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!

I'll do that in a sec cauldrons - just going to feed baby and then will give it a go...

acsec that's what I was thinking for the wheat warmer.

Done (1st pic). Not a great photo but should give you some idea.

Honest opinions welcome >braces self

Flubba - decs look great. I made some heart ones identical to that last year. They are easy but look soooo good don't they. I made lots of variations, all in red and white and varying sizes, and hung them in garland around my kitchen (which is also red and white!). I got loads of comments from friends about them, and requests for me to make them some. So i definitely think they will be big sellers for you. They charge at least £3-4 each for similar on notonthehighstreet, which is what prompted me to make my own last year!

Flubba they are lovely! I especially like the little snowman :)

Last year I made some little Christmas people - I need to hunt out the pattern and make some more. I've put a pic on my profile!

Thank you.

Now; what poundage can I charge do you reckon?

Apologies for slightly abrupt message! Posted too soon.

I too love the little snowmen. Have lots of naked ones to dress! :)

They are lovely, Flubba - myself, i'd be happy to pay maybe £5-£6 for the heatie wheatie, and £1.50-£2.00 for the Christmas decorations, or you could do a mixed pack of three for a fiver.

Sorry if you think thats not enough

I'd say that was a reasonable amount for Flubba's decorations - I'd buy them!

What do people think I could sell my little Christmas people for? I'd sell them in groups of 3 like the pic in my profile.

They are lovely, acsec - how big are they though? If they are quite small, i'd probably go three for a fiver too, but they look like they'd be great doorstops, iyswim? In that case i'd pay a fiver each for them.

They're lovely acsec - as deemented says, three for a fiver if they're similar sizes to mine.

btw, I showed my dad my decorations and he said 50p - 75p

I think I'll go for £1.50 (or just a quid) for the more basic ones and a couple of quid for the more elaborate ones.

Thanks for tips ladies :) (still scared though! especially of face painting!! :))

Quick Pinterest question - how do I stop it putting updates on my facebook page every time i pin something? I don't want all my facebook friends to find out what I'm getting everyone for Christmas!!

Thank you Dee and Flubba they are about 10cm tall iirc, they were packed away after Christmas last year. They aren't big or heavy enough to be doorstops but the aren't small enough to be tree decs - I had them on my mantle piece.

Flubba face painting is quite simple - I do it for the school fair and had never tried before that. Just have a few simple designs printed out for the children to choose from like a butterfly, tiger, dog - have a google. Just be confident and say how fab the child looks and they will agree! the parents don't always though but sod them :o

I've done a few faces on my poor lucky kids and DH (!) so will photograph them, and stick pics near the stall - then the parents can see how crap I am before they commit :o :o

Sorry zeeky no idea - I've just made a twitter acc. for mine and it still seems to be blank.

Flubba - remember to have a mirror so the DC can see what they look like, always surprises me how few face-painting people have one.

I love this thread but have lost 3 days of my life to it....and am still only up to 20th September ...how am I ever going to catch up?

And now I have pinterest as well. Eek.

In the meantime, I desperately need advice on using the following things, if anyone can help me please:

1. Tomato chutney/tomato anything: the greenhouse is full of ripe/overripe/nearly ripe cherry tomatoes and even my tomato-monster dcs are failing to keep on top of the glut

1. Fresh chillis. I only have one plant but I've got about 40 to us. Anyone ever made chilli jam? I'd love to have a go but don't fancy chopping them all by hand. Advice pelase!!

1. Apples and pears: we suddenly have a few kilos to use. I normally make Nigella's xmas chutney with apples, but does anyone have a pear chutney/pear something recipe?

Thanks!! Back to Sept 20th for me...

filly - pear vanilla jam is YUM, as are belgian pears - think both are linked on here somewhere, or are on my pinterest board (fruits and preserves).

zeeky - when pinning, there is a little box in the right hand lower corner which you need to untick - it says facebook next to it.

oh, and tomato jam also on that board - it's amazing with burgers!!

Thanks all....I've even got a couple of vanilla pods to use up, so pear/vanilla jam could rock.

Chilli oil. Genius. But I would still love to make a chilli-jelly/jam type of thing as dh and I eat loads of the stuff as it would make a brilliant present in my chilli-loving family :)

Kveta thanks for the pinterest invite :)

Seriously, I love this thread. I just want to wallow in its loveliness

I meant kveta not kveta

Obviously.

I can't comment on chutneys I'm afraid - haven't yet ventured down that road :)

I've made 16 little enamel bucket scented candles - very happy. Just hope the wicks will be ok for the teacups I'll be making next.

Tried to do star-shaped crayons yesterday, but it went wrong. Think I just left them in too long, cos the pigment separated from the wax.
I've tried a second batch today - left them in for fifteen minutes total, checking every few mins until all the lumpy bits were melted, then allowed to cool for a few minutes on the counter, then the fridge, then into the freezer. I'm hoping that cooling them quickly will also help, and that they will pop out easier this time! Anything else I've missed?

pear vanilla! mmmmm...

Any suggestions on where I can find wicks for candles?

Also, can I melt down crayons for candles? (sorry, new to most of this crafty stuff)

Just been out to stock up on vodka and raspberries....will start bottling over the weekend.

Last year I made damson vodka. Not only does it go a wonderful purple colour (and taste amazing) but I was also able to 'jar' up the plums and give those as gifts separately. Just a thought, if anyone is pondering a big damson harvest anywhere...(the vodka damsons were particularly good with vanilla ice cream...and have kept for nearly a year in my fridge...!)

This is where I ordered my wax and wicks from:

full moon's cauldron

Hobbycraft also sell packs of wicks.

Crayon disaster.
The crayons themselves seem ok, but they really stuck in the mould, and most broke when being removed. Hurt my fingers too! and probably trashed the ice cube tray.
Perhaps the star shapes are too fragile.

I don't want to let this beat me though!