Traditional Christmas Craft - Orange Pomanders

Orange pomanders fill the house with a delicious scent, are satisfying to make and very pretty to look at. If you are looking for a quick and easy craft, with supermarket ingredients, try method 1 below. For a more traditional, longer lasting pomander, try method 2.

Method 1 - short-term pomanders

Choose a number of thin-skinned oranges. Using a large darning needle, prick a design on the oranges. A large-spaced random design works well, as does a double row of holes around the middle of an orange. Push a clove into each hole. Arrange in a bowl or glass vase and enjoy the gorgeous scent.

Idea: "Write" a letter in cloves on each orange and use to spell a Christmas word (perhaps Merry, Christmas, Yule, or Noel). Arrange the oranges on your mantlepiece, or down the center of your table, for an original and sweet-smelling display.

Method 2 - long lasting traditional pomanders

You will need:

A medium-sized thin-skinned orange
1/2 cup whole cloves
1/2 cup orris root powder
2 tablespoons cinnamon powder
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg

Instructions:

Roll the orange in your hands to warm it: this makes it easier to push the cloves into it. Using a large darning needle, poke holes into the orange about 1/8 inch apart, and then push a clove into each hole. A traditional pomander covers the entire orange with cloves closely, but it is easiest to work on a small area at a time.

Mix all the powders together, and roll your clove-studded orange in it, filling the spaces between the cloves as much as possible. Store carefully in a small cardboard box lined with tissue paper, and tip the extra powder on top. Keep in a warm (but not hot) dry place, such an airing cupboard, for 3 to 4 weeks. Shake off excess powder and tie a pretty ribbon around the pomander, with a bow and a loop for hanging. Any excess powder can be saved and used again.



Lindsay Small is the creator and editor of http://www.christmasiscoming.co.uk/, where you can find free Christmas crafts, printables, recipes, stories, decorating, entertaining and gift ideas - in short, everything you need to make Christmas special!



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Use Free Christmas Clip Art In Your Holiday Craft Projects!

It's hard to believe, but Christmas is right around the corner, now is the time to start your Christmas and holiday craft projects. You can use free Christmas clip art found on the internet to spice up your web site or holiday greeting cards. With a simple Google image search for Christmas clip art, you can find hundreds of free images for download which you can use in all of your holiday projects. Not only will you find lots of great free Christmas images to download, but you can also find Christmas craft projects for the entire family with a quick search.

Some of the cool holiday and Christmas images that you will find are Santa images, Christmas tree images, wreath and holly clip art images, and snowmen and other holiday characters. If you have access to a photo program like Photoshop or something similar, you can download the images directly to your computer and then edit them in your photo program.

Scale them to different sizes, change colors and create your own Christmas creation. Many of the holiday clip art images you will find are outlined with no fill colors. This means you can download and print these images, which make perfect coloring projects for the kids.

It can be a lot of fun to create your own holiday greeting cards by using a text or image program, combined with free Christmas clip art that you download from the internet. You can select which images you want to use in your greeting cards and customize them to be completely original. If you have your own blog or website, you can also upload the clip art images to decorate your pages for the holiday season. So if you're starting your holiday craft projects, do a quick google search or you can visit this link for tons of free Christmas clip art images.



http://christmasclipart.blogspot.com/


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Christmas Toffee Treats

Stuck for something to make for Grandad, Dad or your brother? Christmas toffee is always an old favourite, and it's one of Santa's favourites too. It is easy to make but younger children will need some help because you have to use the cook and the mixture gets very hot.
One batch of Christmas Toffee treats is enough to make 2 Christmas Gifts.

To make Christmas Toffee Treats you will need...

1 lb sugar
1/3 pint water
1 and a quarter ozs butter
2 level tablespoons golden syrup
1 teaspoon vinegar

Remember to wash your hands and clean the work surfaces before you begin.

Method...

Put the water, butter and vinegar into a large saucepan and as it heats slowly add the sugar and syrup gradually to avoid burning. Stir over a steady heat until the sugar has dissolved.

Bring to the boil and cook slowly for aboout 15 minutes or so.

To test for consistency stage drop about half a teaspoon of the mixture into a cup of cold water, if it sets hard then it is done, if still soft and chewy cook for a little longer and test again.

Pour into oiled or buttered tin, make sure you use a tin and not anything pot or glass because this will make it very hard to get the toffee out once it has hardened. After about 10 minutes or so mark in squares as toffee becomes partially set. This will enable you to break the toffee up when completely set.


Put your broken up toffee peices into a small plastic box or a clean jam jar and make a colourful lable to stick on the front to say whats inside and the date it was made. You can print out labels Here which look like the one on the right with a red bauble. Simply fill in who the toffee is for and your name as the toffee maker.

One batch is enough to make two gifts.


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How to make a Christmas Wreath

Christmas wreaths are an old Christmas tradition that is used to decorate the outside of the house, typically on the front door, to give Christmas time visitors a festive greeting.

To make a Christmas wreath you will need a wreath ring, florist wire (you can get these cheaply from our local florist) and some vegetation.

Take a walk around your local park, your garden or in the countryside. Take a bag and some scissors with you and collect interesting vegetation to make a Christmas wreath. Under no circumstances should you pick plants from other people's gardens unless you have their permission to do so.

Collect evergreens, ivy and loral leave are good. Some leaves are a silvery grey; these add a frosty feeling to the wreath. Conifers are popular in people's gardens. Do you have a conifer in your garden? Conifers don't have overly interesting foliage but they make a great base to the wreath.

Also look out for holly or other shrubs that bear berries. Berries add colour to the wreath. Look out for dried seedpods such as poppies, teasels and pinecones. Seedpods can be spray painted silver or gold and used to add interest to the wreath. If you do intend to use spray paint any pieces do this well in advance of the day you intend to make the wreath to give the paint enough time to dry. When using spray paint always closely follow the direction of use printed on the back of the tin.

To make the wreath To attach pieces of foliage to the wreath ring you cut to piece to length and wrap the wire around the lower end of the foliage and then twist the wire around the wreath ring with another piece of wire. Repeat this procedure an inch or two further down the stem.

During the first round of the wreath the foliage will slide around a little bit but the more you put on the more stable it will become. Keep your work flat on a tabletop to prevent movement.

