Christmas 2014...Savings & Handmade gifts

whitesatin

A couple of years ago, I used my microwave rice cooker to cook some rice, as normal. Only, I forgot to put water in and so it all caught fire and we were left with a nasty, acrid mess. Not sure if it was the fact that the rice was dry that it caught fire or if it was the container but I would be careful about putting dry rice into the microwave. Apart from that, it sounds like a nice idea but maybe look into what else you could put inside that is safe to heat up.

crystal_fire

has anyone started making yet or is it too soon?
I keep meaning to start but I could do with a visit to hobbycraft before hand!

sefilby

My gran used to make wheat bags with lavender by filling fabric squares up

madmoys

Saw this idea on facebook, A flannel and towel with a card attached with this poem -

This Christmas you deserve the best... ...a present unlike all the rest. We considered a new car or exotic cruise, but decided on something you could really use! Finally we found a gift to admire, we hope you like your new washer and dryer!" Happy Holidays!

mrsHall2b

moosetastic wrote: »

I have been Minimacka, there are some gorgeous ideas! its years since I did a craft fair, the last one I did I made over £100 on snowman soup and reindeer food and peg magnets!!

I mainly make cakes now, so I dont have a lot of time for crafting, but with a lot of my orders for Xmas not being paid for till just before, I wanted to do something with my time and make some extra money. got the wooden bunting shapes, gonna decopage them with chistmassy paper, ive got some bottle neck tags to do the same thing with as well. Gonna make some plain white tree decorations from Fimo and thought I would latch on to the "Frozen" craze and Im gonna make some little frozen wishes (edible glitter in a tiny glass jar with a snowflake charm, something like that, havent worked out the logistics yet!!) lol

My sister knits as well, and shes got lots of xmas items made already so we are doing the fair together. Once I have made some things, Ill post them up for all to see xxx

with the little frozen jars you could also put some sherbet to bulk out the edible glitter? obviously if you where making for someone specific you could include a hand/glove shaped lolly to eat it and a little poem about magic.. this is what im hoping to do for my girls, fingers crossed!

youth_leader

It's my husband's birthday tomorrow and i went to M&S to get him some sweets - spent ages choosing because it was 3 for 2 - got to the till and one of the items wasn't on the offer, grr!

Have come home and found the peppermint creams recipe to make - http://www.maryberry.co.uk/recipes/cooking-with-children/peppermint-creams - anyone else tried it?

JulietteCarter

I'm gonna give my buddies a circle beach towel which is good for an optimal sunbathing

Treakil

Hi All
Just been reading all your brilliant ideas for homemade (=special) Christmas pressies and have a few to contribute.

I don't have many youngsters in our family it's mostly adult couples, so a few years ago I made infused (cooking) oils. I bought 3 sizes of bottles online and also found the method online. I made chilli, garlic and rosemary (separately, not together). Stick to the method, as with the chilli and garlic you have to remove the solids from the oil after infusing but before storing, the rosemary you can leave in. I then labelled the bottles, put a ribbon on them and gave each couple the range of 3 bottles. The oils can be used for cooking or for drizzling over salad etc.

My OH's sister makes vodka flavoured with various fruits, most recently she made blackberry - yum! In the past she's also made Limoncello. I don't know that she makes it to give away, but it's certainly a treat when you go round there! She found the recipe online.

This year I'm making bedside birdhouses. I saw the idea on daytime TV last week. Linda Barker had a wooden birdhouse, took off the inverted V-shape roof, then decorated the birdhouse with fabric scraps, but you could use wallpaper, sticky back plastic, anything you like really. This goes beside the bed, you put your glasses, jewellery, watch inside and your book goes on the top, open at your current page, in place of a roof! I looked online for birdhouse kits, but didn't have much luck, so I found readymade 3 for £10.95, with metal roofs they were easier to remove than if they were wood glued on. I now have to decorate them, add in some printed instructions - I can see my sister unwrapping it and thinking "what the....?!" - and voila!

Treakil

moosetastic wrote: »

I have been Minimacka, there are some gorgeous ideas! its years since I did a craft fair, the last one I did I made over £100 on snowman soup and reindeer food and peg magnets!!

Please can you tell me what snowman soup and reindeer food are? Many thanks.

bunbun2

Treakil wrote: »

Hi All
Just been reading all your brilliant ideas for homemade (=special) Christmas pressies and have a few to contribute.

I don't have many youngsters in our family it's mostly adult couples, so a few years ago I made infused (cooking) oils. I bought 3 sizes of bottles online and also found the method online. I made chilli, garlic and rosemary (separately, not together). Stick to the method, as with the chilli and garlic you have to remove the solids from the oil after infusing but before storing, the rosemary you can leave in. I then labelled the bottles, put a ribbon on them and gave each couple the range of 3 bottles. The oils can be used for cooking or for drizzling over salad etc.

My OH's sister makes vodka flavoured with various fruits, most recently she made blackberry - yum! In the past she's also made Limoncello. I don't know that she makes it to give away, but it's certainly a treat when you go round there! She found the recipe online.

This year I'm making bedside birdhouses. I saw the idea on daytime TV last week. Linda Barker had a wooden birdhouse, took off the inverted V-shape roof, then decorated the birdhouse with fabric scraps, but you could use wallpaper, sticky back plastic, anything you like really. This goes beside the bed, you put your glasses, jewellery, watch inside and your book goes on the top, open at your current page, in place of a roof! I looked online for birdhouse kits, but didn't have much luck, so I found readymade 3 for £10.95, with metal roofs they were easier to remove than if they were wood glued on. I now have to decorate them, add in some printed instructions - I can see my sister unwrapping it and thinking "what the....?!" - and voila!

I saw those birdhouses too and thought they were a great idea. Please can I ask where you got the birdhouses from. Thanks!