Christingles

Christmas is getting closer and closer, and we're all getting into the festive spirit! This year, I thought I'd revive a family tradition and make some Christingles with my friend (and All Craft Blog founder) Charlotte, and her wonderful little sister, Athena.

But first, here's the back story! When my Dad was a boy (many, many centuries ago – love you, Dad!), he used to go to a Moravian chapel in Bath. He would go there with his maternal Grandmother and his Grandmother's niece, who we always called Auntie Bern. Every year during Advent, the Moravians would hold a Christingle service. The children in the congregation would make Christingles, and then once it grew dark they would light them, and hold a candle-lit procession through the church. Once the children had reached the foot of the altar, they would form a little choir and sing Christmas Carols, all in the glow of the Christingles. (The Moravians love a sing-song, and my Auntie Bern used to play the church organ!)

Pokemon pendants

What inspires Sombra's crafts;  'I guess you could say that i've always been fond of making things, not just crafts, anything that I can build/make/cook that will put a smile on someones face, and my old Pokemon cards have been sitting in a shoebox for years and lost their value, so i decided to upcycle them into something pretty.'

If you want to see more of Sombra's Crafts you can find her here.

Cross Stitch Forever

Digging through boxes full of things I have made I came across one of the first things I ever stitched I don't have the first thing that I ever Cross Stitched as I gave it to someone as a gift, needless to say I was pleased with it so here it is one of my first ever cross stitch projects it's nothing too great but the message is a strong one  :P

Post a link into the comment box of your first creations I would love to see them (:

Latest Cross stitcher free gift

If you all didn't know my favorite craft magazine is Cross Stitcher not only do they have beautiful & practical cross stitch charts every month the free gifts are nearly always way worth the price of the magazine, and what I love so much about them i tat they give you new materials to work with and you can see if you like it or not, this month it was a wooden key fob, really easy to stitch & beautiful end results, I really enjoyed stitching this and i look forward to stitching on wood again the only thing  I will say about this kit is I wont be using it as a key ring as I feel it will get messed up in my bag and it's too pretty for that so I will be hanging it somewhere in my home to show it off !

So cute.

Eyeball Pillows

I make all different size pillows. They come in three different sizes: smallish, mediumish, and largish. They're all handmade, I also custom make them and should have them done in less than a week.

I just love these unusual pillows fabulous fabrics & you can get them custom made in any fabric or size you like, also what a great conversation starter for you and your friends!

You can find these iballs here.

Ribbon badges

Quick and easy to make and great end result  all you need to make these is some ribbon of your choice, needle & thread felt, safety pin & all purpose glue !  and hey presto you have yourself a cute new badge, gift it, wear it or use it to jazz up a present you have to wrap, either way I am sure you will be pleased!

Cat care on a budget

Now I am not presuming that all you cat owners don't know how to look after your cats, this is just how I care for mine as I am on a strict budget & have cat allergies.

Food

So first of all we had alot of trouble with our cat Dexter and him being violently sick and we couldn't understand why and after many trips to the vets, we learned he has food allergies which is really common with cats, it turned out to be the cereals that they put in cat food to bulk it up and some cats find this hard to digest, this includes rice grains wheat all that kind of stuff, after alot of trial & error on putting him on different food which said they had no cereals in them we were directed by a very helpful PetsAtHome employee and Applaws  dry food contains no cereals and is great as Dexter prefers it to the normal cat food.

Shave your knit wear !

Have some old knit wear that is looking a but dull has lots of bobbles and quite frankly is something you would chuck to the back of your wardrobe, well get it out and rub an old razor on it, make sure it's one you have used and no longer want, give the razor a wash and shave your old knit wear !

I do this with all my favorite knitted clothes and I have got hats gloves scarfs I have had for years that i can use year after year and they still look new & I haven't had to waste £3.99 - £9.99 on one of those bobble off machines,