Much of building the wreath is to place your foliage to make something pleasing to the eye, with interest around the whole of the wreath.

However there are some general rules of the thumb.

Use the inner and outer rings as separate 'rounds' filling both rings makes a full plush wreath.

You will find that you can make rounds appear to have a direction. This is when the stems all lay the same way. Wreaths look best if a round follows the same direction. However, the two rings on the wreath ring don't necessarily have to go in the same direction.

The more you add, the better it looks.

Save the 'feature' or fancier pieces until last so that they sit on the top layer of the wreath where they can be seen.

To add pine cones, wrap some wore around the bottom layer of the cone seeds, and twist the two wire stems firmly together and push the wire into the wreath and twist them together at the back of the wreath. You could also wire on Christmas baubles.

When the wreath is finished hang it on your front door for all to see and appreciate.

Blown Egg Christmas Baubles

This is a cracking Christmas decoration idea. I just know your going to get eggsited by this one. Okay, Less of the foul yokes! But seriously eggs make wonderful Christmas tree baubles.

I don't think that there is anything more festive than making your own Christmas baubles to hang on the Christmas tree whilst listening to Christmas carols, it really makes you feel the spirit of Christmas. Why not make Christmas tree baubles from eggshells? Everyone thinks of eggs at Easter time, but they symbolise new beginnings, like the birth of Jesus Christ.

All you need is...
Some eggs, gift-wrap, ribbon, paint, some wire, glitter and other odds and ends for decoration.

First take your egg in one hand and a darning needle in the other. Hold the egg firmly in your hand and push the needle into the centre of the wide bit, at the bottom of the egg. Once the needle is through, wiggle the needle about a bit to make the whole a bit bigger. Now turn the egg around and make another hole in the top of the egg, again wiggle the needle.

Then with a dish underneath to catch the insides of the egg, blow very hard into one end of the egg, and blow the egg out. DO NOT SUCK! This is very bad.

There are concerns that you can contract salmonella from raw eggs. If you are worried about this you could use a medicine syringe to force air through the eggshell.

Remember not to let the egg go to waste. Make scrabbled egg for your dog or use them to bake some cakes.

Once the eggshell is empty give it a good wash out with disinfectant and leave it to dry overnight. Stand it in an eggcup so any excess water can run out freely.

Give your eggshell a coat of paint. Metallic is nice and festive. Leave the paint to dry.

You need to make an egg threader with a piece of wire, which is about twice the length of the egg. Turn the end over and down to form an 'eye' like you would find on a needle. Wrap some selotape around the turn down bit of wire and the main stem of wire.

Get a length of gift-wrap ribbon, which is roughly 4 or 5 times as long as the egg. Fold it in half and tie a knot in the ribbon about 2cm down, forming the loop for hanging the egg on the Christmas tree.

Insert the threader tool into the tool at the top of the egg and out through the bottom of the egg leaving the eye resting on the top of the egg. Tread the two ends of the ribbon through the eye of the egg threader tool. Gently pull the threader tool and the ribbon through the egg, so that the loop knot you made rests on the top of the egg, and the gift-wrap ribbon dangles out from the bottom of the egg. Tie a knot in these ribbons so that the knot sits at the base of the egg. Tie another length of ribbon to these ribbons at the knot. Pull all the ribbons over a pencil to make the ribbons curl.

Stick a small image from a Christmas card or gift wrapping paper on the side of the egg or create a motif with sequins or other bits and bobs.

Finally, using PVA glue, stick some glitter on to the egg to make it sparkle.

Treat the egg bauble like a glass bauble, pack it away carefully and use it every year. If you don't want to use eggs, try Ping-Pong balls instead.

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Cheap Unique Gift Idea for all Occasions by Riz Davis

Whether you're on a tight budget or you just want to get a discounted and cheap unique ideas that could help you save more, there are gift shops that offer great deals in online shopping! From the latest gadget inventions to practical homeware, there's definitely a lot more that we can find online. Every product is good not only for its quality but for the entertainment it could give you and the whole family.

With a cheap unique gift idea which comes in a price you can afford, you'd still have a lot of choices that would fit your budget. If you don't fancy making handmade gifts such as baskets, bags and the likes – coming up with a cheap unique gift idea would definitely save time and effort plus you get to inquire about our products and specify what you want so that we could help you get what you want.

If you haven't thought of a single cheap unique gift idea yet, you could start by browsing our site and see if you could find anything that would arouse your interest. In fact, as you can notice, almost all of the products are not just made for display but it also carries a certain purpose – some are even multifunctional that you just have to try for yourself.

With just a few clicks and filling out short forms to secure your order form online – you'd be able to get cheap unique gift ideas in time for any occasion. We also deliver it fast and that means you wouldn't have to wait for so long to reach that over to the one you're giving it to. So please take time in browsing our products – especially the featured ones and our best sellers to give you a lot of cheap unique gift ideas.







Riz Davis, 26, is the Internet Marketing Associate of Gadget Epoint LTD. An internet savvy and geek by heart, she enjoys browsing the net for unusual gadgets and novelty items.


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Positive Parenting Tips - How To Give Your Child The Spirit Of Christmas

Positive Parenting Tips - How To Give Your Child The Spirit Of Christmas by Deanna Mascle

I am the mother of a 6-year-old so I know full well how wild children become when caught up in the full Christmas frenzy. There is the never-ending list of "I want" items from catalogs, television commercials, and random store spottings. There is the sneaking around to find hidden gifts or fondle those already wrapped under the tree. There is the high spirits and wild behavior that come from increased sugar intake on top of the excitement of the season. While I can forgive a certain amount of high jinks, I also do not want my child to forget the reason for the season. Here are four ways I remind my child of the true meaning of Christmas.

Of course Christmas is about presents. That is the true reason why children are so wild. They know the countdown is coming for a big haul of gifts and it is very difficult to avoid this commercial aspect even if you choose to do so. Even when my husband and I make a conscious decision to be restrained there are still grandparents, aunts, cousins, and friends who conspire to deliver everything a boy can dream of possessing. I do not wish to deprive my child of that magical Christmas morning frenzy of shredding wrapping paper, but I do want to make sure he remembers that Christmas is about giving -- not receiving. This means I make sure he is a part of the gift selection process as well as purchase and wrapping. In addition, he also makes a number of gifts and cards for those people important to him. He enjoys this creative aspect as well as making a more meaningful gift that will be cherished much more than a store bought gift by his grandparents and other special people. Any way you can channel although that pre-holiday energy into a positive action is always a bonus too.

