On Instagram in December

Wow, how quickly did December go by? For me it was a whirl wind of work, Christmas dos and tinsel! Unfortunately I wasn't very well over Christmas, but it was still good fun and lovely to catch up with friends and family. In 2015 I aim to be more organised, so I'm hoping next Christmas can be taken a little easier! I hope you all had a great time. Here's what I got up to in December through my Instagram photos...

Every December Mr Writer and I try our hand at making Eggnog. We haven't managed to get it quite right yet, but our December 2014 attempt was a vast improvement on the year before! Still a bit on the thick side but what's not to like about drinking custard?! 

I love all the decorations at Christmas, I always feel sad when they have to come down. I'm thinking of knitting some Fair Isle decorations for next Christmas

I really enjoyed making my DIY Crafted Christmas Tree Jumper for a How To and happily spent the afternoon stitching and munching Toblerone. It was Christmas after all!

For Mr Writer's works Christmas Do I set myself a style challenge. I didn't want to buy anything new from a shop, so my dress and shoes were from Ebay, my bag is vintage, my jacket is my favourite that I already had from People Tree and I made a Swarovski Crystal and Freshwater Pearl necklace. I'm calling these "Half Moon Necklaces" and I'm going to make some to add to my Etsy shop in time for Valentines day

My new lunch boxes from ASOS are just so cute, I had to take a snap! I may be nearly 30 but that doesn't mean lunch times have to be dull..!

Lovely Nelson cat. He's had a cosy Christmas with a new bed and scratching post!

Lunch with Mr Writer at my favourite cafe in town

A friend sent me a Pin for this great Reindeer hair idea, so this is how I wore my hair to work on Christmas Eve!

Catching up with friends at our favourite pub

Mr Writer bought me a new camera for Christmas, which was a lovely surprise. I was planning to buy a new camera in the new year so it was a complete surprise- I nearly cried when I opened it! I'm now learning how to use it so I'll share that with you in the coming weeks

We celebrated new year with a meal at home and I made my first Roulade. My sister has to follow a gluten free diet so it was an ideal dessert as it's flour-less ( but still really yummy!)

What did you get up to in December?

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and looking forward to getting stuck into January!

Thank you and wishing you a very Happy New Year

Wow, Happy New Year! Hands up if 2014 flew by for you too!

What a year it's been...

Exhibiting at The Renegade Craft Fair

My work was featured in Green Craft Magazine

I launched a Fair Isle jewellery collection

I added extra colours to my Harris Tweed collection

How Tos are now a regular blog feature

My big goal for the year was to really develop the Make Do and Mend/Recycling ethos of the blog and I'm now using British made materials alongside too.

I'm so enjoying working on the blog, thank you for reading! I'm having a bit of a blog revamp in early 2015 and I've got lots of craftyness planned to share with you throughout the year, so lots to look forward to coming up!

Wishing you all a happy, healthy and crafty 2015, here's to making it a great year!

Louise Dawson Design Published in Green Craft Magazine!

Before I sign off for a blogging break over Christmas, I have some exciting news to share with you... 

Early in 2014 the lovely Editor of Green Craft Magazine, Devon Warren, got in touch to ask if I'd like to write an article about my work to appear in the magazine and I'm chuffed that it has now been published! 

Green Craft Magazine is an American magazine showcasing the work of artists and designers who use up-cycled and re-purposed items in their work. In my article I explain why I choose to create jewellery using up-cycled materials, particularly Harris Tweed, alongside some great images of my work that the magazine shot. 

I'm delighted to be featured alongside many inspiring artists and designers I'd like to say a big thank you to Devon and all the team at the magazine for making one of my big goals possible. I'm so happy to have my work in print!

Here are some peaks at the article, "Crafting Slow Fashion with Recycled Materials."

I'm having a short break from the blog over Christmas but I will be back before the new year to share some new year plans. I have lots to share with you in 2015!

Thank you for your support as I continue to grow this blog. I'm grateful to everyone who reads, follows and comments and supports behind the scenes- without you I wouldn't be able to do this. Wishing you all a very happy, creative Christmas

DIY Crafted Christmas Tree Jumper How To!

