Christmas 2014...Savings & Handmade gifts

crystal_fire

Yes those are the ones in my watch list :T
Thanks for the tips too I'll make some notes in the morning so I don't forget
I deffinately don't have neat handwriting so the sticker tip is a good one for me

gloriouslyhappy

I made some body butter tins for a craft fayre, sold them at £2.50 each and gave the left-overs away as christmas presents - buy new empty lipgloss tins on ebay, about £4 for 50, buy those little wedding favour sheer drawstring bags on ebay, about £1.50 for 20, buy a big lump of shea butter and a big jar of cocoa butter on ebay, about £6 for both, then fill the little tins and pop inside a bag, and you've got a quick and easy present which looks good, is cheap to make and much better than the fragranced products sold by BodyShop etc, plus, everybody likes a handbag / travel size.
Simple and effective, much easier than making jam or chutney!

ALou19

Stephb1986 wrote: »

Does anyone know where I can get clear baubles from, ones that fill from the top not slot together if that makes sense?

I have had a quick look Steph and can only find the ones that come in two halfs any reason why you need top filling ones?


Also I found another cute idea for anyone gifting candles...

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/113575221828273184/

Obviously change the 2014 to 2015 but I think it's a quick way to jazz up cheap plain candles, just add a sticker! I have also had my thrifty head on and have a couple of candles in glass holders that are at the bottom, so thinking of cleaning these up along with a Nutella jar! It was a sad day in our household yesterday when we used the last of the Nutella but then it came to me I could reuse the jar, as without the label it is plain. Forever thinking! :T:rotfl:

amysb86

minimacka wrote: »

Yes they did and they were good quality, if you wanted to you could just varnish them, they had a lovely darker wood colour around the hearts. I used a tester pot to paint them because you use such a little amount and then varnished them after I put the stickers on. Don't forget if you do it make a chart of the birthdays so that you get the hearts right because some have 1 hole and some 2 (top and bottom) I didn't want to get confused so I did a drawing off all the birthdays and then counted up how many of each heart I needed. Have a go they do look lovely and are so expensive to buy to not so much to do yourself.


I used the stickers because I thought my handwriting looked awful lol if you have neat handwriting then hand write them. I also hung little silver charms from some of the months to even it out and if I didn't have a birthday that month, for eg I hung a Christmas charm on December and a heart on February. They also don't cost very much from ebay

could someone send me ebay link for kits? iv been having a read through this thread fab ideas would love to try the family birthday idea

minimacka

amysb86 wrote: »

could someone send me ebay link for kits? iv been having a read through this thread fab ideas would love to try the family birthday idea

If you google Wooden family birthday kits, there are lots of different ones out there, some lovely ones actually especially on ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wooden-MDF-Family-Birthday-Plaque-blank-sign-Plaque-4mm-thick-/191314957160?pt=UK_Crafts_Other_Crafts_EH&var=&hash=item2c8b429368 - this isn't like the one I made but it is unusual. I made one like this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Family-Birthday-Reminder-Wooden-Plaque-Sign-Mothers-Day-/291236452968?pt=UK_Home_HomeDecor_Accessories&var=&hash=item43cf0b9a68

FieryAngel

Hello everybody
I've been getting so excited thinking about Christmas recently! Probably something to do with all the emails from various companies giving me a 'sneak peek' at their Christmas catalogue.

Like yourselves, I love being crafty and think homemade gifts are really nice and everyone loves getting them - it's always nice and thoughtful. There's been some great ideas on here - LOVE the ice cream hamper (though I can imagine eating half of it before ever giving it away!).

Last year I did pretty well with making jam, lemon curd, chocolate flavoured creams (like strawberry, orange, mint etc). I gave fudge a try but it came out awful! Not sure what I did wrong exactly but I'm guessing it's not my forte I've previously done bath bombs as well but again they didn't come out great - they fizzed a little but it was probably my fault rather than the 'recipe' and they were cheap to make! Loving the body butter/lip salve idea - may have to try that this year!

