GUEST CRAFTS: Aimee & Kienna's Santa Hand Print

When Aimee told me about this Santa hand print decoration she had seen online and was planning on making, I jumped at the chance of seeing how she did it. Immortalising your toddler's hand print as a Christmas ornament, what a fab idea!

It is also a lovely reminder of your baby's tiny hands in years to come, Aimee explained, and if you make one every December, you will eventually have a complete set of very special Christmas tree decorations - not to mention gifts for family.

(I tried to find the original posting online to credit the work, but could not find it - so a big thank you to the ingenious person who first created this.)

The Santa is fairly straightforward to make. The base is salt and flour dough, with your baby's hand print pressed into it, then cut out, baked and painted. Do prepare a day or two for the whole process: the salt dough has to to cook thoroughly, set and cool, and the paint and fixer need to dry.

As is customary, I asked my guest crafter a few interview questions - so you can read up all about Aimee's family, photography and life in Spain at the end of the blog.

And now without further ado, here's how to create your own hand print Santa.


Ingredients for salt dough:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup of salt
• water

Materials for decoration:

• Acrylic paint, in red and white
• Black permanent marker
• Paint fixer spray or varnish, or clear liquid glue
• Paint brushes
• Ribbon

Instructions:

1. Combine the ingredients for the dough, adding tiny amounts of water at a time, until dough is just kneadable.

2. Roll the dough out with a rolling pin or wine bottle, until it is about 1.5 cm thick.

3. Press your child's hand firmly into the dough, as many times as you like.

4. Cut around the hand prints, and make a small hole for the hanger ribbon.

5. Bake at 200 ºC for 3 hours until the dough has gone hard. (The dough may not harden completely in the oven, but will do so when the ornaments have cooled.)

6. Take the ornaments out of the oven and let them cool.

7. Paint and decorate the Santas as follows, and once the paint is dry, spray with fixer, or cover with varnish or clear glue:

STEP 1 - First, paint them completely white. Then mix a touch of red paint with white to create a pink tone, and cover Santa's "face" with it.

STEP 2 - Follow this with a bright red hat and nose. 

STEP 3 - Add a white moustache.

STEP 4 - Wait for the paint to dry and add the black lines with a marker pen.

Aimee and I followed the instructions for the decoration as they were posted on Facebook, but you can unleash your creativity and use other colours or ways of making Santa's face up. You can even turn the finger prints up top, and make your figures into the Three Wise Men with crowns - or if it's the wrong time of year, into Easter chicks, Halloween witches or anything you like.

Enjoy making your Santa and have a very happy Christmas!

* * *

Guest Profile: Aimee

Aimee was born and raised in Manchester, UK. After her parents moved to Spain she came over for a six month visit and met a handsome musician. The rest is history. Aimee now lives with Gary, their daughter Kienna, Aimee's mum and Gary's dad in a typical Andalusian pueblo in the Malaga province.

A few weeks ago Aimee thought that she had hit the big time by winning the Euro Lottery jackpot, only to find out that her mother had read out the numbers on the ticket rather than the ones drawn. For a whole ten minutes the whole family had thought they were multi-millionaires. Obviously a bit of a disappointment followed, but Aimee reckons that at least she now knows how it feels to have won 26 million.

Aimee's photography business started out as a hobby three years ago and has grown from there. She is now working on setting up a studio to work from home and you can view Aimee's work on:

 www.facebook.com/aimeegoodinsonphotography

For this month's guest profile, Aimee answered a few questions for our readers:

Q: What is your least favourite Christmas food?
Aimee: I'm not keen on fancy food, I do like it simple and traditional.

Q: What has been your daughter Kienna's cutest moment so far?
Aimee: Everything she does is cute. She and Felix snogging is top of the list though.

Q: If you could chose to be unicorn or a fairy, which would you be and why?
Aimee: Fairy - more chance of flying about causing mischief without being caught.

Q: Favourite toy as a little girl?
Aimee: Dolls, Barbies and my cousin's spud gun.

