by caughtredhanded based in Greenville, South Carolina- Comes with Free Belt
   
   
   
9. Savannah Mapcut Original Art by studiokmo based in Charlotte, NC
   
   
   
10. Southern Food Gift Ideas- Order a gourmet pecan tart from Lynn Yielding in Birmingham, AL delivered anywhere in 48 hours! For classic Southern treat, give a gift package of Moon Pies from Chattanoogo Bakery. For an unexpected treat, give a jar of Pepper Jelly, best served with cheese and crackers.
    
    
    

20 Birdie Gifts for Her

Last week, I compiled a collection of Rustic Gifts for Guys. Now it's the ladies turn with this collection of Birdie Gifts for Her. I hope you enjoy.

1. Swallow and Her Rustic Nest Sterling Silver Necklace by JewelrybyMay
   
   
   
2. Bird No. 31 Archival Art Print by Geninne
   
   
   
3. Owl Brooch by BlueTerracotta
   
   
   
4. Superhero Blue Bird Art Print by rosamurillo
   
   
   
5. Sitting Bird tea cup by littleflowerdesigns
   
   
   
6. Green Bird on a Branch Address Card File by cutthecakedesigns
   
   
   
7. Three Bird Vases by catherinereece
   
   
   
8. Bird Felted Soap by FeltSewCute
   
   
   
9. Alfred Hitchcock The Birds Pillow by regansbrain
   
   
   
10. April Evening I & II DG Mini Set by dolangeiman
    
    
    
11. Ceramic Bird Buckle with Lace Overlay Belt by cassieart
    
    
    
12. Peacock T-Shirt by blackbirdtees
    
    
    
13. A Letter with a Dove Necklace by dreamsbythesea
    
    
    
14. Handblown Glass Bird by OutofOurHandsGlass
    
    
    
15. Set of 3 Bird Tea Towels by annajoyce
    
    
    
16. Handmade Birds Journal by sevengill
    
    
    
17. Vintage Bird Comb from pumpkinseedjewelry
    
    
    
18. Bird Wearing Crown Bowl by abbyberkson
    
    
    
19. Bird and Pleats Clutch Bag by Ikestaedt
    
    
    
20. In the Cattails Bird Art Print on Wood by dolangeiman
    
    
    

For more gift ideas for her, check out the Floral Gifts for Her Etsy treasury.

10 Gifts for Rustic Dudes + 2 Etsy Treasuries

Here are 10 Christmas gift ideas for rustic dudes, including two thrifty homemade ideas to start. For handmade Christmas gifts for guys from Etsy sellers, check out the two treasuries linked at the end of this post.

1. J. L. Fleckenstein Guy’s Woolie Warmer- Follow this free knitting pattern to create a quick and easy rustic man’s scarf in the recommended yarn or another yarn in a similar weight.
   
   
   
2. Alton Brown Homemade Beef Jerky- Follow this recipe to create homemade beef jerky. You will need some special equipment to dehydrate the beef quickly, but this idea is sure to please!
   
   
   
3. Orvis World War II Mechanic’s Sweater- A chunky cotton sweater with elbow patches modeled off the utilitarian sweaters worn by GIs during the long winter of 1944.
   
   
   
4. Kentucky Horse Supply Vintage Relief Printing Block- This rustic printing block is completely unique, a beautiful and functional home décor piece for the rustic man.
   
   
   
5. Fossil Forest Boot- A classic and comfortable boot to wear in the forest or the city street.
   
   
   
6. Trout Fishing in America by Richard Brautigan- Pick up a copy of this American classic at your local book store or on Amazon. You can also purchase a Kindle edition.
   
   
   
7. L.L. Bean Fleece Lined Flannel Shirt- A warm and cozy shirt to wear at the cabin.
   
   
   
8. Minox Leica Classic Camera- These Minox cameras combine state-of-the-art technology with vintage styling. These miniature cameras fit easily into vest pockets for outdoor excursions.
   
   
   
9. Nashville Knife Shop Straight Razor Shaving Set- When wielded properly, a straight razor provides an exceptionally close shave. Instead of purchasing disposable razorblades over the years, this razor is sharpened on a hand crafted strop.
   
   
   
10. Dolan Geiman Original Deer Art, Virginia Den Collection No. 3 - Virginia Den No. 03 is an original art assemblage created from salvaged wood and industrial metal objects.
    
    
    

For additional gift ideas for rustic dudes, see these Etsy treasuries we created:

• Gifts for the Outdoor Enthusiast
• Picks for Etsy Dudes

How to Wrap Green this Christmas

(Hi there! I'm Caley. For the next month or so, I'll be providing some guest posts here at Daily Dolan Geiman to help you prepare for the holidays. I hope you enjoy.)

Recycled and re-purposed materials have always been the cornerstone of Dolan's artwork, a spirit of "turning the discarded and ordinary into the extraordinary." This green philosophy can be transformative during the Christmas season, a period in which the average American household generates 25% more trash or 5 million extra tons of garbage. With some creative solutions in recycling and repurposing, people can save a bundle on holiday gift wrapping and reduce the amount of wrapping paper, bows, boxes and other materials being sent to the landfill.