Another aspect of reminding my child that Christmas is about giving is also to share with those less fortunate. We go through toys and clothes before Christmas and take a good haul to Goodwill. Obviously it offers the selfish benefit of making way for the new presents, but if an outgrown bicycle can make another child's Christmas a little brighter than that can only make the situation a win-win for everyone. We also participated in several giving projects through school, scouts, church and other organizations.

Last, and certainly not least, as a Christian family we take part in many events to celebrate this most important part of the Christian calendar. My son and I both sing in choirs that put on Christmas concerts. Our entire family supported several efforts to help those in need from putting together shoebox gift boxes to ship overseas to the Joy offering that support specific church missions to the local coats for kids project as well as bringing food for the local food pantry. We also lit the Advent candle during a recent church service which was very special. We always attend church and Sunday School so will definitely attend the Christmas Eve candlelight service which is one of my personal favorites. Our church family hosts several holiday parties as well to make the season even brighter including appreciation dinners for the choirs, a birthday party for Jesus, and decorating the church. These are all great ways to have fun and celebrate together without the commercial aspects.

If you embrace even a few of these tips then you will not only remind your child of the true meaning of Christmas but you will also help make the holiday season a little brighter for others as well. Both benefits also give you the added bonus of adding to your store of holiday cheer.





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Christmas Card Tree / holder

Isn't it lovely to receive lots of Christmas cards? But it's not so easy to display them all. They have a tendency to get blown off the windowsills and ledges. They curl up in the heat and spoil the d飯r if you pin or selotape them to the walls and doors. A Christmas card tree can hold multiple cards securely and decoratively.

To make a Christmas card tree you will need...
A baked bean tin (washed and the top filled) around 200g of decorators all-purpose interior filler, 15 or so bamboo skewers, paint, tinsel, super glue, paint suitable for painting on metal and wood, mini pegs and sand paper.

Mix up the filler with water as directed on the packet and pour the plaster like mixture into the tin. When the filler starts to go off, push the skewers into the filler in all directions bearing in mind that each stick will hold card. Space them out around the tin.

Instead of using skewers, you could try using largish twigs; this would give your Christmas card tree a more natural and rustic look.

Leave to one side to completely dry.

It's time to paint the structure. Paint in any colour, making sure you pain the tin, sticks and filler and all. If you are going to use spray paint it is important to follow the instructions carefully on the side of the tin.

Leave to one side to completely dry.

Before sticking the pegs to the skewers you will need to give the skewer a rub with sandpaper to remove some paint and to give the glue something to attach itself to. Just sand a space the size of the peg.

Put a small amount of super glue to one side of the peg, and with the jaws of the peg facing sky wards carefully stick the peg to the stick. Making sure that you don't also stick your fingers to the stick.

You may want to put two pegs on some sticks for smaller cards. Add a second peg just above half way down the stick in the same way as before.

Finally to finish off your Christmas card tree, wrap a length of tinsel around the tin. Stick the ends of the tinsel in place with a dab of glue. Add your Christmas cards by putting a card in the jaws of each peg.

For more homemade christmas trimming Ideas visit http://www.santaspostbag.co.uk/homemade-christmas-trimmings.shtml

Potpourri Bundles

These neat little bundles of potpourri are pretty and fragrant sachets to hang on coat hangers in the wardrobe. Hang them on door handles and when the door moves the potpourri bundle wafts the sent around the room. They are also great for freshening up the car. With so many places to hang these bundles, they make a great little Christmas gift, and best of all they are not difficult to make.

To make potpourri bundles you will need...
Fine or broken up Potpourri, lace doilies or net curtain material, some lengths of ribbon, needle and thread and silk roses to decorate.

First cut a circle from the lacey material, about 12 cm across.

Sew a row of running stitches 2 cm away from the edge of the fabric. Draw the stitching up slightly so that the fabric starts to make a little 'pocket'. Leave the needle and thread attached for later.

Fill the little pocket with potpourri. Compact it in as much as possible and then pull the thread to draw up the material to close in the potpourri.

Wrap the thread tightly around the scrunched up top or neck of the bundle, and finish off with a couple of stitches on top of one another.

Take a length of ribbon about 30 cm and wrap it around the neck of the bundle and tie it into a knot leaving two long tails. Cross the tail ends over each other to form an 'X' and with a needle and a similar coloured thread, Tack the tail ends together with a couple of neat stitches.

Finishing touches
You can either sew on small silk ribbon roses if you have any, or make a bow with more ribbon wrapped around the neck of the bundle.

When wrapping up your potpourri bundles, pop them into an airtight bag to keep the scent in.

For a real Christmassy feel use a spiced Christmas fragrance potpourri in the bundles.

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Nestle Rowntree Quality Street Crafts

Nestle Rowntree Quality Street chocolates are probably as traditional at Christmas as Christmas pudding and a Christmas tree. If you are lucky enough to receive a big tin of Quality Street chocolates for Christmas, here are a few great ideas of things to do with the plastic wrappers.

Christmas Lantern
To make the Quality Street lantern you will need...
Lantern Ball Paper Lampshade in any size you wish, lots of Quality Street plastic wrappers, and PVA Glue.

First you will need to erect the paper lantern. It should have assembly instructions with it. Unfold the lantern and insert a wire expander inside the lantern, this slots into place and keeps the lantern erect and taught.

If you stand the lampshade in a cereal bowl it with make it easier to work on.

Working on the top half of the lampshade first, cover a patch of the lamp shade in PVA glue and stick the chocolate wrappers to the lamp shade, smooth them down with your brush. You can make some wrappers overlap slightly. Try to evenly spread the colours out.

Let the first half of the lampshade dry before turning the lampshade the other way up and sticking more Quality Street wrappers to the other half, in the same way.

Allow to dry before hanging up at a light. Great for creating a funky retro feel.