Q: What would you take on a desert island?
Aimee: A good book. I'd make the most of the peace and quiet!

GUEST RECIPE: Jose's Tortilla de Patatas

The tortilla de patatas or tortilla española - Spanish potato omelet - is probably about the most nourishing and filling food I know. 

Made with yummy cooked potato, this weighty, juicy omelette is good to eat hot, cold, on its own, in a sandwich, on a cocktail stick dipped in mayonnaise or ketchup, or cut into cubes and thrown into a salad.

It is surprisingly tricky to get right though. Here, my first blog guest Jose, the tortilla ninja, shares how to make a tortilla perfecta. 



Ingredients 

3 Large potatoes
1 Large onion
4 Eggs (medium size)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt 

Utensils

Non-stick frying pan (approx. 25 cm diameter)
Sieve
Knife and chopping board
A large plate that will cover the frying pan


Instructions

1. Peel and chop the potatoes and the onion, mix in a bowl with two pinches of salt. 

2. Fry the potato and onion in 2-3cm olive oil, medium heat, stirring constantly until they are soft and have sunken into the oil. Never let them fry crispy.




3. Once cooked, drain the oil from the potato and onion mix using a sieve. (Make sure you collect the oil in a bowl and dispose of it safely - never pour cooking oil down the sink.)

4. Whisk the eggs. Put the cooked potato and onion into the eggs, mix well. 

5. Wash and dry your pan, place it on medium heat, pour in a about a table spoon of olive oil.

6. Pour in the tortilla mix and cook for 2-4 minutes, or until the bottom half is cooked. The idea is for the tortilla to be moist (not over cooked and dry), yet the bottom needs to be sufficiently solid to hold the tortilla together when it's flipped. 

7. Once tortilla has cooked on one side, flip it over. For this, take a large plate. Put it over the top of the pan. Holding the plate firmly in place with one hand, tip the pan upside down so the tortilla ends up on the plate. Slide the tortilla back into the pan, soggy side down. (This can be difficult. If it goes wrong, be prepared to eat your tortilla scrambled, it'll be just as tasty.) Cook for a further 2-4 minutes, or until firm. Again, don't be tempted to over cook.

And there we are. Tip onto a plate and tuck in. ¡Buen provecho!

* * *

Guest Profile: José

Rock musician by night, hard working family man by day and the world's best dad 24/7 - that's my husband José.

Although his roots are in Malaga, José spent his childhood in Cadiz. He loves to reminisce about the long drives from Cadiz to Malaga to see family during the holidays, with mum, dad, his two brothers, baby sister and grandma all stuffed into in a Renault 5. And one occasion, a live turkey in the footwell. (The feathered passenger ended up on the Christmas table.) 

When not working or spending time with Felix and me, Jose can be found in his "cave" playing guitar, preparing for a gig. 



For this month's guest post, Jose answered a few questions for our readers:

Q: If you had to cook for Gwyneth Paltrow, what would you make her?
José: Tortilla, of course! And rabo de toro.

Q: When would you say it's OK to lie?
José: It's a very deep question. I'd need to think about it.

Q: If you were a character from ‘Lost,’ which one would you be?
José: Said.

Q: What are you wearing right now?
José: Pyjamas.

Q: If you could have any super power, what would it be?
José: Time travel. 

You can find out more about Jose and his music on shamrockspain.yolasite.com.

Crafts: Baby "Under the Sea" Crib Mobile

IMPORTANT: This toy has easily detachable, small parts. It must always be securely attached at a height that is safely out of your child's reach.


I had a lovely time making this mobile when I was expecting Felix. 

"Under the Sea" is a great theme for kids because there are so many forms and colours to choose from. 

Felix has liked his mobile from the start. It's been a permanent fixture both above both his moses basket and his crib and now the familiar sight of it makes him laugh when he wakes up.

I didn't have a sewing machine last year so I made each piece by hand. But even though I have a machine now, I'd probably still sew these animals with needle and thread - the small shapes are very finicky to get into shape and need some tugging and molding as you go along.
   
