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

[BabyDubsEverywhere]

OLD THREAD

We were all on about pinterest, jars, and where we are up to in our christmas planning :)

Lets go...

Btw, I am also thinking of some fabric decorations in the star shapes I used for the quilt, but smaller and in Christmas fabrics - cute, or not?

I have just realized even though I took those photos outside they are quite dark (new camera, still a bit hit-and-miss on the settings). The very dark ones are either green or navy, and there are some brown ones in there too.

Oh, thank you!

I am hoping they like it - she's the first baby that generation in my family and I am so, so thrilled about her, just trying not to smother my DB and SIL because obviously the whole family is excited! This Christmas (or rather, early January) will be the first time I get to see her in the flesh as they've been out in Brazil since before she was born, but they're moving back to the UK now. I have to keep stopping myself from buying everything I see for babies!

Ok.

I have fruit.

I have jars and lids.

And labels.

How long does jam/marmalade last for? How long prior to xmas should I make it? Better the week before xmas? Or now?

Am also making mince pies (last min thing) choc pistachio fudge and peppermint creams

Thanks!

EllaDee, I think the stars would make fab decs, you could also embellish them with beads/sequins if you like.

I love it EllaDee! The stars are soooo neat and it looks very effective! I don't have a daughter but I think it's very refreshing not to have pastel pink on everything. The stars will make fab decorations too.
I agree with the smothering plan if they don't like it :)

at rosie.

beca - I've just used the last of my mum's marmalade from 2009! It was still delicious.

girly - yes, or maybe buttons? I'll do some experimenting.

I've just been on cox and cox buying stuff and thanks for the discount code whoever mentioned that - still working! DH and I have invested in some jigsaw-shape cookie cutters because we both saw them and said 'ooh!' at the same time ... now we just need small children to make cookies for ...

Oh and a definite yes to adding sequins or sparkles to the stars for Xmas, great idea!

Cross-posted ... thanks timefor. The stars are neat because you sew them around cut-out pieces of diamond shaped paper - it's a dead easy cheat.

It looks and sounds complicated to me though!

Well, if I can get away with pretending it was dead complicated, I'm all for it!

That quilt is amazing EllaDee, I'm the same and hate pastels and pinks on my dd and I would love that, that is perfect as a gift and I'm sure they will appreciate the effort you've gone to. Do you have an online tutorial for the quilt, or is there any key words I can google to find something similar?

I'm getting my birthday sewing machine tomorrow and I'm very excited to make a real start to things. I think I have rescued my overly lemony christmas pudding vodka with generous amounts of sugar and christmassy spices, and friend delivered 2 carrier bags rammed with pears from his garden yesterday so making chutney and pear jam this week. Eeeeeeee, I think this homemade christmas is really happening.

Ella Gorgeous quilt, like others have said, it's lovely to get things that aren't pink and pastels. We have the snowflake cutters, I love them. I made stained glass window biscuits with them last year by putting crushed boiled sweets in the gaps before baking. I have the jigsaw one as well and the gingerbread house cutters (though I haven't tried those yet as I bought them in the spring sale )

Evening all, the craft fayre was bad :( lots of intrest but only sold 1 item. It was badly organised and not publicized at all. Still I have 2 more lined up this time at school christmas fayres so hopefully they will be better.

Who else was doing one this weekend how did it go for you? (or was it next weekend?)

Now you've all been chatting away today so I'm off to catch up

addictediam - oh, that is rotten! It's so annoying when someone else's disorganization means your hard work goes to waste.

crumble - I don't have an internet tutorial, but it is really simple, so I''m just putting some pictures and step-by-step instructions on my profile. The most annoying bit is making the template for the diamond shaped paper pieces you need to begin!

Oh no, poor you addicted - was thinking of you today. Maybe it's a bit early for Christmas shopping for mad people not on this thread! :o

I got carried away today and ended up ordering 20 quids' worth of goodies from fleabay, then making 20 pompoms (take a blinking long time!) and a lovely needlecase for myself . While looking after my two nieces as well as my own three DCs! :o

Beautiful quilt elladee you'll have to let us in on the secret! :)

Sorry to hear about the craft fayre addictediam but try not to lose heart. It's impossible to predict what is and isn't going to sell. I am trying to make my stuff with the view that if I can sell some, brilliant, but if I don't, I'll have heaps of stuff to decorate my home, give to friends, have on standby as presents and it's given me lots of practice (err when I actually do some that is!) so my skills have improved. I think you just have to enjoy the creating too. I know it's difficult if you've invested a lot of time and materials have been costly. Good luck with the school Fayres - maybe they'll prove a wee bit more lucrative!

Addicted really sorry to hear that because you put so much effort into making lovely stuff. It isn't fair that you were let down by the fayre's organisers - I had a similar experience years ago - first fair was a huge success and the one a week later was a disaster. Same stock, only difference was that the organisers of the second one had picked a duff location and barely publicised it at all. I suspect they made their money out of their exhibitor fees and it would make no difference to them how much the individual exhibitors made so they didn't waste time on the marketing. The one that was a big success though was a school fayre and they have their own built in advertising in the form of all the children begging to be taken so your next two should be much better.

Ella I would be thrilled if someone gave my LO a quilt as beautiful as yours and especially if I knew they had made it specially and taken my taste in colours into account. Pastel stuff gets thrown out after the very little baby stage but yours will be a cherished heirloom for donkey's years.

Thanks everyone for the reassurance!

I've put pictures and step-by-step instructions on my profile if anyone is interested, but it is really easy to do (I am dead clumsy so if I can do it anyone can).

bestlaid - that would be beautiful, the boiled-sweet windows! I'm seriously tempted to try now ...

Ella is the quilt all hand stitched using a slip stitch or do you machine sew it (using a zigzag over the top of two diamonds held together?) is the paper then removed? am I getting ahead of your picture tutorial?

it looks stunning and seems quite easy (but time consuming) to make

it was sad because there were so many stall holders, it looked really promising. I should have had a clue when I pulled in to the carpark glanced over to the side of the road and saw an a5 poster promoting it [hconfused] and didn't see anything in the 3 close villages I drove through on the way there. still it means I don't have anymore to make for the next one, so I can concentrate on dds birthday!