Sweet Smelling Stockings

With only two weeks to go until Christmas Eve I am beginning to feel the panic creeping in - many presents are bought but I am conscious that I still have a long way to go to make sure that there is something for everyone under our tree and that smiley faces will be guaranteed on Christmas morning.

As well as buying gifts for family at Christmas many of us find that we are also in need of a good supply of smaller gifts to be giving as tokens to say "Thank you" or just to let people know that you care - teachers being one of them.  Children love to give gifts to teachers at Christmas and it's a great opportunity to show that you appreciate all of the support and hard work from a favourite teacher that children are given throughout the year.

It can be tricky to come up with something original and this year I have decided not to resort to the usual chocolates which although delicious, teachers receive in abundance at Christmas. This is where my earlier soap project comes in to play.

I have had tonnes of festive fun designing the packaging! The soaps have been wrapped firstly in white greaseproof oven paper to help prevent them from losing the scent and then in lovely brown parcel paper which works brilliantly simpy tied with a cream and red gingham ribbon which matches the colour scheme of the felt stockings that I have made to put them in.

These cute mini stockings cost very little to make and take no time at all. Continuing with my Nordic obsession this Christmas I chose a cream felt and red thread to decorate.  I love pom pom trims - they give a lovely vintage feel to sewing projects and are easily available to buy in most sewing/haberdashery shops. After sewing pom poms around the top I decorated the stocking using simple running stitch, cross stitches with a few stars sewn on for good measure. The edges were sewn up using blanket stitch.

The bar of soap fits perfectly inside the stocking and the boys teachers' gifts are now complete and ready to be taken to school at the end of next week. Another job done.....now on to the next one!