Christmas Wishlists 2015

It is that time again when people start asking what we have on our wishlists this year, It is a very mixed bag this year for both of us. We are at that age and lucky enough to be able to buy most of the things we need throughout the year so Christmas for us is about those little indulgences that we wouldn't normally buy for ourselves.

H's list
Nesting dolls  /  CYMK badge  /  Casserole dish  /  Blue coast jacket  /  Ceramic Bowl   /  Necklace

I am in love with ceramics right now and especially anything from the Hackney Potter. On a similar theme this concrete necklace from the lovely Rhiannon Palmer, if not the necklace itself then a chance to go on one of her workshops to learn how to make my own! This CYMK pin from our faves Hand Over Your Fairy Cakes has been on my list for ages and these amazing nesting dolls may have to be purchased with any monitory gifts I receive. I think the jacket and the casserole dish speak for themselves, not going to lie, mostly love them because they are blue!

Sammy's List
Scarf  /  Janome Overlocker  /  Kitchenaid  /  Bracelet  /   Sleep Spray  /   Socks  /  Keyring

I have a couple of heavy hitters on my list this year, the first is an overlocker, I have made do with my sewing machines overlocking stitch for so long and now that I am sewing more and more, I think its about time to branch out. And the second is a Kitchenaid mixer in pistachio... a girl can dream! On a more realistic note these cosy cashmere socks and gold tassel key ring from The White Company are just so yummy. H bought me a treat size of the This Works sleep spray last year and I am hoping someone will treat me to the full size this year as I love it. A new star scarf to add to the collection and this cute 'all you need is love' bracelet from Renegade discovery 'Oh Someday' are also being hinted at to my friends and family.

What is on your wishlist this year? Are you wishing for something really special or are you just hoping to spend some time with friends and family?  Are there any crafting goodies we should be adding to our lists??

H and Sammy xxx


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Make it: Paper Houses Advent Calendar

It is no secret that I love Christmas, everything about it, from the food to the shopping to the decorations. So today I am sharing with you the first Christmas 'make it' of the year - how I made our new Advent Calendar. I wanted to make one that I could fill up myself and that Steve and I could share, so a fun colourful house Christmas countdown seemed perfect.

You will need: 24 sheets of A5 white paper, a small box or packet to use as a template, a selection of colourful card, double sided tape, some stickers and embellishments, number stickers from 1 -24, 48 paper clips, sticky-tape, scissors, bakers twine and your choice of filling.

Step 1. First to make the paper pouch which will hold your treats, start by taking your A5 paper and folding it over leaving a 1.5 cm strip at the bottom, then wrap it around the small box (I used the box from the paper-clips) fold over the end and seal it with sticky tape.

Step 2. Slide the box out of the paper pouch and seal the joins with some washi tape. Repeat for each of the 24 days.

Step 3. Then you can make the houses to stick to the front of the pouch. Cut out some squares and rectangles big enough to cover the biggest side of your paper pouch. Then cut some triangles to create rooves and stick them to the rectangles with double sided tape to create the base for your houses.

Step 4. Stick your houses onto the paper pouches. Repeat this for all 24 pouches.

Step 5. Next, grab a bunch of stickers and embellishments and add some doors, windows or chimneys to each house, I added these little owl stickers too, aren't they cute!

Step 6. Arrange your houses in an order that you like and add your numbers, I used a selection of thickers stickers and wood shapes from my stash, but you could just stencil or draw the numbers on each house.

Step 7 & 8. Add two paper clips to the back of each pouch and thread the houses onto a length of twine.

Then you are ready to hang them on a blank wall with command hooks or just washi tape if you prefer. Oh and don't forget to fill them up with goodies ready for December the 1st.

I just love how mine turned out, if you have children or youngsters in the family I reckon this would be an awesome project to get them involved with, they could each decorate some houses and help hang them in number order, or mix them up to make each day harder to find.

What would you put in your advent calendar? I love the idea of mixing it up with sweets, wintry activities and little treats like Lego figures and nail polishes etc. I can't wait to start opening ours!

Sammy xxx

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November food Round-up

As November is the time for snuggling up under blankets and eating yourself into a food induced coma, I thought I would go for a whole selection of not going out of the house treats.

I have found some very cool new foods and websites - Sorted food anyone?! and of course there is a dairy free treat too.

