crafty for christmas 2008

pig_let_cool

NemoToad wrote: »

Yep, that's what I planned to do. I might even try sneaking in a visit to my parents before Christmas so I can leave some stuff there. We'll see though, I still think it's going to be a bit of a nightmare. Current plan is:

York - Solihull to see my OH's mum on the Saturday before Christmas,
Solihull - Nottingham on Christmas Eve to spend Christmas with my family, and then
Nottingham - York the Sunday after Christmas to be back for work on Monday morning! No rest for the wicked!

Take a very big suitcase! :money:

lol

Tomorrow im planning on buying a few cheap candles, melting them and layering them into one of those glass kilner (?) jars from ikea, it should work...
Im planning on grabbing some cheap glass paints aswell so i can personalise each jar should be fun :j

Plus i need more needles for my cross stitching, ive snapped the metal in the eye on 4 needles today (they were all very old though )

x

humblebumble_2

Thank you for your suggestions folks. Im off work on Tuesday so shall get down to the project properly!

Emily_Hall08

NemoToad wrote: »

No problem!

Currently making a batch of apple chutney for my food hampers. Someone on here posted the recipe ages ago. A friend of mine had been given so many apples that she didn't know what to do with them all, so I took them off her hands. The chutney smells gorgeous! I'm a bit scared that there seems to be an awful lot, not really sure I have enough jam jars, but only time will tell!

I've still got lots of apples left so might also make some apple cheese/curd.

Currently food hampers will have:
Apple and Blackberry Jam
Bramble Jelly
Spicy pickled onions
Green tomato chutney
Apple chutney
Bilberry Gin

Might make up some sachets for Gluhwein and include a bottle of red and some instructions.

Also going to make chocolate shapes/slabs and some sweets closer to Christmas. Possibly mini Christmas cakes/stollen. Any other ideas would be greatfully received!

Most of the food to make was free (green tomatoes after a bad summer out the garden, blackberries picked, apples free, bilberrys picked!) so they're fairly cheap presents. God knows how I'm going to cope at Christmas on the train with 3 plus hampers plus all the other presents! I wish me or OH could drive!

This all sounds lovely.
If you need more jars, I was just looking at this website earlier as it was linked to in another topic
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/twist-off-lids/F/C/kitchenideas/C/kitchenideas-storing-preserving/C/storing-preserving-preserving/product/3812_3817
That's the lids, and there's also sets of 12 jars on there too, it doesn't seem too expensive.
Is the apple chutney easy to make - any chance of the recipe? it sounds great.

yummy-mummy-amy

i made my sister a lovely drink box. she loves coffee, so i have an assortment of single sachets coffee, 8 sachets of cappacino mix, hot chocolate mix, coffee wafer things, coffee flavour sweets, marshmellows, a chocolate orange and a whisk all boxed and celophaned. will get a pic and add it later

sethsgran

For the reindeer food bags I have bought some hessian fabric, really cheap, and I will be cutting a circle out and then placing a little cellophane bag of food in it and then gathering the hessian up and fastening it with 2 ribbons, red and gold, then I will put a small bell on the ribbon.

Someone asked about ideas for the recipe book could you get photos of him in the kitchen and your daughter cooking also so it becomes a photo album/recipe book. I'm sure she could get the photos over the next week or 2 without causing too much suspition? spelling? Also you could maybe get the photos at different homes eg yours!!

BigMummaF

Some suggestions:-
1. Transporting jars..would they fit in the wine carriers you can get in supermarkets, perhaps one jar on top of the other in each 'hole' as it were if you had that many? Other idea was to use one of those suitcases on wheels & stand them up in that, using your jumpers & things to stop them rolling around, or putting them inside your wellies to keep them upright.
2. Recipe folder..include hints & tips, like how to tell if an egg is fresh or using an empty bottle as a rolling pin--any little wriggles you've picked up throughout your culinary years

hels102

NemoToad - Do you mind me asking what receipe you used for the chutney?

Siren137

Hi All!!

Just popping in to share a piccie of my first cross stitch card! Its only the cross stitch for now but anyway I wanted to share. Tell me what you think!! It would have only taken me one evening to do but my OH kept interrupting me!!

NemoToad

Don't mind at all! I posted a reply earlier, but it seems to have been lost into the ether!

I used the recipe that Siren posted about a month back from this website: http://www.cottagesmallholder.com/?p=110

It was really easy, most time consuming was peeling and chopping apples, but after that you just bung all the ingredients in a pan, and leave it to simmer for four hours. You do need t check on it occasionally so you need to be in the house, but you can get on with other things!

Thanks for everyones travelling tips, I think I will be popping the jars inside jumpers etc in my suitcase/rucksack/both! My boyfriend said last night that he can just carry them all if it's too heavy, I must have caught him on a good day

rainmac

sethsgran wrote: »

For the reindeer food bags I have bought some hessian fabric, really cheap, and I will be cutting a circle out and then placing a little cellophane bag of food in it and then gathering the hessian up and fastening it with 2 ribbons, red and gold, then I will put a small bell on the ribbon.

Someone asked about ideas for the recipe book could you get photos of him in the kitchen and your daughter cooking also so it becomes a photo album/recipe book. I'm sure she could get the photos over the next week or 2 without causing too much suspition? spelling? Also you could maybe get the photos at different homes eg yours!!

I bought a piece of hessian from ebay and used that over the top of a cello bag and tied at the top. Looks very cute and no stitching required