The mobile frame is made from two chopsticks covered in yarn. For the sea creatures I used old t-shirts I found at home.

For hanging the mobile, you can use a sturdy hook in the ceiling above the crib or a mobile arm attachement that clips onto the crib. 

This mobile has small, easily detachable pieces and long strings, so you must make sure it is safely attached and that there is no danger whatsoever of the mobile falling onto your baby, or your baby reaching and grabbing bit. 




I personally preferred to order a crib mobile attachment arm. JL Childress make a fabulous one, I ordered mine through Amazon (click here to see the JL Childress web site). 

Anyway, below are full instructions for making this Under the Sea mobile. 

Have fun!
  


Materials

• Four 12 x 24cm pieces of stretch material in blue, turqoise, yellow and red
• A ball of white wool yarn
• About 150cm of baby blue wool yarn
• Sewing threads to match the materials, plus blue thread for the animals' eyes
• Cotton wool 
• Standard needle for sewing thread 
• Large-eyed needle for sewing with wool
• Two plain unvarnished wooden chop sticks*
• 2 x 6cm piece of thick cardboard 
• 4 x 8cm piece of thick cardboard
• Marker pen
• Printed pattern sheet**

*If you can only find varnished sticks, you'll need some glue.

**Would you prefer to make your own, original patterns for the animals? For this you'll need a sheet of paper, a pencil and a ruler.  Your animals should all fit roughly into a 11 x 11cm space, including the 7mm borders.



Instructions

1. Start by making the sea animals. Cut out the animal patterns (or if you prefer, use your own design).

2. Folded each piece of 24x12cm material in two, making sure the wrong side is facing out, then pin the patterns onto the material. I used: seahorse - turquoise, starfish - red, whale - blue, fish - yellow. 

3. Cut out the material carefully along the edges of the patterns.

4. When you have the double piece of material cut our for each animal, unpin the pattern paper. Then repin the the two pieces of material together, still making sure the wrong sides are facing out.

5. Now sew each animal together. The animals need to be turned inside out and stuffed with cotton wool, so don't stitch all the way around, but leave a two finger wide gap in each. 

6. Once each animal has been partially sewn, turn them inside out and fill with cotton wool. Put in a little bit of cotton at a time, rather than big lumps - the animals will be filled out more evenly this way. You will also be able to straighten and mold them as you go along. Use one of the chopsticks to push the cotton wool in right to the very tips of each animal's tail and nose.

7. Once they are stuffed, turn in the remaining border and sew the animals shut.

8. Now it is time to put some decoration on the animals. 

First, work on the whale. The idea is to create a "spurt of water" coming out of the whales back.

Take your 150 cm of blue wool yarn, and the wool sewing needle and thread it with the wool - but don't knot the end. Find a place on top of the whale where the water would spurt out. 

Sink your needle in and then aim it to come back out as close as possible to the entry hole. Now pull on the thread until there is 4cm left of the tail. Tie the string into a firm double knot right where the "water spurt" begins - this is to fix the yarn into place. 

9. Place your cardboard piece on the whale (see on the left). Wind the yarn around it. Each time you go around, push the needle through the whale's back as close to the first needle entry hole as possible. Do this about eight to ten times.  

10. Once done, ease the cardboard out carefully. You will now have several loops of wool on the top of the whale. 

Take your scissors and cut the loops right at the top. You will now have a tuft of blue wool yarn that looks like water coming out of the whale's back. 

If you want you can wet your fingers with water or a bit of hair spray and shape it.

NB: Notice how these strands of wool are not held to the whale by knots - this is one of the reasons for the safety warning: you should never leave this mobile within the baby's reach or attach it unsafely so it falls on him.

11. Move onto the other animals. Using the smaller cardboard piece, repeat this process with the fish and the sea horse to give each a tuft of "hair". 

I used white for the fish and blue for the sea horse, but you can design each one exactly as you'd like it. The starfish has no "hair".



12. Finally, give the sea creatures some eyes.   

First, using a marker pen, dot the places for the animals' eyes. Then take the blue thread and standard needle. Knot the end of the thread. 

