Christmas Craft Guide by Be Kind Coco

The Crafty Guide to Christmas Brought to you by

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MAIN MENU Welcome to the 2020 Crafty Guide to Christmas! Get your hands messy and ideas flowing with some fun crafty Christmas ideas to enjoy with the family. Since we love choosing consciously, this guide isn’t JUST for Christmas, and you will find there are many DIY’s inside you can use all year round!

Click any of the section headings to travel straight where you want to go, or keep on scrolling to browse through.

CRAFTS Christmas crackers Dried orange decorations Collage ideas

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CRAFT VIDEOS Fabric flower garland Narwhal plushy Scrunchies Produce bag Face Mask

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VEGAN RECIPES Christmas biscuits Mince pies Choco-maca brownies Greek Doughnuts Gingerbread blondies Caramel filled chocolates

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DIY SKINCARE Facial toner Shea butter deodorant

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DIY CLEANING Dishwashing tablets Dishwashing liquid

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Christmas Crackers

by Be Kind Coco

Ingredients Cardboard toilet paper rolls spare wrapping paper (about 18x27cm) I used the wrapping from my toilet roll folded in half.

Pieces of string or rubber bands. 2 for each cracker Cracker fillings: I used lip balm, chocolates wrapped in a little bag and, of course, an awful Christmas joke!

Instructions 1: Place your filling inside your toilet roll, making sure everything fits neaty inside.

2: Put the filled roll on to the middle of your wrapping paper touching a side. If your paper is damaged on one side, start here.

3: Roll the paper around your toilet roll, making sure it stays firmly in the middle.

4: Twist the sides and secure each one with string or a rubber band.

And that’s it! Repeat the process for each cracker and have fun!

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Orange Ornaments

by Be Kind Coco

Ingredients • As many oranges (or other citrus fruits) as you like!

I found I got about 5 slices from 1 large orange. • A sharp knife • Baking trays and greaseproof paper

Instructions 1: Cut your fruit into thin slices (around 1cm).

Thicker slices will take longer to dry out, thinner slices are the more likely to burn or breakdown. If you make any mistakes, remove the evidence by eating them!

4: If the orange slices still feel a little moist, you can keep them in the oven longer, just keep an eye on them and flip at equal intervals.

5: When the slices are completely dried, use something small to pierce holes in each one and tie on a piece of string.

2: Place each slice onto an oven tray lined with grease proof paper. They should not be overlapping so you may need a few trays.

All that is left to do is decorate them around your home!

I find they look most beautiful in the light and on a Christmas tree. They also make great festive trimmings around candles or other pieces.

3: Heat the slices in the oven on one side for 2-3 hours on a low temperature (I use 80oc), then flip each one and heat for a further 2-3 hours. Your house will smell like oranges and that is only a good thing.

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Creative with collage I came across some collages by Emily Mcavoy the other day (@ermmadewithlove on instagram) and was reminded by how much I loved sitting down with old magazines, scissors and some glue when I was a tween. I have collage books for every part of my life and still to this day collect my train tickets, event invites and bascially any flat-packable memories I can to put inside a scrap book. Since I am a design lover, sometimes that even just includes cool packaging and pages from magazines.

If you’re stuck for something fun to do - grab a magazine and scissors and glue. Great for kids and adults alike, and you can also try a multimedia collage with feathers, sting and other bits and pieces you find. This piece from Emily Mcavoy (top right) uses pine cone segments to form a beautiful dream catcher design.

Click to see Emily’s work on instagram

This next piece is another 3D collage, this time made by Mark Foreman, who creates collages and shadow boxes. Titled ‘London Calling’ it uses found objects (a plane, bus and map) with a mixture of his own illustrations to create a London themed collage.

What will you create?

See more inspiration below from Pinterest.

I love the idea of combining embriodery.

Click to visit Marks website

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Craft Videos Do you prefer video tutorials? Here are a small selection of our favourites from creators that make easy to follow videos on youtube.

Felt flower garland

Narwhale plush toy

by Victoria’s Crafty Ideas

by Victoria’s Crafty Ideas

Click to view

Click to view

Produce bag

Fabric face mask

by Slew Living

by Slew Living

Click to view

Click to view

Hair scrunchies

by Mikaela Hofman

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Click to view

Orange Almond Christmas Cookies

by Annick, Not Hangry Anymore

Ingredients 100 g coconut oil soft or melted 80 g caster sugar 1 pinch salt 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon 1/8 tsp ground cardamom 1 orange, zest and juice 150 g buckwheat flour 50 g almond meal Decorations 90 g icing sugar 15 g water 1 tbsp dried flowers

Instructions How to make the dough 1. In a bowl, add coconut oil, sugar, salt, cinnamon, cardamom and the juice and zest of one orange. Whisk everything until fully combined.

