Shop Silver Spring: A Holiday Buyers Guide Pt.2 – Giving Meaning This Holiday Season

For some of us, the holiday season isn’t all just about buying things that people asked for- it’s about living out ALL YOUR CREATIVE FANTASIES. As a DIY-for-life-er, the holidays are a time that my creative limits are put to the test with the 20-30ish gifts that I make for all the siblings, aunts and cousins in my life, or finally buying the perfect handmade item that I’ve loved forever but had no use for – like baby onesies and well-packaged men’s grooming products. Here’s how you can do both in Silver Spring this year:

How to Make Meaningful Gifts Yourself:

Have you ever paid a visit to Pennyworth Thrift Shop on Bonifant Street? It’s been there for about a million years and is the main spot in downtown Silver Spring to peruse the wild world of DIY IDEAS. Here are a few easy DIY gift ideas to make you look like a crafty wizard on Christmas morning:

1- Decorated Picture Frames: Have an Instagram photo (because those are the only kind of relevant pictures now) of you and your giftee printed and frame it in a painted or decoupaged picture frame. Pennyworth has an assortment of frames that can easily be revamped into something new. Grab some paint to cover the boring black frame or paper to decoupage it from Plaza just a few blocks away. Feeling ambitious? Wrap around the edges of a picture frame with yarn for a unique and wintery look.

2- Painted Mugs and Bowls: I’m a huge fan of this and have given sets of painted mugs and bowls as gifts in the past. Paint cool patterns on plates and mugs with Pebeo paint and set them in the oven to harden. Take it to the next level with quotes or sayings- painting words is much harder than it looks! Pennyworth always has ceramic dishes that would be perfect for a project like this – and if you mess it up, you can always go back and try with another!

3- Upcycled Scarves: Put a twist on the classic holiday gift by taking an old one, cutting the fringy ends and sewing them together for a quick and easy infinity scarf. If you’re super handy with a needle, try embroidering on it! Your giftee’s initials or even some hearts or flowers will stand out this winter when everyone turns into big puffy blobs.

 

How to Give a Gift Someone Else Made With Love:

If you’re not so DIY-inclined yourself, the holidays are a great time to put your money into good, loving hands. There’s one main spot to do that in Silver Spring this December and that’s at the Fenton Street Market HOLIDAZE pop-up shop.

In the gallery space of Pyramid Atlantic on Georgia Avenue, find over 30 of your favorite Fenton Street Market vendors’ handmade goodies ripe for the gifting. Featured gifts range from Karmalades’ handmade, eco-friendly cleaning products to Hooked and Loopy’s crocheted stuffed animals for kids. A wall of prints have something for art lovers of all walks of life, and a special section of prints is dedicated to those that were printed IN Silver Spring! Can’t beat that!

HOLIDAZE also features DIY classes (Tote Bag Stenciling 101, anyone?) and DIY gifts – knitting kits from Plush Knits, ceramic yarn bowls from Pazmino Ceramics and DIY terrarium kits from Nik da Pooh Designs. Everything at HOLIDAZE comes with a story, a person, and a pair of hands that put them together. So even if you’re not crafty yourself, you can certainly find gifts that were made with love for everyone in your life.

Have great Silver Spring finds you want to show off? Come across other great holiday deals? Use #ShopSilverSpring to share.

A big thanks to jhPhotography for providing the images. Check out more below:

Amina Ahmad
I run an eco-friendly candle and nostalgic housewares company - Handmade Habitat - and got my start at Fenton Street Market back in 2010. I got picked up as staff for the market back in 2012 and do some vendor relations, marketing and general Silver Spring takeover type of fun. I'm passionate about creating a more engaged creative community in Silver Spring. I love this neighborhood and have met so many cool, creative people with such big and awesome ideas since I moved to the area and can't wait to see them come to life! I'd like to see more space for the arts, a dog-friendly version of the Purple Line so I can bring my bad little pup to all my favorite places with me, and just a few new but not douchey bars.

Email me non-spammy things at [email protected]

1 COMMENT
  • Jonathan Bernstein
    Reply

    Amina, I’d add to your great lists Velatis Caramels. We once sent our daughter back to Spain with a package as a gift. http://www.velatis.com/
    @VelatisCaramels

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