Cold hands, warm heart - making my own Christmas traditions
Every year for as long as I can remember I've made my own Christmas cards. It started with a pure love of creating, making a memento with love that people might cherish. Some years I have planned my cards meticulously and other years they've been a bit of a last minute rush but every year I've managed to send something made at at home (or more often on the train). There have been times when I've wondered whether I've bitten off more than I can chew and have almost to succumbed to not bothering at all but then a phone call from a long distant friend comes out of the blue to say that the arrival of my homemade card has become a tradition for them and they look forward to the latest arrival...how can I then disappoint?
Homemade does not necessarily mean cheap and some years the costs of paper, glue and other items have mounted up to costs I would be embarrassed to admit, particularly when postal costs have not been factored in the initial design. It's quite surprising what you have to consider for a homemade card but that is part of the challenge. This year, partly in response to the endless waste us humans seem to produce and also because of a need to save cash for other projects, I set myself the task of a zero waste and zero cost card, a 'card' that can be used again.
In a pile of unfinished knitting projects I found some brightly coloured Latvian wool I had used for a pair of traditional Latvian mittens. Frogging the unfinished mittens to rescue the yarn set me thinking about using the jewel bright colours in a different way and the seeds of my project were sown. A search on Ravelry found this simple free pattern for some mini mittens by Amanda Berry, a perfectly quick knit for my commute to work. A few weeks of train journeys later and I had a little pile of woolly mittens, each embroidered with a contrasting star. A tiny crochet loop meant that the finished mitten could be hung on a Christmas tree and hopefully saved and cherished for years to come.
Again trying to save on costs and re-use what I had, I hand printed a well known phrase on small strips of card, using simple wooden printing blocks. 'Cold hands, warm heart' seemed the perfect message for a seasonal token and fitted my theme well. I contrasted black and red inks to emphasise the word 'heart' to add a little more interest.
Envelopes were a pile of unused wage packets made from recycled paper and stamps were salvaged from an existing stash, so for perhaps the first time in a number of years I can truly say these cost me nothing but time. They are all in the post now and already someone has commented on their Christmassy surprise. I hope they are liked, they are made with love.
Homemade does not necessarily mean cheap and some years the costs of paper, glue and other items have mounted up to costs I would be embarrassed to admit, particularly when postal costs have not been factored in the initial design. It's quite surprising what you have to consider for a homemade card but that is part of the challenge. This year, partly in response to the endless waste us humans seem to produce and also because of a need to save cash for other projects, I set myself the task of a zero waste and zero cost card, a 'card' that can be used again.
In a pile of unfinished knitting projects I found some brightly coloured Latvian wool I had used for a pair of traditional Latvian mittens. Frogging the unfinished mittens to rescue the yarn set me thinking about using the jewel bright colours in a different way and the seeds of my project were sown. A search on Ravelry found this simple free pattern for some mini mittens by Amanda Berry, a perfectly quick knit for my commute to work. A few weeks of train journeys later and I had a little pile of woolly mittens, each embroidered with a contrasting star. A tiny crochet loop meant that the finished mitten could be hung on a Christmas tree and hopefully saved and cherished for years to come.
Again trying to save on costs and re-use what I had, I hand printed a well known phrase on small strips of card, using simple wooden printing blocks. 'Cold hands, warm heart' seemed the perfect message for a seasonal token and fitted my theme well. I contrasted black and red inks to emphasise the word 'heart' to add a little more interest.
Envelopes were a pile of unused wage packets made from recycled paper and stamps were salvaged from an existing stash, so for perhaps the first time in a number of years I can truly say these cost me nothing but time. They are all in the post now and already someone has commented on their Christmassy surprise. I hope they are liked, they are made with love.
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