Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Wednesday Shopping Wisdom --http://www.freeholidaygiftreview.com

Here's some words of wisdom to consider when shopping for presents this year,
courtesy of FreeHolidayGift Review.com:



Top 10 things to consider when purchasing a gift for someone.
 
#10-  The gender for whom you are purchasing the gift. 
Although this could be a non-issue, it most likely is not.
#9-  The chronological age for whom you are purchasing the gift.
So this refers to what their actual age is.  You%u2019re certainly not going to purchase the same thing for someone who is 50 as opposed to 15 (unless it is golf balls or similar nature)  So this requires a little thinking.
#8-   The mental age of whom you are purchasing the gift.
This refers to how young they feel at heart.  Again, let's be considering the person's age but be cautious of purchasing items TOO young or TOO old for what the person FEELS like they are.
#7-  The occasion for which you are purchasing the gift.
Are you purchasing something for a birthday, Christmas or say, VALENTINE'S DAY?  These will all have different angles from which to make your purchase.
#6-  Have you purchased for them before?
Is this a first purchase because they're a new boy/girl friend?  If so, be careful to not say the 'wrong' thing by purchasing something too 'cheap'.
#5-  How well did that previous purchase go?
Did your last purchase make a good impression?  Or do you need to 'make up' for your last purchase?  (talking to the guys here)
#4-  How much money do you have to spend?
Maybe this should be slightly higher in the rank but non-the-less, it does come into play in what you%u2019re going to purchase.
#3-  Their relation to you.
Are we talking about a friend?  A close friend?  Brother/Sister? Wife/Husband?  You get the picture.  Make sure you're thinking about this!
#2-  What do you want this gift to 'say' to them?
This could be a trade-off with #1.  If you're merely saying 'I like you' then keep that in mind.  If you're trying to say 'I REALLY like you', then obviously that changes things up a bit.  Now if you're wanting to say 'I love you,' well then, you'd better step up to the plate and hit one out of the park!
#1-  Do you want them to remember this gift forever?
This could go a lot of different directions in terms of them remembering forever.  You could step off the cliff face and be remembered for something permanently going to 'leave a mark'!  Or you could do something crazy like a 'gag' that would be remembered forever.  Now going this route could still be 'stepping off a cliff' b
you have to determine that yourself. 
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Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Tuesday Tutorial -- Scandinavian Reindeer

 This is a wonderful Christmas Craft that you could begin making now to help get you in the Christmas spirit.  This is a textile craft and I think every child on your list would love to have their very own reindeer to cuddle while they wait for Santa to arrive, don't you?  Who knows, you could make a few just for yourself to cuddle too.

This craft can be found here along with many, many other wonderful crafts.  Please visit the site and try some of them out.  Let me know what you make and how it turns out, won't you?

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Adults and children alike will be unable to resist the charm of this soft toy—you just want to pick it up and squeeze it! The embroidered decoration is a simple back stitch. You can change the size of the toy by enlarging or reducing the size of the templates, but do not make it too small as the antlers will be difficult to turn out.
 

Taken from Scandinavian Needlecraft by Clare Youngs, photography by Carolyn Barber and illustration by Kate Simunek, published by CICO Books. Text copyright Clare Youngs. Images copyright CICO Books.
  • Step 1

    Enlarge the reindeer templates by 200 percent, transfer onto the boiled wool fabric, and cut out.

  • Step 2

    Using dressmaker’s carbon paper, transfer the embroidery pattern onto the white felt semicircles. Embroider the motif in back stitch and French knots, alternating between pink and orange as shown in the photo, below, and using three strands of floss (cotton). For the reindeer’s eyes, work three orange French knots close together, using all six strands of floss (cotton).

  • Step 3

    With right sides together, pin one felt semicircle to each body piece, easing the fabric around the curve. Baste (tack) and machine stitch.

    • Step 4
    • Step 4
      With right sides together, pin and machine stitch one hoof section to the bottom of each inner leg piece.

    • Step 5

      Step 5
      With right sides together, pin and machine stitch one hoof section to the bottom of each leg on the two body pieces.

    • Step 6

      Step 6
      With right sides together, pin and machine stitch the inner legs to the two body pieces along the side and bottom edges.

      • Step 7

        Step 7
        With right sides together, pin the underbelly to the two body pieces, taking care at each end to finish the stitching in a point. Baste (tack) and machine stitch, leaving a gap in the seam at the top of one of the front legs to turn the reindeer right side out.

      • Step 8

        Step 8
        Starting where the inner legs join the body, pin and machine stitch the front and back together. Match up the line of stitching and carry on around, taking particular care on the curves of the antlers.

      • Step 9

        Starting with the antlers, turn the reindeer right side out. Use the handle of a long, thin paintbrush to help ease the tips of the antlers out. Stuff the toy, using the paintbrush handle to get the stuffing right up to the ends of the antlers and taking care to keep the stuffing firm at the top of the legs.

      • Step 10

      Turn under the raw edges at the gap in the front leg seam and slipstitch the gap closed.
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