Push the needle in as close to the marker pen dot as possible and then push it out close. 


Now, criss-cross a few stitches over each other in a small round area until an eye is formed. Hide the knot as you stitch. Once done, push needle through the star fish right through to other side. Stretch the thread whilst squashing the star fish flat and cut the thread very close to the abric, where it's coming out. Once cut, the end will be pulled into the star fish, thus dissappearing and not leaving an unattractive thread end.

13. Once the animals are done, put them to one side and work on the mobile frame. Take your white ball of yarn.  

Important: First cut off one 60 cm piece, and four 50cm pieces and put these to one side until later.

14. Now place the chopsticks across eachother. Take your ball of yarn. 

See the top diagram on the left: Leaving the tail end of the yarn dangling and feeding yarn from the ball, hold the cross firmly in place and loop yarn over the cross from A to B, and then going underneath the cross, back to A. Then twist the yarn around to D and over the cross to C - then back underneath to D. Tighten the yarn and make sure the yarn tail end is left trapped underneath the loops.

15. Repeat this a few times until the cross is firmly held. Make sure you are pulling the yarn as tight as possible.


16. Then twist the yarn from A to B to A severla times, about 15 loops should do. Now repeat from D to C to D the same amount of times. The idea is to make the cross stay firm, at right angles. Do as many layers of this as is needed to give a firm cross shape to the mobile frame.

17. Once you have done a layer of about ten twists each way in the centre of the cross, you can begin to work your way down the mobile's "branches". Go down one of the branches by winding the yarn around it, pulling it taught and tucking each loop tightly next to the previous one, all the way to the end of the stick. Make sure you cover the stick completely so no wood is visible. Once you reach the end, start winding back. When you get back to the cross in the middle, do a couple of loops each way and move onto the next branch, as before. Do this until all four are covered. 

(If you are using plain wooden chop sticks and wool yarn, the textures have a lot of friction and the yarn holds in place. If your chop sticks are varnished, you might want to put a drop of glue at the end of the stick to stop the last loop from slipping off.)

18. Once all four branches of the mobile are covered twice, you'll be back at the centre. 

Now is the time to pick your 60cm piece you cut off earlier. This is the string the whole mobile will hang from. 

19. Tie it tightly around the middle of the cross, double knotting it on top of the cross. 


20. Take your yarn (from the ball) and continue twisting it from A to B, and D to C, making sure the 60cm string you have tied in the middle of the cross comes out of the top.

Wind the ball yarn around so that there are the same number of loops on either side of it. 

The string should come out right at the middle of the cross, held on either side by loops of tight yarn - see picture on the left.

 

21. All that remains is hanging and balancing the sea creatures from the mobile, yey!

Take one of the 50cm yarns. Thread the large yarn needle - don't tie a knot on the end. 

Start with the whale. Insert the needle in the centre top of the whale, in the midst of the "water spurt" and push through. Pull the yarn through until you have a short tail end left, about the length of the water spurt yarns. Now tie the tail end with the longer end in a firm double knot. Cut the tail end so it's disguised in the water spurt. 

Repeat with the fish and the sea horse.

22. Lastly, do the star fish. It has no hair so to have a neat finish you won't be able to hide the knot, just make sure your knots are neat and close together. Just push the needle through the highest point on the top tip of the star and, as previously, leave a short tail end. Tie the tail with the longer piece four times, very tightly. Cut any protruding tail end of yarn right down to the final knot.

23. Your animals are now ready to be tied to the mobile. First hang your mobile frame up, so it's comfortable for you to work with. The take the sea creatures and begin to experiment with weight and length of yarn, tyeing them loosely at first, right at the tips of the mobile's branches. 

Because the chop sticks are thicker at one end and the animals are of differing weights, you'll find that each mobile element hang at a different height. This gives the mobile an lovely uneven yet balanced feel and look as it spins around slowly.

Once you've found a right height to hang each animal, secure the knots really firmly. The mobile pieces must NOT fall off onto the baby - use glue if in doubt.

