A Christmas recap........

So I didn't mean to not blog for over a week but last minute Christmas preparations took up all my time. I have been busy making these ginger spice Christmas biscuits with the help of my assistant Caitlin who loves to choose all the Christmas themed shapes and help roll and cut out. We also made A LOT of  chocolate truffles to giveaway as gifts. The girls helped me roll them into balls, dip them into white and dark chocolate them drizzle and decorate some in milk chocolate. I'm not sure how many I made but I did make 5 different sorts, orange liqueur, ginger, coffee, white chocolate/coconut and peppermint creams. Is your mouth watering yet? No photo's sorry. It took me two days to finish them so I was a little over truffles by the end.

On the Wednesday before Christmas we did our annual drive around town to look at the Christmas lights. The above home really goes all out with their whole garden covered in lights. These photos don't do it full justice but you get the idea.

I think it takes them about a week to complete it all.

A life sized nativity scene is part of it.

This is one of the houses in out street where nearly everyone has lights decorating their homes and gardens.

Our neighbors house.

And out Christmas tree all lit up. And of course I was super busy making some handmade presents which I shall share with you tomorrow.

Happy holidays to everyone!!! 

Handmade Christmas - a fabric wreath

We had a rather cool and very wet day today as you can see from the rain on the windows in these photos. As they say "good for the garden" and I say good for some creativity in my sewing attic!

Everything I used to make this wreath is what I had on hand. I love it when I can make something entirely from my stash! Leftover scraps of  batting wrapped around the cane base, then leftover ends of bias binding were used to cover the batting. A couple of yoyos and a fabric flower leftover from previous projects.

The big red flower is one created by my clever Mother and was the perfect match for the colours on the wreath base. I have quite a few of these lovely knitted flowers just waiting for the right project to be matched with. Thanks Mum!

I added more yoyo's made from scraps and finished with various buttons from my button stash. The little Christmas tree is a ceramic button that I got a few years ago and thought I would never use. And for a little sparkle I added a few beads when I sewed on the buttons

So there you go another inexpensive and easy Christmas decoration and something bright and cheery to lift a dull rainy day.

A handmade Christmas - the button wreath

Here's another quick and simple decoration idea and inexpensive too if you are like me and collect buttons old and new.

All you need is some wire strong enough to take the weight of the buttons but bendable so you can make a nice round shape, a selection of buttons of varying sizes, ribbon , and a few bells for a nice Christmasy jingle.

1. Simply cut your wire to desired length (which will depend on how big you want your wreath and how many buttons you have)
2. Thread on your buttons then twist wire ends together to secure.
3. Add a ribbon loop for hanging and tie ends in a bow.
4. Thread bells onto ribbon and tie with a bow onto wreath letting them hang in the middle.

That's it! A simple button wreath. If you feel inspired to make one I'd love to know.

Handmade Christmas decoration No.2

 

Today's Christmas decoration is another very easy and inexpensive one for the tree.

I used 4 circles the same size as yesterdays decorations, folded each one in half then glued them together (wrong sides facing) alternating the 2 colours. Add a hanging loop to the top then attach a length of embroidery floss the the other end. Thread on some beads, then another smaller paper globe and finish with a few more beads. Easy peasy!

To keep the beads from slipping down just backstitch through the last bead. These look great hanging on the bottom branches of my tree, I just hope our cats don't mistake them for new toys!



Tis the season to decorate.........

Another weekend has flown by and I still have not made a start on my list of handmade presents. This weekend I was distracted by the beautiful hot weather we are still experiencing and spent quite a bit of time in my garden, spraying the lawn for unwanted weeds, trimming the rosemary bushes with the company of our 2 cats who must have been enjoying the scent of the rosemary leaves like I was. I have also finished preparing the walls in Amelia's soon to be new room ready for re-wallpapering and now need to sand back the window frames ready for a fresh coat of paint. Re-decorating a room is a fun project, it's just the preparation work that is a little tedious.

Caitlin and I had a fun day yesterday decorating the Christmas tree. Each year I buy a few new decorations and also like to make some handmade ones as well. Since it's been over a week since I last posted I thought I would make up for my absence here by posting each day over the next few days with a new handmade decoration to share with you all.

These paper globes may already be familiar to some of you as I have seen them on a few blogs myself lately. They look quite intricate and difficult to make but are really quite easy to do especially when you have a little helper like I did. I made mine from Christmas themed scrapbook paper but you could use any paper. There is a great tutorial here that I based mine on.

This one was made using double sided scrapbook paper.

I applied glitter to the edges for a little Christmas sparkle. If you want to do this attach the hanging thread first unless you want glitter all over your hands like I did.

Okay I'm off to cook a quick dinner before we head out to Caitlin's School for the break-up/prize giving night but I'll be back tomorrow with another easy handmade decoration to inspire you.

Shop update....

Newly listed in my shop are kits with instructions to make your very own heirloom sewing box. I know it's taken a very long time for me to get around to doing these kits but this was a bit of learning curve for me and I wanted to be sure  my instructions were easy to follow and full of good detailed photos of each step for those of you that need visuals as well as written instructions. Making your own sewing box up means you can choose specific fabrics of your choice and you also get sense of accomplishment at the end of having done it yourself. These boxes are fairly easy to make but do take a bit of time and patience. Of course I do have a couple made up and ready for instant purchase if you're time poor.

My creative space this week. Yes due to a custom order of a flower brooch I did manage to squeeze in some relaxing hand sewing creativity.

I'm loving the colour combo of this brooch and might have to replicate in other projects some time. Hope the recipient likes it!

Have just listed 3 different styles of these brooches in my shop.

The countdown has begun!

Just so you know there's only 23 days till Christmas!! OMG I haven't even started my Christmas shopping yet or made any presents on my list of presents I want to make. This is one of the advent calenders I made for the girls. Each day something is taken from the pockets on the sides and added to the Christmas scene such as lights on the house and tree, presents under the tree, people at the windows and.... 

....a letter to Santa in the letterbox.

This one is just filled with chocolates and as you can see I need to buy more. In previous years I've filled it up with small decorations to put on the tree or little presents to open such as new hair clips or ties.

And this lovely bundle of fabric was a surprise parcel in the mail today. Lara promised a while ago to send me some charm squares of Wonderland by Momo that she no longer needed and I sent her a Bliss charm pack in return. To my girls delight she also popped in these adorable candy cane mice to hang on our tree. Thanks Lara! I want to make something with them right now..... but I have presents to sew, and wall paper to rip off walls which is what is actually keeping my busy at the moment.