Upcycled Christmas part 2 - handmade decorations

As a follow on to my last post, today I'm going to focus on Christmas decorations made out of reclaimed materials.

To start the ball rolling, here is a Christmas wreath made out of a pool noodle, hessian, ribbon and various other bits and pieces I had to hand - mostly saved from centrepieces from previous Christmases. There's even a pair of earrings in there somewhere. Can you spot them?

Christmas wreath from reclaimed materials

This weekend coming (25-26 November), our village church is holding a Christmas tree festival. My entry is called (as you might expect) Upcycled Christmas. The trees and everything on them will be made from reclaimed materials.

I already touched on the madonna-and-child models I made with the local craft-and-coffee group, using reclaimed materials and polyfilla. My own madonna will be part of my display at the festival. As will this little choir, and their conductor. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what went into making them!

Totally rubbish singing

Obviously, I don't want to reveal all my secrets in advance, but here are some of the trees I have made out of reclaimed materials in the past:

A mooring rope...as you do

Wall-hanging tree for small spaces

This pair was a commission

Table top tree

 And of course, there are the decorations to hang on them! This is where discarded curtain rings, disposable coffee cups, previous years' ribbons and wrappings, broken jewellery, scraps from the craft cupboard, etc. come into their own. Even a piece of an old bathmat has been pressed into service in one of these photos (see if you can spot it). The chains from a few hanging baskets will also be putting in an appearance, but you'll have to wait until after next weekend to see them!

Tree topper

Broken jewellery and a wedding garter are included here

Lots of curtain rings and glitter glue

The point of all of this is that so many of our decorations are made of plastic, and wind up being thrown away after Christmas. Only there's no such place as 'away'. It's all going somewhere. And, with a little thought, they could all be pressed into service for another go-round in a different guise. You could even make a family activity out of it - it will help build the excitement. And children love to see their own handiwork hanging in pride of place on the tree. Just make sure any hot glue and/or superglue is kept at a safe distance from little fingers. And make sure to use solvent-free options where possible when involving the little people.

I'd love to see your own handmade Christmas decorations!

Upcycled Christmas part 1 - handmade gifts

Those of us who make things to sell have to start thinking about Christmas quite early. In less than two weeks, I have a double whammy weekend:

• Our local church is having a Christmas tree festival on 25th and 26th November. Local people and organisations are invited to participate. My theme is upcycled Christmas, and my tree and all its decorations will be made out of reclaimed materials. I will share more about that in my next post.
• The church in the next village is having a Christmas market on 26 November, and I have a stall. I thought I'd unpack a bit about that today.

Generally speaking, people go to village fetes and fairs expecting to spend the money in their wallets. There is little likelihood that I will find a buyer for my chaise or my hall stand. But I can certainly raise awareness of the items and services I offer, while offering for sale a range of small ticket items.

It is, of course, important, that my small ticket items adhere to the same ethos as the bigger pieces I offer: unique, handmade pieces majoring on reclaimed materials. So I have been frantically building up stock of items that fit this bill.

Reclaimed wood of various sorts has been repurposed.

Wall art: reclaimed wood

Framed driftwood

Willow stems

Reclaimed pallet end

Reclaimed pallet end

A box of specimen tubes (unused, of course) was saved from the tip, and used for a range of handmade bath oils and bath salts.

Bergamot, patchouli and lavender

Bath oils, decopodged with paper napkins

Handmade bath salts, petals from Deema Delights

Bath salts - I've tested them on myself ;)

Various found materials were used to make dreamcatcher-style wall art.

Giant quadruple wall art

Autumn colours

Traditional seven-point style

I have been making inroads on the yarn stash with lots of knitting and crocheting.

Place mat

Set of 4

Set of 6

Plant holder, fruit bowl... or hat, if you prefer

Tam o'shanter style jar

Pair of octopus (there are also teddies)

Glass jars have been decorated to within an inch of their lives.

Various other items have been revamped and made over.

Brooches

Wall mounted candle sconce

Variation on the above

Vintage Sylko cotton reels

Decoupaged clock

Light bulb hot air balloon

So swing by St Mary's Little Harrowden at some point over the weekend of 25/26 November to see the trees, and/or St Mary's Orlingbury on Sunday 26th November and grab yourself a Christmas bargain.

Local craft-and-coffee

A few months ago, Mr Namasi and I moved from a town with an estimated population of 50,000 (75,000, if you include the rest of the borough) to a village with a population of fewer than 900. There is no shop, no post office, and only one pub in the village. 

And I love it. I'd like to see out my days here.

We have made an effort to engage with the community: attending the various functions at the local church, eating in the local pub, joining the FB group, etc. I started a chapter of nextdoor, a UK based online community site, which automatically connects members within close proximity to each other.

I also started a monthly craft-and-coffee. Although I offer 1:1 and small group sessions, for which I charge, I also wanted to have some sessions which were just about engaging and sharing.

So far, we've had three get-togethers. For the first one, we each brought our own projects and talked about what crafts we like to do. One of the ladies brought along a beautiful mixed media wall hanging she'd made. 

So, for the next session, we explored that. Here are the two pieces I made (I should point out that I continued the work at home - I didn't manage all that in two hours!)

Mixed media cushion cover

'Garden' (now framed and for sale)

Yesterday was our third session, and we made Madonna-and-child models out of reclaimed materials (and polyfilla). I had made one of these some years ago, so I was able to concentrate on guiding the rest of the group through the process. It was wonderfully messy, and the results are now drying in my studio, where they will be collected when ready to be transported.

