Happy Christmas (and giveaway winner)

Hello all, well I've got time for one last post for 2012 and to share a few things I've been up to crafting wise in the last few weeks...

I made these key rings for Jack and Stella's lovely teachers- I got the heart shaped key rings from a bead shop close by- Uncle Black Beetles Beads. I got the idea after seeing this project via pinterest

I also made a couple of my waterproof make-up purses for Amelie's awesome school teachers but forgot to get a photo of them!

I made a Christmas cracker for Lindsay at her blog Arohanui Vegan Love as part of Katie's fun Christmas Cracker Swap.  Lindsay is going to open hers on Christmas Day so I won't share what I put it in yet but lets just say this shop is very cool if you are wanting vegan or ethical and eco friendly products- I was pretty relieved when I found it!

I bought a new Christmas tea towel from one of my favourite gift shops in Tauranga- Mainly Gifts in Cherrywood.

 

And the girls had a nice surprise for one of their advent pockets one morning- the dollhouse had a little Christmas tree and one of the dolls even dressed up as Santa! After umming and ahhing for a while over this Lundby Christmas tree I finally bought it, shame I could only get one of the lights on it going though!

  

And the winner of my christmas giveaway is comment number 97...

Dianna Townsend- congratulations Dianna, please email me your postal adress to megan(at)mouse house (dot)co(dot)nz. I'm sorry I didn't do the draw in time for a Christmas delivery!

Thank you so much everyone for reading mousehouse this year- I truly appreciate your comments and feedback and really love writing this blog -my 'happy place' I call it :) Hopefully in 2013 I will have a bit more time to write and share even more! It's pretty funny seeing how many half finished posts I have written this year including at least 5 'organised home' posts so hopefully next year I'll be more organised and will be able to finish writing them! Merry Christmas to my fellow bloggers and all of you blog readers and a Happy New Year to you and your families.

Megan x

Christmas ornament swap 2012

I came across this pin via Clare of Green Valley Crafts a while ago (go and check out Clare's blog as it is just lovely) and thought it would be a great one to make for this years Kiwi christmas ornament swap hosted by Sew Funky.  I love using fabric and I love doing a little bit of stitching on felt too so it was win win (and they wouldn't take too long to make which is another win this year!) I kept the ornament simple with the stitching thread, ribbon and felt all being the same colour so the fabric would really stand out (I used the same fabrics that I used for my christmas advent bunting).

Here is the tutorial if you'd like to have a go yourself...

http://cards-by-paula.blog.co.uk/2009/12/12/simple-christmas-felt-ornaments-7562177/

 

And here are a couple of ornaments I have received as part of the swap...

 

A beautiful cross stitched ornament from Kimberley...

...and a lovely tree decoration and cute card from Tammy

 

...love the pocket made out of a recycled magazine page to pop the ornament in too!

Megan x

PS: Don't forget to enter my Christmas giveaway!

Mousehouse Christmas Giveaway 2012

Once again I've had lots of fun making and gathering up a few goodies to say a big thank you for reading 'mousehouse' this year- I really appreciate you all! It's been a really busy year with Amelie starting school which dramatically reduced my crafting time (and I thought I'd have more time when she was at school...) and Jack becoming a very busy toddler so my blog posts aren't quite as prolific as they used to be so thank you for still reading! Also a big thank you to all of you that like and comment on my facebook page- I have really enjoyed using my facebook page this year to connect with readers and share ideas.  So here are my Christmas treats for one lucky reader...

* a fat quarter of Riley Blake's Santa's Workshop "White Santa Snowflake" fabric

* an Owl topper pencil

* a Birdy notepad

* A mousehouse waterproof make-up purse

* 4 sheets of Cath Kidston stickers and labels

* a roll of green/white striped washi tape

* a toadstool eraser and pencil sharpener

* 5 metres of christmas coloured bakers twine

* a Babushka christmas decoration

The giveaway is open internationally so anyone can enter- entries will close Wed 12th Dec. To enter all you have to do is leave a comment telling me where you are from. If you would like to you could tell me something you like doing in your hometown/city in the lead up to Christmas - maybe it's going berry picking at a favourite orchard, ice skating at a local rink, going to an annual Christmas market... I'm just really interested in where you're from, how you celebrate christmas in your part of the world or something fun to do in your hometown! (I have a bit of the travelling bug at the moment so can live vicariously through your comments ;) Anyone can comment (and I've taken that word verification thing off) and if you don't have a blog you can comment as an anonymous user- just make sure you leave your email address in the comment. 

I would love to be able to use my Facebook page for you to enter the giveaway by leaving a comment on there but after reading their huge list of rules I can't see how I can (if you know how to let me know!) However if you share this giveaway post on Facebook and let me know in the comment section here you'll get another entry! (I'm pretty sure that's allowed!)

So leave a comment to enter - if you're a Facebook liker as well leave another comment for another chance to win, and if you share the giveaway on your blog, facebook or pinterest leave another comment to let me know. 

Thank you so much again for reading mousehouse and I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas.

Megan x