As you mostly know I've been crocheting some toys lately, and so that the toys appealed to the new baby in the family as well as the older children I added noise makers to most of them. Most of the fish have crinkly paper, bought on Amazon especially for the purpose, I shied away from using paper I had found that was crinkly due to worries it wouldn't be safe. I found that putting the paper around the inside of the crocheting and the stuffing inside that worked best. I used about 3 layers of paper and cut it to shape to fit the sides of the fish, slipped it inside then added the stuffing. Rattles are easy, just throw them into the toy wherever, remember you can use more than one for more sound, this is especially useful if you have to use the smaller size rattle for smaller toys. The slightly bigger rattle creates enough sound I only used one. I also had a noise maker that makes a tweeting noise as you shake it, like the rattles you can put them in anywhere, the trick here is to make sure that the toy is sewn together well because you don't want the head flopping around when it's shaken. I had some pull cord ones, they came with very short cords, I extended them by crocheting them with extra yarn, make sure that all that pulling won't make your work come undone, use a strong yarn. An alternative here is to simply tie the short cord securely to the yarn and then start crocheting a longer cord and cover the knot with a breakaway bead, they are like a clam shell and snap shut around the knot. I continued to crochet onto a ring at the bottom, I have both wooden and silicon rings. The pull cords look better on either something like a doll where you can have the cord at the back or like I used it on a jelly fish and an octopus where the cord was lost amongst tentacles. Some of the pull cord noise makers have a hole for threading a cord through so you can tie the box that the sound is in securely inside the toy, otherwise each time you pull the cord you are pulling that box against the bottom of the toy. Bells were my biggest problem. I loved the jingly sound they make but once inside the toy with all the stuffing the sound was muffled. Then at Easter I realised there were packs of hollow plastic eggs you could buy to fill with surprises for an Easter egg hunt. I bought a couple of packs in two different sizes and tried the bells inside them. It was much better but you couldn't still hear a clunking noise as the bell hit the inside of the plastic sides of the egg. So I crocheted little nests for inside the egg, this muffled the clunking sound to a more acceptable level, not quite the clarity of jingling bells outside a toy but the best I could come up with. I hope this helps anyone else who plans on adding noise makers to toys they make whether sewn or knitted or crocheted.

I have been crocheting some toys out of yarn I already had and I'm adding in some little rattles and squeakers and crinkle paper and pull cord shakers to them. The angle fish has crinkle paper so it crinkles and rustles when you squeeze it, Boris the fisherman has a rattle inside, the jellyfish has a pull cord that makes it shake when you pull it. I have some other characters to make these are just the start.. Also I made some doughnut toys and added rattles etc to some of those too, I thought these would be easier for a baby to grasp.

Thank you to Liz and Sally Ann for the fabric you sent me for my birthday. Liz you must be able to read my mind, Last year I bought some Tartan fabrics from the Scotland shop and I want to make bags with them, so I am so happy to have these tweeds that I can make little makeup bags and purses to go with them. Sally-Ann the sewing machine fabric will make a great little bag for all my sewing bits that get all spread around when I sew. It's not clear from the picture but there are several different tweeds and tartans in different colours I wasn't thinking when I took the photo of them stacked up.

Please check out this link it is a fund raiser for the next 3 years hosting of craft-friends https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/91m3QBmxKU(https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/91m3QBmxKU) Thank you Sarah x

