I L<3VE DIY

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Ghetto Martha is back!  November is DIY month for me.  I have been itching to do some crafts, and now is the perfect time.  Christmas is just around the corner and I need to get all my gifts together. As we get older it seems like: 1) It's harder to think of gifts to give to your friends who you have been buying gifts for at least twice a year for the past ten years.  (ie, I just gave Lisette her Birthday present last weekend because I really couldn't think of what to get her.  Her birthday was in May)  2) Everyone has enough money to buy whatever they want whenever they want.  3) With more and more responsibilities, our expendable income is not as large anymore.  Birthday gifts are one thing, but Christmas gifts have to come in bulk.  But I love gift giving.  I love when the gift getter is so happy to receive something nice in a beautifully wrapped package.  Although sometimes they don't understand my gift.  Like one year I made Jisun this quilt with photos ironed on.  But it turned out pretty raggedy looking.  It looked so cool in my head, but the execution just wasn't there.  From then on, I would forever be known as Ghetto Martha. 

A few years ago some of my friends and I decided to do secret santa instead of exchanging gifts with everyone.  We would each get one person a present of around $20 and then have a nice Christmas meal together.  It was more about spending time together and not about buying each other presents.  It's so hard to get everyone together unless there is some kind of celebration, so that Christmas meal means more than any gift.  (Although, I can't lie.  It is fun when you get to go home with an armful of presents!)  But this year, I'll be on the other side of the country.  I cannot take part in the joyous Christmas meal.  So I decided to forgo Secret Santa this year (not that anyone asked me to join in Secret Santa anyways. Haha).

I got this really cool idea for my Christmas gifts this year. Michi helped me a lot too with some really great ideas!  It's amazing how two heads are really better than one. You just keep building upon each others' ideas.  So last night I completed Craft Project #1.  Six more to go!  I am so excited about this year's Ghetto Martha christmas gifts!!!  Come back in December to see my blogs about the actual crafts!