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 stall I ran at a fair in the Algarve. So this time I thought it would be nice to tell you a bit about the Christmas gifts I made.
Two of the larger projects included fabric bags which I made in different fabrics, and eco-printed silk scarves using leaves I gathered from around our house. I’ll do a tutorial soon on how to make both of these.
I also made some really simple but effective macramé hanging pots. I’ve enjoyed macramé since I first came across it as a child in a wonderful book on needlework from 1920. I made a hanging shelf for our front room a few weeks back which turned out really well, so this project was great to get me back in the swing. All I needed was some twine, a pair of scissors, tape and some pots. Then I followed along with this tutorial which I really recommend and hey presto, a lovely pair of hanging pots in no time!
Teacup hanging bird feeder
The last, simplest, and perhaps most effective project was a hanging bird feeder for the garden. This is perfect for any gardener friends, or those who enjoy encouraging bird life into their garden. I started with a cup and saucer, some strong ceramic glue, chain and a metal hoop to attach the chain. So get ready for the tricky bit… I glued the cup to the saucer as in the photo (following the instructions on my glue). Yep. It was that complicated.
Then all that was left to do was attach a length of chain to the handle so it can hang in a tree, and sit back and watch the Portuguese birds enjoy the avian equivalent of high tea!