Make It Monday: Frosted Glass Gift

At the weekend, we went to a wedding and I made one of these little keepsake for the happy couple to hold our gift to them.  Today I finished another one that I'm going to let Isabella have for Christmas.

The little glass jars are from Ikea.  I frosted them using my Gonis frosting and decided to keep it plain white.  I also have a new set of stick on stencils for leaving a gap in the frosting.  Unfortunately, I don't have a heart shaped one so I used this star, which is pretty Christmassy anyway.  

To complete the effect I used my favourite Deco pointer.  Cream for the wedding gift and red for the Christmas one, to make the star really stand out.  It was so simple and easy.

Advent Ideas

In the last seven years, I've learned that Germans take advent to a whole new level. It's not just about chocolate (although there is that), parents find different ways to treat their children daily in December.

Last year we found a 24-piece jigsaw, which was fun but difficult for her to understand, and four little toys for the weekly one.

This year we've got Playmobil mad for Christmas and I'm planning to break up one of her sets into 24 pieces. I can't wait to see her face.

I'll be putting toys for both kids in the weekly one too. I'm looking forward to cracking on with that next week although my head is spinning at how fast the days are going right now!

Make It Monday - Knitted Mittens

This week I finally knitted a second project from my knitting course. I needed a birthday present for a friend's little boy and these seemed perfect.

I learned some new skills including matress stitch and making thumbs. There was also some crochet involved.

Hopefully Jack will like wearing them as much as I liked making them!

Make it Monday - Button Bookmarks

Inspired by my new craft technique last week, I was browsing around the internet and came across this tutorial for button bookmarks.

It was easy and simple but effective and while I don't have the pretty buttons yet, I'm really pleased with my colourful little creations.

They would be the perfect little stocking fillers so I'm on the lookout for pretty metallic buttons and colouful paperclips.

Make It Monday - Heat Cushion

Nico made one of these a while ago and it's great - especially after a long day of work.

We decided to make some as thank you gifts for the family and friends who helped us move. Since I finally made a baby gift on my list since October, I figured it was time to get started on these.

It was fairly quick and straight forward. The pouches are filled with cherry stones which hold the heat from the microwave really well.

One down, six to go!

Make it Monday - Knitted Mug Warmer

I've recently started a knitting course and here is my first completed project. I loved the edging when I saw the picture and couldn't believe how easy it was to do.

It needs a little decoration and then I think it will make a lovely gift for someone special.

Make it Monday

This week I turned to a past project for a couple of little gifts (birthday and engagement) for a couple of friends who I didn't send these to last year.

They are hand-stitched lavender hearts for pillows or clothes drawers. I love how simple but nice they are. Ours still smell nice after a year.

Make it Monday - Crochet Hat

While I was home over Christmas my gran was admiring my purple crochet hat. I made her one over the weekend. I used the same wool and unfortunately it ran out a row and a half before the end but she has a smaller head than me so I hope it will fit okay.

I like making things for others - lots more of that on my list this year.

Sewing Project 2014 - 5 Lavender Valentine's Hearts

Looking for some seasonal inspiration I found the idea for these lovely little Valentine's in this book.

I started out following the instructions in the book and I was pleased with the first one but I also wanted to try machine stitching some.

The problem with this was sealing the hearts up once they were filled with lavender.

I tried to disguise the opening in various ways with differing levels of success. 

This second layer solution from Nico was the best in my opinion.

Then I went back to some more rustic ones with different materials that I had over from other projects. 

Even though the material was 'left over' I thought the different patterns worked well - especially with the lavender theme.  I get my material here from Textiles francais on Amazon.

 Overall, I am really pleased with the selection.  These ones are going to be gifts and I am going to make some for us in red material.  The only downside is feeling sleepy with all that lavender!!