Challenge: Handmade 2010 xmas

esmer

Are they hard to make?

I do need to make stuff before adding to it. Lol

Rosanna79

Ginger
Sorry for you awful pain, seems to be the weather at present. I only have Osteoarthritis but my hands are really playing up at present. RA is horrendous so wish you feel better soon.

Craftwork for Christmas really helps to pass the time and it's great to make presents.
This year so far I've made over 40 jars of chutney- green tomato and Christmas chutney

-Finishing off three denim drawstring book bags for my cousin's sons, to personalise their hardback sketchbooks we bought to go with the tins of Watercolour pencils we bought from TK Maxx...

The container we found for them this year, also at TK Maxx is a large model telephone box with three shelves. Each shelf will be full of inexpensive things for the boys but each year we make it different.

Their book bags have their initials embroidered on by me and the chocolate money bags have had REAL coinns put into them by my husband whose hands are better for these fiddly jobs... These children have very few relatives so it's great to be involved with their lives and fun thinking up new ideas each time.

And of course it's too heavy to post so we make one of our infrequent trips down south to take the presents and see the rest of the family..

Does anyone else do embroidery? I'm in a creative embroidery class making a Christmas wall hanging from as much recycled material as possible.

One of the ladies in my class told us today that Poundland sell bags of sequins for £1. Brilliant range ,colours and quantity for the price.

Went to a sewing/ wool shop further down the town precinct for some 'beading Needles' 0nly found out they exist today! The shop owner was telling me she doesn't know how poundland manage to sell such a quantity of sequins for the price.

Apparently the average wholesale price of the same item would be a third of the quantity for THREE times the price!

This same shop has crochet courses so think I might follow it up after Christmas.

Still got to finish my sister in law's lined tote bag.

I know how to download photos from my camera to my laptop but how on earth do I get the pictures onto the thread?!

gingerandrubarb

esmer wrote: »

Are they hard to make?

I do need to make stuff before adding to it. Lol

They are super easy to make hunny, melt pour let sit, that's it. you can use anything from odd tea cups,old t-light metal holders,clay moulded into shapes, egg shells, shells, fried fruits, (lemons, oranges etc it's in my Martha book ) a bucket of sand shaped into something, a flat cooking tray then use cookie cutters to cut out shapes then thread all of the shapes (like threading buttons) onto a wick for a stacked candle effect,
You can use up scraps of old candles also such as the bits around the edges that don't burn and use crayola crayons for a multitude of colours or even use baking flavours for scent :T (Home bargains do a huge pack of crayons for £1)

gingerandrubarb

Rosanna79 wrote: »

Ginger
Sorry for you awful pain, seems to be the weather at present. I only have Osteoarthritis but my hands are really playing up at present. RA is horrendous so wish you feel better soon.

Craftwork for Christmas really helps to pass the time and it's great to make presents.
This year so far I've made over 40 jars of chutney- green tomato and Christmas chutney

-Finishing off three denim drawstring book bags for my cousin's sons, to personalise their hardback sketchbooks we bought to go with the tins of Watercolour pencils we bought from TK Maxx...

The container we found for them this year, also at TK Maxx is a large model telephone box with three shelves. Each shelf will be full of inexpensive things for the boys but each year we make it different.

Their book bags have their initials embroidered on by me and the chocolate money bags have had REAL coinns put into them by my husband whose hands are better for these fiddly jobs... These children have very few relatives so it's great to be involved with their lives and fun thinking up new ideas each time.

And of course it's too heavy to post so we make one of our infrequent trips down south to take the presents and see the rest of the family..

Does anyone else do embroidery? I'm in a creative embroidery class making a Christmas wall hanging from as much recycled material as possible.

One of the ladies in my class told us today that Poundland sell bags of sequins for £1. Brilliant range ,colours and quantity for the price.

Went to a sewing/ wool shop further down the town precinct for some 'beading Needles' 0nly found out they exist today! The shop owner was telling me she doesn't know how poundland manage to sell such a quantity of sequins for the price.

Apparently the average wholesale price of the same item would be a third of the quantity for THREE times the price!

This same shop has crochet courses so think I might follow it up after Christmas.

Still got to finish my sister in law's lined tote bag.

I know how to download photos from my camera to my laptop but how on earth do I get the pictures onto the thread?!

Thank you hunny :lovethougit certainly is a struggle and crafting does help although i can't draw or paint anymore due to the fine movements, :mad:, i', on over 20 tablets a day minimum and they dont take away the pain, just need to grin and bear it i suppose.
I have bought the sequins from their, i got the normal cups ones in irredescent colours and also the rhinestones from their, they are really good :T
I also got the 6 pack of vial shaped tubes of seed beads from home bargains for 59p the colours of them are amazing!!! you can get beading needles from Ebay hunny, i'd imagine shops offline will be extortionate for beading needles, i got some on Ebay and they are really good, and definately a god send for those with pain and mobility problems like us too
I have just started embroidery, i do cross stitch so have been finding it ok, although i was using normal sewing thread and wondering how it wasn't filling up the spaces :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: needless to say i have now bought embroidery thread and use my cross stitch thread.

You can upload your pictures onto here by going to photobucket, if you upload your pics to their it shows you a various links to upload them to places i just go to the URL (i think it's that) and then copy the code and paste it into the comments, it auto changes into the picture when you post xxx

gingerandrubarb

Here's the drop eye beading needle i bought from ebay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BIG-EYE-Beading-Needle-Freepost-/250612850313?pt=UK_Crafts_JewelleryMaking_GL&hash=item3a59b09e89
You can buy cheaper packs of 'beading needles' but they dont have the drop eye's so are more like normal sewing needles, the drop eye definately makes beading and threading easier hunny x

esmer

gingerandrubarb wrote: »

Hi,
I have a pattern hunny, PM me your email address and i'll send it, or why not join our pattern/crafty swap? x:T

Are they easy to make?

pennib

So Sorry to everyone that is in a lot of pain :0(

Thanks Ginger for the link to the beading needle, never heard of that one before. I have the ordinary beading needles which are very fine and sometimes the thread want go through the hole its so small.

mary-op

Ginger - so sorry you're in such pain. I marvel how you manage to do what you do............I have problems with my fingers doing anything too fiddly but think thats more my age than anything else.

Oh dear........shame about the egg shall candles.......I was so hoping I could grab the next one anyone uses and pop a tea light in to see if it works........:(

Best to leave me out of the ''swap'' thing........I don't have any knitting or sewing patterns .........or anything for that matter to give back............sorry cos its such a good idea.

Rosanna - love the idea of doing an embroidered wall hanging from recycled stuff..........I'm all for that sort of thing and embroidery is one thing I can do........well sort of..........been a few years since I did it properly.

esmer

Im the same, I dont have any patterns to swap........ I only just got my sewing machine out of my friends loft. Its old, but reliable.

The soap/bathbomb makers - have you seen these - http://www.estheticals.com/bathbombdotcom/Bath%20Muffin%20Recipe.pdf

happycrafter_2

gingerandrubarb wrote: »

Hi,
I have a pattern hunny, PM me your email address and i'll send it, or why not join our pattern/crafty swap? x:T

Have sent you a PM

thanks so much I cant wait to see their faces at Christmas when they open the hamper. Now im off to sort out my spare bedroom and crafting supplies!