Handmade Gift Ideas

BY LISA S.T. DOSS

You’ve made a big list and checked it twice. Placed extra stars next to those who have been extra doughty and nice! Especially during the season of Christmas, we want to give specific family and friends a gift made from our hands and heart. It doesn’t matter if you classify yourself as non-crafty; everyone must start from the first step—reading directions and watching DIY videos. Pick one or two suggestions from the list and delve in!

HOMEMADE CANDLES Everyone loves the pillar candle! Fortunately, with this particular do-it-yourself project, few items are needed. Do you have an old longhandled pan to melt soy wax and a larger pan to create a double boiler? Do you have a few round plastic containers that once held deli foods? Yes, perfect! The only items you’ll need to purchase are soy wax, wicks, wick stickers, coloring, and an essential oil. A candlemaking kit is another way to buy everything you need at once. The process is easy, dries quickly, and provides a desirable gift for everyone on your list!

HOMEMADE SOAP Before getting started, please know it takes four weeks for soap bars to cure, a term implying “to harden”; so, while reasonably priced kits are available online, team up with a friend and invest in ingredients and soap molds. Soapmaking is a therapeutic activity well worth the time and effort.

TIP: Google “lye calculator” to ensure your recipe will offer a balance of cleansing, creamy lather, bubbles, and longevity. Soap makers can determine in advance if the recipe is of quality, or slightly tweak the percentages to improve the values!

HOMEMADE FOOT BALM What could be more relaxing than a medicinal gift to ease those sore, tired feet? The best part—you probably already have coconut oil and olive oil in your cabinet! If not, purchase large containers at your favorite warehouse subscription store! Most recipes call for shea butter, beeswax, and mere drops of an essential oil. Lavender would be best, but you can also use peppermint or eucalyptus.

TIP: Use a scale to measure precise ingredients.

Additional drops of essential oil may overpower a recipe and result in starting over!

Follow the recipe!

TIP: Place four- or six-ounce

Mason jars on a cookie sheet before pouring to the halfway mark.

Refrigerate until the wax hardens; then, pour just below the lip.

TIP: Research recipes for homemade sugar scrubs, bath bombs, and lip balms; you’ll be surprised at how easy they are to make!

NEEDLE AND THREAD, MONOGRAM From a young nephew or niece to a beloved grandparent, everyone loves to see their name embroidered on a piece of fabric, whether it’s an apron, sweatshirt, uniquely sized pillowcase, or handkerchief. The recipient will, of course, beam with appreciation and pride!

CHRISTMAS TEA TREE A unique suggestion for your favorite tea-lover! Begin with a Styrofoam cone. Next, insert the base into a small, round box. Add rice for added weight. Then, start from the bottom, begin pinning tea bags side-by-side, layer-bylayer, until you reach the top. A handmade star would add a sweet embellishment to the gift!

MAKE MULLING SPICES FOR CIDER Anyone would love this homemade gift. The key is finding a unique container with an airtight lid. Fortunately, all you need are cinnamon sticks, zested lemon, whole cloves, ground allspice, and nutmeg. One present the entire family could enjoy all season long!

THE GIFT OF SWEETS For those special sweettooth family members and friends, why not surprise them with a tin of chocolate or yogurt-covered pretzels or strawberries? A variety, perhaps, of dried fruit or a great-aunt’s best peppermint cake recipe! Chose your size and container well; instead of baking a full-size, consider investing time in making several mini-cakes. Craft stores always have numerous containers, whether Christmasthemed plastic bags or small and large tins! Don’t forget to attach a gift card!

SUCCULENTS IN A PAINTED POT For the gardeners in your life, you can order any set number of healthy succulent cuttings delivered by mail. Fortunately, cuttings just require drying before planting and only a few weeks to develop a root structure! In the meantime, you can paint small terracotta pots while waiting for your special delivery to arrive!

Handmade gifts can require months, weeks, or mere hours of your time! It can be a present of soothing and healing, indulging, fun, or something personalized! No matter what you choose, the recipient will certainly love your thoughtfulness!

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Henry River Mill Village A Lost Town Coming Back to Life

BY KAREN COOPER

With the creation of the first cotton textile mill around 1815 in Lincoln County, North Carolina, our state began a long process towards building its manufacturing industries. By 1900, the American textile industry was well on its way to moving to the Carolinas from New England. North Carolina became the center of the textile business by the 1920s and continued with outstanding success throughout the 20th Century.

Just off I-40 (exit 119), in a town called Hildebran, lies a “blink and you might miss it” little village on Henry River Road. But this village, steeped in history, abandoned by almost all its residents, and just recently coming back to life, is so very worth slowing down for!

The Henry River Manufacturing Company was in operation from 1905 through the late 1960s, producing fine cotton yarns that could be used to make something as fragile as lace and as sturdy as WW II parachutes… and many other things in between. Built as a planned community, the mill village was a self-sufficient complex with its own mill, dam, water, and fire-protection systems. There was also a company store that traded in a currency unique to the town. The majority of the village’s original buildings remain today. The mill itself burned to the ground in 1977 in what was believed to be a fire started by a strike of lightning.

The homes never had running water or a sewer system…even into the early 2000s, when the last native resident moved out. Outside most of the houses, you can still see the remains of the outhouses that were the standard in this town. What they lacked in modern conveniences, they made up for in beautiful surroundings and a tight-knit community. Today that beauty is still very evident, even as the buildings continue to decay. You can imagine how it all once was. events throughout the year. You can have your own special event hosted in this unique location; they can create a spectacular dinner for you and a group; and they even offer photo shoots (which my family took part in with incredible results)!

If you visit Henry River Mill Village and think it looks familiar, it may be because parts of the village were turned into “District 12” for scenes of the 2012 film The Hunger Games. An empty storefront in the village was the location chosen to depict “Mellark’s Bakery,” the business owned by Peeta Mellark’s family in the film.

This beautiful town from the past is not just one place. It is a reminder of what once was. It is the beauty of what time and nature can do to a place when no one is left to care for it. And it is hope and potential for what is to come with restoration and renovation. Because of this, it’s important to come see things as they are now. Take a tour of the village and see for yourself the beauty that exists now, and then hear about the plans for the future. And if you have a chance…bring the family and have some pictures made! You will be glad you did.

Henry River Mill Village is located one mile south of Hildebran, NC on I-40, a short drive to a point halfway between Charlotte and Asheville (henryrivermillvillage.com/).

Henry River Mill Village has found new purpose and a promising future. On the National Register of Historic Places (since 2019), private owners purchased the land (in 2017) and all its buildings with the intention of reviving and renovating the area to highlight its history and make it usable again. They intend to restore the village one cottage at a time in order to preserve the past for the people who once called this place home.

Since the loss of the main mill building (in 1977), the focus of the village today is the two-story brick company store building. This building served as a mill office with the upper floor used as a school room, and for church services from 1907-1917.

The Village is now offering overnight accommodations in its first beautifully renovated cottage…cottage number 12. There are daily tours of the area, costing $15/per person, and special