A very crafty Christmas

Like most of the Western World seems to now be (and as I have mentioned *ahem* once or twice) I am addicted to Pinterest. This year at Christmas it has given me quite a lot of inspiration to make a lot of gifts for people.

As I am not generally a very crafty person, I decided to share my creations with my lovely readers. Especially as they had lovely reactions too!

Cellophane, curling ribbon and LOTS of sellotape were definitely my friends, and I got quite skilled at wrapping up pretty much anything in a pretty way - presentation really is everything.

Personalised mugs
These were very nearly a Pinterest fail. Apparently...no...sharpie designs on porelain baked at 300C for 35 minutes is RUBBISH! However do that 3 times and then swear a lot as the designs rub off with your thumb and then bake the crap out of the mug at about 400C for an hour DOES work better. I did tell these stories when I gave them to the recipients and advised they are not washed up and perhaps used for ornamental purposes.

None-the-less, the boy and the best mate both loved their personalised mugs. I have a great photo of Marsha screaming "PIVOT!" as she opened it, but as she is in her PJs I'm not sure if she'll appreciate me sharing it ;)

The boys is Game of Thrones themed and says "Winter is Coming" then in smaller writing "Drink Toffee Nut lattes" (his fav winter drink) - and it came with a bottle of Toffee Nut syrup and chocolates.

Finally both of my gift receivers didn't realise I'd made them at first which made me doubly proud!

Date Jar

My sister and her fiance are both money and time poor and don't get the opportunity for many dates. I think sometimes a little creativity is all that's needed but when you a million other things on your mind its very easy for those to fall by the way-side. So I gave them a bit of a helping hand.

I had great fun thinking of nice dates I've had, unique places I've been in London and when all else failed - Googling! I split the lollipop sticks into categories so they can choose easily depending on their budget. I made sure there were lots of "Free" and split that into "Free - Romantic" and "Free - fun"

A few of my ideas included:

• Go to the park and play on the swings
• Edit photos of each other
• Stay up all night and watch the sunrise
• Go on a daytrip to France
• Play hide and seek...in Tesco!

I didn't get any great photos when it was finished but I made a label that I glued on the side and top detailing the colour categories  and I also include a photo album. I personalised the inside telling them both to "Make lots of memories together". It was a lovely album where you can write a few lines next to each photo.

On the same theme I also made a "dates with baby" jar for a certain amazing McMuppett who is soon expecting. I really hope it arrives in the States before she reads this ;) Instead of using lollypop sticks I used wooden hearts from Hobbycraft.

Re-creating old photos
I think this was the gift I was most proud of. It was a joint effort with my sister after I had seen a much "simpler" version on Pinterest where someone had just recreated one photo.

In our family there are a lot of "iconic" photos of me and my sister - generally in very silly outfits  We spent an entire day recreating these, and framed them along with the originals. We were really pleased with how they came out in the end - especially with all the effort we put in with finding similar outfits and getting the locations as close as possible.

Although shorts in the garden on the coldest day of the year was not the most fun we've ever had!

I think the best bit of this though was our Mums reaction when she opened it. We pondered for quite a while on the best way to present it, before settling on pre-hanging them for her and "wrapping" the wall.

However we took it one step further. We figured out the placement and banged in all the nails whilst she was out. Then we took everything down again and waited until she had gone to bed on Christmas Eve before hanging and "wrapping" them.

It was the last gift opened on Christmas morning and I really wished I had videoed her reaction. It was priceless - I have never seen my Mum get this emotional over anything! She squealed, clapped her hands jumping up and down...and then burst into tears.

Seriously if you need an idea for a Christmas gift - do this! Parents, grandparents, Aunties, cousins - anyone in the family who loves photos.

We also got a "nice" one as we were in matching outfits (something we haven't done since we were very young!) However the one we were most happy with was us literally under the tree. We then customised a simple wooden frame with Christmas crafty bits and are really happy with it. - Sort of an alpine lodgey feel.

We hope this will become a permanent Christmas decoration in our home now.

Movie boxes

Way back in the summer I saw these adorable plastic popcorn holders, and as I had recently picked up a massive box of proper American microwave popcorn I knew I could make great gifts from those. Sadly they were just SLIGHTLY too narrow to fit a DVD in them but with my cellophane magic-ness I think it worked out pretty nicely. I didnt pack the entire thing with sweets and chocolates, but instead padded the bottom with balled up paper so I could then arrange the top with sweety goodness.

This photo is for a certain second McMuppett and was meant to be given during our pre-Christmas meet up but sadly she was struck down with lurgy. Get better soon Becca and this will be waiting for you when I see you next!

Cellophane gift sets

I bought a couple of little bottles of whisky for the boy and wanted a creative way to present them. In addition I bought a couple of the discounted Soap and Glory mega gift sets (Thank you Martin Lewis!) and then split them up into smaller personalised gifts. I was tres pleased with this super thrifty gift ideas and I still have lots of bits stashed away for future gifts or maybe even a blog giveaway.

Inexpensive cellophane and pretty curling ribbon and the gifts are good to go!



Overall I just love how thrifty, crafy and personal I have been with my gift giving this year. Sure there were also DVD's and various other "normal" gifts but I think these were the best ones to give and receive.

And it seemed I wasn't the only one getting creative. My Mum MADE - yes MADE me this amazing Friends photo frame! Unfortunately as my front door is plastic coated I can't hang it there as in the show, instead it will get pride of place on either my front room or bedroom door.

