Merry Christmas-Last Minute Gifts

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM OUR HOME TO YOURS!

I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful Holiday weekend with your loved ones!

I thought I would leave you a couple last minute gift ideas just in case you are still scrambling for ideas for those late Christmas get togethers.

We will be spending time in my hometown with my family. For the last few years, we decided the adults in my family each choose a name for a gift so that we don't have the stress and burden of getting each person a gift. It has worked great! This year is a little different, each gal gets a girl gift and each guy gets a guy gift. Gifts need to be $10 or less. Then somehow we will do a gift exchange.

Since some of my family might read my little blog here, I didn't post what I made to ruin the surprise.

So now it's safe to post, I thought I'd share my gift. It was easy and fun to make. 

I decided to make photo coasters for the gal recipient of my gift along with some Shaklee Hand Soap. I couldn't forget the gift of health! 

The photo coasters included my sons, my nieces and nephew and my cousin's son. On the 4th coaster I added some scrapbook paper and a sticker.

I got these cute tiles for super cheap at Home Depot. I cut the photos down a little smaller than the size of the tile. I applied modge podge directly to the tile and then I placed the photo on top. I then put a heavy book on top of the tile and photo while the modge podge dried. After it was dry, I applied 2 coats of modge podge over the photo...I allowed dry time between each coat. To have super durability, I gave each coaster 3 coats of Clear Spray Sealer. When all dried I added felt pads on all 4 corners on the bottom of each coaster.

The set probably cost around $2 to make. :) Tie with a ribbon and it's ready to gift! I wanted to keep them for myself. Good thing I have extra tile.

And one last gift I wanted to share was Christmas Potpourri in a bag. I got the idea from HERE. I made these for my co-workers. Super easy to whip together with items from your kitchen. Add a tag and a bow and your all set!

Merry Christmas!

Don't forget to come back for Terrific Under Ten Tuesday!

Signing Off For A Few Days

Just popping in again tonight to wish all my wonderful readers a Happy, Happy Christmas.

Thank you for sticking around and reading my daily waffle. Your emails, comments, tweets, letters and rendezvous in my shed enrich my life. You have helped me through a challenging year just by being there for me. My blog is the reason I wake early. It's a joy in my life. You give so much back. 

Thank you. 

Holiday update: 

It's rather wild down here at the beach. All the beaches were closed today.

Our frisbee went everywhere but where it was thrown!

I love this sort of weather. It's beautiful and moody and dramatic.

Although it does remind me a bit of the weather we had after Christmas last year, just before the floods.

Windswept from the beach, I spent the afternoon being 'pool lifeguard'.

Tough job.

I'm taking a few days off from the bloggy. 

Will catch up with you all at the end of next week.

 Miss you already.

A-M xx

Merry Christmas!

I hope you have a wonderful, toasty, Christmas!

Picture: Via Castles, Crowns and Cottages

I'll be back with a post on 28th December so pop by and say hi!

PS Don't forget, to enter the competition to win a Pick pic picture. You can enter until 31st December here!

Christmas hugs! 

Sew n' Crow Christmas!

This week our Monday night group, fondly known as "sew n' crow" met at Sam's for a festive evening of fun and handmade present exchanging!

Some weeks ago, we all picked a name out of the Secret Santa hat.  Nic decreed that, of course, all presents should be handmade, and cost no more than £5, or should come from your craft stash!  Quite right too!

My gift was wrapped in brown paper and adorned with a luggage tag bearing a button snowman!

And......the recipient of my carefully woven basket gift was Lisa.  Lisa is a fabulous stitcher, as you'll see later on, so I must admit I was a little nervous.....but she seemed to like it!

Lisa in turn made for Jeannette, a lovely jar with pincushion top and stuffed to the brim with sewing goodies......

Jeannette made for Nic, and carefully wrapped her goodies in this gorgeous little wicker hamper - she knows Nic has a penchant for hampers!

Jeannette made these beautiful tweed fabric hearts strung with pretty flowery ribbon and adorned with tiny jewels. 

And filled the basket with handmade iced Christmas biscuits. 

