Georgia Furness

I got the idea to make trinket dishes from this blog post, with these gorgeous palm leaves painted on. I had ordered some metallic sharpies and I'm a little obsessed with stars and constellations at the moment, so the two came together and this was the result. I am absolutely over the moon with how they came out and I can't wait to give them to the special ladies I've made them for. I made a lot of white ones, with my original plan to do the palm leaves, but I happened to have a black clay pack too, they actually turned out to be my favourites. The white ones require painting to keep them bright white, whereas the black stayed smooth and matte and I loved the finish - something I'll note for next time. 

You'll need :: 

Fimo Oven Bake Clay - in any colour you fancy.

Metallic Sharpies 

1. Split your square block of clay (if you're using the one linked above) in to two and roll it into a ball. 

2. Using a rolling pin, flatten out your ball into a disc shape. Try to keep it moving between rolls, so it doesn't stick to the surface and you won't change the shape too much when you pick it up. To create a 'dish' shape I then cupped it in my hands to push the sides up slightly. I tried a few methods and this worked best, so do what works best to achieve the shape you want. 

3. Once you're happy with the shape, pop it in the oven following the instructions on your clay packet. 

4. When you clay has hardened and cooled, it's time to get creative! Paint, draw, write, do whatever you fancy! I personally think the metallic sharpies were very effective and easy to use! I also used an alphabet stamp kit to print initials on the dish too. I have photoshopped this out (for present privacy!) but think it adds another personal touch. 

You'll need :: 

An Orange! 

Kitchen Towel

String (if you're hanging them as decoration)

1. Simply slice your orange into thin slices with a sharp knife.

2. Lay out a piece of kitchen towel and place your Orange slices on it, press another piece of kitchen towel on top so soak up any excess juice. 

3. Pop them on greaseproof paper on a baking tray and put them in the oven on a low heat at 80-100 degrees C for around 3 hours. I tend to do this by eye, if they still feel a bit tacky and need a bit longer I'll add more time on. 

4. Once they're ready, you can do whatever you'd like! 

This year, I'm making a photo album/memory book for my grandparents, full of happy photos from their 60th Wedding Anniversary party earlier this year. You can be as creative or a minimalistic as you wish with this, so it's a great present idea. I love to get stickers, coloured paper and pens to make it a bit more special and interesting. You could buy a scrapbook and stick each photo in to be really artsy with it, but for ease I have opted for a self-adhesive photo album so I can place everything in and not have to faff about with glue. This present is a little more time consuming, but worthwhile for the end result and smiling faces when they flick through and have something to cherish forever. 

This album is from Boots (all photo albums half price at the moment!) and I use Snapfish to get my photos printed. 

Do you make homemade presents at Christmas? I'd love more ideas! 

I am totally in love with my wrapping this year, it's totally Pinterest inspired and super easy and inexpensive to do! So, if you're struggling for last minute wrapping ideas, this one is perfect for you! 

Just pop to your local garden centre for some sprigs of a christmas tree! There'll without a doubt be parts of trees that have broken off - a very kind man who was sorting through the broken trees at my local garden centre cut off a branch for me! It cost me nothing! 

The brown paper was from the post office for only £1.50. The candy canes was £1 from Sainsbury's, as were the tags and the string! 

Very simple, but effective - and still all very possible this close to christmas!