And you're done.

Happy crafting! I hope your baby enjoys this mobile made with love.

Baking: Kiwi Loaf with Cream Cheese & Lime Topping

I love a large slice of fruit cake with my cup of tea! 

Here's a recipe for my new favourite, kiwi loaf. 

The juicy kiwi fruit gives a lovely moist, crumbly texture to the bake and cinnamon and honey balance the acid in the fruit.

I sweetened the dough half and half with sugar and stevia* because I prefer to keep my processed sugar consumption to a minimum - there's a history of diabetes in my family and I like to watch the calories too. But some baking requires a little sugar to make the chemical reaction in the dough happen, so I find the 50/50 to be a good compromise. (Equally, you can just use sugar without the stevia.)

*Stevia is a natural sweetener. You can buy pure stevia powder or liquid in health food stores or online; supermarkets tend to sell stevia powder combined with a sugar alcohol. I used the latter here, hence the sugar/stevia substitution ratio are the same. The 100% pure stuff is much, MUCH sweeter than the cut supermarket powder, so check your product instructions carefully before adding.


Ingredients

4.5 - 5 dl flour 
1 tsp cinnamon
130 g butter
3 tbsp honey
either 2.4 dl sugar, or 1.2 dl sugar and 1.2 dl stevia powder
2 eggs
6 kiwi fruit, peeled and chopped

For the topping:
200 g cream cheese
1 lime
2 tbsp sugar, or equivalent stevia

For lining the cake tin:
a bit of butter
bread crumbs / powdered almond


Instructions

• Preheat oven to 160ºC. 
• Grease the cake tin and coat evenly with bread crumb or powdered almond.
• Sieve the flour, then mix with baking powder, sodium bicarbonate and cinnamon.
• In a separate bowl beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs, beat.
• Stir in the kiwi.
• Stir in the flour mixture, mix until even.
• Pour into baking tin and bake for about 45-50 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Remove cake from tin and set aside to cool.
• For the topping, mix cream cheese, juice of one lime and 2 tbsp sugar or stevia, then spread onto the cooled cake.
• Decorate with lime zest or cake sprinkles and serve.

Enjoy! 

Sewing: Inflatable Play Donut for Baby

IMPORTANT: This toy is intended for adult supervised play ONLY. Never leave your child to play unattended in it.

A friend of mine has one of these "sit me up" inflatable play donuts for her baby. They provide support and allow your baby to sit independently for a little while. 

I loved the idea and I decided to have a go at making one myself. Baby Felix adores it! (And it gives me a chance to relax and have a cup of tea while I watch him from the sofa.)


  


Materials

• An inflatable swimming ring, roughly 120cm in diameter, with an approx. 40cm diameter hole in the middle
• About 4 meters of cloth to cover the ring
• About 65 x 65cm cloth and 60x60cm soft padding material to sew onto bottom "pillow" where baby will sit
• Coloured bits of cloth for decorations (old t-shirts, etc.)
• 8 x 15 cm pieces of ribbon to sew onto the sides - to hold the cover in place
• 4 x plastic bags / pieces of plastic gift wrap  - these will go under the decorations and will make a crackling sound when baby touches them. (They need to be patternless or clear, so that you can throw cover in washing machine at cold temperature and no colours will run from the plastic.)
• Sewing machine, with standard cloth needle
• Coloured threads (to match your cloths)
• Cloth scissors and paper scissors
• Tape measure
• Cloth chalk
• Paper and pencil
• Pins

Instructions

IMPORTANT: Always make sure all your stitching is strong - double or triple stitching where necessary - to make this toy absolutely safe for your baby. No threads, pieces of cloth, ribbon or decorative pieces must ever come off when your baby tugs at them, as these would be a choking hazard.

1. Buy a swimming ring big enough for your baby to sit inside. You can get one from a toy store or order it online. I chose a 120cm diameter ring with a 40 cm hole. Make sure the rubber meets all current safety standard, so it is not toxic in any way - these should be printed if not on the ring itself, on the box it comes in. The ring can have any pattern - mine was a little bit of a scary looking pirate one - but it'll get covered up so it doesn't really matter.
 
