The Christmas Challenge. Show and Tell for October. Part 1.

We are in November! I had so much fun yesterday as by my own rules I was "allowed" to get everything out of the present cupboard!  I am still sorting it all out as it takes ages to work out who gets what and so on. But already I have Birthday gifts as well as Christmas gifts for some family members. That will put me well ahead in January as well ahead now for Christmas!
For everyone who has participated with this challenge I cannot wait for you to experience the same... getting things out that you barely even remember having put in there and making gifts up. There will be so much you will NOT be buying this December!

Thank you to everyone who has sent in pictures. We are going to need two weeks of this Show and Tell.

Also thank you to everyone who commented on Monday's post about big bills. More and more ideas came in. Plus quite a bit of information and tips that could be useful re the medical care costs in the US plus other money saving and making tips generally. A great selection of tips came in on saving on prescriptions and electricity.  Next week we will pick up from there with as many ideas as we can come up with and different things... things we might not have thought of or tried before.

In light of big bills and tight budgets making your own gifts can be a huge saving. Gift giving is a big area we can review and possibly cut by a lot.  This does not necessarily mean giving less. It can mean giving more! (as you will see below!)

Now to Show and Tell...
As usual I am posting things in no particular order and representing everyone but I do not use all photos otherwise it would be too many posts! But I love seeing everything and many times I am able to use photos somewhere as I did with Rachel's Dad's beautiful photos on Monday. Thank you!

Firstly we have Pat. She makes quilts at a rate I have never seen! And she is using all fabrics she has on hand or that come her way.

Pat has used many as gifts including a wedding gift recently.

Thank you Pat you are very inspiring! Your colour schemes are always gorgeous.

Cookie has many talents. This month we have some of her cards. She paints her own roses then applies them to her cards.  I have seen them close up as she sent me some!

Some had a lace trim as well...

I love them!

Wendy makes a lot of cards. At one time she told me she just isn't crafty.  I took no notice of this and soon she was trying her hand at cards.  You should see what she makes now! 

And we have said many times that learning new skills and working on them can lead to gifts, items to barter with, items to give to charity, things to sell...   Now Wendy has started an Etsy shop with some friends.  She has gone from "not crafty" to having her own online shop to bring in extra income for her family!  

For Christmas Wendy has made little beaded angels...

This is a link to her shop...  The Crafty Mums Co-op.  I think this is a very inspiring story and I am very proud of you Wendy! 

This could be an idea for others. Hand made things are sought after. With the internet the whole world can be your market.  Also on Etsy you can sell craft supplies. This opens up a world of things you could possibly find and sell such as fabrics, yarn, laces, embroidery etc. There are some creative examples like a lady who cuts up angora, cashmere and other luxury jumpers/sweaters and sells the pieces to be re crafted. Really Etsy is an amazing source of beautiful things. It is also a good place to check what people are paying for the things you are making.

Susan made Lemon Astringent using the recipe in Jes' ebook.  You can find the ebook at Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth (on my side bar) and the book is called 100+ things to do with fruit scraps.
The labels for the projects are included in the book.
Susan has fruit trees so I knew this book was going to be wonderful for her!

What a nice gift or lovely to use ourselves! Thank you so much Susan. I am waiting on fruit!

Mimi came up with an idea that made me wonder why on earth didn't I think of that!  She went to the thrift stores and found lovely things like silk camisoles, satin pyjamas and dressing gowns...  on her blog she even shows the before photos (think crinkled) and then the afters where she has added little touches of embroidery. For everyone working on their rose embroidery this is a wonderful use for them!

Take a look here at A Tray of Bliss and also look at more recent posts as I notice she just posted tips on packaging for items like this. Very helpful as presentation is a big component of gift giving and as you can see this looks lovely and luxurious! I think she paid $3 or something for the silk camisole! 

I can see so many possibilities here and I would like to embroider a little dressing gown for Harper. Gorgeous.  But I also love half slips, pretty nighties and dressinggonws... so now they are on my search lists!  

Next I have gorgeous knitting from Maria G.

The top rug is knitted in cotton and was for Maria's Granddaughter.

The bottom rug is for her friends baby. Just beautiful knitting Maria.  She also made a knitted rug for a recent 50th Birthday gift.  They are heirloom gifts!

Thank you everyone. This demonstrates handmade gifts can be really economical and luxurious and incredibly generous gifts.  being busy with your hands = happiness! 

I hope your week is going well!   

What are you working on and how is your present supply looking? There is still time to get a lot done!  November is great to finish up bigger projects and fill some gaps in our gift giving supplies.

xxx