Link to Hope
The theme on the Link to Hope Calendar for March is Craft Gifts – with the suggestions of – Handmade headbands, pencil and glass cases, lavender bags, craft kits, puppets and sewing kits.
Knitted headbands are really easy to make. Just knit a long thin rectangle and then stitch together the short ends. For a fancy finish, off set the seams so you fold the edges in half before stitching them together, then turn inside out to hide the seam, and your finished headband looks more interesting and professional.
Scrunchies are also quick and easy if you have a sewing machine (though I’ve found some on Temu which were cheaper than I could make them.)
I’ve made some very basic glasses case in the past to go with the reading glasses I’ve added to the elderly boxes. Polar fleece is good to use as it doesn’t fray and is soft against the glasses. Measure a rectangle which when folded in half will fit snuggly around the glasses. Stitch along one short end and one long end to form a pocket to fit the glasses in. Felt is also useful to use as it doesn’t fray.
I haven’t made any pencil cases yet but there are plenty of patterns on Pinterest.
Lavender bags are again simple to make if you have a sewing machine (you could hand stitch but remember to do small stitches so the lavender can’t come out.) You can also buy small organza drawstring bags on the intranet which with a couple of spoons of lavender in make a really quick and easy addition to any shoebox.
You could print out face masks or simple finger puppet animals for children to colour in.
Put beads and thin elastic in a small plastic bag so they can create their own bracelet. Shop around for beads or ask if anyone has any broken necklaces that they can give you.
Sewing kits are easy to make – there are some examples in my March 2023 blog.
There are lots of templates on Pinterest for finger puppets – you could either make some to put in or cut out the pieces and add them along with a small sewing kit for children to make their own, along with picture guides of how to make them.
This Month’s bargains
I’ve picked up a couple of bargains in Asda, a children’s England hat and scarf set for £1.00, a ladies knitted hat for £1.00 and 2L hot water bottles and covers reduced to £1.50 each, and an enamel camping mug reduced to 80p.
Most of my bargains have been from Temu,- ladies large headscarves 95p – 97p, (not exactly a bargain but the cheapest I’ve found – they are about £5.00 in my local charity shops), Earrings 17p a pair, brooches 39p – 69p, necklaces 27p, bracelet 47p. Beanie hats 47p, ladies and mens socks 5 pairs for 69p, boys socks 5 pairs for £1.09. Toothbrushes – 10 pack of white toothbrushes £1.27, 20 individually wrapped bamboo toothbrushes £2.27, a pack of 3 nail clippers for 58p and small retractable tape measures for 18p.
Till next month – happy bargain hunting.