For more quality street sweet wrapper crafts please visit http://www.santaspostbag.co.uk/Nestle-Rowntree-Quality-Street-chocolates-crafts.shtml

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What are you doing for your pets this Christmas?

It is that time of the year again when pretty much all of us are looking out for the best possible gifts for our near and dear ones for Christmas. It is definitely one of the most exciting shopping seasons in the entire year where even the men don’t mind going to the stores to buy a special gift for someone they truly care for.

It is a time when we remember everyone in our family and friends list and really dig deep to find out what they would want for Christmas and buy accordingly. But unfortunately there is one member of our family who is often overlooked on the holiday Christmas list, and that is our beloved pet.

Pets are an integral part of a family. People love their pets as much as their own family members and of course for the pet, the owners are his or her entire world. There is no one besides you or above you as far as your pets are concerned. Yet the most enthusiastic and loyal member of the family is left out of the most magical and special time of the year – Christmas.

The unfortunate part is that even though we love our pets with all of our hearts, we often take them for granted and make a distinction between their feelings and those of family and friends. We feel our pets will be excited for us as we open our Christmas treasured and won’t be disappointed or feel left out of the merriment.

Our pets are much more intelligent than we give them credit for. They can pick up on things very fast and always know when there is a special occasion in the house. Getting ignored during these times definitely hurts them and sadly most of us never even notice this as we are too busy sharing our joy with the rest of the family.

Of course some of us do want to do something for our pets but often don’t know what really to gift their dog or their cat. That is where the internet comes to the rescue once again. The fact is that there are several online stores that sell the most adorable pet gift baskets that you can imagine. We here at SugarPaww.com offer pet gift baskets that are well thought out and contain a variety of items like squeeze toys for pets, special treats, healthy edible bones, decorative boxes, rawhide candy canes, special breath fresheners for pets, razzle dazzle collars and a whole lot more.

Your pets love you as much as any of your family members do and like to share the special occasions with you just like you like to share your special moments with rest of the family. So this holiday season, ask yourself this question – what are you doing for the most loyal member of your family? And if you don’t get an answer, I hope you will do something about it.

Linda Lee is the founder of Sugar Paww, a company specializing in the most adorable pet gift baskets for our beloved dogs and cats. For more information please visit http://www.sugarpaww.com/

Pressies for poochies Click here...

Chocolate Fudge for Christmas

Home-made Fudge is a luscious addition to any Christmas, either as a gift for a sweet toothed friend or family member or just for the family to eat at Christmas time. Everyone will think you are really good cook to make your own fudge, it will be your secret of how easy it is to make this scrummy chocolate fudge.
Younger Children will need help to melt the chocolate.

To make chocolate fudge you will need...
300g of good Dark Chocolate with a high coco percentage (70% or 80% coco content) The fudge will not work with other chocolate.
400g tin of Condensed milk.

Remember to wash your hands and clean the work surfaces before you begin.

Method...
Break up the chocolate into a microwavable dish. Microwave the Chocolate for 1 minute and stir, repeat again. If the chocolate has still not melted microwave for an extra 20 seconds and stir. Repeat the 20 seconds until the chocolate has melted being careful not to over cook the chocolate.

Then add the tin of condensed milk to the chocolate, stir in well. You will feel the mixture thicken.

Pour into a tin foil lined tin, spread evenly and smooth the top. Allow to cool for a couple of hours.

Take the fudge out of the tin and peel off the tin foil. Cut in to small mouth sized chunks.

Your chocolate fudge is now ready to eat or put into a little box if you are giving it as a gift.

One batch is enough to make two gifts.

Have a go at the Christmas Criss Cross Puzzle - Print it off for the kids

3D Reindeer Christmas Cards

What's the best way to wish all of your friends and family a Merry Christmas? With a fleet of festive reindeer of course! Make festive reindeer 3D stand up Christmas Cards. This is a fun and unusual Christmas Card idea is quick and easy to make ? just print, colour and cut out. Pop all the pieces into an envelope, with the assembly instructions send to your friends and family to wish them a very Merry Christmas.

To Make your Reindeer Christmas Card you will need
The reindeer pieces printed out onto card. You can print out the reindeer card for free here. You will also need scissors, colouring pens, crayons, or pencils, and a C5 sized envelope for each reindeer card.

To Make your Reindeer Christmas Card
1) Print out the reindeer shapes onto card. Click Here for Printout

2) Colour in your reindeer with colouring pens, pencils or paint.

3) Write a warm Christmas message on the reindeer's back.

4) Cut out the reindeer pieces. Cut along all of the black lines. Some lines go into the body of the shapes. These are slits that are needed when assembling the reindeer, cut these slits as you cut out the reindeer shapes.

5) Put all the reindeer bits and the assembly instructions into an envelope and post the card.

When the card arrives at your friends or family's house they can assemble the reindeer to make a festive 3D Reindeer card.

Want to try something different? Rip up some Christmas Wrapping paper into small pieces and glue it onto the reindeer shapes. Do worry if the paper over hangs a bit, you can trim the edges when the glue is dry. Metallic paper looks really nice. You could also decorate with glitter to make a really sparkly, magical reindeer.

Christmas Robin Tea Cosy

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The cheery Christmas robin is no stranger to cold bleak winters. He knows how to keep warm and he will keep the teapot warm too. The festive robin novelty Tea Cosy is quick and easy to make and adds Christmas cheer to the kitchen or breakfast table, he also makes for a very unusual gift.

To make the Christmas Robin tea cosy you will need...
5.5 mm, UK size 5 or US size 9 knitting needles,
50g Brown double knitting wool,
50g Red double knitting wool,
25g White double knitting wool
And scraps of felt for the eyes and beak.

Divide all of the balls of wool into two balls so that the yarn can be used in double thickness but knitted up as a single strand.

The Back
Using double thickness brown yarn cast on 28 stitches and work 38 rows in straight garter stitch (Knit each row)

Leave the stitches on a spare needle until later.

The Front
Using double thickness brown wool, cast on 28 stitches and work 4 rows in garter stitch.

Break the yarn and change to white (again double yarn) Work another 4 rows.

Row 9: Knit 6 stitches with white, Join Red (double yarn) knit in red to last 6 stitches. Knit 6 with white.

Don't carry the yarn behind the work, instead use separate balls of wool and twist the yarns together when changing colours to avoid leaving holes.

