Yes, I know that ScrapHappy is usually on the 15th of the month and that I’ve already done December’s, but I’ve been very busy with scraps recently and this one includes some solstice-specific makes, so here we are again.
As you may recall, Mr Snail and I do not celebrate Christmas, nor do we send Christmas presents. We do, however, celebrate the winter solstice because it marks that special point in the year when the days start to get longer… and that’s very important to us. I was delighted, therefore, when I came across the most beautiful book on exactly this theme… The Lightbringers. I wanted to share this with some of my friends, so bought a few copies to send as solstice presents to people I haven’t been able to meet up with this year and who I have missed very much.
So far, so not at all scrappy. But then, thinking about wrapping, I realised that I could make use of the old bathroom curtains (the new ones were a previous scrappy post)… they have suns and moons on them and seemed very appropriate. Over the years they had faded in a very patchy way, but this doesn’t really matter for present bags. Four gifts required four bags, and I had plenty of fabric. The ribbon was from a spool given to me in a collection of things that another crafter did not want, so I consider that scrappy too. The recipients should have opened their presents by now, so it’s safe to share.
With plenty of fabric and bag-making in mind, I decided to continue and make a bag to line the bucket (salvaged from something or other) we keep our Qwirkle tiles in. I’ve made it so that there’s a drawstring to hold it in place round the top of the bucket, and another to make a hole in the centre, allowing us to reach in to take tiles without being able to see them. This is turning out to be a very scrappy game, as the tile racks were one of Mr Snails recent scrappy creations.
I made an additional spare present bag with the remaining fabric and that was one whole curtain converted into useful things. I still have another one left, but inspiration has not yet struck… watch this space.
-oOo-
I’ve been inspired to write this (and future) ScrapHappy posts by Kate, Tall Tales from Chiconia. On the fifteenth of every month lots of folks often publish a ScrapHappy post, do check them out:
Kate (me!), Gun, Titti, Heléne, Eva, Sue, Nanette, Lynn, Lynda,
Birthe, Turid, Susan, Cathy, Debbierose, Tracy, Jill, Claire, Jan,
Moira, Sandra, Linda, Chris, Nancy, Alys, Kerry, Claire, Jean,
Joanne, Jon, Hayley, Dawn, Gwen, Connie, Bekki, Pauline, Sue L,
Sunny and Kjerstin
If you fancy joining, contact Kate and she’ll add you to the list. It would be lovely to see more non-sewing posts, but any use of scraps is welcome.
The Snail of Happiness 
polesparadise
/ December 21, 2020I think you are amazing! So very delighted to be a lucky recipient of such a brilliant book, and a fantastically creative bag – which has already been reused by himself, so I get to open it twice this year! Missing you too. xxx
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The Snail of Happiness
/ December 21, 2020I hope the bag will be the holder of many, many future presents. Giving these books has given me great joy, so it’s wins all round.
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katechiconi
/ December 21, 2020Oooh, you gave me a bit of a turn there! I had a brief moment of “Eeek, did I forget ScrapHappy this month?” before I remembered I’d already done it, had even remembered to send the reminders, and it was just the Snail adding some extra Solstice Goodness to the concept. Great repurposing of materials by both of you, and re-usable gift bags are so much better than paper, from every perspective.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ December 21, 2020Sorry about that. I originally intended to post this as December’s ScrapHappy, before realising that I didn’t want to spoil the surprise for my recipients. In fact I’m toying with having a whole ScrapHappy month next year to catch up on a bunch of projects that I haven’t yet shared.
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katechiconi
/ December 21, 2020Oh wow! Or, of course, you could set up the entire year’s worth of ScrapHappy posts in advance!
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The Snail of Happiness
/ December 22, 2020I’d better make a list and see what I’ve got done and in the pipeline…
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katechiconi
/ December 22, 2020I bet you have loads of stuff to show!
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anne54
/ December 21, 2020Happy Solstice! It must be reassuring to know that your days are getting longer. It always seems counterintuitive to me that our longest day comes in December (Southern Hemisphere!) as I know that we are just beginning our Summer. I always feel the Solstice should be in late January, at the height of the season.
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The Snail of Happiness
/ December 21, 2020I agree, the summer solstice does always seem to be too early, but in winter, the timing is good – the promise of longer days is so welcome. I’ve ordered my seeds and soon I will be planting again – new shoots are what I need right now!
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cedar51
/ December 22, 2020love the idea of using an appropriate leftover curtain that suits the purpose as the gift bag…
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The Snail of Happiness
/ December 22, 2020My timing was good with this one…. the right curtain at the right time!
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DawnGillDesigns
/ December 22, 2020brilliant
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Going Batty in Wales
/ December 23, 2020I remember those curtains! A brilliant use for them and I shall look forward to all the scrap happy posts to come.
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