Easy to make gifts from scratch! Hanging macrame pots and teacup bird feeder. I’ve always loved making gifts, for either Christmas or Birthdays, and each year I try to find new ideas for creating something special for friends and family. In recent posts I mentioned the Christmas decorations and cards that I made for a craft…
Archives for December 2018
DIY Christmas cards
One of my favourite things about Christmas is all the opportunities it offers to be creative and craft lovely gifts, cards and decorations. I have always enjoyed making hand-made Christmas gifts, but it is even more important to me now that we are based in an area with very few shops and living a simpler life…
Simple DIY Christmas decorations
A couple of weeks ago my husband and I had our first experience of being a stallholder at a craft fair in the Algarve. It was a really fun day, and a lovely process to go through – planning what to make, getting the crafts made, and putting everything together on the day. I had done a…
Olive picking and processing – Alentejo style
I’ve been learning all about picking and processing olives in Portugal. This has to be one of my favorite moments in the Portuguese year, along with the cork cutting and sardine festival. It’s wonderful to see the olives growing black and shiny on the trees, and then to see everyone out picking for days on end. The…
Autumn in the Alentejo
We’re enjoying autumn in the Alentejo at the moment, and these are the things that make it special. Autumn is something of a relief after the intensity of the summer months; the land starts turning green again, and trees and plants start blooming. It’s a beautiful time of year, and cooler temperatures mean it is easier…