handmade gifts for christmas and celebrations 2011

wammy77

So far this years list doesn't seem too bad at the moment:

Sisters 30th in May (memory jar and a 'good times' artwork)
My little girls 4th birthday - she wants a princess fairy party and plan to do LOTS of making for this!!!!!! BTW all suggestions very welcome (so far I have on the list; cake, make and do kits for tiaras, wands and tutus, butterfly strings, cupcake bar, fairy dust and potion making)
Sister-in-Laws 1 - 40th in June (memory jar and a 'good times' artwork)
Nephews 1st birthday in July - no idea!
Sister-in-Law 2 - 30th in September

and of course Christmas 2011... list still being organised!!!

I'm also planning on building my business back up this year after having to virtually shut it down after a string of obsticles getting in my way last year (hubbys redundancy, home-schooling my autistic son, losing the house). I'm really looking forward to it as I just love silversmithing...... there's someting so fantastic about producing somehing unique and special for someone and seeing the look on their face when they receive it

zangels

Please can I join?
I stared reading the old thread towards end of december and it inspired me to make some things whe i ahve never made anything befor.
I made fudge, biscuits, snowman soup, pots of gold, hand painted mugs, reindeer flannels and choclates. Some went in hampers and others as individual presents and it was so lovely to see them when finished.
I want to try knitting and sewing and jam this year but not really got a clue on any of them.
It was funny but the people who i thought wouldnt appreciate it did and funnily enough my sister who i though would didnt even bother opening it! But did get a thank you in the end. Thanks for the inspiration:beer:

Grannyknits

Hi I would love to join please.

Have been a member since 06 but it must be longer than I thought since I logged in because I had to re-register. There's no wonder I was so behind this year. I have spent all Christmas reading back posts on ThriftyGifty and trying to catch up. I am still a bit confused by all the different threads but will bookmark this one for sure.

Wow, lots of great ideas already. I am aiming to make lots of gifts this year. Hopefully by following this thread I will keep up! I will think about who I make them for though after reading this thread.

Scuzz 29, I'm so impressed by your blog. It's something I've wanted to do for years but never had the bottle to actually do so hats off to you

Sam-mumof4, have you thought of using a panel for your quilt. I'm making one for my two DGDs 2 & 3. I bought a panel and added a border. Then you can quilt as much or as little as you like. I did buy it as a quick alternative to a hand-pieced quilt for this Christmas but couldn't manage to finish them in 2 weeks! I love the idea of the science hamper, will [STRIKE]pinch[/STRIKE] borrow that idea if you don't mind for my youngest son.

My ideas are; knitted lace scarf for M, socks or scarf for D. Handmade bags, make-up bags & purse for 2 eldest DD and DDiL. Patchwork advent calender for DGS & niece1. Finish the 2 quilts for DGD's:o and make quilt for DS.

Also making tea cosy, peg bag, shoppers x5, sock monkeys (have a pattern from a magazine and 3 pairs of socks!), lavender wheat bags and have some felt bunting and hangings to finish off. Would also like to try flavoured vodka and the fudge.

Loving the sound of the jelly baby soaps. I always thought soap making was really involved and took loads of equipment and time, does it?
Am also really interested in making candles but again thought it was like soap making, labour intensive.

Phew, sorry for long posting, have 2 years of posting to catch up on Looking at my list, think I will need 2 years to do this lot!

Looking forward to seeing and hearing about lots of handmade craftyness, hugs Granny:grouphug:

betterlife

wammy77 wrote: »

)
My little girls 4th birthday - she wants a princess fairy party and plan to do LOTS of making for this!!!!!! BTW all suggestions very welcome (so far I have on the list; cake, make and do kits for tiaras, wands and tutus, butterfly strings, cupcake bar, fairy dust and potion making)

oww thats a great idea, my little girl is 5 in april and i was thinking of doing her a birthday party ,she loves the princess fairy stuff so any pics of your makes would be great
i shall have to start planning :think: also my son is 7 in march i think he wants a party this year aswell, i mustnt complain though as neither have had a proper one before just little tea parties with family.

betterlife

grannyknits, very impressive list of makes for this year you must be very talented. please share pics of finished items if you can find the time lol:)

sarymclary

I've stepped over from the old thread too, and bookmarking this one so I don't lose you all. I get very confused with all the different threads too, but the old one of this really did seem to help me stick with the plan to do a handmade Christmas this year.

