Sonjabegonia

Handcrafted gifts and decor to celebrate holidays and other festive occasions

The inspiration behind and vision of Occasions by sonjabegonia

INSPIRATION:

I grew up in a small town in Missouri confusingly named California, where I was fortunate enough to live a few miles away from my maternal grandparents, who lived in an even smaller town named McGirk. Most holidays and special occasions were celebrated around my Grandma's dinner table, complete with very tasty Southern c

ooking (plus a surprise, mystery dish that could be hit or miss), the obligatory posed family/food picture, and special handmade table decorations for each holiday. These decorations were stored in shoeboxes in the guest bedroom closet and absolutely fascinated me. It was exciting when it was time to open up a shoebox and decide what decorations would be used from Grandma's stash. Even though it was tempting, I don't think I ever looked in a shoebox unless it was in preparation for decorating for a specific event. This is pretty remarkable, considering my sister and I were regular Friday overnight guests and slept in the guest bedroom after watching the Dukes of Hazzard, eating "doctored-up" frozen pizza that was cut with kitchen scissors, and drinking cold Pepsi stored on the back porch. VISION:

I believe that it's important and fun to celebrate holidays and special occasions with a touch of custom, reusable decorations. The offerings of this shop are designed to help others build their own stashes of shoebox holiday decorations and also offer small gift options. All of the items are hand-crafted and designed to be lightweight and easy to store and set up for the special occasion. I specialize in knitted, crocheted, and embroidered items made of high-quality, natural fibers such as cotton and wool. All designs are my own unless otherwise noted and reflect my interpretations of classic holiday/special occasion symbols. I also enjoy using traditional techniques to represent whimsical and kawaii themes and play with the miniaturization of all types of foods, flowers, and party accessories.

12/06/2025

Shop Jarvis Square is happening now! Come see me at Lakeview Treasures today 11-4. So many great artisans in the Square - you could easily get all your holiday shopping done.

12/05/2025

This Saturday! I’ll be at Lakeside Treasures with ornaments, felt buttons, embroidery art, napkin sets, and tea towels - new and returning designs.

11/07/2025

2025 Ornaments and New Tea Towel Design.

Since 2020, I’ve been creating felt ornaments to commemorate each year. This year, I was at a loss until Chicagoland began being needlessly attacked.

2025 is for Social Justice.

Ornaments are available in Evanston at , will be at Shop Jarvis Square in Rogers Park Dec 6, via DM or message, and soon on my Etsy shop.

04/03/2025

April’s big project is a new line of embroidered pieces.

I’ve wanted to alter vintage Sunbonnet Sue/Vintage Ladies designs for a while and have finally set aside the time and have the inspiration.

Here are the first stitched works in the collection. I’ll also be playing around with painted hoops for framing to add more color.

02/07/2025

New badge/button designs debuting at stumble & relish. All the feelings right now . . .

New buttons/badges in the shop! designed these hand-embroidered felt badges for the time we live in right now.

Custom badges also available- just DM or email us!

01/10/2025

On the sentencing day of President-elect convicted felon, I’m thinking about what could have been . . .

I’m finally ready to share the tea towels I designed to celebrate and commemorate a Harris win. I love them and was ready to happily stitch dozens of them.

Will there be a Woman President in my lifetime? I truly hope so - it’s way past time.

01/08/2025

Taking a little work break in January, so started this personal project - the Santa Fe Tapestry by Lucy Tiffney - a collab w/Scheepjes Yarn.

This is 1/6 of the tapestry. It’s going to be big! Fun to follow someone else’s instructions in needlepoint for a bit.

Oh, and since these are limited edition kits, I have 4 more designs on hand. They were difficult to source, but I was determined!

12/07/2024

Shop Jarvis Square today, 11-5!

Steps off the Jarvis Red Line stop. I’m set up at Taste Wine & Food. Get all your holiday shopping done, pick up some wine, and have a great meal at one of the amazing Jarvis Square restaurants.

12/04/2024

Well, it’s been a month since the election and it took me a bit to process and pivot.

Instead of joyfully making Harris/Walz celebration ornaments, I present the F**k Snowflake ornament (which is oddly satisfying to stitch.)

I grew up with my Mom making paper snowflakes with names hidden in them, so this is the stitched version of a hidden message snowflake.

Order in my Etsy shop (link in comments) or send me a message.

12/01/2024

Next Saturday - Shop Jarvis Square! I’ll be there with embroidered tea towels, napkins, message hoops, and ornaments - favorite and new designs.

A great way to get all your holiday shopping done in the neighborhood and support local artists/businesses.

10/12/2024

It’s another beautiful day in Rogers Park! I’m at Jarvis Square Artisans Market 10-2. Come by for Harris Walz swag, statement tea towels and hoops, and other great gifts for you and yours.

Address

1506 W Jarvis Ave
Chicago, IL
60626

Website

https://www.etsy.com/shop/OCCASIONsonjabegonia

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