I love this Newcastle upon Tyne map print by Louise from ThePersonalisedMapCo – it’s the kind of thing that would look great anywhere!

As would this Angel of the North art print by Ellie from RebelTreeCo, and I think the photo on the shape of the Angel is really effective.

One of the things that I love about shopping with small businesses is that you can find really unique things, like this limited edition print by Heather from PeacockandPrintmaker – the colours are gorgeous!

Now let’s look at some jewellery from very talented North East makers. First up is Helen from cuberootjewellery, who creates the most beautiful pieces. This lotus flower ring is made from eco silver:

Or how about this beautiful cuff bracelet made by Geoff and Sky from RuneCastCopper?

And for North East folk, you could wear your love of the Angel of the North with these lovely earrings by Anke from Saynie, which also come with a matching pendant:

If you’re looking for beautifully handmade clothing that is a bit extra special, then you’ll love ScoutandRae. Hannah’s simple pieces are timeless classics, and this denim overshirt/jacket is made from organic denim.

Treat yourself to something just for you! How about one of these fantastic yellow waxed canvas washbags? They are screenprinted on organic cotton and stitched by Alison from CIREonEtsy.

Let’s not forget the little people – here are some lovely ideas for Christmas gifts for kids! How sweet is this fingerprint keepsake hedgehog print by LittleFlowersBySligo? It is such a lovely heirloom gift designed by Rachael.

And finally, I am completely in love with these first year wardrobe dividers by Ebony from Dottyblack – not only are they beautiful but they are so useful for sorting out a baby’s wardrobe, and would actually make a fantastic gift all year round!

Well, I think it’s time to get some Christmas shopping done, don’t you?! I’m going to make a cuppa and get started – in fact this mug designed by Ashleigh from AshleighBrownStudio is just what I need. So cute!

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my Newcastle Etsy Team Christmas gift guide. Some of these sellers and many more (including me!) will be at our #EtsyMadeLocal events this weekend and we would LOVE to see you there! If you’re not Newcastle-based, you can find your local Etsy event here.

And if you still need more inspiration, you can find all of Etsy’s holiday gift guides here. Thank you for supporting indie crafters, artists and makers!

The small print

This post has been written for the Etsy Affiliates programme.  All photographs are the copyright of the Etsy shop owners, except for the main post graphic which is my adaptation of the Newcastle Etsy Team logo. Please refer to my Privacy Policy if you need more information. Thank you, and Merry Christmas!

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There are some lovely felt Christmas decorations in this month’s edition of Mollie Makes magazine, and I just had to have a go at making them! They have been designed by Samantha Stas, and she has decorated them in a fabulous retro style. Samantha stitches hers on a sewing machine but I decided to do mine by hand – mainly because my sewing machine was hidden away when we had the boiler fitted this week! I love hand sewing anyway, so you can choose what you prefer to do. I chose some red and green felt and some lovely ribbons and threads to make them:

I decided to use the templates (which you can download here) and then do my own thing with the design. On this green bauble I sewed some gold strands in star shapes and some red beads to decorate (probably not the technical names, but you’ll see what I mean in the photo!).

Next, I cut out some wadding to the size of the bauble shape and a length of ribbon to hang it up with. Pin the front and back bauble shapes and wadding together and stitch with a small running stitch.

The last thing to stitch to the bauble is the top felt topper pieces.

Ta-dah! There are so many different ways that you could embellish these decorations, and there are even lots of other shapes on the templates for you to try. Just remember that this project cannot be sold without permission, but they will make great gifts! I’ve made some other designs but can’t show you yet…you’ll have to wait until they have been given to my friends!

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So it’s that time of year where you start thinking about Christmas presents. More specifically, what can you make for presents this year?! A friend at work brought in some elderberries from his garden, and after a quick google search I found this recipe for some elderberry liqueur. I don’t really drink (except for the odd amaretto and cranberry, or a splash of amaretto in hot chocolate) but really fancied having a go at this, and thought it might be a good Christmas gift idea. Not that I’ve ever had an elderberry, so I don’t know what they taste like! According to the recipe I found on Hunter Gardener Angler Cook, it should be a bit like port wine. You need to make sure that when you pick the berries you don’t include any of the storks, as they are slightly toxic apparently. Here goes…

Ingredients

1 pint fresh elderberries (this worked out at 567g/20oz)
1 litre vodka
3 one-inch pieces of lemon rind, white pith removed
Sugar

1. Put elderberries into a large Mason jar and pour over the vodka.

2. Add the lemon rind (make sure the rind has no white pith, as it is bitter.) Seal and put in a dark cupboard for at least a month, or up to 6 months.

3. The alcohol will extract flavor from the elderberries over time, so the longer you let it sit, the inkier it will get.

4. When it is the colour you want – anything from a Pinot Noir color to downright black — pour the vodka through a strainer lined with cheesecloth into another jar and add sugar.

5. How much sugar? At least 1/4 cup, but to your taste; I go with 1/3 cup. Shake to combine and put back in the cupboard.
After a few days or weeks, the sugar will completely dissolve and the elderberry liqueur is ready to drink. It keeps forever.

So I’m currently at step 2 – it’s in my cupboard, doing its thing. Will keep you updated when I add the sugar!

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We bought a spice rack several months ago with the intention of finding some little jars and making our own labels for them. As is often the case, we start off with good intentions but then life gets in the way and more important tasks come along! It was also delayed because we found some jars but then made the mistake of not buying the at the time (I think we weren’t in a position to carry them home safely), and then typically they weren’t there when we went back! Making these labels for the jars is a nice and easy craft project that you could easily complete on a week night. I decided to use the stamps that I used for our wedding invitations, which came from Pretty M on Etsy. I think this would make a lovely Christmas gift, or perhaps a wedding gift (we did something similar a couple of years ago and our friends were really pleased with it!).

If you want to have a go, you will need:

A spice rack, and as many air-tight jars as it will fit
Some pretty patterned papers
Some plain coloured paper
A glue stick
Some alphabet rubber stamps and ink pad (or a nice pen if you’d prefer to write the labels)
Some sticky-back plastic
A pencil and ruler

I started off by selecting the papers to use for the jars. I decided to use these lovely designs from the Victoria and Albert Museum, which actually came in a pack of scrapbooking paper from WHSmith (a long time ago – not sure if they still stock them!).

Then I stamped the names of the herbs and spices on some cream paper with pink ink, and cut out a 5 x 4cm piece of the pretty paper.

Just for ease, I glued the paper lightly together, and then stuck the whole thing onto the jar with a bit of pritt stick. This is to make sure that it stays in place when being covered with sticky-back plastic – this will keep it water tight.

When moving on to the next label, it’s a good idea to line the jars up to make sure that the labels are even!

The last thing to do is to fill up your jars and then you’re ready to go!

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