Row 10: K6 white, K16 red, K6 white.
Row 11: K4 white, K20 red, K4 white.

Repeat the last row 21 more times.

Row 33: K5 white, K8 red, K2 white, K8 red, K5 white. Repeat this row again.

Row 35: K6 White, K6 red, K4 white, K6 red, K6 white. Repeat this row again.

Work two rows in white.

The Tea Cosy Top
Using brown double yarn proceed to knit across the tea cosy front and then tea cosy back as follows...

Shaping the top Row 1: *K5, K2 tog* repeat to end

Next and every alternate row Knit.

Row 3: *K4, K2 tog* repeat to end.
Row 5: *K3, K2 tog* repeat to end.
Row 7: *K2, K2 tog* repeat to end.
Row 9: *K1, K2 tog* repeat to end.
Row 11: *K2 tog* repeat to end.

Thread the end of the yarn through the remaining stitches and through the loop of the yarn itself and draw up the knitting tightly and Finnish off.

With the front and back right sides together, sew about 9.5cm from the finishing off point down the side seam towards the cast on edge.

At the bottom of each side seam, sew about 3cm upwards. The holes are left for the teapot handle and spout.

From felt cut out two eyes (Approximately 4cm in diameter) and sew into position.

Cut a 5cm long kite shape from black felt and fold the fabric in half along the long edge and over-sew this edge with small stitches. With the seam at the bottom, flatten out to form a slender pointed beak. Sew into place.

Now the rosy robin can keep your rosy lee piping hot all winter.

This novelty Christmas robin tea cosy fits teapots up to 47cm round and up to 17cm high, a medium sized teapot.

Fairy Lights and Bells Christmas Umbrella

Are you an extravert? Is your Auntie bonkers? Is your Granny Christmas mad? We have the perfect Christmas gift idea, which will definitely get them noticed.

Presenting The Fairy Lights and Bells Christmas Umbrella so named because it is an umbrella with some unusual Santa's grotto features. Fairy lights, Christmas baubles and some tinkling bells to ensure the user of the brolly jingles all the way.

To make this Christmas brolly you will need... An umbrella, felt fabric, Christmas baubles, small cable ties, some bells (the larger the bell the more 'Sleigh bell' they sound, whilst tiny bells sound like fairies and pixie dust). You will also need a packet of battery operated multi-colour lights.

Open the umbrella and sit it upside down on the table. You will notice that along each spoke of the metal part of the brolly, the umbrella fabric is stitched to the frame. At this point sew a couple of stitches on top of one another to finish off.

In a similar way, sew a Christmas bauble to the end of each spoke where the umbrella fabric is sewn to the tip of the spoke.

To attach the lights to the umbrella frame, you need to make a little 'pocket' to hold the light?s battery compartment.

Cut out a piece of felt that is half a centimetre bigger than the battery compartment all the way around. Cut out a second piece, but this time as well as the half a centimetre all around, also make an increase in the length of the rectangle by 3cm, this will give the pocket a 'tab' at the top.

Put the two pieces of felt together as sewn along the two side edges and the bottom. You will be left with a pocket with a tab.

Fold the tab over one of the spokes of the open umbrella, be careful to avoid any joints because this will prevent you from closing the brolly later.

Sew the tab to the back of the pocket to hold the pocket in position. Do not sew the pocket closed. Insert the battery compartment into the pocket.

Use the cable ties to attach the fairy lights to the other spokes of the umbrella in a circular fashion, again avoiding any joints in the umbrella's framework. Pull the cable ties firmly and trim off any surplus.

Now switch on the lights. As an optional extra plastic mistletoe can be hung from the spokes at the centre part of the umbrella. Bonkers Christmas brolly or what?

Peppermint Sweets GiftStep by step instructions of how to make tasty, yummy peppermint sweets. A simple recipe, ideal for for even young kids to make as the sweet doesn?t need cooking. Peppermints make a great gift for anyone with a sweet tooth.
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Painted Recycled Glass Gifts Recycle bottles and create stunning gifts with just a tin of spray paint or frosting. Quick and easy to make and very attractive but best of all, they help the planet.
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Funky Personalised UmbrellasPersonalise a brolly and have some fun and brighten up those rainy days. Add your favourite characters, your band's name, Your name! These umbrellas look the business, no one else will have anything like it, because it will be a one off. We show you how to turn a dull old brolly into a funked up, super umbrella
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Inexpensive Christmas Stocking Stuffer Ideas For Kids

After all the gifts have been purchased and placed under the tree, that is the time that many remember in a panic that the stockings over the fireplace still need to be stuffed. Holiday budgets have most likely been spent and there isn't a whole lot of extra money available. Even with a limited budget, there are a number of quality stocking stuffer ideas that are both practical and will bring a smile to to faces of the little ones.

If you are at a complete loss of what to get, take a trip to your local dollar store and walk the isles. There should be a large selection of goods at a price that is right for you to choose from which should quickly fill up the stockings. In addition, consider the following Christmas stocking stuffer ideas that can have a dual benefit:

Batteries: Instead of wrapping up the batteries with the gift, separate them into stocking stuffers. Since you'd need to purchase them anyway for the toys, they aren't an extra expense. By separating them out, you make a start on your stocking stuffing and the kids will love them because they can start playing any electronic devices they received.

School Supplies: Here is another practical stocking stuffer that you'd have to purchase in the future for your kids anyway. You kill two birds with one stone by getting them the school supplies they need and filling up the stocking a little more.

Disposable Camera: With all the activity going on during Christmas day, you probably don't have the time to take pictures and document the day. Let your children do it for you. They'll have great fun taking photos from their own unique perspective that will add to any photo album.

Art and Craft Supplies: Again, these are supplies that you are likely to need for other activities in the future. Kids love to create and any arts and craft materials make great stocking stuffers. Coloring books, crayons, colored pencils, markers and paints all fit the bill and can be used for other activities long after Christmas is over.

Mini Games or Card Games: Travel size editions of their favorite games or card games that can be played in the car are another good stocking stuffer. The kids can play these on their own, but they have the multiple benefit that they can be used in the car to keep the children occupied during any holiday trips you make.

