All the homemade Christmas people over here please, lets share our ideas :)

[BabyDubsEverywhere]

Do we have a 'Homemade Christmas Thread' going yet? Ive linked to last years below, I am determined to MAKE MAKE MAKE this year and bugger the responses

I need a fail safe mulled wine kit to give people please if anyone can help, Thankyou :)

Last years thread!

Hi everyone can I sit awhile and join in - such ace ideas - here's my initial thoughts but now I' m all fired up by everyone else's ideas...

Jus thought Id share :) Have just popped to tesco and the have metalic mugs for £2.50 in red, gold, and silver. Perfect for 'Snowman soup' gifts :)

Ok this has nothing to do with crafts (going blackberrying tomorrow for vodka if that counts) and this may be TMI but I've just caught DP wearing Christmas boxers he can't expect me not to be over excited now!

Wow this thread has gotten so big whilst I was away! Loads of lovely ideas.

rumpleteaser thanks for the link for baskets, I think I am going to use old shoe boxes - Dsis is a shoe addict and said I can have all the old boxes!! Going to wrap them in xmas paper first!

bitterandtwisted here is the link for handcream asonomagarden.wordpress.com/2009/02/26/how-to-make-handmade-handlotion-w-label-download/ it seems to be quite straight forward - i hope so anyway! Does anyone know what a cup measurement is? Is it worth me investing in buying some cup measuring device?

doodlealley the jam making sounds good, how long in advance does it have to be made?

kveta that raspberrry vodka sounds really easy, does it need sugar too?

Thanks everyone else for all the tips on jars etc. How far in advance does everyone make their fudge, shortbread? And what is the best way to package it for gifts? As you can tell I'm a bit paranoid about poisoning lots of people of xmas morning!! Also is it safe to use old jam jars that have been cleaned and boiled etc?

DH has been trying to grow tomatoes all year, they have been green for the last couple of weeks and don't look like they are going to go red - not sure why - we are also novice veg grwoers! Has anyone had any success with green tomato recipes like chutney?

I have to put off starting everything for another week due to dd's upcoming hospital visit, but should hopefully get going next week. REally excited about doing some homemade things, never tried anything like this before - how sad!

Stitchthis - great list! I'd also like to make crayon rolls but I fear my sewing skills are too far below standard to be able to produce anything even remotely resembling what it's supposed to .

I'd really love to make a quilt for ds but I think I'd need to plan it for Christmas in about 5 years time by which time he'll be too old for such a thing. I might go on a course to learn how to use my sewing machine...

Never too old for a quilt! I cheat these days and make strippy quilts - v fast!

cup conversions buzz

buzz - I have a set of US cups, and find them invaluable. I have also learnt that 1 cup of butter is 225g, and 1 stick is ~115 g, which is useful information for following american recipes!

re: raspberry vodka, yes you do need sugar - I was quite lax with measuring it, and just flung some raspberries and about 1/2 the amount again in the bottle with the vodka, but there is a recipe here (actually, that site is excellent for hedgerow and garden veg recipes!)

Oh this thread is heaven and hell - hell because it's far too damn difficult to decide what to make and heaven as it's all so gorgeous :grin

Anyway, my Pinterest is requested, the shopping list for Xmas pud vodka written...

I'm planning to do:
Flavoured vodkas
Xmas chutney
Marmalade - found an old kit in the back of the cupboard, will add some whisky to it
Appliqued cushion for my folks
Cup Candles - fancy making some fresher fragranced filled mugs for younger rellies to have in their rooms at uni.
Rag doll for niece - dd is going to help on this one.

Granola - granola can be done in the slow cooker!! Who the fuck knew that?? This is life changing information - I feel home made granola will be added to the list for this Christmas.

Excuse profanity wholly unnecessary on a festive thread...

the odd 'fuck' is allowed on a festive thread, how else would all the September born babies be explained?

Ooh, quilters! I'm making my first quilt for my baby niece - so nice to know other people do it too.

FWIW, I made the pieces (they're star shaped) pretty big and a lady who was showing me how to do it was a bit 'hmm' about it but I think it looks great - bold and fun, quite a different effect from the really gentle, lovely effect you get from teeny-tiny pieces, and obviously much quicker to make!

PMSL at hippy. If we can't swear on here I'm buggered, I can't open my mouth without.

Thanks for the hand cream link. I am attempting a crayon roll later this week so will post a pic if it's any good

(Sorry, that was not exactly modest was it?! It's just I am dead chuffed I can make something sewn, I always thought I was very clumsy at that sort of thing.)

LRD you must post a photo! It sounds ace but I can't figure out in my head how it tessellates :)

Oooh and I am starting on the first of four drawstring bags for my nieces and nephews. I'm quite excited!

ooh I just made body lotion for a friend's birthday, so easy to do and now I'm not sure if I actually want to give it away it is fabulous!
also did a Brown Sugar and Oat Scrub!

LRD - I'd love to see a pic too! I'm planning squares (easier to cut and sew) and am researching printing photos onto fabric but it looks like I'll have to do it myself rather than through truprint and I'm not sure my printer is up to the job. However, if it does work then I have opened up a whole new area of photo gifts that I can make myself, cheaper than getting them done for me assumingIdon'tmessitupandendupspendingmoretryingtomakeitperfect

mogs.. have you about something called 'image maker'? it looks like pva but you spread it onto a colour photocopy (its important its colour, even if its a black and white picture), stick your photocopy onto fabric, leave it to dry and then rub the paper off. it magically leaves the image behind. I'll see if i can find a link to it. the rubbing paper bit is messy and quite time consuming but the effect is great! it can be done onto canvas too

mogs here you go
no idea if that's a good price or not, i haven't bought any for a while

I did a quilt playmat for friends earlier this year and it was the easiest quilt I've ever come across. Eight large squares of fabric, laid out alternately so you have, for example, two pink squares and two cream squares making up one big square with the matching corners touching. Stitch together, turn the wrong way round, stitch the whole lot together with batting in between and then pick up parts of the pattern (one of my fabrics had building blocks on it) and stitch around them. So simple and very effective :)

slightobsession careful with using fancy words like tessellates

but yes, i agree, LRD i'd love to see a photo too. i wouldn't worry too much about the reaction you got from the lady who was helping you. all of mine have been greeted by reactions from the old ladies in my local quilt shop!

at Hippy's festive f*ck!

I had forgotten about the very existence of Image Maker until right now - years since I used it but I remember it being a brilliant product in the days before we had a printer. We were very VERY skint at Christmas one year (hub out of work and me earning peanuts) and made personalised t-shirts for each of our many nieces, nephews, siblings, etc using photocopies and Image Maker and bulk-bought unbleached cotton t's to give a slightly sepia look to plain monochrome images. They were so well recieved and some of the now grown ups still have theirs as keepsakes which chuffs us no end.

JetLi - granola packaging idea in case you have not already succumbed to Pinterest! www.thesweetestoccasion.com/2010/02/unique-wedding-favor-gift-ideas/