Seasonal Decor

A busy but contemplative weekend particularly Sunday in preparation for Christmas.  Sunday being the first Sunday of Advent.  We always celebrate with the lighting of the candle and tea, time to prepare for the coming of the Christ child and a time for reflection and hope for the future.

The napkins and cloths have all been washed and are ready for ironing.

 

The cushions, linens and throws have all been sorted and ready to be placed.

 

 

The decorations, tree and baubles are now out of the cupboard and are ready to be unpacked.

 

 

The presents have all been wrapped and sorted ready for delivery.

 

 

Table presents for the family are ready.

 

 

Favours have been made and are ready.

 

 

Chaos in the midst of a well planned and well loved event.  The calm before the storm.  It will all come together and it will all be wonderful...patience is a virtue!

 

How are your plans and preparations for Christmas coming along?

 

See you soon.

Five on Friday

Friday again already!  The days are flying by!  A busy week with lots going on, therefore my five on Friday are moments from my busy week.

I have made a start on the gift wrapping, a fun afternoon with Christmas music and decadent hot chocolate.

 

A  trip to the local garden centre to admire the beautiful decorations and displays.  Quite inspirational and lots of ideas stored for another year.  Whilst I thought the displays were amazing, I did think some of the baubles were a little pricey.  However,  I did come back with some rather nice card stock for the craft room.

 

 

A start has been made on the menu planning for over the Christmas and New Year period.  We did have lots of fun twisting some of the recipes to suit our own personal tastes.  We seem to have a firm menu in mind but there is plenty of time to keep changing it.

 

 

There has also been a few quiet moments of concentration and contemplation when a jigsaw has been the entertainment for the afternoon.  It is certainly a soothing and relaxing pastime.

 

 

Finally, my fifth moment is a trip to the local town for the annual parade and tree lighting.  We had a lovely meal out and a stroll around some of the shops.  Mum had rather an unusual encounter...

 

 

Its not very often you come face to face with a dinosaur.  The parade was fun and included a lot of the local children's clubs, it was wonderful to see their little faces filled with anticipation.  The highlight of the evening was of course Santa with real reindeer.

 

 

A fun evening to start the festive season.

 

A busy but productive and enjoyable week.  I am joining Amy over at Love Made My Home for the weekly get together.  Why not pop over and join the fun.

 

A warm welcome to new followers and a big thank you for all your wonderful comments, I really do appreciate them.  It warms my heart on a cold evening to know that my little blog is read. 

 

Have you made on start on Christmas?

 

See you soon.

 

 

 

 

 

Yarn Along

With news of 2 new babies to cherish I have concentrated my crochet on baby blankets with the odd gift for Christmas thrown in.  I finished the border on the granny square blanket, which I still love and is probably one of my favourites.

 

I have done an oversize baby ripple blanket so that it will be ideal for a toddler to snuggle into.  The colours whilst working on it were quite soothing, it was a pleasure to work on and an easy pattern once you had completed a couple of rows and got into the rhythm.

 

 

The third blanket is a large granny square with a thick border, the colours shown are not a true colour of it.  The light is playing tricks, it is actually a bright red with a burgundy border and looks quite impressive.

 

 

The bottom picture is a truer match to the colour.

 

I have just started to read  A Highland Christmas but have not formed an opinion yet.  I am so busy with other things that I am not reading very much at all.

 

 

I am joining in the yarn along with Ginny over at Small Things.  Pop over and see what others have on their needles and are reading.

 

See you soon.

 

 

 

New Arrival Package

The paintbrushes went into over drive yesterday.  I loved the overall effect of the dolly pins so much I thought I would make some little sets for present toppers, tying them with some jute twine to give a rustic feel.

 

Children's clothes hangers were painted to add to the new babies baskets.

 

 

Then stamped using some Cath Kidston stamps I have, tying ribbon for a stunning finishing touch.

 

 

The storage bags are now finished, I couldn't decide whether to put handles on or make a draw string bag.  Eventually I went with the handles so they could be hung on a door for easy access. 

 

 

Finally I have completed one tag blanket and chosen the materials needed to make a second one.  A fun make matching ribbons for the tags...

 

 

 

The baskets are looking quite luxurious and full with all the bits and pieces completed and bought.  I am pleased with them and am sure both my daughters will be thrilled.  There is nothing like a new addition to the family to bring out the best from the craft room creations.  What is your go to make for a new addition?

 

See you soon.

 

The First Snow And The Start Of Christmas

We have had the first snowfall of the season...damaging winds, followed by freezing torrential rain that led into a couple of hours of snow.  Thankfully it didn't stay around for long but it was pretty in the short term and encouraged thoughts of Christmas.

The organizer is out, so the lists have started.

 

I work well with a list.

 

I have been busy in the kitchen replenishing meals needed for busy/lazy days for the freezer,  quiches, soups and a couple of casseroles.  I have also made the Christmas puddings and mincemeat.  Quite a boozy mincemeat this year with nuts so not really suitable for the children but they prefer ginger cookies anyway.

 

 

I have been busy in the craft room helping Santa with some gifts and sorting all the bought gifts out.  They are all now ready for wrapping.

 

My husband and I have once again joined forces to make tags/gift toppers, we certainly had lots of fun and filled a couple of cold wintery afternoons making them.

 

 

We have also personalised some for the children, which will go on their own little trees another year.

 

 

They were the wooden ones made, there was also a stack made from card stock.

 

 

Sometime ago I bought a big bag of old dolly pegs with a view to painting them to store some of my vintage lace.  We have finally made a start and will paint a few each day until they are all done.

 

 

I have made the girls a throw each in preparation for the colder nights.  Frozen is still one of their favourites.  I have also made them a fleece cushion with a photo pocket to put a picture in of meeting the Princess's.

 

 

Babies are still featuring on a daily basis, we now know that Amie and Matt are expecting a little girl, a baby sister for Bertie.  He seems to be alright about having a sister and said he will buy a baby brother from the shop, not quite sure how that works!!!!   It certainly works for a 4 year old.  He had a birthday while we were in Florida, so everything now is about being 4. 

 

I have added to the pile of burp clothes and crochet for a couple of hours each evening.

 

 

Every girl needs a little Cath Kidston... 

 

Where would we be without somewhere for our shoes?

 

 

I am working on a couple of storage bags.  Are you getting ready for Christmas, or are you a last minute type of person?

 

See you soon.