2. Add the buckwheat flour and almond meal to the bowl and fold in until combined with the rest of the dough.

3. With your hands, shape the dough into a log and wrap in cling film.

Leave it in the fridge to rest for at least 1 hour.

4. Once the dough has rested take it out of the fridge and dust a flat surface with buckwheat flour.

5. Preheat the oven to 180°C. 6. Roll the dough out until about 5mm thick.

7. With a cookie cutter, stencil out the shapes and lay them onto a baking tray lined with baking paper.

8. Bake the cookies at 180°C for 10 minutes.

9. After baking, let them cool down completely before decorating them.

How to decorate 1. In a small, preferably shallow bowl add icing sugar and water.

Mix until combined.

2. Dip the cookies into the icing, decorate them with dried flowers and let them dry on a baking rack.

www.nothangryanymore.com @nothangryanymore

Annick is the creator of not hangry anymore, a vegan food blog focused on flavourful and delicious recipes. Originally from Switzerland and now based in Melbourne, she started her blog to share her love for cooking and baking.

She’s a Bachelor of Science student and a chef with a passion for recipe development, food photography and helping people cook and eat more delicious, flavourful vegan food. And yes, she can get hangry - don’t get between her and her pasta!

Christmas Fruit Mince Pies

by Annick, Not Hangry Anymore

Ingredients

Instructions

Pastry 250 g plain flour 150 g vegan butter 1/2 tsp salt 2 tbsp caster sugar 1/2 tsp lemon zest 2 tbsp water

Pastry

Filling 30 g dried cranberries 3 medjool dates chopped 400g of dried fruit ( I like to use chopped prunes, figs, sultanas, raisins, currants, dried apricots chopped and dried sour cherries. 50g of each) juice & zest from 1 orange 30 g raw sugar 2 tbsp verjuice (can sub for 2 tbsp white wine vinegar) 1 pinch salt 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground cardamom 1/4 tsp ground clove 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg 1/2 tsp fresh ground ginger 3 tbsp brandy 60ml 2 tbsp water 40ml 50 g blanched hazelnuts roughly crushed Other Icing sugar for decorating

1. Add flour, salt, sugar and lemon zest into a bowl and mix.

2. Add vegan butter to the bowl and rub the butter and flour between your fingers until everything is combined.

3. Add a few tablespoons of water if needed and lightly kneed the dough until just combined.

4. Wrap the dough in cling film and let it rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Filling 1. While the pastry dough is in the fridge, add all the filling ingredients into a medium sized sauce pan and heat it up.

2. Cover the pan and cook the filling for about 10 minutes on a low heat.

Stir the filling from time to time to make sure that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. After about 10 minutes the filling should be nice and thick. Let it cool until the dough has been rested enough to be rolled out.

Bringing everything together 1. Heat up the oven to 200°C and prepare your muffin tray. Oil the tray and cut out little baking paper strips to lie inside each hole to ensure the pies won't stick to the tray while baking.

2. Sprinkle a little flour onto a flat surface and roll out the dough.

The dough should be slightly crumbly to be the right texture once baked.

3. With a round cookie cutter, stencil out pieces of dough and press them lightly into the muffin tray. Fill each pie with about 1 tbsp of filling.

4. Decorate the pies with some extra dough, stenciled out into stars or any other shape you like.

5. Bake the pies for 15-20 minutes. Then take out and let cool down completely before dusting it with icing sugar.

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Choco-maca Brownies

by Lauren Hong

Base ingredients 1cup of raw walnuts 1cup of pitted Medjool dates (note: if the dates are hard and dry, soak them in warm water for 15 minutes to soften them) 3tbsp of cacao or coco powder 1tbsp of maca powder (optional) 1tsp of melted coconut oil Frosting ingredients 2tbsp of melted coconut oil 2 1/2tbsp of almond butter (or peanut butter if you prefer) 1 1/2tbsp of maple syrup 2tbsp of cacao or coco powder

Base instructions 1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until all of the ingredients are well mixed and mouldable. You’ll know it’s ready if you can mould it into a ball.

2. Line a muffin tray with paper cupcake holders.

3. Fill the paper cupcake holders about halfway with the brownie mixture.

4. With your fingers or a spoon, press the mixture firmly into the paper cupcake holders.

Frosting instructions 1. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and mix with a spoon until well combined.

