'Tis the Season to Get Crafty

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This is a bit of different post today as it is all about crafting. Each year at this time, the crafting bug hits me so I'm enjoying the process of creating.

About a month ago I went out and cleaned up my flower beds and decided to try my hand at drying my marigolds. They were beautiful and were also the perfect colors for fall decorations. Since this photo, I've ended up throwing the whole thing away. As they dried and shriveled the colors faded to "dead" and since I wasn't going to make tea or anything else, I threw out the garland.




I have a ton of cardstock that was cut into squares and gifted to me about 15 years ago. There had to be about 5,000 pieces of it. Every so often I use some scrap paper, ribbon and other stickers to create my own cards. As I get cards from others I always save what I can off of them to repurpose into new cards. 


I've been sewing again lately and have made these reusable bowl covers. They nest inside of each other, are washable and dryable, and are reversible. It's my "green" solution to plastic wrap.



I have many of my items in a friend's shop and she asked if I could bring in some Christmas placemats. So I've been busy sewing these as well.

All of the fabric items can be found in my Etsy shop (link above). I reopened that to see if I can make a bit of money for Christmas.

This year money is tight (generally, it always is), but the prices of everything have skyrocketed. Plus there are some wedding things we are helping with so the money is earmarked for that. It may be more of a handmade Christmas because I truly don't want to use credit cards to purchase gifts. We've been working hard to pay off our credit card and it's almost paid off and I'd like to keep it that way.

It's so easy to get sucked into the trappings of the holidays. Purchase more, get into debt, need it now. So I'm making due with what we have and simplifying. One of those ways is to get back to more of handmade items where I can.

I'm going to come up with a list of the gifts I need to get and see what I can do in that area. And I'm finding if I plan ahead it goes much better. Generally, I'm shooting from the hip at Christmas time because I'm so busy with other things that I'm not thinking about gifts until the last minute.

Okay, I know, a month before technically IS the last minute, but I'm getting better! 😅

Comments

  1. AngelaNovember 16, 2023 at 8:27 AM

    I do empathise - one year I did hand stitched decorations (to hang on the tree ) as gifts - and used my cardstock stash to make threefold cards. The centre section had a hole in it, and I suspended the ornament . They looked effective and were well received . Home made gifts from The Great Stash are a good way to provide lots of stuff at minimal cost. But even the simplest ones take time and effort. Next week I shall spend an afternoon making a batch of wax wraps (that's my cling film alternative) 🌲⛄❄️🌲⛄❄️🌲

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TerriNovember 16, 2023 at 9:41 AM

      I've always wanted to try making those. It's on my list. :-)

      Delete
  2. ElizabethdNovember 16, 2023 at 8:48 AM

    Lovely creations Terri. I couldnt find the link to your shop.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TerriNovember 16, 2023 at 9:42 AM

      Barbara, it's at the top of the blog right under the blog title. Or you can use this: https://terriscountrycrafts.etsy.com

      Delete
    2. ElizabethdNovember 19, 2023 at 6:22 AM

      Thanks Terri!!

      Delete

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