Santas challenge 2017

Anglea

Hi everyone,

I've got to wrap a present/write card for DS2 to take back with him (as he's here on a visit) as birthday isn't until next weekend and I must remember to mail a card to someone else, the same date as DS's but as I won't have anything to do for him, I really hope it won't cause me a problem and overlook the second one.

This weekend I'm attending a Wassail and have made a wreath for my head, next special occasion is Valentine's and I'm in the process of making a gift for my friend, I was sneakily trying to measure things in her bedroom yesterday when she was in another room. DS and I were there for lunch.

Fortunately she seems to like all my hand made gifts, her bedroom seems to be a shrine to them and she also has things in other rooms. I don't think I'll make anything for Christmas or birthday as I'll be running out of ideas although I may make some nice cards for her.

I wonder how Katiehound is doing on the cruise.

Happy Kitties - did you break the sample reeds or were they ok when you knocked them over?

Chanie as usual you're doing really well with bargains.

Hello Ginalina to the group.

How are you crazy-cat-lady?

crazy-cat-lady_2

All good here thanks Angela. I had a big sort out of everything in the presents cupboards yesterday. Found I had more things than I thought i had. Especially cards. They’ll all come in I suppose. B&M has some last bits reduced that I picked up to put away. Kid’s hat and glove sets £3.99 to 10p. Santa, reindeer, Christmas pudding and a penguin. So one of each. My little girl loves penguins so she already claimed that one and is wearing it to nursery.

I’m having a big push to get a head start on my crochet cat blankets for rescues and my scarves for the homeless. By this Christmas I hope to have a big pile of both to donate. If I start big early on I’m ahead for any months I can’t make as many.

Wreath making! Very jealous. Only tried a few times and I’m not very neat. I would love it if my friends and family wanted to swap handmade gifts. How perfect.

Happy_Kitties

Angleathe Wassail sounds amazing, u will have to report back to let us know how it went. I've never been to one

Fortunately I didn't break any reeds but the oil did spill everywhere. I popped the reeds back in, didn't realise I had got so much oil on my fingers, ended up getting it in my eye. I did smell nice after but it was a mess at the time.

CCL great result on the kids hat and glove sets. Much admiration on the cat blankets and scarfs. My DD and I support an animal charity that does auctions and I've a few extra bits in to donate something throughout the year.

Have been doing the decluttering challenge on another thread and just putting together my second bag of items for Cats Protection. Went to drop a bag of items in the other day and found a Molton Brown handwash bauble that someone had donated so came out with that.
I know Katiehound was very lucky with a M. Brown set in a CS, mine wasnt as cheap as Katiehound's find but very happy as it's a favourite of DD-both the charity and the product.

While wrapping DDs birthday presents I wrapped her first Christmas present. Need to get cracking on the birthday presents and if I'm really in the mood will wrap the bauble aswell. Was going to do it last night but fell asleep.

Still sleeping alot at the minute after the cold as my immune system really drops.

Not much else going on, have almost packed away everything now.
Still need to wrap and send birthday present.....really putting it off......must do it!

chanie

a few bits and pieces:

Playing cards (2 for £1) for my link boxes.
colouring in pencils - toy appeal
Coloured hair spray - half price in Boots (for DDs stocking)

Happy_Kitties

Any Christmas prep seems to have stopped here:(
Have been working on getting DDs birthday presents ready for when we meet up next weekend for an early handover.
Did wrap the 3 presents I have for her for Christmas.
Birthday present still not sent-must really do this Monday......just not been in the mood. Think i sent so many parcels before Christmas that it has just put me off.

Great buy with the playing cards Chanie, must get bits out to see what I've got for my link to hope boxes and get my first box. I've registered but that's all I've done so far.

chanie

OH made an observation about my stashes the other day. He said that I have stuff stashed all over the place. I then started to think about the various stashes I have: Xmas presents/stocking fillers, children’s birthday party supplies, link boxes, Xmas toy appeal, school fete, Easter gifts, summer holiday stuff. My latest stash for my 40th (nice things I’m putting away until my birthday). I guess it is rather a lot...... but I am proud of my stashes.

I collected a few items for my link boxes, curtesey of the children being invited to a birthday party at the weekend and being given party bags. I got small toys, drinking straws and drawstring bags, all of which will make nice additions to my link boxes.

