Christmas Pyjamas

I got two new pairs of pyjamas bottoms for Christmas. I've wanted some new ones for a while but couldn't find any that weren't too expensive and would last me a very long time. Eventually, i found two! I bought them in Fat Face and wow, they are the comfiest things in the world. Out of the two, these ones are the thinest but i would still call them Winter pyjamas. The red will always remind of Christmas. I'm medium height (short, no medium....ok i'm short) and most pyjamas i trip over but at the bottom of these there is a button and hook that allows you to roll them up. I spend a lot of my life in my pyjamas so they need to be mellow like these ones.

I've just come back to school but in the holidays i was really enjoying reading. I just finished I Capture the Castle (after 5 months) which was easy to pick up again after long pauses. I found it to be very relaxing and the story was quite sentimental. Finally, a book that i can say i was satisfied with the ending and wasn't quite expecting it. I have also 'refounded' my beloved bed. I neglected him for a while but now i spend hours reading, talking to my cat and doing my homework on him. I always forget a bed isn't just for sleeping on.

Crumble-Topped Mince Pies

These mince pies are different to the normal ones you buy in supermarkets; the top is made from a delicious, nutty crumble. Although, it may sound like too much, they taste amazing and are not as sweet and filing as regular mince pies. You could make them with friends or bring them to a family gathering. The next Christmas food i am going to make is cranberry sauce.

You Will Need (makes 24):
Frozen short pastry
A big ol' jar of mincemeat
60g Butter
Pinch of Nutmeg
Half a Teaspoon of Cinnamon
35g Soft Brown Sugar
60g Plain Flour
60g Ground Almonds
35g Walnut Pieces

To Make the Pies:
Firstly, cover your entire surface in flour and dust your rolling pin. Then grease your muffin cases with butter. Remember to touch the pastry as little as possible; especially if you have warm hands. It will be less crumbly and melt-in-your-mouthy if you have handled it too much. Take your rolling pin and start rolling. It should be as thin as you can make it before it breaks (about 3mm). I used a cookie cutter that had scalloped edges to cut out the bottom of the pies. The scalloped edges made them look 'merrily-festive' (is that a thing? Can i say that?) Finally, take two spoons and put a small amount of mince in each pie.

To Make the Crumble:
Mix the Butter and sugar together. First, i used my hands to break up the big pieces of butter, then i used a fork to mash the sugar in and make the butter soft. After than, i crushed the nuts into smaller pieces and mixed the other ingredients to the butter and sugar. You then sprinkle the crumble over the mince pies and put them in the oven for 15mins at 180 fan oven.

In case you hadn't noticed, i post every tuesday and saturday so check back on those days.

Christmas Potato Printing Labels

I love Christmas tags and they are really fun to make with friends. I remember doing them a lot when i was younger. I made a hedgehog and a rabbits head for my mums birthday card.

Firstly, i decided what objects i wanted to carve onto the potatoes. I chose the easiest possible objects (stars and a tree) because it is very difficult to do detailed designs on a very small potato. I then drew them onto the inside of half a potato. After that, i got a knife and cut out everything outside of the lines. I painted the shape on the potatoes and printed it onto the brown tags. Some of them i personalised with my metallic pens. 

I love potato printing because it's an easy way to make anything look like you have spent lots of time on it even if you haven't. They work for every occasion and even work on textiles. You can make really basic designs or complex ones. It so simple to create any repeated pattern. One idea you can also do is print the wrapping paper with the same print as the tag so they are matching. 

Christmas Sprout Tags

What would Christmas be without sprouts? dunno...maybe pleasant.

Since i do not like brussels sprouts but they are really Christmassy, i thought it would be fun to incorporate them into some sort of Christmas DIY. There wasn't many things i could think of except making little felt sprouts but i don't see why anyone would need one of them...they would be kinda cute though. I then thought of putting them on Christmas present tags. Here is how they turned out.

Some of the sprouts i printed out and some i made from felt. To make them i bought these brown tags from my best friend, eBay. Next, I printed out photos of sprouts and cut them out. I arranged them into lines and stuck them on the brown tags. On one or two sprouts on every tag i made it out of felt or covered it in glitter. Another option is that you could change the white string to a festively coloured twine or ribbon. Another thing i did to make them more personal is to write a christmas joke on the back.

These tags were really quick to make and i think they are really funny and delightful. It makes a change from boring baulbaul tags from M&S and looks like you have made an effort. Maybe now i will like sprouts.

Snowy Wrapping Paper

I adore wrapping presents for my family because it's something you can do alone. I like to sit in my room with the doors closed and listen to Christmas music. I don't like anyone knowing what i am getting anyone else. While wrapping every present, i just imagine their faces when they open it and how they will react. Every year i make my family two presents each and buy one. I think it's more personal that they are homemade. I thought that this year, the present itself shouldn't be the only personal thing; i decided that i was going to decorate my own wrapping paper.

This homemade wrapping paper was super easy to make. I ordered the brown paper from eBay for under £3. I then got a pencil with a round rubber at the end and dipped it into the white paint. I dotted it onto the paper so it looked like snow. On some of the snowballs i added glitter. After that, i brought this christmas themed twine that i thought would look really festive and would add some colour to the basic wrapping. 

I went for a more simple effect of snow because the present is the main part and i wan't it to be really simple but still Christmassy. A benefit of having homemade wrapping paper is that you know what presents are given from who and it makes them really individual and unique. Another way to wrap up your presents is my using fabric. This saves paper (less dead trees) and means you can reuse it to make something else.