2. Layer a spoonful on top of each brownie.

3. Garnish with your choice of sea salt, hemp seeds or edible flowers.

Keep brownies stored in the fridge and remove them 15 minutes before serving. Keeps for 1 week in the fridge or longer in the freezer.

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Vegan Loukoumades Greek doughnut puffs. by Penny, Eco Penny

Ingredients 1 ¾ cups all purpose flour 1 cup warm water 1/3 cup sugar 1 ¼ tsp loose yeast vegetable oil for frying (I always use sunflower) maple syrup or topping of your choice

Instructions: 1. Start with ¼ cup of the warm water and add the yeast along with ½ teaspoon of the sugar. Stir or whisk gently and let it proof and get foamy for about 5 minutes. If it doesn't form any bubbles then your yeast might not be active anymore (it might be old so make sure you use active yeast).

2. Add the flour and sugar in a bowl and whisk together to combine. Make a well in the middle and add your foamy yeast along with the rest of the warm water.

3. Stir all ingredients to combine, you should end up with a loose batter but it should be able to hold together, not too runny or too thick.

4. Cover the bowl with a dish cloth and put aside in a warm place to rise to about double the size, depending on temperature it could take from 30-120 minutes.

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Vegan Loukoumades continued...

5. After the batter has risen it should be soft and about doubled in size with tiny bubbles on the surface. Slowly mix it to deflate it and you are ready to cook!

6. Add your vegetable oil to a medium sized pot, it should be filled between 7-12 cm of oil, I use a smaller pot so I don’t use up a lot of oil. Heat oil on medium-low heat for 3-4 minutes and test it with a tiny bit of batter. If it starts sizzling you are ready to cook!

Penny is a Greek food lover, cat mother and all round good egg who tries to be as sustainable and eco friendly as possible. Not just skilled in the kitchen, Penny loves making natural cleaning products and finding new ways to reduce her waste.

She wasn’t sure what to write for her bio, so this ones from me.

You rock Penny!

7. Take 2 spoons and a glass of hot water. Scoop up a spoonful of dough and pass it back and forth between the spoons to form into a ball and drop it in the oil carefully. You can dip the spoons in the hot water and stir so that they are clean and the batter doesn’t get sticky. Put a few balls in the oil and then swirl them around so they get golden brown evenly. Drain them in some paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

Traditionally they are then drizzled with honey but we eat ours with maple syrup and they are just as yummy! You can also melt some chocolate or make a caramel sauce or anything you want really!

Now dig in and thank me later!

Follow on instagram: @eco_penny

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Gingerbread Blondies

by Steph, Stephs Sun

Ingredients 1 cup chickpeas, drained and rinsed 3/4 cup rolled oats 3/4 teaspoon dried cinnamon 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (or 1/2 teaspoon dried ginger) 1/4 teaspoon cloves 1 scoop vegan vanilla protein powder (Or protein free version: 3 large soaked medjool dates and add an extra 1/4 cup rolled oats) 1/4 cup almond milk (add more if mixture is too dry and crumbly; should be similar to cookie dough)

Instructions 1: Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius and line a baking tray with baking paper.

2: Place the oats in a blender and whaz up until fine flour forms.

3: Add in the chickpeas, spices, protein powder (or dates and extra oats) and whaz until crumbly, stir around edges.

4: Pour in the plant milk and whaz until smooth and combined (should be like thick cookie dough, add more liquid if required) 5: Form into balls, shape into squares and place on tray.

6: Press in 1 square of dark chocolate to each blondie and bake in the oven for 15-20 mins or until golden brown and chocolate has melted.

7: Leave to cool slightly and then DEVOUR! Can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Vegan dark chocolate for topping

Steph is a fitness coach, vegan recipe guru (my words, not hers) and all round ray of sunshine. She provides daily inspiration for life, happiness, health and (of course) food on her instagram account. For more delicious recipes, follow Steph at @stephs_sun.

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Caramel chocolate hearts

by Chloe, Be Kind Coco

Ingredients 200g Vegan chocolate 4 Tablespoons of coconut oil 4 Tablespoons of maple syrup or agave 3 Tablespoons of almond butter 1/2 Teaspoon of salt 1/2 Teaspoon of vanilla essence 4-6 dried dates (+1 teaspoon of water to moisten) Equipment 1-2 sets of molds Blender

Instructions 1: Chop up the chocolate and melt over hot water. This process is called tempering and will make sure the mix doesn’t burn as well as give the chocolate an amazing glossy finish.