Happy_Kitties

For those of us that did the Link to Hope shoeboxes,they have now posted up the 2018 delivery diary. Makes me glad I did some and I'm going to need to sort my box stuff and sort out what I have ready to start some boxes earlier this year.

Braved the Boots 70% sale, it was horrific. Yankee candles were being broken, I couldn't get out, a woman basically barged thru one queue at a till to get me out but I was scared of wheeling over the broken glass and cutting my hands up. We haven't got a big store, speaking to a woman today she waited until 11am to go and it was still manic. At one point people were queuing outside the store to get in after 9am as the store was so full. Managed to get myself a couple of yankee candles and some bits for charity donations. Also managed to get a couple of top up presents/emergency presents but I'm not going to brave it next year.

Chanie I know what u mean of being proud of ur stashes. I love going thru my Christmas and birthday books to see what I have got already.

Still haven't sent the january birthday present, feel bad but just haven't felt like wrapping and getting to the post office. I also wrapped all of DDs birthday presents to give to her last weekend as I wont see her on her birthday and I still have one to finish, will sort that and leave in her room so she has something to open when she comes home.

That's all my prep so far. Aim -send the January birthday present that is haunting me!

Anglea

Hi everyone.

Wow Happy Kitties, that Boots sale sounds a bit like those weekend protests in Paris. Potentially lethal. I bet you were glad to get home.

I don't have room in the house for stashes unfortunately otherwise I'd be doing them too.

My next occasion is Valentine's and I've got a handmade gift to try and finish off (originally it was meant to be as a Christmas or birthday present but I couldn't finish it in time) and I'm hoping to go out that day for geocaching at a Knight's Templar ruined church and visiting pirate pubs. I've had to do a Plan B on the gift because my first idea was to attach crochet shapes (sort of flowers but not quite) to a crochet chain in the form of bunting in the exact colours my friend has in her bedroom. She had all my hand made cards etc on string hung at the bottom of a large sunset (purples, pinks) picture and intertwined with it all were fairy lights. It looked really good.

However, last time I was there with my son for lunch, I sneaked off to try and get more pics and noticed she'd changed the display so now the cards were right next to each other on the string and not spaced out so no room for the shapes to dangle.

My current intention is to give her the crochet chain (done in 3 strands) and the shapes seperately and tell her that either I can attach them to the chain or else attach them so they can be a mat or she can just use them in another way.

I've also made two crochet coasters or mats in the same colours. I also started a Valentine card in black ink, intricate design but not sure if I can do it in time as it will require cutting out and sticking onto a bigger blank card when I finish drawing and I'm busy with many other things.

Happy_Kitties

Anglea uve got a very lucky friend,the crochet chain sounds lovely and ur friend sounds like she has a real eye for display.
U sound very busy with ur crafting and I love the idea of the pirate pubs and a Knights Templar ruined church. I love the history of things like this.
When we went to Prague, just going to the cathedral before Christmas, four purple candles out, the history of Saint Wenceslaus. I can never remember the facts but I just find it fascinating.

The January birthday present is looking at me waiting to be wrapped. I've wrapped 3 other parcels with charity items ready to send so determined this birthday present will be sent tomorrow.
I'm having to send some items to the organiser as I'm running out of room and have no room for my medical supplies so things are looking abit tidier.

Picked up the item to finish the last birthday present of DDs. She isn't home for a couple of weeks so will have time to wrap without feeling pressurised into wrapping. If I really put effort in I can also get a relative's presents wrapped. This is the part I hate after Christmas as the very last thing I want to do is wrap! I have the presents ready but hate the wrapping

chanie

angela I am always in awe of crafty people. The stuff you make sounds beautiful and whoever the recipients are, are very lucky.
Happy kitties I hope you manage to sort out the rest of your presents.

Yesterday, whilst in town, I bought most of my 2019 greetings cards. We have a few birthdays in jan/feb and it was a bit of a mad rush to get them, as I totally forgot. OH bought a couple of cards at the same time, so we have duplicates, but we can roll them over to 2020. I am going to keep a log of them in my bucket journal so help me keep on top of the cards.

I also ordered some cashmere wrist warmers for MIL. They are currently on offer and I managed to save an extra 10%, so I got a pretty good deal. Other than that, I don’t hsve any other planned purchases.