I always tell friends and customers that a handcrafted gift leaves a lasting memory for years to come.  Yet several of our clients refuse to buy clothes or towels because baby outgrows them so fast.  They only want stuffed animals, photo albums, or quilts -- things that will last.

Even though I preach that handcrafted gifts last forever, I was still surprised to see that my oldest granddaughter was a testament to this philosophy.  I was helping her with her homework last week and we both decided the room was too cold.  Kate quickly said, "Wait a minute Grandma, I will get us both blankets."  She took out her step stool so she could reach the top of her closet.  Then she pulled out two worn blankets and proceeded to hand me one.  This was the blanket I had designed for her when she was first born eight years ago.  It was one of the first products that Namely Newborns has customized from a crafter I met at a craft show.  For years, I would borrow this beautiful pink blanket as a sample to take to shows so I could show customers its quality.  My granddaughter always gave it to me, but first made me promise not to lose it.  She alway had her mother call me the next day after the show to find out when I was going to return her favorite blanket.

She is grown up now and I hadn't seen this blanket for over two years; it certainly was too loved and faded to be used as a sample these days.  I never asked to borrow it anymore.  But the blanket is not too worn to still be a keepsake.  Kate keeps it hidden on the top shelf of her closet for emergencies -- for the times when she needs a little extra love or is too cold to sit and read.  She keeps it hidden so that no one throws it out, thinking it is too old to be useful.

While we were sitting on the floor of her bedroom on her new big girl area rug, I noticed another rug under her bed.
It was pushed way back in a corner under the bed.  This was the custom birth announcement rug that I had made for her the same year right after she was born.  It had her name and flowers in lavender and sage to match her nursery.  Her big girl room is no longer lavender and sage, but hot pink.  The rug no longer matches, but she still keeps it.  I didn't say a word, but I smiled and felt my eyes tearing because I knew how important these handcrafted gifts were to her.

Other handcrafted gifts that are keepers include birth announcement pillows.  A loved pillow can always be put in a teenagers room or taken to camp.  Baby Quilts and stuffed animals are also gifts that a child will never outgrow.