2. Measure your swimming ring to determine its total diameter and the diameter of the hole in the middle. (The cover cloth and decoration sizes will depend on these measurements.)

3. Make a few sketches of how you'd like the ring to look, the colour and the decoration patterns, to create an idea of the look you want.

4. For the cloth you intend to use for the cover,  make sure you leave enough space for the swimming ring diameter, plus a 5cm border all round. 

(For example, my swimming ring measured 120cm in diameter, so I needed two 130 x 130cm pieces - or one 260x130cm piece folded in two.)



5. Before inflating it, place the swimming ring on the cloth. Use this to draw the pattern on the cloth. Then measure a 5cm border around the ring, and inside the hole - using a ruler or tape measure is better so the border is even.

Pin the two pieces together, then cut out the cover, the top and bottom pieces together, along the border lines. Also cut out the holes.



6. Save the two round pieces from the hole, and using one of them as a guide, cut out two more round pieces. You will use these four round pieces of cloth to sew your decorative patterns on, later to be attached to the cover.
7. If you haven't already, it's now time to design your four decorations for the sides. Draw the patterns on paper first, making sure they fit comfortably onto the round pieces of cloth you cut out from the holes. I chose a ladybug, a lion, a turtle and a butterfly, but you can do anything you want.

(If you want symmetrical shapes, fold the pattern paper in two and only draw half the on one side, eg. half a heart. Cut it out while the paper is still folded and when you open it you'll have a nice symmetrical shape.)

8. Using your paper patterns, cut your decoration pieces out.



9. First use normal stitching to attach the decoration pieces onto the round patches of cover material (the ones you cut out from the "donut holes".) 

Using zigzag stitch, seal all the edges so they won't unravel. You may want to do some additional decorative stitching, like on the bug's antennas on the right, or the lion's smile and eyes on the left.


10. Now move onto the covers.  Just before you start, you should know that the edges of the holes in the middle will be sewn together. The outer edges will stay open so the cover can be placed over the ring. And the outer edges will have eight sets of ribbons to tie the cover into place.

But first, the outer edges need to be folded in and sewed, so as to create a firm border that doesn't ravel. I did this by folding the 5cm border over twice and then sewing it around twice, with two parallel lines of stitching about 1cm apart. 

Make sure your stitching is sturdy - your baby will pull on the cover, so your stitching needs to be strong and no pieces must ever come off, this could be dangerous for your baby.

 
11. Next attach the ribbon. The eight sets of ribbon will need to be attached at equal and matching distances, both on the upper side and the lower side of the cover.

Again, make sure that the ribbons are sturdily attached so the cover cannot come off, or the ribbons rip from the cover, when your baby pulls on it.

12. Once the outer borders are done and the ribbons are in place, is time to figure out where to attach your decorations. 

Now is the time to do a "first fitting" of the cover, to see how it sits on the ring. Pin the middle hole together and inflate the swimming ring. Dress your donut carefully - don't puncture it with one of the needles that is holding the inside border together.

Once the cover is in place, place the decorations where you want them. I put them slightly on the inner side of the ring, instead of right on top, so that Felix sees and touches them easily.

Pin the decoration patches onto the cover - again, take care not to puncture the ring.

13. Sew the decoration patches onto the cover, going around and sewing around the circular patch, from 12 o'clock to 9 o'clock, leaving a quarter gap. Now stuff a plastic bag or some wrapping plastic underneath the decorative patch. Sew the remaining gap. Thanks to the plastic, the decorative patch will now be slightly raised and make a fun sound when your baby touches it.

14. When the decorations are all on the ring, it's time to sew the inside border together, i.e. the border around the hole in the middle.

15. Finally, make the cushioned bottom. Depending on the size of your donut, cut out a square piece of soft padding - I used 60x60cm. Cut out some cloth to cover it, leaving a border - I used 65x65cm. Sew your cloth square on three sides, then stuff in the cushioning, and close the remaining side, thus making a square, thin "pillow" your baby will sit on.

