Well it is that time of year again where I attempt to make presents for my family for Christmas. This year I thought well ahead and took yarn from Peaches n Creme (made in Pisgah, North Carolina!) with me on my trip to Sydney, Australia. So I have had a little while to get cracking on these things.
I had 9 couples on my present list this year, so I decided on one dishcloth/washcloth/hotpad and one Christmas tree shaped ornament. (Both are crocheted, my passion this year.) Here’s how things came out:
I used a really basic pattern that I have seen many places and memorized it so long ago I don’t really remember where it came from, sorry. As I said before the yarn was Peaches n Creme, a perennial dishcloth favourite in the US but one that is rare here in Australia.
And then there were the ornaments! I made some of these for my mom last year and they were so easy to make that I thought I’d do it again:
The green yarn is local Australian: Sullivans Coton-A 5 ply, a cotton-acrylic mix that was very pleasant to work with. The pattern is Grandma Tree by Michelle Kludas/The Royal Sisters (Ravelry page, pattern page) which is designed for larger yarn as a scatter decoration but I’d found that it’s a good size for an ornament (about 3 inches tall) when worked in a fingering weight or close thereto (5 ply).
I can’t decide if I should add a loop of yarn at the top or not. If I don’t they can be used as other sorts of decor if the recipient prefers…so I am leaning toward not. But I’m afraid that without the loop they won’t know what to do with them at all! Decisions, decisions…. (and not that I have much time as I leave Australia in two days!!)
I have three spare trees if anyone wants to do a trade! 🙂 I always need more ornaments 🙂
Finally, I made some Christmas cards for the inlaws here in Australia. (I haven’t even started on the ones for people on my list in the US! That will have to wait til my return.)
Inspired by @ChristineUrias on the Scraptime video podcast, I decided to use Pan Pastels and a stamp. I then tried to tart things up a bit with some markers and then sprayed the whole thing with acrylic sealer. Here’s the whole lot drying:
Products used:
- Rosie’s studio pearlised cards & envelopes in cream (made in Australia)
- Stamp: Happy Christmas by Fern Gully Stamps (made in Australia)
- VersaMark Ink
- Pan Pastels
- Marvy Twinklette markers
- Micador workable fixative (made in Australia)
The basic principles were explained in a Scraptime episode, but the concept is simple: Stamp onto your paper using VersaMark or another watermark ink. Swipe Pan Pastel (here I used Permanent Green) across the image. Where the Versamark was will show up darker. NOTE: let the ink dry before swiping with pastels else you will get smears and blurs. Ask me how I know this 😛 *rolls eyes* Spray with workable fixative and let dry. Then I coloured in the stars with a red Twinklette marker and the baubles with the silver. The silver marker turned out a lot darker than I had thought 🙁 I was going to add some stick on rhinestones too but I found out too late that the ones I had bought were not suitable as they had the wrong sort of adhesive. Oh well! I then sprayed it all again with fixative just to be safe.
I can’t say that I am thrilled with the way they turned out but I am short on time and hey, they will do the job. Handmade cards are rare nowadays so I hope they are appreciated.
If you have any questions or comments, please drop me a comment. I’ll be unavailable Sunday, Dec 5 as I will be flying back to the US via New Zealand, but I will hopefully feel up to being online again on Monday.
What are you making for the hollydaze this year?? 🙂
