I almost forgot about my annual Holiday Ornament Giveaway! I have one little owl on reserve for this special occasion. I stumbled upon him while looking for something. The poor little guy had piles of stuff on him.
And while I’m at it, I have one more thing to giveaway. It’s this very awesome little paperback book called How to Sew A Button: And Other Nifty Things Your Grandmother Knew by Erin Bried. It was very kindly sent to me to check out, and it is pretty darn cool I have to say.
It’s timely content will have you doing everything yourself with ease, while saving money at the same time. What you ask? There is tons! Just to name a few; learn how to make a fire, can fruits and veggies, start a book club, win a silly argument, clean naturally, hang a picture, compost and more. Everything you wanted to know about cooking, cleaning, nesting, dressing, thriving, loving, saving, joining and entertaining is all in this book. Not only does it full of useful information, but it delivers with charm and a good sense of humor. And everything came from real life granny’s wanting to share their nifty secrets with us. I love that.
You can see more about the book at Howtosewabutton. com. Be sure to check out the demos and learn how to make a pie, fold a fitted sheet and tie a neck tie. It would make a great gift for someone moving out on their own for the first time don’t you think?
Leave a comment by Friday on this post telling me something you learned from your granny or mother. One person will get the ornament and one will get the book. Good Luck!
It’s fitting that your give away ornament is an owl. My Granny had a “thing” for owls. While Granny taught me lots of practical things, the one I think has helped me most is “laughter does good like a medicine”. My Granny was poor and worked hard all her life, but each and everyday she found something laugh about. She had an amazing sense of humor and it helped her through many difficult days. Anytime I think about my Granny, I see her with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye.
ooh! i would love to win either one! let’s see…my nana taught me how to neatly make a bed with the sheets nicely folded and tucked into the matress. every time i put on clean sheets i think of her 🙂 and my mom taught me how to crochette.
My mother taught me lots of things, but I”m so grateful she taught me to knit. And she had to teach me twice–once when I was little, then again later as an adult.
Your owls are so darling and that book looks like a great read:) I’ve learned so much from my Mom and my Granny – they are both quite the crafters and my Mom taught me how to sew and my Granny taught me how to crochet. One of my most treasured possessions is the afghan my Granny crocheted for me for my 8th birthday:) That awesome afghan will be 30 years old at my next birthday and I think I love it more today than the day she gave it to me:)
How fun! I love owls. My maternal grandmother passed on before she was able to teach me anything herself, but through my mother (and so, by my grandma) I learned how to sew and how to knit. I taught myself how to crochet in high school. My mother also taught me how to embroider–there are a few of my very early samplers adorning the wall at the house I grew up at! I consider myself very lucky to be the recipient of such knowledge from the women in my family.
My Mom taught me how to sew a button! And to make gingerbread houses. And so many other things.
Wonderful ornament, and the book looks great!
Thanks!
My mom taught me how to bake bread, and can fruit, and make jam, and clean a house, and sew on buttons, and darn socks, and fold laundry… so much!
Love the owl 🙂
Hi there, i would love to win your little Owl you know he would have a good home amongst my others lol. From my mum i have learned perseverance, my mum has been married to my dad for 40plus years and it hasn’t been an easy ride but i won’t get into all the details as they are quite personal but things have kind of come full circle, to see them walk hand in hand or have a cuddle has been such a rare thing kinda makes you realise that for some love is for eternity 🙂
Merry Christmas to you and yours x
Cute ornament – owls are always so cute! The book is fascinating…I feel like sometimes those little skills are skipped over in a lot of places. My mom did teach me a lot about sewing..buttons, hems, etc… not that I remember it all…eek!
Hi, the last thing I learned from my mother-in-law is how to cook ‘molehiya’, a traditional food in middle-east. We went to visit her in Cyprus in Nowember, and she gave me a sack of dried leaves, and the recipe how to cook. Thanks!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molehiya
How very cute! I learned plenty of cooking from Grammy and crafts from Mom, but something I learned from my Nana that was a little more subtle was to not be wasteful and to save my pennies. As someone who helped her family though the Depression, this was clearly a valuable skill, and one that has translated into my frugality and eco-consciousness today.
your ornaments are always cute! my granny was the ultimate crafter. whatever was ‘the’ craft of the day, she was in on it: macrame, candlewicking, crochet, needlepoint, crossstitch, etc. since she was my babysitter until i was school age she taught me all of these crafts. the one that i’m most appreciative of is crocheting. thanks for the opportunity to win one of your great prizes!