Have a look at these photos and see if you can identify where and how each of the following items has been used:

• piece of MDF or stiff card
• 2l plastic bottle
• newspaper
• plastic shopping bags
• dowel stick or length of bamboo
• old cotton bed sheet
• wire coathanger

Not looking like much, yet

Getting there

And here they are, drying in my studio.

Next time, we'll be making needle felted robins, like this one. Because I don't have the equipment to facilitate this one myself, I have enlisted the aid of Eve Louise Newman (Eve's Gifted Paradise). 

If you're local to the Wellingborough/Kettering area, and would like to join in, please contact me to find out more.

Post Christmas ruminations

For various reasons Mr Namasi and I decided to keep Christmas very low-key this year. We were content that both our sons would be joining us. Our elder son works in the hospitality industry and isn't always able to have the time off.

Dinner was pretty much the sort of roast dinner one might serve on any Sunday or Bank Holiday when the family comes to visit.

It was lovely: warm, cosy, unspectacular.

Then...

Christmas day wasn't even over before the emails started coming in to my inbox.

eBay, Preloved, Shpock, Gumtree, the various Freegle/Freecycle and Trash Nothing groups I belong to, charities..."Make money from your unwanted gifts." "Regifting is the new giving." "Don't want it? We'll take it!"

At the same time, everyone appears to be having a sale and I'm being urged on every hand to take advantage of the low prices and buy more stuff. 60% off. 75% off. Free this when you buy that. Free delivery. Spend x and we'll throw in a <something or other>. I'm not sure I can afford to save that much money! 

It's breathtakingly mercenary, isn't it? So unapologetically cynical.

It reminds me of a scene from Jim Carrey's The Grinch Who Stole Christmas:

"Do you know what happens to your gifts? They all come to me... in your garbage. You see what I'm saying? In your garbage! I could hang myself with all the bad Christmas neckties I found at the dump, and the avarice... THE AVARICE NEVER ENDS! "I want golf clubs! I want diamonds! I want a pony so I can ride it twice, get bored, and sell it to make GLUE!""

I don't really consider myself a Grinch, but as an upcycler, I also see the stuff that people throw away. It's one thing when an item has broken or clothing has worn out or been outgrown. But I see what the Grinch sees: stuff that is still perfectly useful. Stuff that someone spent money on. Stuff that the gift giver agonised over choosing (but obviously still got it wrong).

This is the side of Christmas that I don't like. And we can do something about it. Smaller, thoughtfully selected or home made gifts strike a chord that lavish impersonal things just don't. Think back on the memorable gifts in your own life. Which are the standout gifts for you?

So... during the course of this year, why not learn a new skill so that you can make something for your loved ones in 2017? Here are some suggestions:

• Attend a massage course, and give your family vouchers for massages
• Learn to make pamper products (face masks, body lotions etc.) - there are hordes of tutorials on YouTube and Pinterest
• Make a batch of wine/beer/cider
• Learn to work with wood or metal and make a shoe rack, a toy box, a key rack, a table, a <something else>
• Attend workshops on beading, sewing, knitting, crochet, calligraphy and produce something in exactly the right colour, style and size for your loved one
• Improve your baking/cooking skills and give them a promissory note for a home cooked meal with all the trimmings (for them and a plus one)
• Attend a creative writing workshop and write them a story (or a song)
• Learn calligraphy and make a beautiful plaque for their wall, or write a dedication on the fly leaf of a much loved book 

Alternatively - pay for them to attend a programme to learn/improve a skill.

The possibilities are endless...and these are gifts that are unlikely to become property of the Grinch on Boxing Day.

Giving a shout out to the independent businesses and crafters

As an independent crafter, I like to spread the 'link love' and share news of others who are in the same boat.

It was my birthday yesterday, and my friends and family took the trouble to give me gifts that supported small business and independent makers. I'd like to share their details with you. Perhaps you've already finished your Christmas shopping, but there are still birthdays, weddings, graduations, mother's/father's day and so on...

Jacaranda World Wooden Carvings

This beautiful giraffe carving was brought all the way from Cape Town when my son travelled there to attend a recent wedding. It is the work of Dennis Maguma at Jacaranda World Wooden Carvings, and is made from sustainable timber. He has a stall in the Watershed at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town and can be reached at dennismaguma75@gmail.com.

Steampunk buttons

These pewter buttons came from someone who knows of my weakness for all things steampunk and my love of sewing. They came from Alchemy England. I shall have to think of something fitting to do with them!

Bath time goodies

This selection of handmade bath time goodies comes from FruFru. I'm a shower person 6 days a week. But on a Sunday night, when Mr Namasi is off playing ice hockey, I treat myself to a soak in the tub with my Sudoku. The friend who gave me these took account of my preferred colours and smells and my love of all things lime. As if that wasn't enough, the card that came with this gift was handmade, and included a watercolour portrait of me by an artist called Samantha Crowe.

Sammy's Scribbles

While not strictly a birthday gift, this also arrived today, so I'll include it: a lovely personalised Christmas bauble, hand painted by Henna Exquisite.

The last few months have been hellish for us. I lost my workshop under unpleasant circumstances (as you know), I had a cancer scare, my husband's company was closed down and he was made redundant. But thoughtful, handpicked gifts like this make a world of difference.