Christmas Letter: You might want to consider writing a Christmas letter to your child telling him or her all the fun things you remember from the past year. This doesn't cost any money, can become a lovely Christmas tradition and will be a gift that the child will treasure long after Christmas is over.

By taking a little time to consider stocking stuffers, you won't need to spend a lot of money to fill those socks over the fireplace mantle while still bringing smiles to the faces of your children when they peak inside.

Jeffrey Strain is owner of http://www.savingadvice.com/ -- a website dedicated to providing useful money saving tips and articles
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeffrey_Strain

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Creating The Perfect Christmas Gift Basket

Making gift baskets for Christmas is a lovely way to make gift giving easy and put a bit of your own creativity into a present. Normally, Christmas gift baskets are themed and they'll either reflect the interests of the recipient or, if the basket is a business promotional tool, the gift giver.

If you're making a gift basket for a friend, try to think about his or her interests and include those in the basket's theme. For example, if your sister loves to knit, then make a basket with a knitting theme and decorate it with yarn. If your brother-in-law loves golf, then fill the bottom with tees and start from there. If your co-worker is a music buff, then include some mixed CDs and maybe a pair of headphones. By coming up with a theme, you'll find that putting together a basket is easy and fun.

There are some people though that are hard to pin down. If you're stuck for a theme idea, try going with a food focus like gourmet chocolate, tasty teas, or sumptuous soups. Or, and this is a safe bet, most women (and men!) would love to get a basket full of bath time goodies. Who doesn't like to pamper themselves?

Now, if you're making a hundred gift baskets to send a holiday thank you to your clients, then you're going to want that Christmas gift basket to reflect you and your business, rather than trying to tailor each individual basket to each recipient. Try to include items that represent your company and what you do. If you're a financial advisor, throw in some chocolate dollars. If you run a cleaning business, tie it up with rubber gloves. Christmas gift baskets are a great way to thank clients and show a touch of your lighter side.

Remember, be creative, have fun with it, and always put a bit of yourself into the project.



Find Holiday Gift Baskets and Christmas Gift Baskets at our site.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gabriel_J._Adams

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Square Bear Knitted Teddy

A cute knitted little teddy from Patons whisper yarn to give a fury and cuddly look. He is called a square bear not because he is dull and straight laced, but because the teddy is made from knitted squares and rectangles without any shaping, which makes the square bear and easy and ideal knit for beginners, or a quick knit for a veteran knitter.

To make a square bear you will need...
3.25mm, UK size 10 or US Size 3 knitting needles,
2x 50g balls of Patons Whisper or Lana Grossa knitting wool,
Scraps of wool for markers,
A pair of safety animal eyes and a nose, and a length of contrasting ribbon.

Head Front
Cast on 25 stitches and work 30 rows of stocking stitch (one row knit, one row purl)
Mark each end of this row with a piece of coloured wool.
Continue working on these stitches to knit teddy's body. Work another 40 rows.
Cast off.
Make another head and body piece to match.

Legs
Make 2 the same.
Cast on 20 stitches and work 26 rows.
Cast off.

Arms
Make 2 the same.
Cast on 15 stitches and work 16 rows.
Cast off.

Ears
Make 2 the same.
Cast on 10 stitches and work 10 rows.
Next Row: K2 tog, K6, K2 tog
Cast off.

To Make Teddy...
The right side of the knitting is the furriest side.

In the very enter of the bears face, push the nose through the knitting and fix the nose into place. Fix teddy's eye just above and either side of the nose.

Put the back and front parts of the bear right sides together, and stitch the two long sides and across the top of the bear's head. Turn right sides out and stuff the head. Sew a row of running stitches around the bear's neck marked by the coloured wool. Draw the running stitches up to draw the neck in. Wrap the yarn around the neck a couple of times and Finnish off with a couple of stitches on top of one another at the back.

Stuff the body and sew up the opening at the bottom.

Fold a leg piece in half (right sides together) so that the row ends meet. Sew along one of the short sides and the long side. Turn and stuff. Sew into position along the seam at the bear's bottom. Do the same with the second leg.

Make the arms in the same ways as for the legs and sew into place.

Sew the ears onto the corners of the bear's head, with the least fury side facing forward.

Finnish off with a traditional ribbon tied in a bow around the bear's neck.

A Christmas QuizEveryone has their own idea about Christmas. But few know the "facts" as given by the Bible. Here is a short quiz to test your knowledge. I think you will be surprised at how much you know (or don't know)
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Little Donkeys Special SecretWe all know the Christmas Carroll 'Little Donkey'. The little donkey carried Mary safely on her way to Bethlehem where Mary gave birth to Jesus. But the story doesn't end there for the little donkey, because something very special happened to the donkey that would change him forever.
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Twelve Tips For Decorating a Christmas TreeSometimes decorating a christmas tree can seem so complicated that you feel like singing "Uh oh christmas tree" rather than "Oh christmas tree". Whether you are decorating a natural evergreen or an artificial tree here are some tips for making the entire experience a little less disorganized.
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Peg Art Rocking Chair

Wooden spring laundry pegs are great building blocks for making decorative wooden structures. The fancy peg shaping lends itself to make a pretty old fashioned looking rocking chair.

To make a peg rocking chair you will need...
13 wooden spring laundry pegs (with their springs removed), PVA glue or suitable wood glue, varnish, wood stain or paint (Optional).

Click Here... for a photo step by step guide of how to make this peg art rocking chair.

For more Peg Art Projects

Peg Art Teapot StandThis is an ideal Christmas pressie for Granny or any great tea lover. This peg teapot stand is practical, beautiful and so easy to make. It's a work of Art.
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Peg Art Christmas StarFunky peg art stars can make a modern looking display. The stars are simply made from pegs and can be painted in any colour to fix in with your Christmas decoration theme.
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Deck the Halls with Ping-Pong Balls

Funky Christmas Ping-Pong baubles are simply made from Ping-Pong balls. There are five different designs you could make a Christmas pudding, a Christmas Robin, a sprig of holly, a sparkly bauble or an apple.

To make Christmas Ping-Pong Baubles you will need... Ping-Pong balls, poster paint, glitter, scraps of card, PVA glue, twigs, and Parcel ribbon to make hanging loops.

