Sunday 22 December 2013

A Sprinkling Of Christmas For Handmade Monday


Whew! What a busy week! Santa's little helper and i are just about ready for a nap after keeping up with lots of last minute customer orders at the same time as trying to get Christmas ready on the home front... anyone else know how that feels?! :)

This pic is of the Christmas card i sent out to friends and family BTW (at the last minute i might add!)

Despite the fact that much has been created at Free Spirit Designs HQ of late many things are either pressies to be kept secret, duplicates of things you've seen before or unphotographed because of climatic restrictions (weather forecast in these parts has read rain, windy, windy rain, brief spell of cloudy gloom, sleet, rain... etc etc for some time now...) However, i do have a couple of pics to share before i wish you the merriest of Christmasses and get back to the task of removing all crafting paraphanalia from our dining room to make way for family festivities...!


Personalised 'Make A Wish' Star Decorations

I managed to get a quick snap of this collection of star 'Make A Wish' ceramic stars before they departed to their new homes - they are all personalised with names and/or personalised messages on the back.


They've been one of my more popular decorations this year and it felt good to send out all those wishes into the world so this is sure to be a design i'll make again next year.


Squeaky Dog Bone

There is one person who doesn't mind me showing you his Christmas pressie before he gets it and that's the cheeky little elf pictured at the top of the post.


I'm really looking forward to giving my little helper his very first handmade squeaky dog bone - he took a keen interest in the making of it so i expect he'll be happy to find that its for him!

Its made of all natural material (apart from the squeak!) and i'm planning a whole range of these for my shops, plus something for cats, in the New Year... as always you'll be the first to know when they're available!


Home Made Christmas Crackers

And finally, i promised a couple of weeks ago that i'd share our home made Christmas crackers - a family crafting effort that i think will add a lovely personal touch to the dinner table this year. (we also made little friendship bracelets to go inside - you'll have to imagine them though as i didn't get a pic before they went in!)


That's all from me for this week, i'm off now to find out what my fellow Handmade Mondayer's have been busy with (the question is... are they too busy to tell us about it...? why not join me over at Handmade Harbour to find out!)

Merry Christmas one and all, have a good one, i'll see you on the other side...! x

29 comments:

  1. Wow, I love the photo of the stars, either by accident or design the picture is like an optical illusion, when I first looked it looked like the stars were embedded into something, I had to re-focus my eyes to see that they were not embedded. I wonder if it's just me.
    Love your crackers by the way :)

    Jan x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hehe oh accident definitely :) i can see what you mean though!

      thank you! x

      Delete
  2. Love the handmade crackers - no idea how you found the time!! Enjoy Christmas:)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love the handmade crackers. I haven't made one of those since I was a little kid.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you! i recommend having a go, they're great fun! :)

      Delete
  4. aaah but I need to know how to make the crackers! I am in USA and cannot find them for love nor money. Do you have a link? I have the loo rolls. Found you on Handmade Harbor. I crochet little animals and do pet portraits. Come over and say hi!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't have a link i'm afraid... i think the main thing is just to wrap paper around the rolls and tie at each end - with the goodies inside of course! You'd need to get the banger strips too... i'm sure you can order that kind of thing - we got ours for free this year but i'm sure to be hunting them out next year!

      will do! :)

      Delete
    2. Thanks! I really need to order the banger strips in November not at the last minute. But we are all running around like headless chickens at this time of year. Next year I will make some lovely crackers....if I get it sorted

      Delete
  5. I like when things start to calm down just before Christmas and you suddenly realise you have the time to get ready for your own Xmas. Love the idea of handmade crackers - the ones you buy in the shop are always a bit of a disappointment and I like to personalise them with individual presents. It's quite a fun to try buy meaningful things that fit into a cracker size. Happy Christmas and all the best for New Year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah i love that too :)

      I agree, its so much more personal and really fun too, i'm sure we'll be doing them again next year! x

      Delete
  6. Love the crackers. Crackers have caused a lot of debate in my family this year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you!

      oh really? that sounds intriguing! x

      Delete
  7. Glad to hear you have had a busy time. I hope you stop for a moment to think about all your handmade gifts giving pleasure to people:). Wishing you a very happy christmas. X

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aww thank you, i hope they are!

      Merry Christmas to you too! x

      Delete
  8. Ah what a cute Santa dog! Love the crackers have a Happy Christmas!

    ReplyDelete
  9. That has to be the most stylish squeaky dog toy I've ever seen! Sure to be a hit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aww thank you :) He does seem v pleased with it! x

      Delete
  10. I too made Christmas crackers this year but bought the gifts - perhaps I'll make them next year! Have a wonderful Christmas, look forward to catching up in the new year xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aww that sounds lovely, i'm glad i'm not the only one making my own! :)

      Delete
  11. I love handmade crackers but just never get round to making any. I'll add them to the never-ending list of things to do !!!!

    Have a wonderful Christmas xx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Its so hard to get round to everything isn't it!

      Thank you :) You too! x

      Delete
  12. Sounds like you had a busy run up to Christmas. I know that feeling (didn't manage to link my blogs to Handmade Monday till after!). The crackers are great. I've only done them one year and as well as a small gift we put in a scratch card which was fun.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hehe yeah it was quite busy there for a while!

      Aww that's a lovely idea, might have to put a scratch card in ours next year! :)

      Delete
  13. I love your card with Santa's little helper, he's very cute. You've made some fabulous things - I hope Santa's helper enjoyed his squeaky toy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aww thank you :) He really loves it actually! x

      Delete
  14. Love the doggie present - wish we still had our dog! handmade crackers I intended to make but time ran away. congratulations on all your lovely things you manage to make even during this busy time. best wishes for 2014.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thank you! Aww that's so sad :( i'm sure your lovely doggie is still with you in spirit x

      thank you, the very best to you too! x

      Delete

Your lovely comments are much appreciated x