Tag Archives: swaps

December 27, 2012

Christmas swapsies

I think I signed up for a record number of swaps over the festive period. I really enjoyed putting them together and it gave me the opportunity to make some lovely decorations.

You may remember last year I signed up for an Advent Swap and I enjoyed it so much I did it again this year. The idea was to send 25 small items and I loved choosing the little items and wrapping them. Of course I was equally happy to open a small gift every day through Advent! I was paired with Melanie, aka The Patchwork Robin, who sent me a lovely selection of items. I hung her gifts from a coat hanger to stop my children from opening them all.

Again like last year I also joined in with Faith, Hope and Charity Shopping vintage Christmas swap. We had to send our partners a mixture of items: something second hand, something handmade and something relating to a Christmas carol or song. I made my partner three felt decorations and received a brilliant parcel from Tracey who blogs at Single Married Mum. She used a vintage box as packaging which is a great idea. I also love the knitted donkey which looks perfect on our tree.

Craftaholics Anonymous organise two swaps a year and I’ve previously signed up to the Summer Handmade Gift Exchange. My partner for the 2012 Handmade Gift Exchange Holiday 2012 was Jenn who knitted me a gorgeous washcloth as well as a knitted sleeve for my takeaway hot chocolates!

Finally, I signed up for the 2012 Secret Santa Bloggers Gift Exchange. It was a secret exchange so I can’t tell you what I sent my partner but I received the perfect package from my Secret Santa. Gingerbread cutters, chocolate, a gingerbread man ornament and a lovely tin.

2 Comments

Filed under gingerbread, handmade, swap, vintage

Tagged as advent, Christmas, felt, gingerbread, handmade, swaps

June 25, 2012

Vintage pincushion

A few weeks ago, in a bid to boost my flagging crafting mojo, I signed up to participate in a pincushion swap, hosted by the House of Pinheiro, as I love pincushions and think you can never have too many. I really wanted to combine my love of all things vintage with sewing so this post is called vintage pincushion or how to make a pincushion from a vintage egg cup.

The only rule of the swap was that you needed to make the item yourself and use fabrics and notions from your stash. This wasn’t a problem as my stash is so plentiful! I used a vintage egg cup and made a little fabric pincushion to fit inside. I had plenty of colours to choose from as the design of the egg cup was very colourful.

I had a lovely fat quarter called ‘Seed Head’ which was a reproduction from a patchwork coverlet, bought after visiting Quilts 1700-2100 at the V&A a couple of years ago. I made a simple ball which I then stuffed and placed into the egg cup.

A really simple pincushion mixing my two favourite hobbies – thrifting and sewing! My partner has a rather fabulous business making millinery and blogs at Of Millinery & Motherhood. She made me an exquisite miniature hat, decorated with a feather and red, white and blue buttons which I love.

1 Comment

Filed under crafts, handmade, swap

Tagged as crafts, handmade, swaps

January 19, 2012

Reasons to be cheerful

I can’t quite believe it’s a week since my last Reasons to be cheerful post but we’ve been really busy and lots of stuff is going on:

I’m hoping we might have made progress with Little Sis and her colic and reflux problems. Our house looks like a dispensary with all the different products we’ve been trying. Lots of people have offered advice which I’m grateful for.

We’re having a good old de-clutter. You might think this is a strange thing to be happy about but with so little free time to keep on top of the household chores the general mess has been getting me down. I have heaps of baby clothes and a moses basket to go to a good home, and the house is beginning to be bearable.

I feel like I’m coming out of the other side of that new mum period and am coping ok. I knew if I could get through the first 6 weeks I would be alright. It has been hard work but I have an album full of photos which show we’ve not only coped but had a great time.

Love is in the air and I’ve signed up for a Valentine’s Day swap which sounds like a lot of fun. Can’t wait to get crafty again and make something that doesn’t involve painting with potatoes or drawing with crayons.

My blog has been put forward as a Family Blog that Sainsbury’s Love and I’ve been invited to become a member of the Sainsbury’s Finance Family Blogger Network alongside some of my very favourite blogs. I do love our local Sainsbury’s, especially their quirky seasonal produce!

And finally, I also heard about the Pin Addicts Challenge to make one item from your Pinterest boards each month. I love pinning and have tried lots of projects but think this will help motivate me more. More information can be found at Sew Scrumptious.