Bonjour!...and some advent bunting

Hello everyone, I'm Zoë and I blog over at onerainyafternoon.

Last year I made Christmas presents for nearly everyone I knew which was fun but very, very tiring....! So this year I have cut it down somewhat  a little. But more on that another day as today I am talking advent and, to be more precise, advent bunting.

I saw this in a magazine a couple of years ago and made it up as I went along. In the magazine the photos were styled with fairy lights draped along the top and some sprigs of holly, mistletoe and fir tree sticking out of some of the pockets. Unfortunately my fairy lights are hidden in a box at the back of a very dusty and dirty garage and it is blowing a gale and tipping it down so my intentions of doing a similar styled shoot went to pot (I know, laziness will get me no-where, but waiting to find all of those things, putting it all together and then taking photos will get you no blog post ....)

Anyway, on with the photos

Each square of bunting is actually a little pocket/bag to be filled with goodies!

You, obviously, need 24 little pockets!

I will be back in a few days with home-made ideas on what to put in the pockets. In the meantime, happy crafting and thanks for having me!

Greetings from California!

Hello! My name is Natasha and I normally blog at all dressed up and nowhere to go, but I'm very excited to join you all here for the Crafty Christmas Club! I can't wait to share my ideas and get some inspiration from all of you.
I guess to get started I should sort out a few of the ideas floating around in my mind.

A couple of months ago I made embroidered handkerchiefs for my dad's birthday. Now I'm thinking of making a set for my grandma.

For my cousin Liz I would like to make a stuffed animal elephant because she told me she liked the one I made for our other cousin's baby. I've really enjoyed making plush toys recently so I may put together a few others. The Wee Wonderfuls doll book would definitely be helpful!

I have a couple of ideas for my sister Clare. I think I would like to make her something with cross stitching like this bird purse... maybe a cross stitch of her dog? I'm also considering the Wenlan Blouse from BurdaStyle as an option.

For my mom I would like to make a bag and maybe one of these cute strawberry pillows because she collects strawberry knick knacks. My other idea isn't handmade, but it may interest you fellow crafters... the book "Simple Times: Crafts for Poor People" by Amy Sedaris because I bet it's hilarious.

Well, there are a few people missing, but that's what I have for now! I'll keep brainstorming and maybe it's about time to get started!

Big list this year, time to get cracking!

Hello everyone, my name is Kath and I live in Brisbane, Australia. I have far too many hobbies to list but my most recent endeavour has been my Etsy store bunnyhornet. I make vintage inspired jewellery there and I'll be adding a bit of that to my Christmas pressies list!

BUT!! My projects I have to tackle this year are:

1.    3 x personalised cushion covers for my nephews.
2.    3 x reversible tote bags
3.    Skirt for my sister-in-law
4.    Sundress for another sister-in-law
5.    A few simple make-up cases
6.    Flying pigs mobile (idea found on this blog!)
7.    Some little bunnies (also idea found on this blog - thanks!)
8.    Tuxedo bib for littlest nephew
9.    2 x capes for bigger nephews
10.  3 x aprons for sisters and mother-in-law
11.  Giraffe Toy

OMG! How am I ever going to finish? I don't have a blog of my own so I'll document my sources for inspiration etc here :)

1. Personalised Pillows

My sister-in-law sent me a link for this:

If you click on the picture it will take you to the webiste.

She wanted her own version for her new baby and I have two other little nephews so I've bought fabric for all three and some felt for the names.

I bought my fabrics from Superbuzzy who has some amazing prints and colours.

And the felt came from Etsy user litlbrownbird.

And this is the inspiration for colour scheme I'm working with!

How cute is he!

The fabric picked for Boy 1 is to go with this little fella and I think the oranges and blues will go nicely with his room....

I want to make one similar but that's only in the 'musing' stages at the moment, no concrete plans!

You'll also notice I've bought the fabrics for the 3 reversible totes. The pattern I'll be using is from Burda Style and is free!

Now this tuxedo bib pattern is meant to be for an adult (to look like you're wearing a tux shirt) but how cute would a version be for a baby? Argh! So cute! Another Freebie!

I'll also use some of the leftover fabric for the make-up cases. I'll just make these really simple pouches with a zip closure.

Love this tutorial over at Chezlin!

I also bought some of that felt to make brown bunnies like the ones shown on the blog and on the original website of Betz White.

 The flying piggy mobile I found on this blog here. I've already started on my own pattern - don't want to mess with copyright but as it's for a gift we should be ok! The skin tone and white felt I've bought from litlebrownbird will be for this one.

Ok, and that's where I'm up to with my ideas so far..... wheeeeeeeeee!

Now to find good patterns for the Sundress, the Skirt, the aprons and the capes. Any ideas?

Hello from Canada

Hello, I'm Susie from Something I Made Earlier. I'm originally from Wales and I'm now living in Saskatchewan. I'm really excited to share my ideas and take a look at what everyone else is doing. I've only just started blogging, but this will be my second handmade Christmas as last year I knitted something for everyone. This was a lot more work than it sounds as I had to have everything posted to the UK by Dec 1st and madly decided to make a lot of mittens and socks. I'm hoping this year will be a lot less stressful as I now own a sewing machine and intend to do a lot of instant gratification gifts. As long as Etsy delivers the fabric on time I will be making:

• Super Simple Scarves for all the ladies on the list. I came across the tutorial from Stitches in Play and it appealed as it is a) quick and b) cheap, using only 1/2 yard of fabric which means I have been able to use some lovely Amy Butler for everyone.
• Socks for The Husband. The rather fabulous pattern is from Penguin Purls and they were originally supposed to be for his birthday in March, but what with one thing and another (I am easily distracted) they are yet to be finished. In this case his short attention span and terrible memory will actually work in my favour as I seriously doubt he has noticed I have been knitting them all year.
• My brother has always been terrible to choose gifts for. Now he lives in Australia and I (to my shame) have used the postal dates as an excuse not to give him anything the last few years. This must change! But what do you make for a man who will be having a summer Christmas? As he's pretty stylish I have decided on a mobius cowl, and I'm hoping to find a nice linen-based yarn to knit up loosely so at least it will be about right for his autumn.
• And then there's the brother-on-law...no idea. Seriously. Fingerless mitts, maybe? But can I get them done in time? Oh, the stress!

Thanks for having me on board, there will be pictures next time I promise!

Hi :D

Hi everyone, I'm Ellie from Mammy Made and I have just joined this amazing blog! I am a 26year old SAHM to two gorgeous baby girls, the oldest is 1 and the youngest is 2months. I live in Liverpool with my boyfriend. I am hoping to make a good few of my Christmas presents this year. Last year I made a couple of rice heat bags to give to my gran and my boyfriend's nan but this year I'd like to make more.

So far on my list of ideas I have:

Foldaway Market Bag for my mam.

'N' Taggie for my littlest girl.

Tea Party Accessories for my biggest girl.

I would also like to make some pyjamas for me, my boyfriend and both babies to be given on Christmas Eve so maybe not technically a Christmas present, and I am planning to make an advent calender of some kind and a stocking each for the girls. Hopefully I'll have enough time to get it all done.

Thank so much for this blog and for letting me join, it looks really good already :D