Accessorize

Wool is fantastic. It might take some time and work but the results are worth it. This is a "shrug" for my daughter, something between a big scarf and a small cape - with sleeves...one like this is not available anywhere else.

Oh Tannenbaum

Cut out a stencil from any kind of cardboard lying around the house.

Transfer shape to card stock or thicker paper, cut out and punch a hole through the top.

Repeat.

Thread ribbon or string through the top and use as gift tag, hang from twigs or the tree or pin along the windowsill and cover the pins with ribbon as a garland.

Without the hole at the top (or with lots more of them all over the tree) it can also be used as a card topper.

Felt!

                  

 Looks confusing? This is the map to something young children will love: A little felt fella who walks about.

Here's one I made earlier

First cut out the pieces - 1 body, 1 pair of trousers, 2 boots, 2 soles, 1 hat or not.
Cover 1 big and 2 small balls of wool/stuffing material/styrofoam in fabric, tie off the "hands" and the "head". They are ready to use.
Fold over the body and sew up, leaving the openings for the hands. Stuff with material (old tights would do) and push the hands in and attach. Push the "head" through the X-opening at the top and attach.

Sew up the trousers like this: Fold from the outside in and attach in the middle. Leave the openings for your fingers.
Close the boots, sew the soles onto the bottom, stuff slightly and slip over the trouserlegs to attach.
Now the straight upper edge of the trousers can be sewn onto the backside of the body. Be sure to leave the finger holes open.
The finishing touches are some wool or similar as "hair" and a hat or bandana or whatever takes your fancy.

Tadaaa!

(Felt is available from Hobbycrafts in a wide variety of colours.)

Transparent

One of Sonjas'

Stars are not the only thing coloured transparent paper is good for. With a cardboard frame, shape punches and precise cutting the windows can be adorned in jewel colours. Layering the shapes creates new nuances. These look their best backlit of course but sunshine is sometimes hard to come by up North.
The method is fairly easy: The actual image is glued (a bit like a sandwich filling) between two layers of white  translucent paper and  then everything is glued behind the frame. Try and use "photosafe" gluesticks if possible, otherwise the colours start dissolving after a few years.

Let there be light

Do I like candles? Yes. Do I have some empty plastic cups left over from lemon tiramisu? Yes. My mind works in strange ways - and puts them together: How about turning the empty cups into candle votives? I have translucent white paper, stickers, sellotape, scissors and tealights and a spare few minutes, so here goes...

cut out

stick down

sticker

Look: Stars too!

Result

Now I just have to bite the bullet and get down to the task of eating more tiramisu...

Luxe

I must confess that I have a particular liking for handdyed Japanese Eisaku Noro wool and silk. Unfortunately it is quite expensive, being what it is. So, usually I only get about 200g of each colour combination and turn them into a scarf. The advantage of that is the amount of time it takes to finish which is: hardly any! If I could ever bring myself to give them away I could also match the colours to the person lucky enough to receive such a treasure. (My daughter owns one in her favourite shades of lilac and purple, I am not completely heartless.)
The pattern is easy enough, it is either 1knit1purl and 1purl1knit on the back row, or 1knit1purl and on the back row the same, 1knit1purl.

Bounty



Middle pattern: 1k1p - 1p1k. On both sides: 1k1p - 1k1p.



Yes, I do like shades of blue

( Eisaku Noro wool&silk is available in the haberdashery department of John Lewis and from other mail order wool suppliers.)

Stealth

Every offer or voucher thrown at me poses the question: Can I use this somehow? This is the result of two offers by Vistaprint ( "book 3" and "book 4") for a photo-mug, -calendar and -t-shirt for next to nothing. Even taking my special wishes into consideration the entire haul only cost me about £13.- including p&p, and I now have three personalized gifts for members of my family that aren't available anywhere else. All I added to the mug are some chocolates - ideal for Auntie M., who is always there at short notice. Add to that a free photobook (offered by one of the supermarkets) of pictures of her grandchildren and my mother-in-law should feel pretty happy too. As the photobook was absolutely free, so am I.
(I just got another voucher from Vistaprint for a mug and a calendar, the codes are "/tbp74" and "/tbp75", added after the webaddress. Both are 99p plus Vat and p&p.)

Deadline

Tomorrow it will be 3 months until my deadline. Yes, tomorrow. Being German, my deadline is Christmas Eve instead of the 25th. As Her Majesty the Queen still adheres to the same custom I feel in illustrious company. Unfortunately her budget differs wildly from that of mere mortals and we have to work out how to get everything sorted in time without going bankrupt. Every year my head buzzes with ideas about what to do only for them to get swamped by everyday life and forgotten. So, this year I decided to put them down in writing and see where that may lead...