The First Day of Christmas & A Winner

Our pinterest inspired advent calender, made from glassine bags, number stickers, washi tape and a doily stamp.
Simple, fun and child-craft friendly.

It's been a wonderful first day of Christmas in these parts. Brunch on the beach, treasure hunting, advent calender crafting, tree decorating and dinner out together. A wonderful and special day indeed.

On top of which, I am pleased to announce the winner of the Handmade Christmas Giveaway. Thank you so much to everyone who entered and all the beautiful, inspiring comments you left, for the makers who donated their wares, and everyone who has supported them, and me.

So, thanks to Random.org, the winner is - Mamatribe!

All thirteen gifts will be on their way to you shortly.

Christmas Craft - Ornaments

In keeping with my decision to create a loving, memorable, handmade, but simple Christmas this year, while taking the pressure off my pregnant self, this ornament kit from the variety shop sneakily came home with us. Right under the children's noses. I had every intention of putting them away until after the first of December. I even hid them in the linen closet. But I can not be trusted with craft supplies. I make promises to myself about knitting, sewing and wool too, then quite often break them...

I revealed the little project to two delighted children, as a reward for good behavior. Cohen was especially impressed, while Emerson was just as happy to paint herself, as per usual. Why not? She seemed quite pleased with them when they were finished though, and kept dragging a chair over to the kitchen to look at them while they dried.

I think they are just beautiful, even if it felt like cheating to buy the whole project in one box. I'll be writing their names and the year on the back, and hope to be hanging them from the Christmas tree for many years to come. 

$3 well spent I think.

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Don't forget to enter the Handmade Christmas Giveaway!

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You might also like to check out -
DIY gifts for guys
Air-dry clay ornament tutorial
Embroidered Napkin Tutorial
Christmas Decoration Tutorials

Made By Hand

DIY air dry clay ornament tutorial from last year

I've started thinking about Christmas - day dreaming about all the crafts and gifts I'd like to try my hand at in the coming month. I've been perusing Pinterest, pinned a few things to my Christmas Craft Inspiration folder, I've written a list of family and friends we'll give presents to and I've been thinking about crafting and baking with the kids. And then reality kicks in and I'm reminded of how tired and unmotivated I am feeling whilst pregnant, how I've been told to 'just rest' by my doctor, how my pregnancy has been classed as 'high risk', and how much cleaning up those crafting and baking sessions necessitate...

Regardless, I so want to create a loving, memorable, handmade, simple Christmas. So this year, instead of trying to make as many of the gifts as possible myself, I will be turning to my favourite makers and crafters and buying from them. I'll focus on some simple crafts with the kids - like simple handmade Christmas cards, stamped wrapping paper and a paper bag advent calender. We'll be sticking to the golden rule for the children - 'Something they want, something they need, something to wear and something to read." And I won't be volunteering to do the family dinner here on the day either!

Last year I traded in the aisles of the major shopping centers for for the aisles of craft markets and online stores for our Christmas shopping. I pledged to celebrate a handmade Christmas and make as many gifts as I could, and buy everything else from Australian crafters. From wrapping paper to Christmas cards, we made as much ourselves. And what we didn't make, we brought from small businesses or thrifted. There was the occasional book for the hard to buy for, and this year there will be a bike with training wheels for a certain little boy. But my focus was on handmade and on encouraging others to think about where they are spending their money. 

This inspired the 12 Days of Christmas giveaway on my blog, where twelve of my favourite makers showcased their wares and one item a day was given away to one lucky reader. This year I am running a similar giveaway, only all 12 items will be included in the one giveaway, which will be open for one week, with one winner. So, to celebrate the season of giving, and to encourage all of us to think handmade and local, I have asked eleven of my favourite crafters to join me in a special giveaway which will be posted Monday. I would love it if you would consider these clever crafters when looking for your Christmas gifts.

Have you been thinking about Christmas? 
Or crafting for Christmas?
Do you buy handmade?

My Creative Space

An oobee from Maze & Vale scraps, and the diy oobee

I really couldn't resist. I'd had in mind to wait until Emerson's first birthday in February to make up the diy oobee kit I brought. Her first handmade softie for her first birthday. But I couldn't wait. Her first handmade softie for her first Christmas? Absolutely! 

So last night my sewing machine sat on the dining table and while Cohen played Lego and Emerson crawled around the legs of the chairs, squirreling away scraps of fabric, I cut and stitched these dear little oobees. Leslie had been so kind as to include some large scraps of hand printed fabric. I stitched them together to make one piece of fabric and it was the perfect size to make another oobee. I finished him off with a mustard coloured felt face (but forgot to remove the pencil marks on his face before taking these photos!) This sweet scrappy oobee will being going to live with a little boy who has just turned one.

I love how they have turned out. I don't think they could be any cuter. And I love having another handmade gift to wrap and place under the tree.

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Joining in with my creative space.

Swap Progress Link Up

Christmas crafting

My heart is set on as many of our Christmas gifts as possible being hand made, so the Christmas crafting has begun. Inspired by Pip's gorgeous necklaces, I spent a couple of hours rolling, making and baking beads yesterday afternoon, for some special people in my life. A rather satisfying way to spend an afternoon. I do think they are looking a bit cute. I can't wait to get some pretty string to thread them on and play with the combinations of colours and shapes. 

There may even be enough beads for a necklace for me...

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PS. November is looking like a creative month indeed, with the inspirational Kootoyoo initiating a month of my creative space. I will be playing along via Instagram. More details here.