I absolutely love making things, and for the past 10 years have tried so many different crafts. Some of the stuff that I made at the start of my crafting journey was admittedly totally rubbish, and was only kept by the truly kind-hearted relatives that it was foisted upon!
Over the years I have learnt where my crafting skills lie. I am an impatient crafter. I love to be able to start and finish a project within a couple of hours, so long projects like upholstering a chair or knitting a complicated jumper are not ideal for me.
I do get a huge sense of achievement when I finish something that has taken a lot of time, but throughout the process there is a considerable amount of impatience and irritation!
If, like me, you like to see a finished present quickly from your crafting session, here are some ideas for you:
Knit a snood or hat using thick wool and large needles. I have just ordered a couple of kits from Stitch & Story because my knitting skills are not great, and want to learn how to make stuff that looks halfway decent. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Get some pebbles and make a pebble art picture.
Do an online course and learn a new skill, or YouTube the hell out of something you want to learn!
Come on one of our arm knitting, painting, pyrography, macramé or ceramics classes.
Take your camera out and take some photos of the gorgeous autumn leaves. Frame them.
Make some homemade granola and put it in a jar with a strip of hessian around it - recipe below.
Sew together some felt in heart or bird shapes. Really quick and soooooo cute!
Get some plain white t-towels and block print them with textile paint.
Make some mince pies and put them in a gorgeous box - my sister has an amazing recipe and makes the pastry from scratch. She always uses Robertsons traditional mincemeat. It is so tasty. Leave a comment below if you would like me to get the pastry recipe from her!
But if the thought of making all (or any!) of your Christmas presents leaves you in a cold sweat, you can go and visit some of the people who are out there making gorgeous gifts that are just waiting for you to buy them!
Next post we will be putting together a list of makers we love locally and online, and will also put in some ideas for teacher gifts. Yes, that one always sneaks up on me too!
Granola recipe:
1 cup sunflower oil
1 cup golden syrup
8 cups porridge oats (I usually use half jumbo and half normal)
Sunflower and pumpkin seeds (optional)
Put the oil and golden syrup in a saucepan and warm to loosen up the golden syrup. Turn off heat and mix in the porridge oats and seeds. Press the mixture into a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Put in the oven for about 12 mins at 180 degrees. When it is looking brown on top and around the edges it is done. If you want flapjacks you now need to wait and let it cool down before cutting up into bars. If you are eating as granola then you don’t need it to be as cold before breaking it up into chunks. Enjoy!