It's time to stop and take in the wonder of this time of year so I'm going to step away from the blog over Christmas and join you again closer to New Year. 

In the midst of Christmas mayhem and preparations may we keep our eyes and hearts focused on the Christ in Christmas, remembering that His eyes are forever on us and His love is being poured unceasingly into our hearts. How blessed we are.

If you'd like to stitch the designs on my Christmas pillow they are free to download HERE until December 26th.

Enjoy!

With love,

When most of your friends live far away and your Christmas budget is restrained, adding postage costs to your expenses can too often tip that budget over the edge. 

I have met some of the loveliest sewing friends during my ten-year journey in this craft, and almost all of these friendships have been nurtured online, so the expense of sending a gift to each of them at this time of year does add a little stress to the bank account. 

This Christmas I made the decision to scale back on gifts for friends far away to something small but sweet; something that could be posted inside a card. 

You see we have grandchildren and children who live far, far away, and next Christmas there will be two more precious babies to welcome into the clan, so we are being mindful of the future and saving our pennies for family gifts and the added expense of posting parcels.

When planning what I could send my sewing friends inside a Christmas card this year my thoughts rested on what I'd love to receive, plus I took into account the number of comments left on the blog and in emails about the pretty pins displayed in some of my design photos.

About mid-year I searched on Etsy for pretty handmade decorated pins and found a lady in Canada who had exactly what I was after. 

After gathering some scrap wool felt, pinking shears, a pack of gorgeous "Make A Wish" Foundation cards, double sided tape and those pins, I had five gifts made in 5 minutes.

Today the envelopes will be addressed and stamped, then off to the Post Office so they can arrive before Christmas.

Other card ideas are bookmarks, a pack of vintage or pretty buttons, a length of delicate lace, or what about the free little needle kit I shared HERE last year?

If you have other ideas for gifts that can be posted inside a Christmas card please leave them in the comments below as I know we'd all love to add them to our current or future gift giving lists.

In fact, preparing small gifts like this during 2016 means next Christmas we can shop from our own 'store' of goodies and get those presents in the post early.

That's my plan.

Have a blessed day,

So if you've been following along on the blog this week you will have made a Bow from THIS tutorial...

 ...and a blend of Christmas Tea from THIS recipe.

Today you can put them both together in, and on, a pretty 'Xmas Tea' wrapped jar for Christmas gift giving.

You might even keep it as a display for your home...

This is a quick project so you might like to set up a production line and make a few in one day.

But remember to keep one for yourself, okay?

Download the "Christmas Tea Wrapper & Trim" pattern HERE until December 26th.

For those who are wondering, the two fabrics I used for this pattern were from a 2010 line by Kate Spain (12 Days of Christmas) and are still my favourite seasonal prints. I have less than a fat eighth of each left which will hopefully be used in something small very soon - just for me. 

It's Friday here in Australia and I'm about to sit down and finish a secretly *splendid* 2016 design that must be posted to the USA by Monday, so I shall leave you with my blessings for a relaxed and refreshing weekend which hopefully includes a few hours in your sewing space...xx

hugs

 How was your weekend?

I had a lovely relaxing one playing in the kitchen, finishing a couple of secret sewing projects, and roaming Mr Internet for great gift ideas we can make without too much fuss or effort.

Jackie left a comment on one of the previous *Homemade Stitched With Heartstrings* blog posts to tell us that Patty from Elm Street Quilts is sharing a month of tutorials and tips for making purses and pouches during November. 

Now one can never have enough of these and they make great gifts!

Scroll through the relevant posts HERE....

Do you know a young lass just starting out in their sewing journey?

This sweet little Matryoshka Needlecase would be a perfect present!

See the tutorial HERE at Flossie Teacakes...

It seems that everyone loves owls! This cute stuffed owl will put a dent in your fabrics scraps and I'm sure you know a few girls (young and old) who'd appreciate receiving one?

Follow THIS tutorial from The Eternal Thread...

It can be a bit tricky coming up handmade gifts ideas for our friends especially if they sew  because they probably have loads of homemade items already - and if they participate in swaps they'd have even more. You know what I mean, right?

 So I found us some flowers to make. After all, a girl can never have enough flowers!

Grab some felt, follow THIS tutorial, and you'll soon have a blooming bouquet....

Tea cup candles anyone? Budget Savvy Diva has a video tutorial and I do quite like the idea of trying this craft, don't you? See it HERE...

Bags - there are some lovely ones and there are some ugly ones.
This one is lovely.
Use more of your fabric stash by sewing one for a friend and one for yourself too!
Follow the Tilda tutorial HERE...



It's a very rainy Tuesday morning here, and so very beautiful....we thought the rains would never come.

hugs

I must admit, there's a certain 'sherbert-y' joy that bubbles over when I'm designing for Christmas, and this month that's pretty obvious when you look at the patterns for the November Stitchery Club...

These are a set of mini stitcheries which can be used beautifully as individual designs, but by following the bonus project sheet for the Club they come together with tiny wee hearts to create a very special 'Merry Flags of Christmas" bunting!

There's still time to join The Stitchery Club and receive these patterns (as well as the ones below). You have until midnight November 16th.

All details are HERE and you have the option of choosing either US or Australian currency for your monthly subscription. 

There's no minimum length required for your membership to the Club, no lock in contract; stay a month, a year, forever...it's up to you. You are free to leave whenever you need to with no explanations or penalties.

These are the other three sweet patterns members will receive via email on November 17th...

I'd love for you to come play with us!

Enjoy your weekend, 

hugs