This week I've made a DIY Crafted Christmas Tree Jumper! Everyone at work at my day job has started wearing their Christmas jumpers and I don't have one, so I thought I make a customised version!

It was really fun and thrifty make. All you need to make the Christmas tree design is a handful of green buttons, a few brown buttons for the trunk, a star button or gem and some red and gold bead string trimmings. This is a good way to use up odd buttons from your button tin, or an inexpensive bag of mixed buttons from a craft store and the trimmings could be recycled from gift wrap decorations. 

Grab yourself an old jumper, a needle and thread, put on some Christmas music and get crafting! (Add Mince Pies and it would make the ultimate festive afternoon!)

Starting with the top of the tree, stitch the green buttons on in rows. Leave a small gap between each row of buttons so there is space to add the bead trimming later on. I found that it helped to lay out the button design on the jumper first and take a photo, so I had a plan for the design

Add an extra button on each row, eg. row 1 has 1 button, row 2 has 2 buttons, row 3 has 3 buttons, etc

Continue adding rows of buttons until your tree is the size you would like. My tree has 7 rows of buttons

Stitch rows of brown buttons to create the tree trunk

Now the tree is complete, dress your tree with the bead trimming! Stitch it in between the rows of buttons, securing it every few centimetres with a few over stitches between the beads. 

Finally, stitch your star button or gem to the top of the tree!

So there you have it, a very unique and thrifty Christmas jumper that you can wear every festive season! If you make one I'd love to see! Happy making 

Handmade Christmas Gift Ideas

If you'd like to give some handmade gifts this Christmas it's not too late to get making! Here are three simple How Tos that would make lovely gifts and each of which you could make in an afternoon. Happy making!

Fabric Wrapped Bangles

Great to give as gifts and you could make them in the recipients favourite colour!

Coasters made using old CDs and Lace

A set of these unique coasters would make a great gift for a tea or coffee lover

Coconut Macaroons with three variations

Wrap these in cellophane and tie with festive ribbons to give as a yummy gift (if you can resist eating them yourself!)

Last Christmas Posting Dates, a Christmas Sale and New Year Plans!

Hi all, I just wanted to let you know that the last posting date for UK orders is Thursday 18th December and if you would like to place an order for a Christmas gift or as a treat to yourself, I am having a Christmas sale and offering 25% off all orders in my Etsy Shop until 17th December! Use the code CHRISTMAS2014 at the checkout for 25% off your order!

I'm looking forward to getting stuck into new projects in the new year- I've got lots planned that I'm looking forward to sharing with you, including a fresh new look for the blog!

Handmade Christmas gift idea: Earl Grey and Ginger Shortbread Recipe

I don't know about you but I love shortbread and it's a great handmade gift idea for Christmas. I may have mentioned a few times that I love Earl Grey tea and it was while enjoying a cup recently with a piece of shortbread I thought up the idea of combining the two! Mr Writer suggested adding the stem ginger for a Christmassy flavour. The Earl Grey flavour is subtle but you could leave it out if Earl Grey isn't for you. Enjoy!

I'm all ready for Santa!

Makes 8 pieces 

Ingredients:

150g Plain Flour

100g Butter cut into small cubes

50g Caster Sugar and a little extra for sprinkling

4 balls of Stem Ginger chopped into chunky pieces

4 Earl Grey tea bags- tea removed from tea bags

Method:

Pre-heat oven to 190 degrees

1) Sift the flour into a large bowl and add the butter and sugar

2) Rub the butter into the flour and sugar until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs

3)Stir the ginger and Earl Grey tea through the mix

4) Bring the mixture together as a dough and add to a greased 8" round tin. Press the mixture down with the back of a spoon, ensuring an even layer. Sprinkle with caster sugar and lightly score slices with a knife

5) Bake at 190 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden

6) Leave the shortbread to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then slice, remove from the tin and leave to cool completely

These biscuits look lovely as gifts wrapped in cellophane and tied with ribbon. Make some for yourself too, they are really moreish!