making presents

Queenie

A few more links from my favourites that might be useful:-


Styrofoam Craft Projects (US)

Sewing Org - Holiday Projects (US)

Martha Stewart Crafts (US)

Michaels Crafts (US)

Jo-Ann's Projects Page (US)

Crafts Beautiful Projects (UK)

BHG - Crafts (US)

Queenie

BASIL wrote:

is there a really easy guide to knitting ?- i remember doing it when little and was truly awful... it would be nice to make some scarves for relatives little uns though....;)

#


Basic Knit Instructions

How to Knit - PDF doc, by the Children's Society (good pictures plus tips

There are magazine's in Tesco's/WH Smiths etc for beginner knitting I notice now too

Basic Scarf Pattern

COOLTRIKERCHICK

hi... dorry..... if you got bits of wool lying round.. what about a lovely tea cosy.....if you go onto ebay, and type in tea cosy/ cosies there are some lovely ideas i wqs so impressed with one i bought it it as a pink pig....

another good pressie to make if you are good at it... is a embroided table cloth....you can really personalise that especially if its for someone who has a new home...same with towels etc......

i must admit i like this thread... giving me some great ideas.....i am going to start knitting one of those fancy dolls that go over your loo rolls, but i am going to use that funky fur wool...red and white colour christmas theme......

also padded coat hangers allways go down well...espically if they are slightly scented........:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

dorry_2

thanks queenie and cooltrickerchick, you ideas are great. i am on my holidays this week and I am going to organise a list of pressie to make for xmas!!


along the lines of knitted dolls that cooltrickchick was discussing, my mum has been selling them on ebay, the jean greenhowe type and sometimes she buys a basic knitted doll and personalises it. They have been selling for quite alot of money, she bought one at car boot sale for 50p and sold it to someone in america for £21!!

just a thought!! mmmm

kittiwoz

Here's a list of craft websites I like. Some have practical advice and patterns, others are good for inspiration.
www.theanitcraft.com Cool craft magazine with project ideas.
whipup.net Crafts e-zine showcases interesting work from artists across a broad range of media. Also has links to tutorials and other resources.
http://www.magma.ca/~joanc/making_puppet_mittens.htm Pattern for puppet mittens and nice little story of how it came to be.
www.mypapercrane.com/ Showcase for the work of Heidi Kenney who sews plush versions of everyday objects, particularly food. Good for inspiration.
www.ulster.net/~spider/diagrams.htm Origami instructions
www.craftscouncil.org.uk Natioanl organisation for the promotion of contemporary crafts. An industry website rather than aimed at DIY dabblers but a wealth of information nontheless.
www.craftster.org Online crafting community.
www.sewdorky.com Felt doughuts. Very cute. Sales page rather then how-to but looks pretty do-able to me.
http://homepage.mac.com/galemeyer/PhotoAlbum23.html Homepage of a fantastically nutty American woman with lots of pictures of her lovely sock dogs and fantastically imaginative special occassions food.
http://www.notmartha.org/tomake/index.html Projects ideas and info a lot of which is very present orientated.
www.spunmag.com Knitting mag with free patterns.
http://www.magknits.com And another one.
http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/patterns.html And again.
www.marniemaclean.com/patterns More free knitting patterns.
[url="http://www.knittinghelp.com/]www.knittinghelp.com[/url] Knitting instructions.
www.helloknitty.com/videoinstr.htm More knitting instructions.

jayarr_2

abit late i know but dunelm is open on a sunday and the one near me has a small wool section

janeawej

The kids and i mads candles one year, wicks and wax r cheap from a craft shop we put them in small terracotta flower pots and put xmassy spices, cinamon, cloves ect around the top , and a bit of ribbon or gold paint around the pot, everyone loved them especialy teachers! they said it made a lovely change from choccys

Also this year got small glasses and decorated them with voile ribbon wrapped around. fluffy stuff around base or sequins, put a night light in and hey presto candle holder, saw these for sale at £3.99 each so decided to make my own!

hennagirl

Last two years for MIL have been putting together hampers of unusual stuff that I know she will like but not have seen - have used a jar of tabasco olives, a salami sausage, cheeses, and a wine bottle. I always go to Lidl for the continental look of the stuff they have - great cheese selection near Christmas. Also as a authentic container for display, used the small wooden boxes you get clementines in near Christmas, wrapped it up in Celophane paper and put finishing bows and ribbon - looked professional enough to pass the test!! One Xmas, made my own marzipan fruits from bought marzipan and shaped into tiny fruits, dusted with cake colour powders and placed inside a tin lined with petit four cases - again looked great and was appreciated by FIL.

One for kids to do is make little mini frames from Hama beads and glue in a picture of themselves - did that when Daughter left preschool and was surprised how much they appreciated them.

dolly_day_dream

Wow love this thread!
We always make the older members of our family a home-made hamper for Christmas. They love hm christmas pudding and cake but don't have the energy to make it any more. I include other treats such as pickled onions, shortbread and some hm sweets.

Younger girls get covered note books - buy plain ones from Tescos and then cover with fabric that has been personalised to them - goes down a treat. Children often enjoy a set of juggling balls - made fom bags of equal size and filled with rice etc. I download instructions how to juggle from the internet and add them. Hand puppets are good. Hand knitted scarves very popular.
Dolls clothes?

Home made fudge goes down well. If you want to make some expensive looking soap, buy a basic bar and gently melt it a little then add some oatmeal or lavender flowers and re-shape, voila an expensive looking gift.

I often make bags because you can adjust the design to suit whoever it is for and they can range from PE bags (with their name embroidered on = one very happy 5 yr old) to laundry bags, handbags, bags for putting dirty kit into.

I have always found that matching the gift to the recipient is far more important than where it has come from. If they can see that you have put thought into it then people are appreciative of it.

nicki_2

HM gifts over the years from us include :

• Little decorations of DD's hand, her name and year out of saltdough to hang on the christmas tree
• Photo of DD in a little frame for each member of the family.
• Latest school photo - we always order enough so that everyone in the family gets one.
• Home made cookies in Christmas shapes
• Mince pies
• A variety of homemade bread, made using the mixes from Asda - ideal for our 2 widowed granddads, apparently they were greatly enjoyed
• Survivial kits (from here - http://www.craftsayings.com/projects/index.shtml ) went down a treat with the teachers.

Last year I made both my SIL's "overnight bags" - I bought them a travel bag from Ethel Austins, put a scarf, socks, bubble bath, manicure set and an inscribed angelwing keyring (proceeds of the keyring purchases went to cancer research). Everything was bought, but they were still appreciated.

This year I'm still looking for ideas. So I'll have to wait and see...