To start with you will need to make a ball stand to top the Ping-Pong balls from rolling around as you work on them. Cut a piece f card about 7cm by 2 cm and wind it around a pencil to make it curl. Unroll and bring the two ends of the card so that hey meet and staple them together. This is the ball stand.

The Glitter Bauble
Paint the Ping-Pong ball in any colour you choose. Metallic colours look great. Leave the paint to dry.

Using a corkscrew gently push a hole in to the top of the ball. Take a length of parcel ribbon and fold it in half to make a loop. Fold the ends length ways a little, this helps when feeding the ribbon into the hole.

Cover the top half of the ball and the hole with PVA glue. Push the ribbon inside the ball leaving a hanging loop sticking out. Sprinkle the top of the ball with glitter and set aside to dry.

For instructions of ow to make the other ping-pong ball christmas trimings Click Here...

Send a customised letter from SantaAdd extra magic to your child's Christmas this year with a free customised email from Santa. Choose one of our beautiful, especially designed Christmas note papers on which your letter from Santa will be written. Then customise the content of the letter, add your child's name, age, friends and family names, even what add what your child's has been doing. Customised letters from Santa re-enforce their belief in Father Christmas and adds to your child's seasonal excitement. Letters can also be sent to big kids and husbands, wives, sisters, granny, in fact anyone who you think would enjoy a bit of festive cheer. All Santa emails can be sent world-wide FREE of charge, and the emails will appear to have been sent from Santa himself.
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Having problems? Check out Santa's 'Frequently Asked Questions' Page
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Write a Letter to SantaWe have a cunning service for children (or adults) to write a letter to Santa requesting all the goodies that they would like for Christmas. The child (or adult) has to submit their parents (The person you want to hint to) email address, we tell the child that this is due to age restrictions. Of course this is nonsense, we ask for the parents email address so that the wish list can be sent directly too the parents (or the person your hinting to) All letters to Santa are sent a reply from Santa View the reply email here This service enables you to know exactly what your child wants for Christmas. Adults can of course also use this service to hint to their partner what they would like for Christmas. Writing to Santa is a FREE service
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Christmas Danglers

This Christmas project is a magical one, you can watch your dangler shrink in size in the oven.

To make a shrink to dinky dangler you will need...
Flat polystyrene. A great source of polystyrene can be found in food packaging Cold meats are sometimes displayed on polystyrene rays and some pizzas have polystyrene backing to keep them flat.
You can also use other type 6 plastics. Type 6 is Polystyrene e.g.. Yoghurt pots, foam meat or fish trays, fast food, boxes and some egg cartons, vending cups, plastic cutlery, protective packaging for electronic goods and toys.

You will also need, a black marker pen, felt tip pens, threading cord or skoobies, beads and bells, greaseproof paper and an oven. Younger children may need adult help when using the oven.

First design your dangler and draw it onto the polystyrene. The snowman fob was 14.5cm high when first drawn and shrank to 7cm high just to give you a rough idea. Bear shrinkage in mind when creating your dangler.

Draw the outlines of the fob with a black marker pen and colour in with felt tips. Cut out the fob, turn and outline and colour the reverse side. You can also run the black marker along the edges of the dangler.

Put a hole in the top of the dangler. The hole will shrink too, so make sue that the hole is about 1cm across. When baked the fob will become rigid and you will not be able to make a hole.

Put the fob onto a baking try line with greaseproof paper ad put into a preheated oven set to Gas mark 4, 180 Centigrade or 350 Fahrenheit. Make sure the room is well ventilated when baking the danglers.

Fobs take only 2 minutes or so to shrink. If your oven has a glass front you can watch the shrinking process. Sometimes the fobs curl up. If you are quick you can get them out and uncurl them, they shouldn't be too hot to touch. If they only curl slightly put a flat oven gloved hand on them to press them firmly flat again.

The fobs become cool and hard in no time.

Thread a length of threading cord or a skoobie through the hole in the dangler. Bring the two ends together and thread a bead on and tie a knot to hole the bad and dangler into place. Leave a loop big enough to pass the dangler through, and tie another knot. More threading cord and beads can be added, and you could add bells, which would add extra festive cheer. Attach the Christmas danglers to your belongings and enjoy.

Learn to play Jingle Bells On the PianoLearn to play that Christmas classic jingle bells, even if your can't read music!
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Christmas Criss-Cross PuzzleA fun Christmas criss-cross crossword puzzle. Print some out and have a race with your friends to see who can solve the puzzle first. Printable Version is available.
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Delicious Christmas Cookies RecipiesGet in the kitchen and bake some Christmas cookies. Easy enough for everyone to make.
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A Puff Fabric Christmas Tree

Fancy an unusual Christmas tree for a change? This Christmas tree is made from fabric and with a dab of essential oils on the branches, it's sure to enhance your environment visually and smellily.

To make a fabric Christmas tree you will need...
A plastic fizzy pop bottle, a four inch plastic plant pot, 450g of all purpose decorators interior filler, approximately 32cm of wooden doweling (about pencil thickness), tin foil, paint, assorted fabrics, a Christmas bauble as a tree topper, stuffing and binding an beads to decorate.

Begin by pushing some tin foil into the bottom of the plat pot to cover the holes.

Mix up the interior filler to a thick mixture and put I inside the plant pot. Push the doweling into the mixture in the centre of the pot of filler.

Cut the plastic bottle around the top where the thickness of the plastic changes. Keep the neck part of the bottle and discard the rest. Turn the neck of the bottle upside-down and thread it down over the doweling and push it into the filler a little way to fix it into place.

The bottle top and the doweling should be self-supporting with the thickness of the mixture holding them up, but criss-cross some selotape over the top of the plant pot to keep the dowel upright. Leave it over night too completely dry out.

Paint the plant pot, dowel, plastic bottle, and the exposed filler. I used a metallic bronze coloured paint. You may need to apply a few coats of paint to get a good finish. Leave to dry.

Glue some bronze coloured bindind around the top of the plant pot.

Making the branches of the Christmas tree...
Cut out six circles with radiuses of 14.5cm, 11cm, 8cm, 6cm, 5cm and 3cm. A free printable patters n the circles can be printed out here...

Fold each cloth circle in half and in half again and snip the corner to create a small hole (about the size of the doweling) in the centre of the fabric.

