A Pan of Christmas Goodies

The photo above is of the pan of Christmas goodies that my friend, Suzie, presented me with last year.  She is incredibly creative, and I wanted to share a few of her delightful ideas.  The old clothespins are tied with a torn fabric gingham bow and look sweet sitting on my laundry shelf.  Underneath the dried orange and baker's twine is a bar of her homemade peppermint soap.  The gourd is a tiny one that she grew in her garden, dried, and drilled two little holes in the belly - one for entrance and one for a tiny piece of wood for a perch.  She also inserted a piece of copper-colored wire at the top to hang on my tree.  You'll notice a cranberry and bay leaves peeping out of the top left corner - Suz and her youngest daughter made me a garland of fresh cranberries and dried bay leaves, alternating with more pieces of torn gingham fabric.  I hung it above my kitchen sink and, over time, the berries have dried beautifully.  The JOY sign is a small wooden one that she purchased, and the "Merry Christmas!" tag is actually made of wood and tied with baker's twine.  I loved this thoughtful homemade gift and really hated to disassemble it!