I don't celebrate Christmas, but I do love this time of year. Everybody gets festive, the twinkling Christmas lights come out and the snow starts to fall (unless you're in South Africa, where Christmases are spent around the swimming pool).

It's also a good opportunity to buy things that you've spent the year saving up for. We don't buy "big things" very often (except craft things, and they don't count - right?) so if there's something you've had in mind for a while, it's a good time of year to look out for it because it's likely to be on sale. I've never seen anything quite like the Christmas buying frenzy you get in the UK - people really do camp outside shops here, they buy things online en masse, and they flock to the shops like mobile sardines in a great big shopping mall can.

And so, we come to the (ahem) problem of Christmas gifts for those members of our family who do celebrate Christmas. This year, like most, we're going hand-made. Maybe it's just my experience of Christmas here in the UK, or maybe it's universal: Christmas gifts pile up and becoming an overwhelming collection of things that you really don't need. Wouldn't it be nice to receive things that you want? Things that somebody cared about, and lovingly put together through hours of effort? We've carefully chosen some things we're going to make together (he volunteered, I didn't say anything) and some other things we're going to buy (mostly for the kids) but I'm still on the lookout for small "stocking fillers" that we can add to the gifts to make them extra nice.

Aside from some sewn gifts like pouches and other goodies, I've also spied a few other crafts that I really quite like. Thanks to the magic of the internet, inspiration strikes when you'd least expect it - and is swiftly followed by a "now why didn't I think of that?" moment. Here are some of my favourite stocking fillers from this year's crafty internet inspiration hunt.

1. Bakerella's Cowgirl Cookies



4. Shrimp Salad Circus's Wooden Buttons


I have a thing for wood buttons. I seem to buy a lot of them from here and they seem to make their way onto almost all of my knitted items. Shrimp Salad Circus (aka Lindsay) wrote up a tutorial on how to make them. It's not rocket science, but I wasn't sure how to finish them off to make them safe for washing, so it's really handy! I'd definitely sand them down a bit better so they don't catch on the yarn or other fabrics. This may not make it on the Christmas Makes list, but it's definitely on my To Do List for the new year. I suppose we'll see...

5. Hair clips for little girls (and big ones too)



I'm suddenly surrounded by lots of little girls (and some big ones too) who need pretty things in their Christmas stockings. I found some great images for inspiration on Pinterest, so here's a quick round-up of my favourite ones (which translates to: easiest ones to make).

My new sewing machine is lovely.

It is neat, and white, and still very clean. It currently sits on our dining room table which has now been dubbed "my sewing spot". The mister is being very patient and very lovely, and has even vacuumed up the bits of cotton that have magically found their way to the floor.
And so, I've been merrily sewing along to the tunes of various online tutorials and I happened upon this: a tutorial for an apple-shaped pincushion from Mollie Makes (their picture, below) and designer Jenny Dixon.














Aren't they sweet?

I made the smaller one on the right using scraps of pink and purple fabrics.

















In my enthusiasm I replaced the felt leaf with a fabric one (I just so happened to have a leaf-shaped piece of green fabric nearby which I sewed up and embroided with a running stitch) and I omitted the stalk because the button was a lot nicer. Also, I didn't have any brown felt or fabric.

So, this tutorial is easy peasy and can be found online at the Guardian. It was originally a tutorial from Mollie Makes magazine, and the templates can be found here.

The idea is to take six apple pieces (fabric pieces cut from a template and stiffened with interfacing) and sew them side to side to create a bauble with pointy bits. Then, you close up the bottom, stuff the apple, and sew the top closed. You add a button and sew through to the bottom to give it that pinched, gathered, apple look. Add a leaf and a stalk, and you're done. Or, sew up a leaf, ignore the stalk and add a bigger button. Mm, buttons.

It's so small, it's no wonder the picture above shows someone with a whole handful of them! It lives on top of my sewing machine (for now) and stores my hand-sewing needles. I think that apples like this should be made of out sensible apple colours and, while the pinks and purples are really quite sweet, they're possibly too feminine and not enough evil stepmother for my liking.