Begin with the largest circle. Sew a line of running stitches around the edge of the fabric. Thread the fabric circle over the doweling and draw up the stitches slightly. Lightly stuff the circle and draw up the stitches a little more until the edge of the fabrics is roughly 4cm away from the doweling. Finnish off.

Work the 11cm radius circle next in the same way, but this time draw the fabric up so that it is only 3cms away from the dowel, making sure that this 'branch' conceals the stuffing from the previous branch.

Continue in this way until all the circles have been added to the Christmas tree.

With PVA glue, stick the Christmas tree bauble to the top of the doweling to create a Christmas tree topper. Decorate the branches with beads, small bells, stings of pearls and anything to hand - a couple of little stitches should hold each decoration in place.

Finish off by dabbing a few drops of essential oils to the Christmas tree branch to create a pleasant aroma.

SantasPostbag.co.uk Lots of Christmas Fun Stuff to make and do

Advent Town

Advent town is a three-dimensional advent calendar. At Christmas time children open a door of an advent calendar each day to count down the days to Christmas. Nowadays most advent calendars conceal a chocolate behind each door.

Advent town is an advent calendar. The town has 23 houses and a church. The buildings each have a door numbers, the door numbers represent a day of December. For example house number 4 is the 4th of December. The church is Christmas Eve.

Each building is made from thin card. The nets for the buildings can be printed directly on to the card. Advent town building nets can be printed here...

Advent Town House nets Can be printed free of charge here...


Clich here.. See the images of the Advent Town House Accessories

Cut out the nets, score the lines and assemble with a small amount of glue but only stick down one side of the roof because when the house has been decorated a small treat can be hidden inside the house.

Decorate with paint, pens, windows and doors cut from magazines, stickers, buttons, and beads, sticky paper and other materials around the house. Leave the house to dry.

The treats for inside the houses could be a party sized chocolate bar or a mini box of Smarties, any party bag type novelties, a lollipop or a hand full of boiled sweets. A Christmas joke can also be added. Christmas Jokes can be found here...

Once the house has been filled the roof can be closed, with the envelope type flap tucked inside the roof. Number all of the houses 1 to 23; the church being number 24.

Create a town scene with the buildings and look forward to the 1st of December.

Visit Santas Postbag the website where Santa send children emails

Christmas Tree Candy Canes

The first record of candy canes dates back as far as 1670, when a cathedral in Germany made sweets to give to the children during a nativity service. The sweets were shaped to look like a shepherd's crooks.

Candy canes are still popular today and some Christians have found other meaning in the humble sweet. If you turn the shepherd crook upside-down it suddenly becomes the letter 'J' for Jesus, and the red-and-white stripes represented Christ's blood and purity.


To make Christmas Tree Candy Cane sweets you will need...
12 tablespoons of icing sugar,
1 egg white,
Red food colouring,
Green food colouring,
Peppermint flavouring.
Lemon flavouring.

Remember to wash your hands and clean the work surfaces before you begin.

Method...
Add to a bowl the icing sugar, egg white, 4 drops of peppermint flavouring. Mix.

Divide the mixture into two bowls and add 12 drops of red food colouring to one bowl. Mix well, and kneed the mixture to form two smooth balls. If the mixture is a little too wet add more icing sugar.

Roll the balls into long sausages and fix the ends of the sausages together and then twist the sausages together. Give the sausage a roll to make round again.

Cut the sausage into lengths and bend the top over to for a shepherd's crook, or a 'J' and place on some greaseproof paper or a chopping board to dry. Putting them into a fridge overnight helps the drying process. Then the candy canes are ready for hanging on the Christmas tree.

You could also try green coloured, and lemon tasting candy canes for a variation on the traditional.

For more Christmas Decoation ideas visit SantasPostbag

Are you on Santa's Naughty or Nice list? Find out here...

Special Memories Album

A special memory’s album is an ideal Christmas, birthday, anniversary, wedding or christening gift because it is a collection of special memories. The album could include photos, poems, certificates, concert tickets, and newspaper clippings, scraps of fabric or anything else that holds sentimental value. It could be a kind of “This is our life” album.

This special gift is easy to make, all you need is…
Glue, double sided sticky tape, ribbon, a hole punch, memories and contents and some multicoloured thin card (ring binder dividers are cheap and ideal, just cut of the holes and tabs).

Cut the sheets of card to the size you want the album to be.

Choose a coloured card for the front and back cover. The front and back covers need to be double thickness card to give the finished album some rigidity. Stick two sheets of card together, one on top of the other for the front cover and do the same for the back. Set to one side to dry.

The front cover will need a title of sorts, you could name it “Special memories album” or “An album for Mum” or “Grandad – This is your life”. You could create a title page on a computer with images and a decorative font and print it out and glue it to the front cover of the album. Alternatively you could paint or draw the title. You could cut out flowers from some wrapping paper to make a small collage to decorate the front of the album.

On the front of the front cover rule a pencil line 3cm in form the spine edge of the album. With a pair of scissors score this line, so that the front cover will open with ease.

Sticking in your memories…
Cut some strips of card, 1cm wide on assorted colours.

Take one strip of card and a piece of card and lay the strips diagonally over one of the corners and fold the excess strip behind the sheet of card to form a triangle. Remove the triangle from the sheet of card and trim away the excess strip of card. These are the “Photo corners mounts”. Make a set of four (one to fit each corner of a photo or document). Put some double sided sticky tape on the back of each photo corner mount and stick the memories into place in the album.

Between the memories can be decorated with stickers or more wrapping paper decoupage to form some continuity throughout the album.

When your album pages are complete you need to mark the centre along the spine edge of each page and also the front and back covers. This mark is used as a guide for the hole-punch to ensure all the holes are central. Hole-punch each page.

Put all the pages in order and thread the ribbon through the holes to tie the pages together, making sure the ribbon ends are at the front of the album. Tie a knot in the ribbon ends and then tie a bow for a decorative finish.



More of S. Roberts crafty gift ideas can be found at http://busy-crafting.blogspot.com/. For Christmas crafts visit http://www.santaspostbag.co.uk/ where you can also send a free letter to your child from Santa Claus. SantasPostbag is in association with http://www.bigboystoyz.com together keeping Christmas Magical.