Anyone else making things for Christmas fairs?

Oh you clever people, what fun you must have. I am lacking in creativity and craft skills and my only contributions are knitting and baking a chocolate log, biscuits or shortbread.

Just a heads up for anybody using Epsom salts - we used to get them from Boots but they are half the price in B&M and Aldi.

An orange pomander is popular too.
One orange tied around with ribbon to separate into quarters and also provide a hanging loop, then push cloves closely - i.e. touching - into the orange to cover the exposed quarters. Use a needle to pierce a hole first if the peel is hard.
Your hands smell wonderful when you have finished.

Ferrero Rocher hats?? Never heard of anything so daft. Make some marmalade or jam that always goes down well. You can buy "mamade" from any supermarket and it's so easy to make only a fool could go wrong. If you can read you can make it!!!

Here's a recipe
for Scandanavian Dough which dries hard, like porcelain and can be cut out with cookie cutters and baked until hard (about an hour I think). don't forget to put a small hole in if you want to hang them. All you need is some nice ribbon. You can decorate them with 'Sharpies" felt tips if you're creative.
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup cornflour
3/4 cup of warm water

As a Crafter I have already got things under way for the Christmas Fayres I am doing. I try not to work inside in the summer when it is lovely in the garden so it is busy now.
I have also been asked to go to local Brownies group to do a craft session with them. I am currently trying to think of easy things I can do with them in the time allowed. Not so easy.

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201809/medium-742045-set-of-3-b.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201809/medium-645682-full-set.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201809/medium-634776-nativity-rustics.jpg

Last year I made Christmas tree decorations using wooden dolly pegs: angels, fairies, Santa, Nutcracker soldiers, snowmen, holy family etc. Also Nativity sets. They sold like hot cakes at our village Fair and are a great way to use up small pieces of surplus fabric. Cinnamon stick bundles tied with ribbons and decorated with fresh greenery are also popular and smell wonderful in the house. Gingerbread men are always popular with children. Or how about small advent stockings. I love making things for Christmas. Have fun!

craftycat how about circle weaving on cardboard circles. Cereal box sides works well. you can have them cut ready for the craft session. Plus wool in small quantities in little balls.
Cut slits into the circle all around it and weave in and out of them. Can look quite effective. Pretty sure details and pictures are on yahoo.

One item I bought years ago at fair was a fridge magnet, a small photo holder one. It had DS's tiny school pic in and someone used gold pen to write Happy Father's Day on. I changed the pic later. Not sure how cost efficient it was. Prep school so parents happy to cough up. I was on PTA of other son's special school. Hard work!!

The Early early Christmas Fair takes place at Tedworth House, Tidworth (home of Help for Heroes) this week!! If you live in the area, go along and support them

Happysexagenarian, those peg dolls are stunning, is there a pattern or some instruction somewhere?

B9Exchange Thank you! I didn't have a pattern I just worked them out as I went along. They were really easy to do, just wrapping pieces of fabric and stitching or gluing it in place and adding bits of trimming. But I think I have seen instructions for similar dolls on Pinterest. Children enjoy making them as well, especially the fairies, so DIY kits with pegs, fabric and trimmings and simple instructions could also be an idea for fairs.

How about little knitted place holders for knife/spoon/fork(santa/snowmen?) for christmas dinner table?Ive recently got big knitting needles&ive begun a patchwork quilt with extra chunky wool- might take some time....also was a ploy to 'relax' me,in a bid to lower my blood pressure-but think its having the opposite effect...

Never heard of circle weaving but i do same kind of thing when i make pompoms! But i tie around centre of cut wool before pulling off cardboard,pull tight&voila! a lovely fluffy pompom to decorate the tree or to trim gifts!

Thank you shysal,ill try the chocolate orange cover as my daughter (now 26)traditionally receives a terrys choc orange from me every year

Happy, do admire your handiwork,

If you're still looking for a pattern for those 'hats', here's a link: www.theshakespearehospice.org.uk/Content/uploads/files/Christmas%20Knitting%20Patterns%20for%20website.pdf

Found one on clever google Auntiflo !!

Was searching for a pattern. Here is a link to one for a choclate orange and I suppose thinner yarn + smaller needles could get it downsized considerably.
mariannaslazydaisydays.blogspot.com/2016/11/chocolate-orange-covers-christmas.html

Not sure if anyone has actually supplied a tiny pattern link yet... will check it out later.

Billybob Thank you very much I always seem to be making something! I'm not doing the village fair this year, but currently making 3-dimensional Christmas stockings for GC. I hope to finish five of them but may have bitten off a bit more than I can chew!

For anyone interested in making Peg Doll characters I found a simple tutorial for Fairies/Angels here:
www.redtedart.com/pom-pom-dolly-peg-fairies/?cn-reloaded=1
It could easily adapt to other characters.

I am working every day to produce items for a Christmas fair I am taking part in, in November. At the moment I am working on lavender bags, and I want to make little needle cases. (DH says these things are too old fashioned and no-one will want them, but I'm making them anyway).

Antonia We live a few miles from a lavender farm and their lavender bags are one of their most popular lines with visitors.

I also made needle cases for a fair a couple of years ago and a number of people pounced on them, saying that they are hard to find. I made them with holders for a small pair of scissors and needle threader as well as they are things that I would need to use with needles. Good luck with your fair.

Just found a knitting pattern via google for a mug cosy, think I will give that a go.

Thank you Happysexagenarian! I have seen the lavender farm on the internet ( trying to source dried lavender flowers) but unfortunately it is miles from where I live. Had to resort to buying it online. I do agree that needle cases are hard to find, but wonder if that's because people don't use them much. Anyway, we will see!

These knitted-across wrist warmers/fingerless gloves are quick and easy and very popular - in my family anyway - make them more exciting by knitting in variegated wool. I knitted them one year in sparkly wool for the teenage girls in our family:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvNWmpW9DOw