Jar It- Some of the best holiday presents come in reusable glass mason jars. Give cookies or cocoa mixes and small presents like jewelry or ornaments in a mason jar. Pop the mason jar into a drawstring bag to disguise the contents, which the recipient can reuse as a produce, bulk bin or snack bag.

3 Wide Mouth Mason Quart Jars- cattales

Bag It- Reusable gift bags are the ultimate in quick, easy and eco-friendly wrapping. If you own a sewing machine, make your own gift bags with eco-friendly fabrics and instructions from BurdaStyle or The Green Country Mom. When shopping for fabric, look first at the thrift store for Christmas tablecloths, sheets or other festive fabrics to repurpose as gift bags. If you cannot sew, Etsy offers a plethora of options for purchasing fabric gift bags. Shop local if you can!

3 Folk Country Reusable Gift Bags- FrogSong

Box It- Decorative boxes are another option as reusable gift wrap. Turn shoe boxes into holiday gift boxes with a coat of paint and a homemade bow. Give the gift of great whiskey, wine or other liquor in a custom Whiskey Box. Dolan will be making just 12 of these handmade, screen-printed boxes with reclaimed wood. If interested, order quick!

Custom Handmade, Screenprinted Liquor Box- dolangeiman

Wrap with Fabric- Furoshiki are traditional Japanese wrapping cloths which can be reused again and again for gift-wrapping. In this special Storque feature, Jenn Playford of Furochic ™ demonstrates how to use Furoshiki to wrap holiday presents. For another option for reusable fabric gift wrap cloth, check out Etsy shop Chewing the Cud. This San Francisco based shop uses organic cotton printed with soy-based inks.

Persimmon Give Cheer Reusable Fabric Gift Wrap- chewingthecud

Wrap with Household Paper- Use recycled papers from around the house to wrap your Christmas presents, such as comics, maps, paper bags, or children’s drawings. Use an origami pattern to make your own boxes and add a little flair to the packages. For something shinier, wrap presents with 100% recycled aluminum foil.

Red and Green DIY Gift Packaging Kit- melangerienyc

Wrap with Eco Paper- If you want to purchase pretty paper for wrapping your holiday gifts, look for options with 100% recycled content or alternative, non-tree fibers. Quality Craft Supplies sells handmade paper made from the lokta bush, a quick-growing and thus sustainable resource.

Blue Starbust Gift Wrap Pack- QualityCraftSupplies

Skip the Tape- The clear tape used for wrapping gifts is plastic and thus petroleum-derived. Instead of using tape to secure your gift-wrapped presents, use twine or yarn. Try hemp twine for a rustic look or recycled silk sari yarn for something more colorful. By not using tape or glue on your packages, the paper will be in better shape for the recipient to re-use.

Red/Green Hemp Twine- HempHut

Top It- Instead of purchasing new gift bows and throwing them out each season, make your own bows from magazine pages with this simple tutorial. Use natural berry sprigs, holly or evergreen to decorate your packages. Top your Christmas presents with tags made from recycled paper, upcycled manila folders, or felt. My favorite holiday gift tags are made from plantable seed paper.

Plantable Snowflake Gift Tags- gracegraphics

Next week, look for the first of a series of gift guides, Rustic Gifts for Men.

Link Love: Inspirational Websites

It was just this past October, that we re-launched our website with a fresh look, improved navigation, and increased userability. Revamping the website was actually a 2-year process, having to carve out time to work on the site in between art fairs and, occasionally, butting heads about the direction we wanted to take with the new site. We have an entire journal filled with nothing but draft site maps and layout ideas, attesting to the time we put into the process (or perhaps our indecisiveness). Though a long process, we're very pleased with the result and should take this opportunity to thank Joshua Wentz of Sidedown, once again, for the site design. Sidedown is our go to for all of our print/web design needs. He also manages a boutique music label, Sidedown Audio, publishes solo and collaborative books and zines under the new name Blind Sided Books, and even regularly contributes photos to one of our favorite design blogs, The Scoop. Definitely a fellow multi-tasker, I'd say!

Part of the website redevelopment process invovled countless hours of research, namely reviewing websites and outlining our likes and dislikes about each site. For today's Link Love post, we thought we'd highlight a few of our favorite sites based on site design, visual intrigue, navigation, userability, and functionality.

1. JOY by Mel Lim - multi-disciplinary designer
   
2. Threadless - Chicago-based T-shirt gods
3. Poketo - artisan apparel, stationery, wallets, and housewares
4. Cordarounds - horizontal corduroy pants
5. Not Neutral - multi-disciplinary designer, Rios Clementi Hale Studio
   
6. Mixed Greens Gallery - New York City contemporary art gallery
7. Spudart - artist, designer, & illustrator Matt Maldre
8. Natasha Wescoat - artist & creative entrepeneur
9. Cooper Sanchez - Southern folk artist
10. Angela Adams - multi-disciplinary designer