A perpetual anniversary gift

Alternative titles: Anniversary gifts for cheapskates / Solve your present dilemma for the next 50+ years / I'm so glad I thought of this, and not the husband cause he still has to find ME a present!

Today is our 6th Wedding Anniversary. For any new followers, this is me and my Belgie husband, getting married in the rain in Antwerp, in December 2006. It was freezing.

I didn't know it at the time, but the reason my boobs hurt was NOT because my dress was too tight (though it was), but because there was a teeny tiny little FlourGirl embryo snuggling in. She was born 8 months later. Shhh.

Skip to 2011, I had a four year old AND a 1 year old running around.  In a last minute "Oh no, I haven't got a gift for my husband" panic, I googled what the symbol for a 5 year anniversary was, and found it to be wood.  Not being adept at woodcarving myself, and since we already owned several wooden chopping boards, I decided to sew him a "wooden" tree. When I went to put some leaves on the tree, I thought it would be cute to put just 5 leaves on, symbolising each year we had been married. And so, my perpetual wedding anniversary gift was born.

I will add a new leaf for each year, creating as I do a big leafy, healthy, colourful tree. Insert corny sentiment about tree of life or something if you wish... I have had too many champagnes to do that just now.

It has been with much anticipation that I add the next leaf on to the tree. We sat up last night talking and wondering how the little tree is going to look when it is covered with leaves.  But for now, it has just had it's sixth one added. A green one, for our little Oliver-year.

So essentially I gave my husband this for a present:

...and next year, he will get another one. And the year after, another one.

And so on.

Sorted.

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~ If you want to make your own, I suggest a read of this tutorial by the ever-so-crafty Jade

~ It follows, I might make these available for sale if anyone is interested, let me know and I can put one up in my Etsy shop. I can sew the tree on with as many leaves as you need, and then send you a stash of little leaves for the future. They have a self-adhesive kind of iron-on sticky applique backing, so you iron them on, and just stitch around them, if you are that way inclined.

**


Happy Anniversary to my lovely husband {he is washing the dishes while I type this} 
I love you. 
May our little tree not fall down under the weight of all those leaves it's gonna get. 


**EDIT 17/12/12 - I've had a few people asking, so have listed some in my Etsy shop here.  I'll sew on all the first batch of leaves for you, and give you a stash of little leaves for the future :)