From my grandmothers I learned the value of appreciating little things in life: beauty in everyday, joy of learning and love of family.
Such a cute owl and what a fun sounding book. Thanks for offering such a nice giveaway! I learned garment sewing from my Nannie! She made many of the clothes for my sister and me. But at age 12, I was not happy with the fabric and patterns my Mom picked out for Nannie to sew up for us! So I asked her to teach me to sew! She was an excellent teacher and oh so patient! It was the perfect solution! I now had control of the fabric and pattern selection, I got to spend time with Nannie, and I liked the clothes I was wearing! At 14, my parents bought me my first sewing machine!
I love the ornament! Too cute!
My grandmothers and mother are all very crafty-sewing, quilting, cross-stitch, etc. I’ve picked up so many things from each of them. My mom was very good to teach me all the basics of making a house a home–not just folding laundry, cleaning, making tight corners on the bed, etc., but to fill the home with love and keep Christ in the center.
Sweet owl! My mom taught me how to sew! And cook and make bread and more.
My grandmother always says to cherish all moments, big, small, joyful, sorrowful, etc. because time never slows down. She is 97, so I figure she knows what she’s talking about!
My granny and my mom taught me to sew, and it was the single best gift I could ever have gotten. A practical skill, but also one I have enjoyed nearly every day since. And I hope one I can pass on to my two children.
Thanks for such a sweet giveaway!
My mom taught my brother and I to cook and do laundry at the age of ten. We did both on our own ever since then and I’m so glad she did. I was the only one on my floor in college that knew how to wash clothes without ruining them. LOL!
My grandmother – among many other things taught me how to make a pie. She uses no recipe but goes by instinct. Really, she was teaching me so that we could keep her inside while my hubby and uncle were chopping wood. The 89 year old just wanted to do it herself and usually did.
Both prizes sound great! My mother and grandmother were great seamstresses. I’m not so great with clothes (but I’d like to be!), but I love carrying on the handmade tradition with quilts and knitting.
Mostly my grandmother taught me kindness.
What a fun giveaway! I love the owl ornament, and the book sounds really interesting! My mother taught me how to make do with what is in my pantry or cooking from scratch, which has saved me lots of money over the years!
This is my first Christmas without my Grandma, and I’ve been reflecting on her a great deal these past few weeks. What did she teach me? Easier to ask what didn’t she teach me. I think the most important thing I learned from her is that if you forget someone’s name (she had over 40 grandchildren and great grandchildren!), just call them “Sweetheart”. This advice came in so handy when I was teaching!
My grandma taught me to feed the birds (she always saved her stale bread, nuts, popcorn, etc. for them and also put out seed). She had three jewelry boxes full of costume jewely and let us kids play dress-up at her vanity for hours. She always had something sweet on hand for us kids too, cookies or jello (I’m now a vegan so I don’t really do the jello stuff anymore, yuck!). She also saved all her greeting cards for us and we spent hours crafting away on the floor drawing, cutting and pasting. She also dated a hobo (lived in front of some railroad tracks so I guess it was inevitable) but I don’t think I learned so much from that…thanks for letting me share a bit about her!
My mother and grandmother weren’t very crafty, although my mother has become a great knitter in the past 2 or 3 years. I am learning so much and getting so inspired by creative bloggers. I received my napkins and gift tags yesterday. They are highlighted in my blog today. Thank you so much.
http://escleali.blogspot.com/2009/12/creative-gifts.html
what I have learn from my granny: To save things – everything can be used again! and a passion for the homemade at all levels! Not to forget general baking and cooking – for others:) How I miss her!
I smile each time I see your metal ornaments. They are too cute! For practicality I would say teaching me how to roll a knot on thread off my finger was a great item learned but for best memories, it was her baking, pound cakes in particular. that she said we must eat! She didn’t have to force us that’s for sure!
One of the funniest yet most helpful things my grandma taught me was how to get rid of the awful skunk smell when your dog has an unfortunate encounter with such a creature….give the dog a bath in tomato juice! It really works! However, if your dog has white fur you can expect it to be a lovely shade of pink for the better part of a week :o)
The owl ornament is cute and that book looks like a good read. One thing my grandmother taught me is, “This too shall pass.”
This book would be perfect for my daughter as she sets up her first apartment! Hopefully, she has learned some things from her grandmother and me, but it would be helpful to have a resource book at her fingertips, as she will be an hour away from home.