One thing that's easy to make and definitely cheaper than buying are those posh looking chocolate slabs that Hotel Choc do. They cost about £15 for a slab of milk, white or dark chocolate usually with something added to it like nuts. My best friend enjoys the version I make for her which is just to melt a couple of bars of dairy milk and pour it onto baking parchment on a baking tray in a vague rectangular shape, making it as thick or thin as you like, and for her I add mini marshmallows and lumps of marzipan and usually a bit of edible glitter before it sets. I've not found any large bags to accommodate it as a slab but I'm sure they'll be out there somewhere so I usually roughly break it up to look like shards of chocolate.
The possibilities are endless as to what you can add to the chocolate - nuts, dried fruit, sprinkles, glitters, chocolate chips even and perhaps you could flavour the chocolate also?

Wow, didn't mean to write so much, sorry guys! (told you I was excited about Christmas!)

ps. sorry if this seems like a very newbie question but is there a way to subscribe to a thread? Thanks!

d0nna

FieryAngel wrote: »

Hello everybody
I've been getting so excited thinking about Christmas recently! Probably something to do with all the emails from various companies giving me a 'sneak peek' at their Christmas catalogue.

Like yourselves, I love being crafty and think homemade gifts are really nice and everyone loves getting them - it's always nice and thoughtful. There's been some great ideas on here - LOVE the ice cream hamper (though I can imagine eating half of it before ever giving it away!).

Last year I did pretty well with making jam, lemon curd, chocolate flavoured creams (like strawberry, orange, mint etc). I gave fudge a try but it came out awful! Not sure what I did wrong exactly but I'm guessing it's not my forte I've previously done bath bombs as well but again they didn't come out great - they fizzed a little but it was probably my fault rather than the 'recipe' and they were cheap to make! Loving the body butter/lip salve idea - may have to try that this year!

One thing that's easy to make and definitely cheaper than buying are those posh looking chocolate slabs that Hotel Choc do. They cost about £15 for a slab of milk, white or dark chocolate usually with something added to it like nuts. My best friend enjoys the version I make for her which is just to melt a couple of bars of dairy milk and pour it onto baking parchment on a baking tray in a vague rectangular shape, making it as thick or thin as you like, and for her I add mini marshmallows and lumps of marzipan and usually a bit of edible glitter before it sets. I've not found any large bags to accommodate it as a slab but I'm sure they'll be out there somewhere so I usually roughly break it up to look like shards of chocolate.
The possibilities are endless as to what you can add to the chocolate - nuts, dried fruit, sprinkles, glitters, chocolate chips even and perhaps you could flavour the chocolate also?

Wow, didn't mean to write so much, sorry guys! (told you I was excited about Christmas!)

ps. sorry if this seems like a very newbie question but is there a way to subscribe to a thread? Thanks!

Hi, the chocolate sounds yummy!

You can subscribe to this thread by clicking on the green thread tools section just above the top post, you can then select if you want to receive email alerts etc.

ALou19

FieryAngel wrote: »

One thing that's easy to make and definitely cheaper than buying are those posh looking chocolate slabs that Hotel Choc do. They cost about £15 for a slab of milk, white or dark chocolate usually with something added to it like nuts.

Fab idea! I considered doing something like this but with silicon mold's. I saw some chocolate names last year which were so expensive for what they were so buying a mold/ice cube tray and melting down choc to make my own seems a far better idea! :rotfl:

FieryAngel

ALou19 wrote: »

Fab idea! I considered doing something like this but with silicon mold's. I saw some chocolate names last year which were so expensive for what they were so buying a mold/ice cube tray and melting down choc to make my own seems a far better idea! :rotfl:

Definitely, the silicon trays are good and easy to use, the chocolate comes out really easily, no fuss! I have a heart one which is handy for Valentine's Day, Anniversaries, Weddings and Christmas

ALou19

FieryAngel wrote: »

Definitely, the silicon trays are good and easy to use, the chocolate comes out really easily, no fuss! I have a heart one which is handy for Valentine's Day, Anniversaries, Weddings and Christmas

Ace! Maybe have to invest in a couple then on pay day May do some kiddie xmas shapes and names for the neices and nephews and try find some roses or 'elegant' shapes for aunts etc. If you can get elegant chocolate?! :rotfl: Package them up nicely and kerching I'll be quids in!:T