Merry Christmas

One last frantic post before Christmas arrives. Every year I hope to greet the day feeling calm and self-possessed. Maybe next year. Then again, Em and I are always much more organised than we think. All that's left to do is wrapping and few more cards to write. Tuesday night was supposed to be the night I baked. I did bake, in the sense that I made a massive mess in the kitchen. Stupidly I decided not to make my usual batch of Gingerbread cookies and just whip up a very simple butter cookie recipe. I'm still not sure about the details but when I took the first tray out of the oven, something didn't look right. I tasted one. Arhhhh. Hmmm, hot flour cookie is what I got. I think I forgot to double the sugar.
Em thought I was nuts and tried to convince me that all that was needed was a slap of icing sugar...but it was hopeless. Ended up hurling said cookies into the bin. At eleven I was still up to my armpits in sticky mixture, flour, snow-flake cookie cutters, spoons and trays. Sigh. I made my Gingerbread instead...last night and they turned out beautifully. So there's a Christmas miracle for you.


Em and I are off for a couple of weeks, heading to Apollo Bay where we plan to swim, walk in forest, eat crayfish and read.

I hope you all have a bright, peaceful Christmas full of laughter and love. See you in a couple of weeks. x

PS: Christmas lunch was brilliant!

...meanwhile, preparations for our Christmas lunch continue. Here are the place-cards. Kept it simple...that part, anyway. At the risk of sounding corny...Em and I came up with something nice to say about each person in my family...and wrote in on the back of the card.
Em and I both have Friday off work, so up goes the bunting, tables, chairs etc out onto the verandah. Saturday morning we'll start on the final touches: flowers, cloths, napkins, ice and Em will get a chance to fire up our bbq before my lovely brother-in-laws turn up and demand ''burning food'' rights.

Let It Snow - Man!

So here is my Snowman. The idea came from Marth Stewart Living Magazine (December). I don't have it with me...but I think he's meant to look like a vintage, cotton decoration that were popular in the early 1900s. He was a little fiddly. Basically it's a couple of polystyrofoam balls, fuzzy pipe-cleaners, white craft glue mixed with water and tissues cut into thin strips. Martha uses cotton wool...but I didn't have any on hand, hence the tissues.
I've made...whatever the collective noun is for four snowmen...a huddle of snowmen? A frost of snowmen? A drift of snowmen? Anyway, lots of fun.

So glad today is cooler than the last two days of intense heat. Our town was covered in thick smoke, despite the fact that we're about 150ks from any major bush fire. Fires are still burning now - thousands of hectares but luckily, no lives lost.

Em and I caught up with friends on Saturday but Sunday afternoon, I had a bit of time for crafting. No photos yet but it did strike me as slightly odd to be making snowmen while outside, it was the hottest December day on record for 53 years. Even Toby was zapped of all energy.

Also gearing up for our Family Christmas lunch on the 16th...arrrhhh. The dining room has been turned into Command Central where everything from tablecloths, glasses, platters to cake stands are all about to topple over. Still, it's kind of fun to get ready for a big event. Our mantra has been "keep it simple" - but it never turns out that way.

For more cute Snowmen look here Rock Paper Scissors, My Little Mochi

o tanenbaum...

Had a lot of fun making these...Soft Tree pattern kindly posted by Little Birds Handmade. Thank you!

Colliwood

Last Sunday Em and I went to the premiere of Charlotte's Web. I adored the book when I was little but wasn't a fan of the animated movie...but the new film version was great. Julia Roberts did a great job as the voice of Charlotte, too.

Little Dakota Fanning turned up...with a tiny pig on a leash...the "after party" was at the Collingwood Children's Farm, which they'd done up to look like a New England Country Fair complete with rides, pumpkins, lemonade stands etc. I'll admit it...I took my camera and couldn't help but snap a few shots of Dakota. Mr and Mrs Fanning looked very Hollywood and it was all slightly surreal but there were hundreds of kids who looked like they were having the time of their lives...and yes, we had fun, too!

They look like little hats but they're actually paper cones. On Saturday 16 December Em and I are having my family over for a Christmas BBQ ... that means 22 for a sit down lunch! I should be busy collecting chairs because the way we're going - people will be pulling up a nice, sturdy crate to sit on. Instead, I've been folding and sticking these - a little departing gift we'll fill up with goodies.

12 down, 10 to go.

I've just finished reading The Lost Happy Ending, a beautiful picture book by UK poet, Carol Ann Duffy with illustrations by Jane Ray. It's about a little girl who collects Endings and releases them every night into the "violet evening air". When a (very) nasty witch steals a sack of happy endings, every bedtime story ends on a bad note: Hansel and Gretel are trapped in the ginger-bread house and Snow White dies. I won't spoil the ending...
The illustrations are rich, colourful and vibrant...but, like original fairytales (before Disney got hold of them) it's on the darker side of happy.

I've also started re-reading Holidays On Ice by David Sedaris. I rarely re-read books but this guy's experience as a Macy's elf is priceless.

I crafted like a crazy woman this weekend. Yes, felt did fly. Finished my ornaments for the swap, made some rubber stamps, typed up some little cards, baked an apple cake, made an elephant, kitty, duck.. - NOTHING got in my way. My sewing machine was on fire! Fun.

I seemed to have caught the Christmas bug a little earlier than usual. Maybe it's because I signed up for the Holiday Ornament Swap over at Freshly Blended. I'm in the midst of a crafting blitz - came out of the blue but there I was late last night, cutting tiny bits of felt and flinging cotton about and jabbing my finger repeatedly with a needle...a sure sign it's time to down tools.

Anyway. Looking around for inspiration about what to make. Found some good ideas here - like the buttons but might try something different. Some sweet things here, too. These antique cotton decorations are pretty amazing, too.

Trying to find order in all this colour, shape and texture and coming up with more rings.

Boo!

Busy making some scary craft - hmmm. Sometimes my craft is scary but it has nothing to do with Halloween... First off a spooky pin cushion with owl button and ghoulish shrinky pins plus some haunting photos. Happy H.

Lovely weekend...a little crafting, a lot of baking and reading in the sun. Just as I planned...

A blissfully quiet weekend ahead so I'm planning on some crafting/cooking/reading...lots of ideas bubbling away. Hope you all have a good weekend.

Ring Ring

Made some more button rings and button hair clips recently - playing around with colours and sizes THEN I found this fantastic case to put them all in.

The plan is to take them to a market ... eventually ... after I make some more. Thinking about lovely pinks and greens for summer.

Isn't the letter B a good letter? Found this in Queenscliffe when Em and I went for a walk. The eggs aren't real but they look nice, too.

Another year, another weekend away with the girls. Had a blast. Queenscliffe was at its sunny best. Lots of drinking, talking, laughing and shopping and a few walks on the beach. It's so great to really relax and spend time with people you love.

Love the printing blocks - Emma found them in a dark corner in second hand shop near the beach. The letter 'B' was discovered on a morning walk.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend, too.

Take A Load Off.

Love my job but sometimes I feel like running away and crafting for a few hours. Will have to hold that thought, at least for a little while. Found this tiny office chair in Sydney. So cute...and yes, it swivels, too.