It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

With Christmas less than a month away, you are going to want to check out all of the potential gifts at the Springs Christian Academy Christmas Craft Show on Saturday, December 3, 2016!

Among the 80+ local crafters, you will find 5 of our WESTies onsite, selling handmade wool socks, mosaic artisanal jewelry, recycled and vintage jewelry, buttons, handmade bags, wallets, accessories and adorable sock monkey toys.

Monkey Business Card Company

Blueberry Lane Craft

Sox n Such

Periwinkle Dzyns

Mosaic Pendants Plus

Don't miss out on getting some handmade, original gifts for those you love!

Saturday, December 3, 2016

10 to 4

595 Lagimodiere Ave, Winnipeg

Admission is $4, children under 12 are free

Free parking, coat and parcel check

Childcare provided

Christmas Cafe

skip the gift wrap with Caitlin / Real Swanky!

This Tutorial Tuesday, Caitlin of Real Swanky will be showing us how to wrap gifts without the use of paper! It's a great way to utilize your..

• spare fabric
• a bandanna
• a cute vintage handkerchief
• a dish cloth or towel, which may be part of the gift, to boot!

You will need:

• Your gift
• A square piece of fabric (or whatever you are using to wrap) that is at least 3 times the length of the longest measurement of your gift

For my gift, I'll be wrapping up my latest embroidered piece, an anatomically correct brain (details here). It measures 7" in diameter, so I made sure my fabric was at least 21" long. For placement, start with your gift at least 1-2" away from the edges of your fabric's perimeter.

Flip the whole piece towards the other end of the fabric once.

..and again..

Flip once last time, you may have a few inches of fabric remaining at the end, so flipping it one last time is a wise idea. As you can see above, the "wrong" side of the fabric is facing up on your left and right side.

Take the fabric on the left and right side, and tie it into a knot, as you would tie your shoes.

Then, tie one last time. That's it!

This method of wrapping is great for just about anything -- books, soaps and perfumes, cooking utensils, boxed goods, and a heap more.

An Unexpected Christmas Gift

Earlier this week I got an email from a  recipient of an Etsy purchase of one of my bowls. I processed the order as requested by the buyer, but didn't realize that I didn't get the persons name.  So an unexpected gift for me in these comments, but also for the recipient.

It was a bowl that I really liked, but I was pleased and surprised to receive this lovely note.

Dear Nancy,
We have just received and opened a lovely pottery bowl from you! It arrived in perfect condition and the colours are perfect in our home. We are delighted by this wonderful gift, but are mystified about who might have bought it for us. Santa comes to mind at this time of year. We have no relatives in Manitoba. So...we ask that you please divulge the name of the gift giver so that we can extend our warmest thanks!!
Looking forward to hearing from you and thanking you for your artistic talents that
brought this bowl to us...

Nancy of Nancy Blokland Pottery