First up is this recipe for sausages with sweet potato chips, from the good food website.  There is just something about sausages and potato on a grey winter day and with the food of the moment, sweet potato chips, you just can't beat it.

Then you gotta have snacks right, and this recipe for roasted edamame just will hit the spot for me, I may be a little obsessed with them and buy a pot whether I see them and so making a batch of these at home is next on my list.

I felt like a little something different for the sweet treat this week and this Cherry Bakewell hits the spot.  Its one of the things I miss about being dairy free, a good Mr Kipling's cherry bakewell, so I think I might have to give this one a try.

And up last is Sorted Food's whole website!  ha ha, I chose this Chilli beef recipe for now!  You may see them again on here!  I just love these guys as they make cooking so fun and easy.

That's it for now, I am definitely going to have to hit the supermarket for those sausage and sweet potato chips tonight, just drooling talking about it!

H,xxx


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Simply Sewing and Sew Crafty 'Quick Gifts to Sew'

I am sorry to make this week all about where else you can find our stuff other than here, however I am SUPER excited to finally share with you something I was working on this past summer.

Quick Gifts to Sew is a booklet that comes FREE with issue 10 of Simply Sewing magazine and if you like our sewing tutorials you will LOVE this! It is packed with 20 tutorials for things to sew with your fat quarter stash. I designed the projects with a mix of easy fun ways to practice your sewing skills. I also wanted to include a good mix of techniques that can be used over and over again. There is a nice selection of projects with hopefully something for everyone on your Christmas gift list and beyond!  The best thing is that nearly everything you need for all the projects are available from my shop Sew Crafty!

This project is one of the best things I have ever had the opportunity to create. I will never get used to seeing my tutorials in print, let alone the feeling of walking in to the newsagent and seeing this on the shelf, overwhelming and truly awesome! It was a real pleasure to collaborate with the guys over at Simply Sewing on this beautiful booklet. 

I really hope that, if you get hold of a copy, you enjoy the projects as much as I enjoyed creating them. Don't forget that there is also a brilliant copy of Simply Sewing magazine full of projects to enjoy too, I adore Portia's gorgeous cape seen on the front cover! An autumn essential!  

I would love it, if you don't already, to follow @SewCraftyShop and @SimplySewingMag over on Instagram, Oh and while your there make sure you are following @liveit.loveit.makeit because we will be live posting from Renegade Craft Fair this Sunday. 

Have a lovely weekend

Sammy xxx

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Love it: Craft Fairs coming up

With so many Craft fairs coming up between now and Christmas, we thought it would be a good time to show you some of our favourites and some we want to go and see for the first time.

Of course this weekend is a definite favourite of Renegade over in East London!  We have been going to this one for some time now and it is a firm favourite with us, so many great designer/makers in one place and we get to see some of our friends too!

Then on the 22nd November is the famed Bust Craftacular which is also in East London, another favourite of ours, so much so that H has been saving up the pennies to get some treats at both of these!  It will be lovely to see all the winter stock out and see what's different from the Spring versions of both of these fairs.

Picture from www.timeout.com

Christmas fairs of course pop up all over the place from the end of November, H visited the Christmas market outside the Tate Modern and all along the Southbank last year, which was so pretty and had her favourite things ever at Christmas Fairs, no not mulled wine, but Churros!  It even managed to get her in the Christmas spirit!

Picture from www.cockpitarts.com

Last but by no means least is Cockpit arts Open Studios which we would love to go to.  Seeing all the artists work in their own space is always such a great way to buy artwork.  There are so many open studios all over the country so maybe there is one near you to take a look at.

We also found this handy guide of London Craft Fairs if you are down this way anytime soon, mentions the Crafty Fox Markets too which is great.

Are you going to any of these fairs, or any other near you?  Do let us know if you have a firm favourite as we may be able to go check it out too.

H & Sammy

Note: All photographs belong to Live it. Love it. Make it, unless otherwise stated.

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Make it: Day of the Dead Necklace on Super + Super

We are guest posting again today and its over on Super + Super for their Day of the Dead Blog party.  We made this cool Pumpkin Day of the Dead necklace out of Shrink Plastic, so go check out the post. You can go on over to their blog for all the other crafts that will be on for the rest of the week, until Sunday.  Also go on over to their Pinterest board for more inspiration.