Scuzz29 I've taken your lead, and also resurrected my blog. I'm now following you, so you've got to keep updating it! I've posted pictures of some of my Christmas makes on my blog here: http://sarymclary.blogspot.com/ as I thought it might fill up the thread pages here too much otherwise.

I'm pleased to say my hampers seemed to have gone down a treat. One sister & B-i-L have thanked me 3 times now for their's. As this year was the 1st one I've really got properly involved in doing homemade stuff, I know that I need to be better prepared for the next year too. I need to stock up on cellophane, as the florist stuff I'd saved over the past few years has nearly all been used up now... and I don't get nearly enough bouquets of flowers to keep up the supply.

I did pots of gold this year for the 1st time too. Had to improvise last minute using terracotta flower pots on Christmas Eve, as I'd forgotten to do them, and wrapped them in Christmas paper. Unfortunately none of them won a thing on their scratch cards (there was me hoping for a new year in the Carribbean).

Looking forward to seeing all your makes, and hearing all your ideas in the months ahead.

Well_Preserved

I picked up a book called 'Edible Gifts' for 99p in a charity shop today so feeling inspired. Chutneys, marmalade, piccalilli, other preserves,feta-type cheese in oil, bottled cherry tomatoes, flavoured oils, vinegars, cracker-type biscuits, lemon herb mix [dried], sweets, candied peel, Easter loaf, pumpkin pie, harvest loaf, cakes, shortbread etc. I'm happy to type up if anyone is interested - one at a time at least!

sarymclary

Well_Preserved wrote: »

I picked up a book called 'Edible Gifts' for 99p in a charity shop today so feeling inspired. Chutneys, marmalade, piccalilli, other preserves,feta-type cheese in oil, bottled cherry tomatoes, flavoured oils, vinegars, cracker-type biscuits, lemon herb mix [dried], sweets, candied peel, Easter loaf, pumpkin pie, harvest loaf, cakes, shortbread etc. I'm happy to type up if anyone is interested - one at a time at least!

I think that would be a fabulous idea. Especially so near to the front of the thread, where it should be easy to find them.

I have to say the biggest hit in my hampers this year were the fruity biscotti, and the melting shortbread biscuits. They were both incredibly easy to do, can prepare them beforehand, both freeze, and have a good shelf life.

wammy77

Well_Preserved wrote: »

I picked up a book called 'Edible Gifts' for 99p in a charity shop today so feeling inspired. Chutneys, marmalade, piccalilli, other preserves,feta-type cheese in oil, bottled cherry tomatoes, flavoured oils, vinegars, cracker-type biscuits, lemon herb mix [dried], sweets, candied peel, Easter loaf, pumpkin pie, harvest loaf, cakes, shortbread etc. I'm happy to type up if anyone is interested - one at a time at least!

Hi

I'd be interested!!! i wanted to make more foodie gifts this year, but ran out of time so just made a few bits in the end What a bargain at 99p too!

I fancy the recipe for the candied peel if you have time to jot it down on here I'm going to put all my recipes and makes on my blog to save me time re-posting and save space on the forum(!) as my posts can get a bit lengthy otherwise!

I'm after some plain wooden boxes (chest type ones if poss) to paint and decorate as keepsake boxes - does anyone know a good place to get them?

Well_Preserved

OK candied peel here we go:

5 large oranges/10 lemons or limes, unwaxed
675g granulated sugar + extra for sprinkling
To preserve each fruit's individual flavour candy them separately.

Halve fruit, squeeze out juice - it's not needed so can be used for something else. Discard the flesh but not pith.
Cut peel into strips about 1 cm wide and place in a saucepan. Cover with boiling water, simmer about 5 minutes. Drain, then repeat 4 times to remove bitterness.
Put the sugar in a heavy based saucepan. Pour in 250ml water. Heat gently to dissolve, stirring all the time. Add the peel & cook slowly, partially covered, for 30-40 minutes until soft. Leave to cool completely, then sprinkle with extra sugar. My note: I think you might need to put them on something like silicone paper to dry before doing this, as the footnote talks about using any left over syrup in fruit salads or cake making. It also says you can use this method to candy orange slices or large pieces of peel, and that it's a good idea to start making it in the latter part of the winter when the new season's citrus fruit abounds; it will keep all year round.