2: Pour small amounts of the melted chocolate into the mold and use a small spoon or brush to cover the sides of each mold to form a case for your filling. Once you are finished put the mold into the fridge to cool and harden.

3: Mix together the coconut oil, agave, almond butter, salt, vanilla essence, and dates in a blender. You can also chop the dates to speed up the blending. Once the mix is blended and smooth it may be slightly warm so put this into the fridge for a few minutes.

4: Once the chocolate and the mixture is cool use a small spoon to place a small amount of the caramel into each mold. Now you can either put the molds back in the fridge for a few minutes or continue straight to pouring a layer of melted chocolate on top of each mold. Refrigerate until each chocolate is completely dry.

5: Pop each chocolate out of the mold and enjoy!

Fridge (for cooling)

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Facial Toner

Shea Butter Deodorant

by Lauren Hong

by ROF (Reducing Our Footprint)

Witch hazel is a powerful astringent, meaning it causes your tissues to contract to help shrink pores. The rich tannin content in witch hazel helps to creative a protective barrier on the skin, preventing inflammation-causing bacteria and substances from entering your skin cells.

Simple to make and easy to use, with all natural ingredients. Coconut oil is a natual antibacterial agent, that will help fight off the bacteria that causes sweat. Arrowroot is gentle and shea butter is a wonderful non-greasy moisturiser.

Ingredients Witch hazel Lavender oil Instructions 1. In a 100mL spray bottle, combine 100ml of witch hazel and 3 drops of lavender essential oil.

2. Cleanse face.

3. Pad face dry.

4. Shake toner bottle and give yourself 3 spritz on the face and your ready to take on the day!

Ingredients 3 Tablespoons Coconut Oil 2 Tablespoons Shea Butter 3 Tablespoons Sodium Bicarbonate 2 Tablespoons Arrowroot (optional) Essential Oil (optional) Instructions 1. Combine shea butter and coconut oil in a glass jar and place it in a saucepan of boiling water until melted.

2. Add the sodium bicarbonate & the arrowroot to the coconut oil and shea butter mix.

3. Add a few drops of essential oil (eucalyptus, peppermint and lavender).

Lauren is a Holistic Nutritionist from Canada. Her wellness journey began at 25 when she was diagnosed with Melanoma; an aggressive skin cancer. Determined to live a vibrant life, Lauren enrolled in night school to study holistic nutrition. 3 years later, Lauren was cancer free and she graduated, with honours, from the Institute of Holistic Nutrition. She started a blog, to share her journey along with healthy recipes and tips. She began hosting wellness workshops, retreats, speaking on podcasts and leadership panels. Today, Lauren enjoys making her own natural skincare products, such as face oil, toner, dry shampoo, deodorant and body lotion. She is a new resident of Australia and excited to see where 14 her wellness journey takes her.

Dishwasher Tablets

by ROF (Reduce Our Footprint)

Combat store-bought plastic filled dishwasher tablets with your own, 100% natural zero waste dishwasher tablets. This DIY is easy, eco friendly and effective, our favourite!

Ingredients 1 cup of baking soda 1/4 cup of lemon juice 1/8 cup of castile soap Instructions 1. Combine the mixture and stir it together.

Using a whisk will get the best consistency.

2. Add the mixture to silicone ice cube trays and leave them overnight to harden.

3. Remove the tablets from the ice cube tray and store them in an air tight jar.

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Dishwasher Tablets

by ROF (Reduce Our Footprint)

Ingredients

Method

1 cup Water

1. Combine the water and washing soda in a sauce pan over a medium heat until the mixture boils. (or you can boil the kettle and use boiling water unstead of heating on a hob)

1/3 cup of Washing Soda 1 cup of Castile Soap 1/2 Tbsp of Vegetable Glycerin (optional: for sensitive skin) Oven or kettle

2. Remove from the heat and stir the mixture until the washing soda dissolves and let it cool down.

3. Add the castile soap and (optional) vegetable glycerin and stir it all together.

Glass bottle (one with a pumping top is ideal)

4. Pour into a glass bottle and you are finished!

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Reduce Our Footprint first began as a community organisation to promote behavioural change in support of the environment, ROF has since expanded to provide its services to business, festivals, restaurants and schools.

ROF’s aim is to reduce environmental impact through personalised sustainable solutions and circular projects that offer immediate results! Their motto “Minimum effort, maximum impact!”. @ReduceOurFootprint | www.rof-it.com