Reflection of 2013 in Pictures

Happy New Year

Wishing everyone whatever they wish for themselves - a very happy new year.

Upcycled Bedside Tables



Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that Santa was good to you....these are 2 wooden cookers that 2 lucky little boys received.  They started life as bedside tables and with a little imagination ended up as little cookers.  Add some vintage striped material and you have a tea towel and apron.  Just need to unpack a couple of parcels and the kitchen would be complete....pots, pans and wooden food.

Christmas Check List

Big sighs all round.....I am ready!  My husband and I are a little restless and keep going to the window.  The waiting and watching is taking its toil.  No, we are not waiting for Santa.  We are waiting for out eldest daughter, husband and beautiful grandson to arrive.  Our middle daughter, partner and grandson will arrive Sunday.

Gingerbread house - done

Christmas cake - done (actually my youngest daughter made it for us)

Chocolate spoons for the hot chocolate - done

All craft presents finished and wrapped - ok, not quite true the vintage fabric throw is not finished

House cleaned and decorated for the season - done

Christmas cards written, posted and hopefully received - done

Supermarket shop - done

My Mum and Dad are coming on Christmas Eve for my traditional buffet, we have a open house policy so that friends and neighbours can pop in when and if they want to.  The bulk of the baking has been done and is now in the freezer.  My youngest daughter, partner and two beautiful granddaughters arrive boxing day, so their gifts have already been wrapped and delivered.

I will close now wishing you all a very Happy Christmas!

Ongoing Preperations

My craft room is looking a little bit like Santa's Grotto at the moment, although it is in chaos it is an organized mess.  Therefore my plan for today is to finish wrapping presents and organize the sacks and stockings.  The silver needs to be cleaned, Christmas is the only time the silver cutlery sees the light of day.  However it is a nice task to sit around the table and chat with family so maybe that's a job I will leave until the weekend.  

My husband is busy painting the last of his Christmas presents, all of his orders are complete and have been collected.  I will showcase some of his work later in the week. 

Finally, once all the jobs are out of the way I am going to get started on a new project.....I know I haven't finished the vintage fabric throw....I am going to get started on gathering all the materials, patterns, pictures etc together to make a mood board for my beautiful daughters wedding so that we can steal a few moments over the festive period to plan.  Does it get any better?

Finally I am going to check the pantry, I am going to get going with some baking tomorrow and don't want to run out of ingredients half way through.  Cookies, mince pies, quiches and sausage rolls for the freezer and a gingerbread house are planned for tomorrow.  Later in the week, chocolate spoons with crushed candy canes need to be made for the hot chocolate.  It is a really busy time here, but I am grateful that I have a family to share Christmas with.

Memories

 

I have spent the last hour or so looking through some of our holiday snaps taken earlier in the year at the Mount Dora Vintage Garden Fair.  Seeing the trike in the bottom picture reminded me of my childhood and indeed of my own children's childhood....the old and the familiar.  It sparked memories of happy times both of the holiday and of the times spent on the trike. I have watched my daughters on trikes and then onto a 2 wheeler with stabilizers and then a wobbly 2 wheeler.  I am lucky enough to be blessed with 4 beautiful grandchildren and hope to be able to watch them grow and become whatever it is they want to become.

Back in the craft room I am starting to put bows on all of the wooden creations that my husband as completed so they can be collected.  I have a few more floral table arrangements to complete and a vintage material quilted throw to finish and then we are closed for the holiday period. 

What a Wonderful Time of Year

The house is in the process of having a good clean, some of the decorations have been put up.  The pantry and freezer are full, chutneys and pickles are now ready for eating.  The present shopping has been done, the bulk of the crafting is now complete.  Cards and letters have been written, arrangements have been made to deliver and collect gifts from family members.  The excitement is building as my husband and I prepare for our daughters and their own families to visit.  Menus are in the process of being planned, what a wonderful excuse to get out all the Christmas and cookery books, to revisit old and familiar recipes is a pleasure.  Gifts still need to be wrapped, beds need to be made up and aired.  Despite all the hard work, what a wonderful time of year preparing to celebrate the birth of baby Jesus.  A time for rejoicing and giving thanks.....

A Time for Reflection

I have spent the morning working on a present for my granddaughter and chatting to my husband while he works on a couple of gifts for our grandsons. Both of us enjoying our work and each others company.  We have both had quite a busy few months and look forward to spending time with the family and making time for each other.

We are hoping to start decking the halls tomorrow.......I have done some preparation by making new bows for the tree.  We need to take time and think where to position things this year with having little ones in the house again.  Its a wonderful time of year, a time for giving and sharing, remembering and thinking about family and friends.  My tree ornaments are a delight for remembering Christmas's gone by and people no longer with us.  It takes us hours to decorate the tree because of the wonderful stories we have to tell about each bauble and ornament. 

As a family we celebrate each Advent Sunday with an afternoon tea,  the lighting of a candle in the advent wreath and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas.  It is a tradition that as parents, we hope our daughters will now do with their own children, as well as enjoy new traditions of their own.  A wonderful time of year and the perfect time for reflection.

Drum Roll Please....The Finished Quilt

As promised the finished quilt....a quilt that I am really proud of!  It was made using a lot of Cath Kidston material, fabric from Mamas Mercantile store, modern and vintage buttons and a whole lot of love.  A gift made with love from a Granny to a Grandson.



A Peek into the Craft Room aka Workshop aka Mamas Mercantile

As promised a look into the craft room, with no project on show, I couldn't possibly say what I was working on.  I can however say that the commissioned order I was working on is complete and ready for collection and the last of my orders for Christmas are ready to be packaged up and posted.  I can now start the preparations for the traditional family Christmas and get to work on the decorations and the packaging of little parcels.  What a wonderful time of year...... I have also finished the quilt I was working on but I will save that for another post.