Under the Tree

We've had a few mysterious presents turn up under the Christmas tree this year. I think we'll need to leave a little plate of cookies outside the door to feed all of our generous wandering guests.

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Adventures with a Can of Chalkboard Paint, Part II

We all know about the circle of gift bags -- you have a birthday or a baby, and suddenly have a stash of six million bags to repackage with gifts for other people's birthdays or babies. And on it goes. Magic. But what about gift tags? Wouldn't it be lovely if you could just erase that "Happy Birthday, Astrid" message, and reuse the gift tag, too?

Well, ladies and gents, here it is, the reusable gift tag:

Chalkboard paint + those cheap paint-it-yourself wooden Christmas ornaments at craft stores = a gift tag that works again and again.

(Just be careful of tricksters with their own sticks of chalk -- a few minutes alone under the Christmas tree, and suddenly all the presents are for Uncle Jesper...)

The Cheater's Guide to Quilting

So, in the spirit of getting started early on all things Christmas, I thought I'd show you what I'm making as a present for Tilly. As she's born in the year of the tiger, this Alexander Henry Zoo print seemed just perfect to mark her first year of Christmas with us.

And what better way to get all snuggly in winter than with a big cosy "quilt". Why the quotation marks? Well, serious quilters would probably take offense to me calling this a quilt... really it's just two yards of fabric and two yards of fleece joined together. No batting. No patchwork. No fuss.

Of course, even the simplest of quilts needs some sort of edging. And since the quilt-top took me all of two minutes to make (i.e. trimming the fabric to be the same size as the fleece!), I thought I'd spend a little extra time on the binding. Rather than buying pre-made, I made my own double-fold binding, and am on evening number three of hand-stitching it on the backside.

So, if you're after ideas for handmaking Christmas presents that'll be useful and well-loved, a little handmade quilt doesn't have to be a daunting task. Really, two yards of a favourite fabric, two yards of good quality fleece, and a couple of packages of binding (or a yard or so of fabric, if you want to make your own... tutorial here) are all you need!

And if you do start making your own, please post a link, as we'd love to see!

P.S. If you haven't entered the bits-and-bobs Christmas giveaway over at The Fable of the Table yet, you've got another day or two! Go on...