So I think I have done pretty well with my resolution to not buy more craft items and to make use of what I have. I did buy fabric to make a baby blanket, but that was something I knew I would have to buy when I made the resolution. The blankets I made for the other children were so well liked I can not, 'not' make one for this new baby and I knew that I did not have the fabric to make it. So I don't really count it as a fail in my resolve. The only other thing I can remember buying for myself is a pair of scissors, and they were to replace a pair that had broken, I went into a craft store and did not buy anything other than the scissors for myself.... Now this is where I have to admit I did buy something for someone else. Alia mentioned a couple of weeks ago that she would like to learn how to crochet, then when she came over the other day she saw a little toy I had crocheted for the baby, only she took a liking to it and wanted it too, and so I said well learn to crochet and you can make them yourself. Again she said she would like to learn to crochet. I showed her the basics and she tried using different size yarns and hooks and found out she was better with the big hooks and thick yarn. The next day I took the children to the mall and this is when I went into the craft store to buy my scissors. On a shelf right opposite the scissors she saw a book on crochet, it was for crocheting big amigurumi animals with thick yarn for beginners, perfect for her to learn really. So yes I bought her the book, let her choose a pattern and then i bought the hook she would need and the yarn and a darning needle. It called for some felt but I knew I had some at home, plus some stitch markers, she said she had some suitable scissors and i had bought her a glue gun for christmas.. So at least I only bought exactly what she needed, Before I would almost definitely have bought her the whole set of hooks. So does buying for someone else to get them started in a new craft count against my resolution? On the plus side, I have been crocheting hats and baby items with yarn that I already had in my stash.. A hat with a fluffy pompom and two doll hats for Alia, A hat with a yarn pompom for Aurin, the pompom hadn't been sewn on when I took the picture which is why you can see strings of yarn to the side. A baby jacket for the new baby. I also made a couple of baby hats that were like the doll hats but bigger, a second hat for Alia in the same colour as Aurins because I hadn't made a hat for ages and wasn't sure of her size and a baby blanket that I forgot to take a photo of. I still have enough yarn for at least one more baby blanket and plenty of amigurumi cotton yarn to make some toys. I have a book of toys that start off as a doughnut with icing on, then you add ears and such to make it look like an animal. I made a pig one but Alia took it home, I'm hoping to make a few more because the doughnut is a perfect shape for a baby to be able to grasp.

Each year people decide on a resolution, or even sometimes more than one but usually around mid January that resolution has fallen by the wayside. One reason for this is we always go big, we are going to lose 30kg of weight, rather than simply, I'm going to lose weight, or I'm going to stop eating sugar rather than eat less sugar. As crafters it's usually, I'm not going to buy so many supplies, I'm going to use up the ones I have, or I'm going to finish my work in progress pieces etc. So this year I was thinking lets have a resolution challenge, we keep the resolution small, it can be anything you want, like a personal goal like losing weight or a crafting goal, it's up to you, but keep it manageable and we will go month by month. Each month you simply post how well you have managed for this month, maybe it's been a good month, maybe not so good, either way you will have the support of the group. Hopefully after a few months we will still be going strong and the small achievements will grow. For myself, I really want to use up some of my supplies, now I know that I will not refrain from buying new supplies because I know I'm a perfectionist, if I make a bag and use up some fabric I already have, great, but if I only have silver hardware and I know it would look better with black hardware, I'm going to buy the black hardware. So my resolve is not to not buy new supplies but to concentrate on using things I already have, so it would still be a win if I used fabric from my stash and bought new hardware. Hopefully it will cut down on how much I buy by only buying for a project I have in mind rather than buying because it was on sale or I just liked it. There is another side to this resolution too, I also have tools for crafting that I've never used, for instance I have a wood burning tool. I resolve to use those tools and see if I like that craft or not and if I don't use the tool by this time next year I will get rid of them, either as a prize for something here or to a charity. If anyone wants to join me in the resolutions challenge I will make a new area on the forum where we can post each month how we have done. Let me know if you want to join and I will add your name below. Sarah Linda Liz Maritrez

Thanks for this lovely card and mini calendar from Liz, I also got my Secret Santa from Liz, it was a jigsaw puzzle of lighthouses but I forgot to take a photo of that. Maybe I'll take a photo of the finished jigsaw instead.

Our penguins are continuing to grow in popularity, we had some worried people thinking we weren't doing it this year until a neighbour showed me the facebook post and I was able to put their minds at rest. I was across the street because that was the only way i could fit in the whole house and display, While I was taking the photo a car pulled up and a lady got out to take her own pictures hence she is in my shots. Also cars kept getting in my way. This year there are 130 penguins.

