Giveaway: Learn a Craft Cross stitch Kit

This lovely Learn a Craft Counted cross stitch kit  would be the idea gift for Christmas for a crafter. The kit consists of:

• Presorted cotton threads
• 14 count white cotton Aida
• 6 inch plastic hoop
• Needle and Instructions

You can create a lovely Welcome cross stitch using this kit which would make a lovely Christmas present.

How to enter:

Simply complete the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries:

• Prize 1  Learn a Craft Cross stitch Kit
• Entries can be via blog comment, Facebook, Twitter etc
• This competition is open to UK residents only over 18 years of age. Please read the rules below .
• Leaving a blog comment is mandatory and failure to do so will void any other entries.
• Closing date -  9th December 2017 12 am

How Rafflecopter works:

You will need to complete the mandatory entry first – usually making a blog comment. You can do this by clicking on leave a comment at the bottom of the post and leaving your reply in the comment box.Please note your comment will not show immediately as it needs to be moderated however rest assured it will appear on the site, so carry on with rest of entries.

•  Login to Rafflecopter – click to see what the question is. Make a comment answering the question on the blog.
•  Go back to Rafflecopter and click the green button to tell me you have made a comment, this will unlock all the other options. All entries are checked to see that the mandatory question is answered, if its not all bonus entries will become void. 
• Rafflecopter will tweet, like and follow on your behalf.
• For information on how to find the URL of your tweet click here. 
•  For bonus entries you can return to this page and enter the daily bonus entries. 
• If you are still unsure as to how Rafflecopter works please do check out this short video

Rules:
Competition ends 09/12/2017 2017 12.00 am

This giveaway is open to all readers over 18 who live in the UK

The winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter (which uses random.org) and announced on this page.

The winner will be contacted by e-mail if they win the prize. citrusspiceuk will be sending the prize to the winner and by entering you are **agreeing** to share your address with them to receive the prize.

Their decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. They reserve the right to **substitute** the prize for one of a similar type / value if the prize above is not available.

citrusspiceuk reserve the right to withdraw the competition at any time should any unforeseen circumstances arise.

Instructions form part of the terms and conditions.

All entries will be verified, failure to follow instructions correctly will result in participants being disqualified. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

10 Unique Christmas Gift Ideas

I love celebrations and although I am not a christian, I do enjoy Christmas and all the cheer that goes with it. I enjoy the decorations, planning, gifting and above all a vegetarian Christmas dinner. Christmas to me and my family is an occasion to have family time together, rather than a religious festival. For gifting, I make home made edible gifts such as chutneys, jams, spice mixes and cookies to give that special personal touch and I always try to purchase bespoke and thoughtful gifts that the receiver will appreciate.

Finding unique gifts that are appealing and sustainable is something that I favour. There are many   on line shops where you can buy such gifts and this year I have discovered a fantastic website called UncommonGoods.com that have the most wonderful sustainable Christmas gifts that are sourced from small manufactures and artists. I particularly like the fact that a lot of their gifts are handmade from recycled and organic products by local craftsman. I am delighted that they have now started shipping the items to the UK too and for each sale they make they donate $1 to a non profit organisation which is very commendable.

Browsing through their website there are so many items that I would love to purchase, these are gifts that I have selected for my family and friends. 

For my two daughters I have chosen the following items:

Upcycled Cotton Saree Robe £38.14

This luxurious patchwork robe is made from remnants of reclaimed saris by local women who get the opportunity to create a better standard of living for themselves, their children, and their communities in Rajasthan India. The kimono style robe comes with a tie and is both colourful and practical for lounge wear.

Turkish Inspired Hand Woven Travel Jewellery Roll £15.26

Inspired by the intricate tapestry design on carpets this colourful and eye catching jewellery roll is handmade in Turkey. It is perfect to store and carry all your jewellery safely whilst travelling.

Kantha Arc Bib Necklace £30.52 and Kantha Chandeliers Earrings £16.78

This colourful bib necklace and earrings are handcrafted by women artisans in South India, who receive training, education, and fair wages for their workmanship. The necklaces and earrings are individually made by wrapping saree material around different sized wooden beads and then constructed on a framework of brass beams and wires. 

2-in-1 Vegan Convertible Backpack £73.24

This beautiful 2-in-1 backpack is made from high quality vegan leather. It is bold and stylish but practical too with a diagonal side compartments to hold small items such as keys, tissues, bus passes etc. The bottom section has elastic holders and plastic pockets to hold larger items. The convenient adjustable strap converts the backpack to cross body bucket bag.

There are many more unique gift ideas on the UncommonGoods website so you will be spoilt for choice.

For my food lover sister and best friends, I am confident that they will love to receive these really unusual and unique items.

Nesting Stoneware Mixing Bowl Sets £87.73

These handmade rustic stoneware nesting bowl set with scoop style handles, integrated with the narrow spouts are beautifully crafted and would look great in any kitchen. They are also oven and microwave safe making them perfect as mixing bowls or serving bowls.

Personalised Chopping Board £121

This chopping /serving board is handcrafted from maple wood and can be personalised with any name. It can be used as kitchen top trivet, a chopping board  or can be used as a serving board for cheese or appetisers at the dinner table. It would make a beautiful keepsake gift for any occasion.

Stoneware Fermenting Crock £73.24

This stoneware crock is handcrafted and it is perfect to create your own home made kimchi, pickles, sauerkraut and to turn any fresh vegetables into tangy fermented foods within 1-2 weeks.

