It's Been a Long Time, Baby! And 'A Very Handmade Xmas', Pt. 1

So I have been (with pretty good reason) neglecting my blog(s). I'm sorry. the reasons involved: gift buying, enormous packing, toddler wrangling, house cleaning, traveling, something called 'Christmas', illness, more traveling, more illness, and illness, plus a little packing up to move houses, but more on the last item later.
We had a lovely holiday season (despite the nasty sickies), and a couple of my favorite gifts came from my crafty girlfriends and family members. Going into the holiday insanity, I mused, "Gee, next year, wouldn't it be great to institute a 'Hand-Made Christmas'?" My reasons are simple: 1. Make it less materialistic, and more from the heart, 2. Really get into the holiday spirit by making something for everyone else, 3. Possibly much more cost-conscious. Possibly., 4. Total avoidance of shopping malls, duh!, 5. Focuses the holiday more on friends and family and simple joys, 6. If one is not creative enough, or is under strict time restraints, one might buy from local artists/craftspeople/bakers, and drive the local economy, or check out indie craft retail sites (such as Etsy, of course), and just generally support 'the little guys'.

SO, here's my first featured artist: Miss Jessica Jarvis.
I returned home from our vacation to find this perfectly adorable hostess serving stand:


It's so Mad Hatter meets Paris salon! She made it from vintage odds and ends - she has the persistence and the eye for style to comb through thrift stores, and find little treasures to incorporate into her creations.
Her true passion is cooking, and she is a burgeoning boutique caterer of fabulous greatness! Her food is always, ALWAYS a revelation. Jessica's catering company and blog are both named Dish and The Spoon (Love!)
Last night, she catered the opening of The Archive, a hip vintage book and 'curiosity' shop on Cherokee Street in Saint Louis. Her food was perfect, and I was thrilled to see that she had expanded on my gift's theme, and created large platters just for the event:

Her Etsy shop, Pindy Lindy, is, as one might expect with all this other talent, suffering from a bit of neglect. However, Jessica creates gorgeous jewelry out of found objects and vintage baubles. She should update her shop, and they would sell like hot cakes. However, if you, dear reader, would like your own custom platter (no two are alike!), please feel free to convo her, and she'll have your creation whipped up in a jiffy.