Merry Hearts

 Hello! I hope you like the title of my post today! Here are some of my merry felt hearts. I made these quite a few years ago, inspired by the shaker shop which had some wonderful decorations that year. I made a set for our tree, and then I liked making them so much I kept on making them and gave them as an extra with most presents, tucked inside as a surprise. I even gave one to an acquaintance who probably wondered what it was!!

 I loved stitching and embroidering the felt, and some day I will do lots of things made from it when I have more time. The little feather trees were made with a tiny applique fabric pot. It was one of the most fun decorations I've made! The next picture shows one heart hanging on the kitchen cupboard, but soon I'll show you them all hanging on our tree!

 Today I got a lot done - some designing, some thinking about designing (which also counts as work of course, in my job), some cleaning and tidying, and some present wrapping and not just tiny easy ones too! I would show you the growing pile but it's too dark now, so maybe tomorrow? And here are a few more quick and easy gift tags made from scraps - I love it when nothing goes to waste and you get some little handmade extras too...

So I have a very merry heart today and I do hope you do too! It may be freezing outside, but it's lovely to be cosy indoors and busy crafting. I've also been knitting a bit today and sewing a sweet cuddly creature which I will be showing you very soon... Keep warm and snug, and thank you for popping by and for your sweet comments.Back soon. xx

December Splash of Colour

 I'm loving the splash of colour idea started by silverpebble last month, where we post bright and colourful pictures at the beginning of each wintry month to brighten up the days until spring...This blue door with it's cheery wreath of red baubles was photographed in York. I loved its bright blue distressed look contrasting with the decoration. It was the door of an old building where a craft fair was being held....

 My second picture was taken in a cafe in Manchester about a month ago, just as the cold snap was beginning. We went over to see a friend's paintings in an exhibition  there but couldn't find the gallery at first so were walking along a very long Victorian street in a very icy wind when we decided to pop into a cafe for a warm drink and to ask directions. The bliss of entering this warm bright space and hearing the hiss of the coffee machines - and seeing so many bright tea pots all together!! We warmed up nicely, and found the gallery wasn't too far away...(and my friend's paintings looked great too).

And here is my last colourful picture - a Christmas decoration that I bought for my younger daughter - I was rather sorry to see it go after snapping a few pictures before wrapping it back up! I think it's quite sweet.
We have had an icy day here again, with white frost on everything, so the thaw of yesterday didn't last long. I hope you are all keeping warm and cosy whatever is happening weather wise where you are, and thank you for visiting me. Have a great week! x

In the Doll's House

One Christmas, a long time ago when my daughters were small, Father Christmas brought them a doll's house. They loved it and played with it for years, so when they grew up I kept it in the attic instead of giving it away like lots of other out grown toys.

 When we finished decorating the New Bedroom I brought the doll's house down and had a good look at it. Not too bad - it had lost a chimney and was a bit dusty, the old Laura Ashley curtains looked shabby (not in a good way) and the front door had fallen off. But with a lick of  paint, a new chimney made by Mr P, a new door ordered from The Doll's House Emporium ( where Santa got it from originally...) and some pretty  curtains- it looked fresh and as good as new so we put it in the New Bedroom ready for the grand babies to play with.

When my girls saw their old doll's house again they were thrilled and sooo nostalgic. The little pieces of toy furniture inside strongly evoked  their childhood memories. They especially remembered putting Thomasina, their pet hamster in the house and gleefully watching her run up the stairs, like the Two Bad Mice in Beatrix Potter's tale!

             Here's a little peek in the nursery window at night - all seems peaceful in there...

                                My favourite thing in the doll's house, both then and now is this:

 The teeny tiny Christmas cake which lasts indefinately! Speaking of which, how are your Christmas preparations getting on? I've been a bit side tracked this weekend with a magazine project for spring to finish, but now it's done and we are going out for a refreshing walk - we have sunshine, blue sky and a thaw here now.

When we get back I'll be having a nice cup of tea and sorting out the decorations...Thank you for visiting me, and for all your kind and interesting comments which I so love reading! I send you  warm wishes for a happy week ahead, filled with the all the cosy pleasures of the countdown to Christmas! xx

Sew Sweet

Hello! I have some sweet things for you today! First of all here is a gingerbread man tin - another in my series of syrup tin recycling. (I've used up the supply now and we're a bit tired of flapjacks!) This time a Christmassy one which is just right to store these shiny candy canes. They were a little surprise from Sarah a couple of weeks ago - she knows how to make her Mama happy! I love using them in my decorations every year, even though I rarely eat them myself, I just really love the way they look!
The little red and white striped sweet bags are some I sewed the other evening, after finding the fabric at the Knitting and Stitching Show. It was exactly what I was looking for as I wanted to make the bags look like the old-fashioned red and white striped paper bags that shops used to use for sweeties.

 I made the bags very simply using rectangles of fabric sewn down one side and along the bottom and hemmed at the top. When you have filled the bag with your choice of sweeties - or other gift - you can tie it up with ribbon or ric rac, raffia or lace, whatever you have that looks pretty. I made the little tags with white card (and a corner rounder punch) and my favourite merry wishes rubber stamp. I also used some Christmas stickers from Doodlebug. ( The rubber stamp and stickers are from Handy Hippo.)

 I think my sweetie bag sewing was partly inspired by some of the gorgeous shop windows in York last week - just look at all the swirly colours in this sweet and sugary array of lollipops!

