A crafty Christmas

Manawatu Standard

It's that time of year again – and with pockets feeling lighter than usual, why not embrace your creative side this Christmas? MICHELLE DUFF goes on the hunt for cheap and crafty gift ideas.

Imagine this scenario: it's Christmas Eve. The shops spill with hundreds of last-minute shoppers, rushing to find the perfect gift. Tills ca-chink as money is exchanged, and flustered mothers pull their children through the teaming crowds.

Cut to your living room, where you are relaxing with a glass of delicious bubbles you can afford because you made all your own unique and artistic presents early with the help of the instructions below.

Homemade presents are just cooler – they require more thought, and have your personality stamped all over them.

The gift ideas here have been chosen to minimise effort and maximise impact. They're not too hard or finicky, either.

I know because I've made them all, and patience is definitely not my greatest virtue.

Have fun, and Merry Christmas!

Cupcake stand
I wish I could claim this idea, but it would be a lie. It's from the pages of recycle-friendly magazine World Sweet World, stocked in Palmerston North by Nuddy, on The Square.

The issue it was from has since been lost, so this is the way I made it. It was a gift for a friend's birthday, and at least three people asked how to construct one. You'll be a star.

You will need:

•   3x plates, of various sizes (but similar styles). Secondhand stores are your best bet - you should be able to  pick some up for about $1 each.
•   2x brandy glasses  $1.50 each from Salvation Army
•   Superglue
•   Paintbrush
•   Newspaper

Before you begin, make sure you wash the glasses thoroughly and polish so there are no smudges  once you glue them to the plates, there's no turning back. A smudge could annoy you for life.

Glue the bottom of the brandy glass to the biggest plate. This can be done by running the glue around the top with the paintbrush, then painting more glue around the outside to fix it while holding it to the plate. You'll have to hold it down for a while, to secure the glue.

If you're particular you could measure to make sure your glass is in the middle, but a guess is sufficient. Glue the bottom of the second brandy glass to the middle-sized plate. Wait until the glue is dried and the glasses are secure before the next part.

Stick the top of the first brandy glass to the bottom of the middle plate, and finally stick the small plate on the top.

Voila! You have a beautiful cupcake tree. Very impressive.

NOTE: If making cupcakes to adorn tree, small cupcakes are very cute, but if you have the bright idea of icing them with three different icing colours, this will take hours. Go for the bigger size, and keep it simple

 

Headscarf/belt - Stylish  save forking out $30 for a scarf by making your own.
The best thing is you can personalise the fabric, and wear as either a headscarf, a neckscarf or a belt. So multi-purpose!

You will need:

•  1x colourful strip of fabric, cut 20cm wide and 100cm long
•  1x plain strip of fabric for the underside, cut 20cm wide and 100cm long
•  2x colourful square of fabric, 20cm x 20cm
•  2x plain square of fabric, 20cm x 20cm
•  Get some funky fabric for one side, and plain for the other. 100% cotton works well.
•  Cut a long strip out of each piece of fabric, so you now have 2 long strips.
•  For the ends, cut 2 squares out of each fabric. You should have 4 squares in total.
•  Sew a square to the end of each long strip of fabric  so square, strip, square.
•  Turn seams out and iron flat.
•  Sew strips to each other around the whole edge, ensuring seams match. Leave a small gap (about 10cm) at one end so you can turn it inside out.
•  Handstich gap closed.

 

Brooches - Nifty, personalised brooches are easy to make. You will need:

•  Antique silver bar pin (for brooch backing). Pack of 6, $3.19 from Spotlight.
•  Make a button kit, 50 cents from Salvation Army, or can be found at Spotlight.
•  Material scraps, free if you smile nicely at the staff at Arthur Toye or 10 cents each from the Arts Recycling Store, at the back of Square Edge.
•  Packet of blue plastic firemen, 99 cents from Toyworld. Mini photo frame, toy section of Salvation Army. Superglue (the stuff that dries clear).
• Small paintbrush, $2 from Oasis Affordable Arts.
• Newspaper.

You can pretty much stick anything to a brooch, and foraging is half of the fun.

Head to secondhand stores like the Salvation Army, St Vincent de Paul and Wesley Vintage to find wee knick-knacks, buttons, figurines and toys for your brooch.

 

Buttons - Making buttons is super-fun and really easy.

•  Cut out a circle of whatever material you're keen on, wrap it around the button and snap in the back.
•  Just make sure you don't make the rookie mistake of snapping the button in with the material the wrong way  around, a la this reporter.
•  Glue to the back of a brooch pin and you have a quirky, customised piece of jewellery you can guarantee you will never see anyone else wearing.

 

Basket of snowballs

Timeless - this wee gift is quick and easy, and the snowballs will go down a treat. Recipe courtesy of health reporter Janine Rankin.

This is one for the kids - a foolproof gift that can be made easily and given to teachers, friends, uncles and aunts, and other small children. It also has the advantage of being a lot less messy than the classic baked claydough decoration.

You will need 

• Old Christmas cards
• Coloured paper for handles
• Stapler
• Cut out five circular images of festive fun from Christmas cards. Place one face down, and staple the other four, picture out, to form a basket shape.
• Staple a handle to the top in the size you desire. Fill with snowballs and give to happy recipient.

Snowballs

•  2 packets crushed malt biscuits
•  1 tin condensed milk
•  4 Tbsp golden syrup
•  150g butter
•  Dash of vanilla or caramel essence
•  1 cup fruit and nuts (cherries and sultanas work well)
•  Coconut to coat

Heat the condensed milk, golden syrup and butter, stirring constantly. Add the essence.
Combine with the biscuit crumbs, fruit and nuts.
Roll into balls, coat in coconut, set in the fridge.
Recipe makes about 60 snowballs. They disappear in a few days under family conditions.