Katie's Christmas 2015 - Sock Snowman DIY

A few weeks ago, my university's student union held a "crafternoon" for 3 hours to raise money for the mental health charity, Mind.  Entry was £2, but then we had access to plenty of craft materials, including cards, foam shapes, felt shapes, pipe cleaners, beads, buttons, different coloured craft lolly sticks and scrap material.  When I arrived (just over an hour in because I'd been studio-managing at RamAir, several people were making sock snowmen.  While making my own, I unfortunately managed to spill a little bit of rice on the carpet floor (because I'm a messy child) and even more on the table (which I could gather up and pour into the sock from there), but with a tiny bit of help with tying the ribbon, I managed to finish it.  I also gathered some of the materials to make another one at home, so this is the story of how I made the second sock snowman (photos to come)!

What You Need

an ankle-length white sock (preferably a large size)
a red and white baby's Christmas sock
dry rice or polyester stuffing
thin ribbon
felt tip/Sharpie/fabric pens
PVA or craft glue.
buttons

Instructions

1. Fill the white sock to about 2/3rds capacity with rice or polyester stuffing.  If using rice, try using a spoon and a funnel (either a real funnel or a paper one) to make sure as much rice as possible goes into the sock.
2. Separate a section of the filling off to be the head of the snowman and use a piece of thin ribbon to tie this area off.
3. Use another piece of thin ribbon to tie up the top of the head of the snowman to prevent the rice/stuffing from escaping.
4. Roll up the top of the baby's sock slightly and use it to cover the top of the head of the snowman.
5. Use PVA or craft glue to glue buttons for the snowman's eyes and "coat" buttons.
6. Draw on the snowman's nose, mouth and arms with pens.

DIY Chocolate Body Scrub

This week is National Chocolate Week, so I have a couple of posts this week to do with chocolate.  The first of those was inspired by a chat with Yasmina from thejulyjournal.com about making a vegan and cruelty-free gift pack inspired by chocolate.  We were both sent an up-to-date list of vegan-friendly products by The Body Shop for reference at a future time.  Then I remembered this morning that I have a recipe for a DIY chocolate body scrub that also uses vegan and cruelty-free ingredients that you can easily find in your kitchen.  I found this recipe in The Great Big Glorious Book for Girls by Rosemary Davidson and Sarah Vine.  I've been pretty tired over the past few weeks due to uni coursework, stress over my health, and worrying about friends, so this would be a good thing for me to use to relax and finally unwind when I've finished my project proposal later this week!

Ingredients

5 tablespoons sunflower oil
4 tablespoons soft brown sugar
1 heaped tablespoon cocoa (NOT drinking chocolate)

Instructions

1. Mix ingredients thoroughly in a bowl.
2. The chocolate scrub will be quite runny, so it's best to use it all over your skin while in the shower and to be careful when applying.
3. Wash it off thoroughly with your favourite soap or body wash for very soft skin!

DIY Water Candles

This week, I'm going to share something a little different.  Instead of a recipe for a simple meal (well, they're usually desserts, but sometimes savoury as well), I'm going to share a DIY.  As we are now in mid to late June, it should definitely be time to get barbecues or picnics underway.  I've found a few recipes for dishes you can make for a barbecue which I will share in the next couple of weeks, but maybe you'd also like something to decorate your outdoor (or indoor) dining table while you're enjoying a barbecue with friends in the evening.  Here are some instructions for a DIY water candle that I found in the Tesco Food Family Living magazine for June 2015.  This candle is vegan-friendly, and uses common household cooking products, and also encourages recycling.

What You Need

a glass jar
a pair of scissors
a plastic water bottle
a pencil
a wick from a tapered candle
water
1 tablespoon of cooking oil

Instructions

1. Choose a glass jar as your candle holder.
2. Then, with scissors, cut out the base of a plastic water bottle, making it slightly smaller than the circumference of the glass jar mouth, so it will fit snugly inside the top of the jar.  Pierce a small hole in the centre of the disc.
3. Remove a wick from a tapered candle and tie a knot in one end, about 2.5cm (1 inch) from the top.  Thread it through the hole in the plastic disc.
4. Fill the jar with water up to 2.5cm (1 inch) from the top.  Put the disc and wick on the water.
5. Carefully pour 1 tablespoon of cooking oil on top of the disc, then light your water candle.