I just love this blog- and this post really got me thinking about all the gifts and blessings we received from, not only my Granny (a seamstress) and mother (an everything!), but my grand-aunt who taught me to crochet when I was 7, and my mothers 8 (yes 8!!!!) sisters who were all creative women. I’m so glad these forgotten skills are making a come-back: another fantastic book from over here in Ireland is Darina Allens “Forgotten Skills of Cooking”- it’s really indispensible. Thanks again for the gift of reading this blog xxx
Thanks for the giveaway – I’d love to win either! My grandma lives in England and taught me how to make strawberry jam – the smell of really ripe summer strawberries always make me think of her!
my mother taught me to knit and crochet, cook, bake and be a strong independant woman.
my grandmother taught me to cross stitch,sew, clean, embroider, finish an argument, let go of the bad and love everything around me.
My mom taught me to knit and sew at a very early age andnow I’m teaching my granddaughters.
this is my first time on your site! i love it. i followed andrea’s link on over. i learned to quilt from my grandmother, and to knit from my mom. i am soso grateful for each of these skills, and the love i felt while being taught…..it’s so inspiring actually, for me, and my dreams of teaching my own girls and grand daughters these beautiful arts some day.
Alas, my mom didn’t teach me to sew on a button or bake (she doesn’t bake), but she did teach me how to cook the delicious Vietnamese food she cooked for us.
My Grandma taught me how to make awesome scrambled eggs!
Soo fun!
Ooooh I would love to win the owl as I collect anything to do with owls – I just adore them 🙂
I guess my Mum has probably given me my passion for cooking as ever since I can remember I have loved cooking, especially as a child alongside with my Mum. Hopefully my grandchildren will also grow to love cooking as I now cook with them – and they love it 🙂
Love your blog and everything you have made, you are very talented 🙂
My grandmother taught me that the best way to bake anything is to do it with someone you love. Whether it turns out to be the greatest thing or the worst, the real joy in always found in making it with the ones you love.
My grandma taught my brother and I how to sew buttons. She got us both huge t-shirts and every time we spent the night over there, we would sew on a new button and we would sleep in our shirts. We started running out of spots for our buttons because we were over there so often! It is a great memory. =)
My mother showed me that you can often open a tight jar lid by putting a rubber band around the lid — it gives you enough traction to get a good grip.
Would love to win either. They are both pretty cool. Merry Christmas!!!
I would LOVE the book! My Grandmother who has passed away was so wonderful. She taught me how to crochet and that knowledge helped me to later on teach myself how to knit.
I spent most of my childhood with my grandmother, she was a bitter lady who had had a tragic life, all the men in her life were killed, her father, only brother, only son and two husbands, only to have her old age burdened by a grandchild she was not fond of.
However, she did her best and from her I learned to sew, to knit, to cook and to dance.
She has been dead for thirty nine years, hopefully she has found some happiness now.
Funny enough, my grandmother taught me how to sew a button. My two sisters and I would spend a night or two with our grandparents. At the time, my grandmother loved to sew. We would play in her craft room with needle and thread while she would work with her sewing machine. When we got tired of that, we would all go out into the other room and play with their old organ. Grammy taught us how to play happy birthday and how to read the cheat sheets so we could play any song we wanted. Even as adults, one of our favorite things to do when we go visit is to play something on the organ. Of course, we have to fight our kids for the chance!
A sad thing for me is that I did not know my grandmothers; my parents were older. My mother, though, tried to teach me to crochet. It was hopeless! The funny thing is that last year, I bought some yarn and a crochet hook and picked it up like I had done it all my life. My mother died in 1992 and that little piece of wisdom was tucked away for a later day when I was really missing her.
My mom taught me and my grandma how to read!!!
She is a great teacher.
Thanks for the chance and Merry Christmas!
My grandma taught me to worry about everyone – does that count?
my mom taught me “if you want something done right, do it yourself” and its soooo true! well, most of the time…
thanks for all your inspiration!
Ooh I’ve been seeing this book all over the place. I am totally going to get it. It would be lovely to win it;) My grandma taught me so much. My favorite tip is to put a bar of clean smelling soap in your linen closet. I actually have maybe 6 or 7 bars of yummy soap tucked in all my sheets and pillowcases. When I put new items on my bed it smells lovely. (We use unscented soaps and no dryer sheets and there is no *smell* to our laundry otherwise.)
ooh! that owl is too cute and that book sounds so fun! i wish my granny had been able to teach me more. 😉 thanks for the opportunity.