I was the lucky recipient of Nic's gift, some beautiful ceramic heart tags made at a recent Rachel Dormor workshop, plus a really pretty pressed glass bowl and creamer from Nic's own glass collection.

Michelle received a lovely stash of handmade fork pom poms made by Sue - beautifully festive!

Michelle made for Amy and her gift was home made bath and massage oil scented with lavender and camomile and presented in a gorgeous vintage decanter, tied with ribbon and luggage tag.  Michelle even added some glitter to add some extra Christmas sparkle! Amy was clearly thriilled.

Amy's gift to Shiela was a beautiful Christmas Tree cross-stitch presented in an embroidery hoop - Shiela very quickly announced that she had the perfect spot to hang her lovely gift.

Pat's gift, made by Sam, was a beautiful, personalised mug hug - which, as you can see here, also nicely fits an ample glass of mulled wine!!!

Pat made Sue a super cosy, chocolate brown, chenille scarf.  It was on in a flash!

There were no prizes for guessing who made this stunning coffee and walnut cake!  Shiela is renowned for them in these parts - and Sam was the lucky recipient - though I did wonder whether lucky was the right word, since Sam very generously proceeded to share it with us all, leaving her with only half a cake!!!

I think we all enjoyed both the making and sharing of our gifts, in the knowledge that we had invested our time wisely, with love, and had made something which would be appreciated.

I can't finish this post, without showing you a few pictures of the very talented Lisa Museum's finished Santa washing line! She's been working on this at Sew n' Crow over recent weeks and here it is in all its glory - ta dah!

All handmade and handstitched.

How cute.

Sam's cat, Wellington, seemed pretty non-plussed by all of the activity and decided instead that Nic's ball of yarn made a great head rest and the perfect spot for a snooze, whilst we ooohed, aaarh'd, drank and ate!!!

Life doesn't get much better than this!

Jacquix

Wintery Christmas detail

Brrrr! Picture: via Mud Puddle

This afternoon I love these 'wintery Christmas home' images . Simple yet beautiful. 

Lokal 54

Lokal 54

Lokal 54

Les Fifoles

He

Pictures: Lokal 54

Hey...who ate that Christmas tree?!

Tomorrow I'll be launching an exciting Christmas competition for all my lovely readers. Pop by to find out more and enter (after all everyone needs something new for the home to bring in the new year!).

Kram!

Tuesday DIY: Neon Christmas decorations

With the winter stolsis only two days away, it's soooo dark here in Sweden. And there's nothing like neon themed Christmas decorations to brighten things up. If you click through to Sania Pell and Purl Bee you'll find some great instructions on how to make some of these fab neon decoations yourself (if you still have the time!). Happy DIY!

Picture: Apartment Therapy

Picture and buy: Etsy

Picture: Miluccia

Picture and DIY project: The Purl Bee 

Picture and DIY project: Sania Pell

Picture and DIY project: Sania Pell

Illuminate me here - are you a 'neon forever' type? Or is it more something you'd love to see....in someone elses home?!

Pretty Christmas decorating with winter branches

It really is cold here this afternoon. BRRR! I think that's why I was drawn to these lovely white Christmas images. I love the branches with presents, 'pepparkaka' (ginger biscuits), fairy lights. stars and baubles. So pretty! My little three year old made a ginger biscuit house this year.  I really love it, it's all hickeldy pickeldy! 

Via Bohemian Sense

The beautiful sitting room of blogger at Anna Leenas Hem

Via Bohemian Sense 

Jon Horvarth

Psssst! If you would like to make a ginger biscuit house but don't have the time to make it from scratch you can pick up a kit from IKEA!  You can also pick up pretty heart ginger biscuits to decorate with white icing. Perfect cheat!

Cosy wood home all decked out for Christmas

 Morning! It's Friday, yaaaay! This home intrigues me. It's not my usual style but there's something about all the mis-matching wood that just works, and creates such a cosy feel. And the Christmas tree is just fantastic don't you think?! DIY project for the weekend perhaps?

Pictures: Taverne via Nicety

PS Masking tape is slowly taking over our homes but I've yet to see it in the form of 'Merry Xmas'. Clever idea....