What we gave, part IV

I gave a lot of felt necklaces this year, but didn't find time to photograph any of them before I presented them. Here, however are a similar selection that I will be selling on etsy soon.

 

The first is an adjustable cuff - this has been made with someone in mind.

 

 

This is a long necklace - adjustable, and with a plastic bead at the end which gives it a bit of weight.

 

A shorter necklace, white and turquoise, a bit larger than a choker. These are all great for kids....

What we gave, part III

On Christmas eve, we baked these oatmeal, millet and spelt cookies. Some had choc chips, some had white chocolate chips and cranberries, and some had cinnamon and currants.

 

Dara and Leo did most of the work, and then we packaged them up in recycled margarine tubs, and delivered some to our neighbours and friends.

We also made truffles, which we labelled as reindeer poo - they were not so photogenic, but delicious nevertheless. We made dark chocolate, milk chocolate, rum and raisin, and pecan and almond. We put 4 into a handmade box, lined with greaseproof paper. All recipients declared themselves delighted.

What we're giving, part II

I have been the lucky recipient of lots of felt pieces from Nicola at Clasheen. I have used them to make some goodies for young ladies.

 

Bracelet/cuff (hand washable)

 

Hair decoration for a long haired girl.

 

Another bracelet - decorated with felted beads. Below is the flip side. All are packaged in origami boxes, which can be used to store this and other treasures. The Toast catalogue from last year has lovely paper for making boxes. ;-)

 

What we're giving this year

Every year we try to make sure our gifts are local, handmade and/or biodegradable. Though we are regularly tempted by Hairy Baby and ThinkGeek products. (and anyone wondering what to get us would do well to peruse those sites...). I have been sewing more lately, so this owl pattern on Burda style got me going.

 

The current owl family - some will fly off to new homes soon.

 

The littlest one.

This one has a funny eye, but someone will love him....what do you think?
 

Advent Calendar

This weekend Brian and I made an Advent calendar for the boys.

 

Here is is hanging in front of the patio doors. It's 24 envelopes, each with a number on the front, and inside there's a card with instructions (like 'clean your room for santa') and in some cases a treat.

 

Some have treasure maps, and reminders of fun events.

 

We had a lot of fun decorating them.

 

The boys are longing for December first, so they can start opening them. I'm excited too....

Granola - finally

 

 

 

Some nicely decorated jars of granola - don't you wish you knew the student at this course? Made using this recipe, from Nigella's book Feast. It's wheat free, and you can made a sugar free version if you like!

Macaroons and origami boxes

 

 

 

We made macaroons using this recipe. Adapted from The Sweet Life in Paris (Broadway) by David Lebovitz. The prune and chocolate filling won everyone over.

The boxes we made also - they are a simple origami box - great for packaging all kinds of goodies. We made black and white ones for the truffles, I'm gutted that I forgot to take a photo - they looked wonderful!