It is made from stoneware and is totally dishwasher safe. It comes complete with a heavy duty lid to keep the vegetables submerged during the fermentation.

Buying gifts for men can be rather difficult, but there is a great choice of gifts for men at UncommonGoods too. 

Woven Wine Tote with Glasses £30.51

This quirky hand-woven water hyacinth wine tote basket is the ideal gift for the man in your life. It comes comes complete with 6 glasses and you can add your own favorite bottle of wine to complete the gift.

Black Tea Blending Kit £30.52

For the tea lover there is Black Tea Blending Kit which allows you to make your own mix of tea to suit your taste.You can mix and recreate your own aromatic flavours using the teas included in the kit which are Assam, Keemun, Ceylon, Lapsang Souchong, and Pu’erh black teas; bergamot and lemon peel, lavender buds, and rose petals.

The tea kit will make up to 100 cups of tea. This is a ideal gift for a tea drinker who enjoys experimenting with different infusions.

Salvaged Wood Cookbook & Tablet Stand £45.77

This beautiful folding book/tablet stand is handmade in rural India. It is made from reclaimed rich mango wood and has brass accents. The stand is versatile and adjustable and has built in space for charging cords.

I would absolutely love to have this in my kitchen so I hope my family are reading this post to get a subtle HINT!!!! :)

What is your favorite gift, do you like my choices??? Do share your thoughts in the comments section below.

**This post is in collaboration with UncommonGoods.com

 

Giveaway: Win Martha Stewart Crafter's clay kit

This lovely crafter's clay nature kit by Martha Stewart would be the idea gift for Christmas for a crafter. The kit consists of:

• White, yellow, brown, red and blue crafter's clay
• 2 detailing tools
• 4 silcon molds
• Floral wire
• Floral tape
• Instruction booklet with colour mixing chart.

You can create some lovely clay pieces with the kit to make some brooches, ornaments and flowers.
How to enter:

Simply complete the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries:

• Prize 1 Martha Stewart Crafter's clay kit
• Entries can be via blog comment, Facebook, Twitter etc
• This competition is open to UK residents only over 18 years of age. Please read the rules below .
• Leaving a blog comment is mandatory and failure to do so will void any other entries.
• Closing date -  24th Nov 2017 12 am

How Rafflecopter works:

You will need to complete the mandatory entry first – usually making a blog comment. You can do this by clicking on leave a comment at the bottom of the post and leaving your reply in the comment box.Please note your comment will not show immediately as it needs to be moderated however rest assured it will appear on the site, so carry on with rest of entries.

•  Login to Rafflecopter – click to see what the question is. Make a comment answering the question on the blog.
•  Go back to Rafflecopter and click the green button to tell me you have made a comment, this will unlock all the other options. All entries are checked to see that the mandatory question is answered, if its not all bonus entries will become void. 
• Rafflecopter will tweet, like and follow on your behalf.
• For information on how to find the URL of your tweet click here. 
•  For bonus entries you can return to this page and enter the daily bonus entries. 
• If you are still unsure as to how Rafflecopter works please do check out this short video

Rules:
Competition ends 24/11/2017 2017 12.00 am

This giveaway is open to all readers over 18 who live in the UK

The winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter (which uses random.org) and announced on this page.

The winner will be contacted by e-mail if they win the prize. citrusspiceuk will be sending the prize to the winner and by entering you are **agreeing** to share your address with them to receive the prize.

Their decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. They reserve the right to **substitute** the prize for one of a similar type / value if the prize above is not available.

citrusspiceuk reserve the right to withdraw the competition at any time should any unforeseen circumstances arise.

Instructions form part of the terms and conditions.

All entries will be verified, failure to follow instructions correctly will result in participants being disqualified. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas Crown Tealight Holders ~Bostik Challenge

It is less than 7 weeks to Christmas and by now we should have all started our Christmas preparations in reality. There is so much to do, Christmas lists to make, menus to plan, guest lists to sort out and presents to wrap , tree and  table decorations to choose and make too.

As long as I can remember I have always encouraged my children to be part in all the planning, one aspect that we all loved doing when they were younger is making our own decorations and table settings. I really miss doing this as both my girls are grown up now. However I now have my crafting buddy Miss M to restart this tradition. This month our Bostik Box theme was Christmas so Little M and I made these pretty crown tea light holders for the Christmas table.

To make the crown tealight holders you will need:

1 a4 sheet of glitter card
1 a4  sheet gold card
2 tealights with batteries
1 star punch cutter
Bostik Glue
Pencil
Scissors

How to Make.

1. Measure and draw a rectangle 15 cm x 3 cm on the reverse of the green glitter card.
2. On the top long top edge draw a scalloped edge.
3. Cut the card out, if you have a star punch cut our starts along the cardboard strip using it. If you don't you can draw stars and cut them out free hand.

4. Wrap the strip around the tealight loosely and secure the edges with glue so that it form a tube around the tea light.
4. Using a top of a jar lid that is slightly bigger than your tea light draw around circle on the gold card and cut it out.
5. Stick the prepared tube shape onto the gold card and leave to dry.

6. Once dry, place your tealight inside the holder and put it on.
7. Repeat for as many tealight holders that you require.

This craft is suitable for young children although, adult supervision may be required for using scissors.

If you like this project check the link below for more art and craft projects, that you can do with your children.

Kids Arts and Craft Videos
Kids Arts and Crafts Projects

Being part of the Bostik 2017 bloggers with Tots100 and Merrily Crafts, I was sent some craft items in a box to create this project.