Once again, dress the donut, fitting the cover on snugly and tying the ribbons firmly. Now carefully pin the square cushion on the bottom of the ring. Once again, take care not to puncture the swimming ring. Then take the cover off and sew your bottom cushion onto the bottom of the cover.

And voilá, you have a baby play nest.

If you do decide to make this for your baba, I'd love to hear back from you and see photos of your final result. 

Happy play times!

Knitting: Baby Socks

Here's how to make some really cute baby socks for your newborn.

Materials

• 1 x ball of cotton yarn
• 5 x 3mm or 4mm needles (the smaller the needles = the smaller the stitch = the smaller the sock)
• a yarn sewing needle (for finishing off the toe)
• a crochet needle and some ribbon for decorating

KnittingKey

K - knit
P - purl
S - slip stitch
ST = stockinette stitch
tog = together 
skp = slip one, knit one, then pass the slip stitch over the knitted stitch


Instructions  

1. Start by casting on 32

2. Knit one row and divide 8 stitches each onto 4 needles 

3. To create a ribbed stem for your sock, work in a "knit 2, purl 2" pattern for 18 rows

4. Heel: K18 , then turn making sure 14 stitches remain on needles). You can work the stitches onto two needles now for ease. Knit 18 ST for 12 rows. Ending with P row.  

5. To turn the heel:

K11, skp, turn (you should have 5 stitches left on needle)
S1, P4, P2tog, turn around (5 left )
S1, K4, skp, turn (4 left)
S1, P4, P2tog, turn (4 left)
S1, K4, skp, turn (3 left)
S1, P4, P2tog, turn (3 left)
S1, K4, skp, turn (2 left)
S1, P4, P2tog, turn (2 left)
S1, K4, skp, turn (1 left)
S1, P4, P2tog, turn (1 left)
S1, K4, skp, turn (on the last stitch, simply lift the existing stitch onto the needle without stitching it)
S1, P4, P2tog, turn (on the last stitch, simply lift the existing stitch onto the needle without stitching it)  

6. Foot: Knit across the 6 heel stitches, and then carry on by creating 7 new stitches up the side of the heel. Knit 14 stitches across the front of the sock (these are the ones that are still on the needles). Pick up another 7 new stitches up the other side of the heal — you should have 34 stitches on your needles in total now. In continuation, you can work these onto 4 needles for comfort. Place a safety pin at this stitch, eg. so you know where the start of a round is. Then:

K12, K2tog, K 12, skp, K6
Knit round
K11, K2tog, K 11, skp, K6
Knit round
K10, K2tog, K10, skp, K6  - You should now have 28 stitches on your needles
Knit 9 rounds

7. Toe: decrease the sock into a pointed toe as follows:

K7, K2tog, K1, skp, K9, K2tog, K1, skp, K2  - you should now have 24 stitches left
Knit one round
K6, K2tog, K1, skp, K7, K2tog, K1, skp, K1  - you should now have 20 stitches left
Knit one round
K5, K2tog, K1, skp, K5, K2tog, K1, skp, K0 - you should now have 16 stitches left
Knit one round
K4, K2tog, K1, skp, K3, K2tog, K1, skp  - now just slip the last stitch, knit the first stitch of the next round, then pass the slip stitch over .  - you should now have 12 stitches left on the needles.)

8. Close: The toe is now ready, there are 3 stitches on each of the four needles. Join the 3 top and 3 bottom stitches together using kitchener stitch. Then using a large sewing needle, pull yarn through the 3 side stitches on each side, and pull tightly, knot and sew in the ends.   

9. Finish: Turn the booties inside out to show the "good side".  

10. Decorate: using  a crochet needle, crochet a simple chain of six stitches at a time, attaching the sixth stitch in the middle of each sock stem groove. To finish, use the sewing needle to work some ribbon through the ankle, again using the sock cuff grooves as a guide.