My sister gave me a very personal gift that is kind of long winded to explain, but it basically marks my (now non-existent) room at my Mums and had a lovely poem along with it too.

Marsha (my Wife for all intents and purposes except legally. Does anyone else have this with their best mates? Eh we're weird and we love it - role with it!) had an "engagement ring" commissioned for me from my uber talented sister! Except I had no idea about this on Christmas day and it was a lovely 'Christmas magic' present.

Our long term family friends the Lawrences made me a lovely gift basket of scrummy sauces and dips. It was really personal and I'm loving trying all the different flavours. Especially the balsamic vinegar which I had tonight and could plough through very easily! (I didn't get a photo before I started trying them all)

And even the boy got creative with this amazing gift for his sister - framed prints of her favourite bands album covers. I thought that was a lovely idea and I hear she was very happy with them.

If you would like to make homemade gifts for your loved ones, my best advice is to start planning now. A few of my friends said they ran out of time to get supplies and literally to sit down and put gifts together. I was planning most of mine from the Summer. It does take some time but it is so worth it!

Also don't put too much pressure on yourself. I had originally planned to sit down on one day and make everything at once, but I actually found myself making a couple of things each evening in front of the telly. Very relaxing and enjoyable.

Did you get or give anything homemade for Christmas? Planning on anything crafty for upcoming Birthdays, Valentines Day or next year?

Leave me a comment, tweet me or pin any of the images from this post :)

Tweet to @smiley_sarah

Comic-con!

I've always been a bit of a Geek. Whether you choose geek to be defined as that brainy kid who annoyingly ALWAYS had the answer at school, or someone who is just a tad too OCD about organising, or simply someone who becomes hugely enthusiastic about a hobby or interest - that's me.

So you tell me how I had never managed to go to Comic-con or similar over the last few years? I don't know....it's beyond my comprehension too! 

But this year was different. I went and it was AWESOME! Anyone who knows me knows I love dressing up and it was a tough call deciding who to be. In the end budget and time meant I had to utilise whatever I already had, perhaps plus a couple extras, which resulted in my uber-cool (though not especially feminine) Marty McFly cosplay! 

I have to say though, when I saw all the different ladies in varying degrees of sexiness I did begin to regret not going for a more attractive costume, but *meh* such is life! 

I wish I could begin to comment on the amazing things that I saw. Marsha screaming, crying and running from a cyberman (when she didn't even know what one was) was pretty memorable, meeting 3 Doctors and Captain Jack who all looked like their characters was VERY VERY cool, and seeing a woman dressed as Jareth has made me torn between being Sarah or Jareth! 

  

For me the most amazing part of the whole event was this complete feeling of "together-ness". Ok that sounds very corny I know, but it's true. Everyone was admiring each others costumes, taking pictures together, laughing and joking and playing games. Despite the vast number of people, and often long ques I didn't see anyone getting bitchy or angry. No-one was arguing - everyone was just there to have a good time. And more so - making sure each other had a good time. 

I really don't think there are many sub-cultures or large events that can say the same. When was the last time you felt that same atmosphere at a football game or concert. Heck when was the last time you got on the tube without wanting to kill someone? Because even crammed onto the DLR, freezing on the platforms (a lot of cosplay costumes are not noted for their warmth) or desperatly wanting to find a sandwich - everyone was just so chilled out. Excitable, hyper, in full character mode or geeking out at something awesome - but chill all the same. And that made me very happy. 

Now I can't WAIT for the Sci-Fi weekender in March. It's going to be an amazing weekend! 

Mums Pirate Party

I've wanted to do this post since Mum's birthday and I thought if I don't do it now, it won't get done!

So this year was a big one for Mum, the big 5-0! Me and my sister have had many parties in the garden, using the gazebo Mum bought for the original - my 21st. We knew we had to throw her a party too. And our Mum being our Mum it had to be...a Pirate Party!

Overal we were pretty pleased with how it turned out. Best of all everyone went along with the Pirate/Nautical theme which was awesome!

Here are some of the highlights of the day, and our inspirations for them (Thank you Pinterest!)

The Decorations
Amazon and eBay were very much our friends with these. From Pirate bunting, to wall decals, to inflatable seagulls we had it all covered.

The signs were done with tea-staining. We would have also burnt the edges as we did with the invitation but we ran out of time.

Drink
The drink table was based on one we saw on Pinterest. I'm willing to bet the Pinterest one took a lot of planning and a trip to a DIY store. Me and my sister did it with stuff we had in the house in about 20minutes flat. Cos we're THAT good!

 

It's a shame you can't actually see in this photo, but there is a bow, complete with Mermaid! :)

I Googled a simple rum punch and then just decided to make our own. It's very simple.

2 parts Captain Morgans spiced rum
1 part Ginger beer
1 part Tropical juice

And in fairness we wern't measuring...we just chucked it all in the punchbowl until it tasted good. And although most people said it was a little strong, it was being put away very quickly!

In fact if I'd've known it was going to be that popular I wouldn't've botherd with wine and beer (which was barely touched) and just made twice as much punch! We did feel it necessary to include a sign with the punch...to warn kids and those driving away from it!

Cake
We commissioned Cakings to put together the Pirate cake. We had seen a few ideas on Pinterest, and under Cakings expert advice they created....THIS!

The Pirate Cupcakes were an added bonus, and it you want to learn how to male them there is a tutorial on the Cakings blog.

So overall, a very successful party!