Tag Archives: Christmas

Win 1 of 5 pairs of tickets to Crafts for Christmas!

Posted on by Abi

The festive season may not be upon us just yet, but if you’re a craft enthusiast then you have to start thinking early to make or buy handmade gifts and decorations. To help you along the way we’re giving away five pairs of tickets courtesy of ICHF to attend this years Crafts for Christmas fair!

Running from 3-6 November at the NEC in Birmingham, Crafts for Christmas has over 200 people exhibiting their fabulous and unique wares. There’s also an amazing food and drink aisle sure to tempt with handmade chocolates, marmalades, cheeses and wines.

The fair also incorporates Hobbycrafts and Art Materials Live, so if you fancy making your own gifts this year then you’ll find every supply imaginable.

How to Enter

Step 1. is mandatory and entries will not be valid unless this is followed, extra entries without step 1. being fulfilled will unfortunately not count.

Step 1. Follow this blog publicly (using either Google Friend Connect, Bloglovin or Feedburner on the right) and leave a comment mentioning you are following the blog (current followers need only comment). Remember to leave me a way to contact you if you win.

Extra entries – for each extra entry leave a comment to let me know:

1. Tweet about the comp for an extra entry

2. Follow us on Twitter

3. Like our page on Facebook (links on the right)

The competition will end at midnight 27 October 2011.

For further details on the event or venue please visit the ICHF website.

40 Comments (Leave a comment)

Merry Christmas!

Posted on by Abi

I just wanted to write a quick post to say a great big Happy Christmas to all my lovely followers! It’s been a fun filled and busy year and the blog has grown beyond all my expectations. I love it when you comment or email to let me know you like my little rambling posts, it always makes my day. But this is going to be my last post until after Christmas now as my little people have broken up from school and all my attention has been diverted to keeping them out of trouble happy.

So for my last bloggy craft project I decided to make a Christmas Wreath today. Unfortunately I got so involved in it’s creation that I forgot to take step by step pics. But it really is very simple.

I bought a plain artificial wreath from Ikea from the grand old sum of £6.67. Then I wound some battery powered led lights around the wreath. I bought these from a local garden centre for £4. I then taped the battery pack to the back.

For my decorations I visited a local florist and bought two dried oranges and one dried lime. Then various dried orange, lime and apple slices.

I pushed wire through the whole fruits and slices and twisted at the back. I then pushed the wire through the wreath and twisted together at the back. I did the same with a few pinecones. The golden berries were also bought from the florist but you can buy these in most stores that sell decorations for about £1 a bunch.

Then all I needed was some ribbon to hang the wreath with and I was done. I’m quite pleased with the end result although I did intend to add bunches of cinnamon sticks as well, but forgot until the end when I didn’t have any space left.

So with that I shall say goodbye until the festive craziness has ceased. Have a wonderful time whatever your plans, Merry Christmas!

2 Comments (Leave a comment)

Memories Of A Lifetime Christmas! Book Review

Posted on by Abi

Time for a festive book review! Christmas feels like it’s approaching with alarming speed right now, in fact it feels like that most years. But if you embrace the idea of a homemade Christmas what better than a book to help you along the way. I recently received a copy of Memories Of A Lifetime: Christmas by Nancy Rosin from GMC Publications.

This book has the unusual advantage that you are instructed to cut into it’s pages! The book offers 57 pages of scrapbook prints that you can cut out or photocopy. Or if the idea of cutting up your new book doesn’t sit well with you, all the images are also provided on an enclosed CD so you can print them off at your leisure.

Most of the pictures have a vintage and somewhat Victorian feel to them. There is a gallery at the front of the book with suggested uses of the images. One such use is to make a bookmark. Here I mounted an image of St Nicholas onto card and added a gold tassel.

 

Next I decided to make a present tag. I used a luggage label as the base and a gorgeous snowy scene as the image.

Finally I made a Christmas card using an image of a snowman. I think he looks a very jolly fellow and perfect for the season.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, I would. It isn’t filled with writing or bogged down with ideas so some people might long for a tutorial or two more. But if ideas and images are enough to inspire you then you really can’t go far wrong with this book.

Could it be improved in anyway? Not really. As I said some people may prefer more detailed step by step instructions of projects. But there are plenty of books on the market that already offer this. What this book offers is a no nonsense library of beautiful images ready to be turned into beautiful creations.

Book Details

Title: Memories Of A Lifetime Christmas

Author: Nancy Rosin

ISBN: 9781402723674

RRP: £11.99

Publisher: Sterling

Publication Date: Spring 2006.

 

1 Comment (Leave a comment)