I put up two trees, one for the kids with disney character and toy based ornaments, The other one has a lot of glass ornaments and ornaments I've had for a long time, bought some of them from England, it has pink lights and is topped with a pink star wearing a gold crown. The mantel is also full of ornaments and things that we have had for a long time, different members of the family have picked out, candles and snow globes and such

I took Alia and Aurin to the mall and we saw this massive Christmas tree that you could stand under for photo opportunities. Getting them both to look at the camera at the same time proved a little difficult though.🤣

Thanks to Tracey, Linda, Sally-Ann and Maritrez, for the lovely cards and gifts, The magazine is from Maritrez along with the cross stitch card, the beautiful scene from Densole is from Linda, The card with the three gifts on is handmade and my special Christmas greeting from Sally-Ann along with the wooden tree ornament. The very British snow scene which I love because I no longer see Robins or post boxes, and the knitted snowman (Alia loves that) is from Tracey. Thank you everyone, it does make you feel so special when you get cards from other countries for some reason. Oh almost forgot, thanks for the Paddington stamps Sally-Ann they are wonderful

This is my Christmas challenge as posted by Liz, I updated an old cushion and made it more Christmassy. For more information on how I did this check the Challenge post in groups. The first picture is the original cushion before I upgraded it.

It took me a very long time to crochet this one, it's just a simple shell pattern but it seemed to take weeks. It is for my daughter for when the baby is born.

Alia made this bracelet for her Uncle Kyle, His favourite colour is orange so she threaded the beads onto some wire and then she attached the cork strap, the silver end pieces and then the clasp. i accidentally took the photo while video was switched on,

I am still waiting to hear back from a couple of people about the greetings swap. Check the main post about the greetings swap that is pinned to the top of the Christmas 23 category in the forum, to see if your name has been added to the list, note there are two lists one for secret santa and one for greetings swap make sure you check both lists. However the rest of us can at least get started so here are the rules. You make a greeting that is going to be for every member of this group, however each of us only send our greeting to one member in a round robin kind of way. (http://way.You)If all members join then every member makes one fabulous greeting and every member receives one. make a greeting that can be anything from a card to a painting to a embroidery piece, anything that you put a Christmas greeting on of some kind, Make your greeting fabulous. On the back or if that is not really possible, add a little card with the following information. It must say to 'Craft-Friends' care of (insert name here) to add the name of the person you are sending to. It must say it is for Christmas 2023 It must say who it is from ( who made the greeting) Also please add some information about how it was made, for instance mixed media, used inks and water color pencils, or used leaves and acorns and bits that I found in the garden to create a collage, or used a kit to create this card, etc, you get the idea. Once I have heard from everyone and we know who is going to join in the swap I will let you know who your swap partners are. Thank you for joining in. I have tried to make this so it can be made to fit everyones skills so I really hope everyone joins in. Sarah x

I wanted as many people as possible to see this message so I'm posting it here even though it's not the right place for it, I'll delete it once I get enough responses. I have this idea forming for a greetings swap that can run alongside the secret santa. I would like as many of our members as possible to join in so I'm trying to leave it a bit open ended as to what you make but it is basically a homemade greeting such as a card. Since I know some of you don't do paper crafting you could think outside the box and paint a piece of heavy card with a christmas greeting or a christmas picture, or embroider something, it doesn't have to be a card. My idea was if we each did one and wrote it to the group as a whole but sent it to one member in a round robin kind of way, everyone would end up with a special homemade Christmas greeting. What do you all think? Would that be something you would be interested in or would you rather just send ordinary cards to everyone? Of course you could always send individual cards out as well if you wanted to. If you have further thoughts on how we could do this, suggestions, etc, please let me know in the comments below. Could you also let me know if you are not interested, or unable to join in this year, that way I'm not waiting for your response when I could be getting started on it. Actually the same goes for the Secret Santa, if you have not let me know if you are going to join could you send me a message soon even if you do not want to join so that we can get started. Thank you everyone. SECRET SANTA Sarah Liz Linda Sally-Ann Carolyn Lisa GREETINGS SWAP Sarah Liz Carolyn Lisa Linda Sally-Ann For the greetings swap I think it would be easiest if we just sent to the next person on the list, So I send to Liz, Liz to Carolyn, Carolyn to Lisa, Lisa to Linda, Linda to Sally-Ann and Sally-Ann to Sarah Your Secret Santa swaps will be on the secret santa website that you should have gotten an email about. That will most likely be to a different person than the greetings swap partner. so I hope it's not confusing. Please send me a message if you are confused.