A Handmade Christmas Week 3

This week I've already added three soap sacks to the present box. They're so pretty in pink cotton. I've matched them with some of the heart shaped soaps I made last week and the old fashioned bath salt sodas.   They'll go into the gorgeous vintage style tin tubs I have in the present box to make bath time pamper kits.

I've also saved a couple of small jars to use for sugar scrubs.  I'll paint the lids (they're yellow at the moment) and make some labels to pretty them up.

I know the tubs cost $1 each (I cleared the shelf!). The soap sacks cost 60c each to knit, using cotton yarn I already had. I used soap supplies from the cupboard to make the little soaps and by my calculations they cost 25c each. I have muslin in my fabric stash that I bought when Hannah was a baby, and I'll use lavender from the garden to make the sachets, I estimate they'll cost around 30c each to make (and I'll use recycled, free ribbons). The brown sugar and olive oil I'll use for the sugar scrubs was given to me, and I'm recycling jars so no cost for these pretties. I have some white tulle to make a scrub puff (leftover from a birthday party) so again, no cost to make these. The total for these bath time pamper packs will be around $2.40.

I know similar gift sets sold in Target this Christmas for $29.99 and for $49.99 at the Body Shop - with fewer items in them!

I've finally decided on a theme for this year's gifts - French Provincial shabby chic. I work so much better with a plan, and it was the tin tubs that swayed me, but it really wasn't hard because I just love this look.

I'm thinking off white, cream, pale pink, deep rose red, lavender, blue and white, rose petals, ribbons, lace, ruffles, decoupage, monograms, distressing - my imagination is working overtime and I just keep adding to my list. It helps that I have lots of yarn, fabric and paper in those colourways too.

Late last year Wayne's father gave Hannah a bunch of lavender from her Granny's lavender garden (Granny is now in full-time care, so this is extra special). She was going to dry it and use it in sachets but I took half of it and planted it into a small pot to strike. I did this with some Lavender the lovely Maureen gave me too, with great success. All this to say that later in spring I'll be harvesting lavender to make sachets to go into the pamper kits too.

Sometimes packaging gifts can be the challenge so I'm always looking for ideas and materials and Mum bought new hankies on Thursday. They came in clear boxes, wrapped with navy blue satin ribbon. Needless to say I snagged the boxes and the ribbons for my wrapping box, they'll be perfect for packaging biscuits or meringues closer to Christmas.

Have you added to your present box this week? Have you started making your Christmas gifts?