Handmade by Bloggers: 2014 Holiday Gift Guide

Handmade by Bloggers Gift Guide

 

I am so thrilled to present to you today my first ever holiday gift guide.  This guide is slightly different then other ones you might have seen floating around the last few days because these goods are not ones you can find in every store around the country.

Every year I love to visit the local holiday markets and pop up shops around Brooklyn and Manhattan to see what handcrafted gifts I can buy for my family.  These artisans put so much work and love into their craft and the goods are always top notch in my book.

Handmade by Bloggers gift guide is your source to some of my favorite goods created by some extremely talented food bloggers.  As a newly minted small artisan goods producer, I wanted to give back to my community with this look into life beyond the recipes and pretty photos.  I’m sharing goods from the very small scale to the very large and a little bit in between.  I think there’s a little something for everyone here on the list and I hope you’ll pay a visit and add a handcrafted gift to your basket this year.

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Sunchowder's Emporia Jams and Chutneys | Handcrafted Holiday Gift Guide

Handcrafted Jams, Chutneys, Pickles & Vintage by Sunchowder’s Emporia: These incredible and irresistible small batch jams and chutneys come courtesy of Wendy Read where she sells and blogs right on the site.  Her jams are made in the French tradition, letting the fruit macerate overnight and never uses corn syrup, pectin, preservatives or color.  Residing in Florida, she has access to fruits and vegetables normally not in season around the rest of the country, so she can produce your strawberry jam in the dead of the winter.  The packaging is absolutely stunning and she has some really creative flavors such as Spicy Sriapple Butter, Raspberry Pepper Jam, and Pineapple Tangerine Jam.   Prices run from $8.95 for a jar to $36 which includes a beautiful wooden gift basket.

Bless This Mess Please Wooden Spoons | Handcrafted Holiday Gift Guide

Do you remember taking Home Ec and Shop in school and thinking it’d be an easy A but in the end just praying you’d pass? No? Just me? Fine, well the only section in Home Ec that was easy was the cooking part.  The sewing, I’d prefer to leave to someone else and that person clearly is Melissa from Bless This Mess. Her Etsy shop is full of vintage inspired aprons, which I admit I have a few of at home and am such a sucker for, stuffed children’s animal toys and hand burned wooden spoons (pictured above) and more.   Some of her items are made to order, so it’s best to place it now to have it in time for Christmas and prices generally run between $6 for a Christmas wooden ornament to $75 for a hand pieced quilt.

Kudos Kitchen by Renee Glass and Tile | Handcrafted Holiday Gift Guide

Our next blogger, Kudos Kitchen by Renee is not only talented with a whisk but with a paintbrush as well.  Renee will make you Garlic Mushrooms in Wine Sauce and then serve that wine in one of her hand painted wine glasses (shop).  Renee has a huge collection of wine glasses, mugs, tumblers, beer and cocktail glasses plus tiles and ornaments that she hand paints usually with a food blogger theme.  Her shop is just a showcase of her artwork thus far and while you can order a design she’s completed, she will paint a custom theme.   Plus fans of Frozen can get that adorable Olaf ornament pictured above! Glasses start at $33 but I would contact Renee directly for pricing and timing for your glassware.

Spiceologist Rubs | Handcrafted Gift Guide

I know what your thinking – these rubs look a pretty professional and commercial looking are they really created by a blogger? Yes, yes they are and they are absolutely incredible.  Spiceologist was created by Heather Scholten of Farmgirl Gourmet and Chef Pete Taylor, the rubs are actually the second brainchild of their Spiceologist brand.  Launched in 2013 as a spice company, this year they kicked things up with a successful Kickstarter campaign to launch their rub line.  All are small batched, made with natural herbs & spices and they never add anti-caking, MSG or stuff you can’t pronounce.  Why would you buy rubs when you can make it at home? I’ll tell you why because would you think of a mix called Purple Haze with beet root powder or do you have honey granules sitting around to go into your Smoky Honey Habanero? No, I don’t think you do, which is why you need the rubs.  Prices start at $10.95 and go up to $88 for a set of the Top 8 rubs.

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Just like Spiceologist, Not Ketchup is another incredible product taken to another whole new level by Erika Kerekes of In Erika’s Kitchen.  Not Ketchup asks you to “Dip Differently” and you should with this ‘ketchup’. Erika’s journey began when she picked 30 pounds of cherries and was tired of jams and pies.   Not Ketchup is not the traditional tomato based condiment you are used to, instead these four flavors are all gourmet dipping sauces made with ripe fruit, it’s a fruit ketchup and it’s absolutely lovely.  Much more versatile than traditional ketchup, you can use them to baste chicken, glaze meatballs,  on pizza, pork chops, with your steak or of course on top of your burger.  I love speaking with Erika about her growing business and seeing it’s tremendous success in the last year, Not Ketchup is what we use at home and I think you should too.   Prices run from $9 for a single bottle to $40 for all 4 bottles in a special holiday pack.

Signature Chocolate Chip Cookies | Girl In The Little Red Kitchen Bake Shop

Oh hey what’s that, right, it’s me you’re looking at! I couldn’t end this guide without a little plug for The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen Bake Shop!  Not familiar with the shop? Let me tell you my story, this journey began last year when I decided I really wanted to do something more with my blog.  As a two-time Brooklyn Cooke Takedown champ, I knew I had the cookie baking chops and a fresh batch always brought joy to people’s faces.  I launched a successful Kickstarter Campaign in May and the shop officially opened in September.

I mean, who doesn’t love the gift of cookies?  Ours are made not only with love and by hand in small batches but with the finest ingredients possible.  Each cookie is made with organic and fair trade ingredients and packaged as soon as they cool then hand sealed for optimum freshness.  When your cookies arrive on your doorstep, the taste is as if they just came out of the oven.  The shop always contains my 4 signature flavors of Chocolate Chip, Triple Chocolate, Peanut Butter and Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich Cookies with rotating seasonal flavors, flash sales and our cookie of the month club.  Prices start at $20 for 1 dozen and shipping is free for any order over $60.

As a thank you to you, I have a an early Black Friday coupon starting today and running through Saturday! Just use code LRKBlackFriday for 20% everything in the shop, even Cookie of the Month Club!

Girl In The Little Red Kitchen Bake Shop Black Friday Sale!

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8 thoughts on “Handmade by Bloggers: 2014 Holiday Gift Guide

  1. Julie

    I love this list! Thank you! Have a fabulous Thanksgiving. I’ll be baking (preferably with peanut butter and sugar). 😉

    Reply
  2. Nancy @ gottagetbaked

    This list is incredible and showcases how incredibly talented all of you are! Renee’s artwork blows me away every time I see the photos on social media. And I’m lucky to know how delicious your cookies and Erika’s Not Ketchup is after leaving Florida with some in my greedy hands.

    Reply
  3. Erika Kerekes

    Susan, I love this gift guide – and not just because Not Ketchup is on the list. It’s so exciting to see all the wonderful items bloggers are making! Thank you for including me!

    Reply

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