Hello from Yorkshire and some soap

Hey everyone. This is my second Christmas of trying to make all the presents. I am appalling at sticking to deadlines so I'm hoping that this club will be a great motivator for me. I plan to bake, knit, sew and make soap for people this year. I've already made a start on the soaps as I need to have all those made by the 8th of this month if they are going to be usable by Christmas day.

First up is a honey soap. I wish I'd gotten a before shot because it went the most amazing orange colour when I added the honey. I made the honeycomb pattern by lining the mould with bubble wrap.



Next is a coffee soap. I used cold coffee instead of plain water and I swear it looked like angel delight when I was mixing it! We'll see if they hold their colour.



I'm going to make an oatmeal one as well and maybe one more but I'm not sure.

Thanks to Tilly for setting up CCC, I think this is going to be my most inspired Christmas yet :o)

Gifts for the Gardener

This Christmas I would like to give gifts that I have made myself. I decided to write some posts about it on my blog Grey Duckling and each has a theme. The theme last week was: Gifts for the Gardener.
For the gardeners in my life I made these nifty recycled spoon garden markers that I think they will enjoy. I have also shared some other ideas and links to tutorials that you might find useful when making homemade gifts for the gardeners in your life. If you have any suggestions of your own I would love to hear them in the comments here, on Grey Duckling or on twitter (@EddieDuckling).
I can tell you now that this week I will be making gifts for the musicians in my life. So keep tuned!

Eddie

Recycled spoon garden markers
This is a simple little tutorial showing you how to make your own beautiful spoon garden markers. You will need a spoon of course. Some paper to cut out and draw on, a pencil, water-colours and an ink-marker to make your design, art fixative to make sure your design isn't ruined when you varnish it and last but not least some varnish to glue the paper to the spoon and cover the design to protect and create a nice finish. As you will see below some of my spoons have been bent. If you decide to do this remember to glue the design onto the spoon upside-down.

Hammered spoon garden markers

Another option when making garden markers is to hammer/stamp your message onto recycled silverware. Below you will find a couple of tutorials showing you how to do this:

• How to - antique garden marker spoon by Shrimp Salad Circus

• Hammered spoon garden markers by Morgan Made It

Plant Support
Every gardener needs support for their plants. Have a go at building a wigwam from willow or any other material you happen to have.

• Make a spiral plant support by Gardeners World


• Make a willow obelisk by BBC Gardening


• Wigwam Plant Supports by Allotment Forestry


• How To make A Willow Wigwam Plant Support by Permaculture Blog

Gardening Apron
Why not make a lovely gardeners apron. I'm sure it will be appreciated. You get a chance to use left over pieces of fabric to make pockets for the gardener to store seeds and tools.

• Gardening Apron Quilted Clothing Pattern by Phyllis Dobbs on TLC Home


• How to Recycle Jeans to Make Easy Gardening Aprons by Hazelknows on eHow


• Canvas Gardening Apron Tutorial by Betz White


• Gardener's Apron on Martha Stewart


• Easy Peasy Gardening Apron by Ginger H on Cut Out + Keep

Do you have more 'making gifts for the gardener' tips to share. Comment below and I will add them to the post.

Do you want to see some more ideas for gifts for the gardener?

Check out my new Pinterest board with ideas.

Eyechart

Don't you think?  With your own personalised message and framed in a simple black bordered frame.  

This eyechartmaker site has a template for up to 28 letters.

and this site (which looks more like the real deal) fits up to 61 letters.

Now I just have to think of something witty/touching/clever in 28 letters.

lore
x

crafty christmas zine & home decor

Hi again, it's Emily from seymour. While scouring the internet today, I found a really neat webzine from Creature Comforts called Gifted, all about Christmas gifts & decorating for the holidays. There are lots of fun looking tutorials/ craft ideas to get you inspired! A few of the holiday decorating projects reminded me of things I had made in years past, so I thought I'd share (not really gifts, but easy and fun!) :

For this snowflake mobile, I ripped strips of muslin and tied on white odds and ends; pom poms from leftover yarn, regular paper & vellum snowflakes and white metal belt buckles. The more eclectic the odds and ends, the more fun! I bent a wire hanger, wrapped it with muslin strips and tied everything on. There's a mobile in Gifted that's got snowflakes hanging from a piece of driftwood and it's beautiful!

Another project in the zine (candles in mason jars) reminded me of this cider jug light I made... but I can barely call it a project! If you're decorating a room with light strands and have a big long tail leftover, find a glass container to hold it- the lights look really pretty through the glass! 

Fabric flower power

Hello again, Scruffybadger here & big thanks to Lore, a contributor for Crafty Christmas Club in this post for motivating & inspiring me to make a silk/ organza flower.

I used two shades of organza & crimson silk. The central "moustache" is made from embroidery silk. As I was in a hurry I used an old pink button instead of beads in the very centre. I stitched some petersham to the back to then secure a brooch pin to.

I couldn't wait for Christmas though & have already given it as a present for someone as a thank you gift! ...and it was very much appreciated... :-)

Can I just encourage others to try it - it's very simple & extremely satisfying. I'm going to be making more of these beauties, experimenting with other fabrics as well.

Hello from Shropshire

Hello, my name is Debbie and I blog over at Minnado's House. I usually make some of my Christmas presents every year but I have a tendency to wander off from my plans so I hope joining in here will keep me on track this year. Plus I love to see what everyone else is making and gain some inspiration. I am trying to plan present making that is achievable for me over the next two months.

So, this year, I am planning on knitting several of these sweet scarves for friends. The pattern is from here It only takes 50g of wool for each scarf so I hope that they will be fairly quick and easy to knit.

Recently, I have been making paper bowls like the one above which I am thinking of using as little gift bowls with small presents inside them. Maybe some homemade sweets?

I am also making an apron and a doll for my litttle girl for her play kitchen. I am not sure what else...but I will let you know!

Hello Everyone

Hi, my name is Jill. I don't have a blog but I am a member of Wardobe Refashion and Burdastyle. Since I was a child I have always handmade gifts, my mum encouraged us to be creative that way. It is also a great way to save money!
This year I am going to try to do Christmas gifts for 21 people for less than $150.
Throughout the year I keep a journal of ideas I have and others I have seen around the place, who I think would like that type of gift and how to source materials.
This is my list so far:
1. Slippers out of my stash of vintage souvenir teatowels (everyone has a collection of those, right??), inspired by this post for my sister in law who lives overseas and my seriously ill aunty.
2. Bathmats: out of old towels/t-shirts, inspired by this.
3. Coasters made out of craft store bases, decorated with pictures from second hand children's books for my cousin (she likes Dr Seuss).

4. Pillows decorated with doilies like in the picture from Smile and Wave with details here for an aunt.
5. Skirts for my sister's from stash fabric. One of my sisters is a primary school teacher who likes themed skirts to wear to work. I found Vegemite (Gross tasting Australian toast topping) pillowcases at the op-shops which I will use to applique somehow on her skirt...
6. For the people I don't know very well, but need to give something to I am thinking lemon butter (my Nanna's recipe) or shortbread.

Now I just have to make all of this...