Contributor Holiday Gift Guide Series: Coco Cake

by Lyndsay Sung of Coco Cake


The holidays are upon us...! These days, for holiday gifts, my favourite thing is still giving handmade stuff. Usually it's my grandma's secret recipe chocolate and butterscotch chip cookies wrapped up in some sort of cute packaging (like these hot pink bags above - found at a craft store. I made tags by cutting out craft paper with scalloped scissors), and perhaps a mix CD of some kind, and then some sort of cute must-buy item that I found at a local craft or art fair. Or a book... I love receiving books! But hey, with so much cuteness out there, it won't be too difficult to make somebody's holiday wishes come true!




For instance... For local shopping in Vancouver, look at this super cute "tiny terrarium" - found at Collage Collage. Great gift for person big or small!

Collage Collage also has some super cute make-your-own-diorama kits, and of course soft and sweet stuffed handmade animals using vintage materials by Thistle Town Studios. Plus, loads of art books for adults and beautifully illustrated children's books.

Jazz up someone's house big time with this lovely wooden mirror, or jazz up their style (or yours) with these super modern geometric earrings or a cool wooden link necklace, all available from Henderson Dry Goods.

Woodsy, romantic handmade modern knit cowl scarves in lovely colours over at Hendrik.Lou.

Wendy Oakman makes her lovely books entirely by hand in her studio, from folding the paper to emblazoning with gold letters! Amazing! She shows the process on her blog, and you can purchase from her by emailing her through her website.

Heather Dahl of Dahlhaus makes super lovely handmade ceramics with a fun, vintage feel! I adore Heather's work (and yes, I bought something for myself, dang it!)

I love this book - Sonja Ahlers' The Selves, a magical, mystical, wild and wonderful visual read, available in Canada online at the new Lucky's bookshop website! I love Sonja's blog too, I could read it for hours.

We Need A Horse is also available there too, along with many other amazing looking books!

For the bakers and foodmakers, Tartine is a gorgeous book. You'll be baking delicious rustic-fancy breadstuffs in no time. The Momofuku Milk Bar book is packed with fun times, too - kind of the opposite of Tartine's simple, rustic takes on dessert, Momofuku Milk Bar's desserts are jam packed with things like gelatin sheets, junk food, candy bars and their famous cereal milk. I made their crack pie a while back, if you want the recipe go here!

I love a good sad book, and both of these are beautifully written. Blue Nights by Joan Didion, reflecting on memory, loss and aging - and The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishigiro, about the life of a butler and the housekeeper of a British manor.
A party pack of chocolate is always a good bet too, especially when it's wrapped so beautifully and created with such care, such as these Mast Brothers chocolate bars!

Alrighty! I hope I gave you a few ideas for the holidays... I can't wait to bake up a storm with some Bing Crosby blasting...!

xo Lyndsay

Jan Halvarson

3 comments:

kickpleat said...

Awesome list, Lyndsay! Remains of the Day is one of my most favorite books ever. And Joan Didion is always a great read. Loved seeing Claire's little critter boyfriends popping up in your list too!!

dahlhaus said...

Great list! Love the book suggestions- I always have trouble choosing good books!
Thanks so much for featuring my work (and buying some for yourself too;)H.

Coco Cake Land said...

thanks jeannette! gosh i've thought of so many additional things to add to my list... !

thanks, heather! ^__^ i could've listed millions more books but thought i would keep it crafty and local-ish! ^__^