Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from us all at Little Bird SOS.

It's been a very festive few weeks in and out of the studio.  Here are some of the things we have been making in at our health and wellbeing group...

We have lots of sheet music paper and Lynda, one of our volunteers, came up with the idea of making these snowmen..

We also made these fabulous christmas trees from our vast stash of fabric scraps, an idea inspired by Claire, our volunteer.  The group made suffolk puffs or yoyo's, as some prefer to call them...

They are cut into ever decreasing circles.  Then around the outer edge there is a line of running stitches.  A smaller round of cardboard and wadding is placed inside then the running stitch is pulled to cover...

Starting with the largest to the smallest, suffolk puff or yoyo, they are threaded onto some strong cotton...

 Then embellished with beads and buttons etc...

 And here are the results...

 In early December, we had a stall in our local village hall at the Birstall light switch on...

The items we sell are upcycled from materials previously unwanted by others.  We have been piloting a group on Wednesdays, for the past year, made up of people with good crafting experience who make the items you see in these pictures. The income helps to support our social aims that are of particular benefit to people experiencing mental health difficulties.  We will be expanding this group in the new year and will be able to offer more places to people who would like to come and help us with our sustainability work.  We also will be offering opportunities to people who do not have crafting experience but would like to help in other ways.

In December, we breathed new life into some old baubels by covering them in sheet music  and paper from old books and embellished them with bits of lace, beads and buttons from our stash...

Hanging out to dry!

Then finally, one of my favorite activities that we did on the last day was making christmas wreaths.  We are so lucky to have access to the beautiful Belgrave Hall Gardens and ivy is plentiful.  We made these on a willow hoop and added handmade felted flowers and other bits and bobs whilst munching on a delicous buffet lunch...

 An unusual triangular wreath that will be a christmas tree when it is completed...

  Apologies for the blurry image below - I love the heart on this one...

Rather then the tradition of hanging them on doors, some of us like to wear them on our heads!

Thank you so much to everyone who has supported us over the past year.  This includes all those who use our health and wellbeing service, who come along on Wednesdays and help us to make saleable items, those of you who have bought from us and those of you who give up time to help ensure we keep running.  The year ahead is already shaping up to be fantastic with the expansion of our Wednesday group, a hospital project and a presentation at a national conference!  Keep an eye on our website and social media pages for more information about these project soon.

Merry Christmas!