Thrifty Christmas Tuesday -Week 5

Welcome to this week's Thrifty Christmas Tuesday post.

There's only 32 days until Christmas. It's getting scary. And I didn't get that much done this week so Im feeling like I'm really up against it. Some people in my extended family really wouldnt appreciate handmade or thifted gifts so I'm running out of ideas and will have to hit the shops soon.

This week I went online shopping for one gift...Miss P is getting her favourite perfume at 60% off. 

I managed to put together this quilt top for my mother in law. At this point a Christmas finish does seem a little unlikely...but you never know what you can achieve until you push yourself right?

Thankfully her birthday is in January so I have a back up plan.

I'm op shopping with Miss P on Friday so hopefully I'll have some finds to post next week. I have a list!  

So what have you been up to with your thrifty Christmas plans this week?

Thrifty Christmas Tuesday -Week 3 and 4

I just realised I should probably be counting down to Christmas not up...Apparently it's 38 days before the big day. That's just over 5 weeks so it's probably time to get a wriggle on with your thrifty/ homemade gifts. Still plenty of time. So this little linky party is hosted by Larri at Seams Inspired. If you want to get some craft on pop over and see what others have been getting up to !

I didn't post last week because we were busy helping Miss P move into her own place. I know it's wicked but I'm still doing the happy dance. So here's what has occured in the last two weeks.

The table runner finally has binding. Sort of. I still need to sew the back of the binding down. I'm showing it now because it may be a case of super gluing this down Christmas Eve.

I made coasters to go with the table runner. And I still need to sew them shut. But you get the idea right?  This could be a last minute jobby too the way things are looking here. I wish you could use a staple gun on all crafty pursuits. I love my staple gun.

We bought Little P this electric train from  an op shop.  The cogs in the wheels were broken so it didnt move on it's own. It still tooted and did all the other annoying train noises .  Mr. P called the manufacturer , flung off a photo of the cogs we needed via email  and  for the price of postage the cogs arrived and were inserted. It works just like a brand new one for 20% of the price. Thrifty indeed!

I made Miss P a diary cover when I whipped one up for myself on the weekend

And I finally managed to make a bag that didn't lose the handles when I turned it right side out. There is hope for me yet.

The inside is pretty too!

So that's my Mum taken care of, my sister partially done, something for Miss P , and Little P completely finished. Naturally I'm saving the biggest and hardest projects till last. How are you all  doing with your Christmas preparations?

Thrifty Christmas Challenge

Larri at Seams Inspired wrote this post last week, which was in a  similar vein to my handmade Christmas vow.  If you want to be part of a thrifty Christmas you can join in too because Larri is going to have a page on her blog where you can showcase your fabulous finds/ creations. You might just do one or two handmade gifts, and want to show them off. I'm so excited by this idea and can't wait to participate.

Since I'm planning to work on some handmade/thrifted  presents this year , I was wondering how I'd show you all my glorious progress without family finding out my plans because Miss Pyjamas, Sister of Pyjamas and Patty (Mother of Pyjamas ) read my blog. Problem solved. I've created a second blog just for Christmas. Patty and SOP you can't go over there. SAJ you have to stay away too. Ditto Miss P- and  anyone I work with. Little P if you're reading this post - I'm inclined to tell you that it's not for your eyes either, but frankly if you're able to read this post you're a child prodigy at 15 months of age  and you can do what you like.

I'll post here when I have a post there which at this stage will be on Thrifty Christmas Tuesday.  You'll be able to find me here. I hope you'll stop by.  Unless you're family ..or a friend...or someone I work with. You can stay away.

Thrifty Christmas Tuesday

Larri at Seams Inspired has come up with a brilliant idea for Christmas 2010. The Thrifty Christmas Challenge . You can read all about it here ...

And she has a page where you can link to your blog posts and show off your finds/ creations here . Feel free to play along!

The deal was I opened my big mouth and said I wanted to do some handmade gifts for Christmas. In public. On my blog. I am an idiot.  It snowballed when Larri said she was doing Thrifty Christmas. I said "What a great idea" In public . On her blog.   I am an idiot. Just kidding. I'm really excited about this idea.

By that time I was committed to the concept, so   I created this  blog because I don't want family and friends snooping round looking  at what I'm up to. My family are sneaky that way. My friends are even sneakier.

So here are my rules:

• I'll try to make , thrift and use whatever I have wherever I can.
• I want the gifts to be meaningful for the recipients so I can't  buy/make any old trash. Bugger. This is going to be hard. Kidding!  
• I have a budget and I have to stick to it. I can buy supplies to make my creations or I can buy presents outright.
• Augmenting or embellishing gifts  with additonal purchases is OK as long as the budget isn't exceeded.
• I can re-gift , recycle or use things I already have stashed and it doesn't count towards the budget limit.
• I will not make my Dad a tie for Christmas. Or an apron for my sister.

This week I'm showcasing Little P's presents  ...most of which you will have already seen.

Love U Quilt - Handmade from Stash (by Quilting in My Pyjamas)

Marvin the Monster- Handmade (by Kris of Life at Rosemary Hill )

Car Playmat - a garage sale find a year ago. Meets the thrifty criteria.

Crayon Roll  (handmade by moi)

I'm planning to make another one of these and fill it with pencils. And I bought some art paper so Little P can scribble to his hearts content . At his place. Not on my white floors. Yeah I'm the world's worst Bella. I'm waiting till he moves out then I'm going to buy him litres of poster paint. That stuff never washes out despite what they say on the container.

Anyway , I'm still under budget , and appear to be batting 100% so far!

Happy Thrifty Christmas Tuesday for this week.