 In our house Christmas starts to appear all by itself at the beginning of December! Little Christmas things start to pop up in different places, cards begin to arrive, then the trees, the decorations....and suddenly it's here!

I love being at home this time of the year, and enjoy the cosy winter days doing my designs and making Christmas plans. Having family nearby means I often go for a walk to see them on a wintry afternoon, and it's lovely to come home through the chilly dusk and see the little advent lights in the windows.
I hope your days are cosy and snug and filled with sweetness and light!! x

Posting Early

Well here we are at the start of December and here are some Christmas gifts I've already wrapped!!  This year I've been shopping a bit earlier and enjoying it a lot more. Not just things that have to be posted early, like presents for friends abroad, but for close family too. If I see something I like I get it then rather than waiting - like these adorable cards from Julia Crosland. Julia's blog has a fantastic giveaway which closes today, and you can buy these sweet cards and her other artwork here.

I love wrapping little gifts, making small parcels and creating gift tags with scraps of card, paper, rubber stamps, ribbon, string and raffia - all sorts of bits and pieces that are lying around on my craft table, left over from work projects. These adorable heart topped pegs were a little gift from my  daughter Rosie - she knows just what I like!

 I'm not so great at wrapping larger or awkwardly shaped things - I can get in quite a tangle. Sarah, my elder daughter, is the family's gift wrapping expert - when she still lived at home we all used to hand over our gifts to her to be neatly swathed in paper, perfectly folded in and taped.
This creature was the most difficult thing I've wrapped in quite a while - Holly the horse, Charlie's present last Christmas - it took me ages to get it covered in paper but it was patched together eventually - and worth it for the surprise and delight when the paper got torn off!

I'll leave you with this cute picture - a Beatrix Potter snow shovelling rabbit...

Have a lovely cosy first day of December! x



Let It Snow

 Hello! The last day of November is here already - I can hardly believe it. This month has flown by and tomorrow we'll be opening the first door of our advent calendars, nibbling on the chocolates and starting the Christmas countdown!

 This little snowman cushion is from a pattern I made years ago. I designed it originally using rich warm folk art colours in a homespun style, and I made one for each of my two sisters for Christmas that year. This year I decided to make a new one using brighter and lighter fabrics and this is the result - a chilly little snowman for a chilly snowy day. I stitched on the little lace bobble edged trim because it reminded me of tiny snowballs.

We have had snow too! Not a huge amount (yet) but more is on its way. I took a picture of our steps before I swept them clear. I hope the roads are clear too!

I'll be back tomorrow. Thank you all for visiting me and for your all your lovely comments. I hope you have a great day, enjoy the snow and the warm cosy times too. x

Jolly Holiday

 Hello! I'm back from our little holiday in York! It was the perfect place for a festive break with its fascinating medieval architecture, lovely little shops filled with treats, yummy food and such pretty Christmas lights and decorations - it had a really magical atmosphere, especially at night.

 We had booked an apartment near the city centre, which actually turned out to be a tiny sliver of a house, nestled up against the city wall in Goodramgate. The house was very old and had become rather lopsided in places - the floors felt like being in the fun house at a fair, or even on a slightly tilting ship - but it all added to the historic atmosphere!

 The shop windows were stunning and I took lots of pictures. Here are just a couple...this one had lots of sewn and stitched fabric gifts....

 And this is one of my favourites - I love the look of pretty little sugar mice ...

And did it snow?! Yes, it did! Just enough to make the city look even more picture postcard lovely, a light dusting of icy white on every roof, and on the crenellated tops of the city walls. This is the snowy view we saw when we woke on the second day of our trip.

 Luckily for us, the roads were clear, so at the end of the week we had a nice drive to Harrogate, through the beautiful Yorkshire countryside with wide sunlit snowy fields dotted with sheep. The Knitting and Stitching Show was packed and buzzing with customers, and I was soon one of them filling my bag with goodies.

Home in time for Mr P's birthday and a lovely cosy family celebration. Thank you for all your good wishes for our trip and for Mr P's birthday! I have missed reading everyone's blogs and am looking forward to catching up again. I know I missed some giveaways...sigh. And then it's back to crafting - lots to do, deadlines looming...stitch stitch stitch..! I hope you all have a wonderful week and that you keep warm!! xx

On A Little Trip

 Rather like these little festive folks, we are also looking happy and smiley and going on a little trip. It's Mr P's birthday at the weekend and in recent years we've gone on a short break, usually to a city, around this time. Tomorrow we're off to York for a few days.

I'll also be popping over to Harrogate to the Knitting and Stitching Show (it will be well worth a visit if you are near enough too).

Travel-wise we are rather hoping it doesn't snow although I'm sure it will look magical if it does! I'm packing my warmest clothes, my camera and some stars - or the pieces of fabric and so on to make them with. Yes, I'm still stitching stars and when I've got enough I'll be showing you what they were for...

Here is my Little Snowman, who I think looks a little anxious. I made him last year for a Crafts Beautiful Christmas project and he has been hanging around with the Gingerbread Boys recently.

Before I go off on my little break I must say a big thank you to everyone who has commented, emailed and visited my blog over the last few days. Thank you, thank you lovely readers! Have a wonderful week, keep warm and snug, and I will soon be back with lots of festive treats to share. xx

Beautiful Blogger Award

 I have received an award for my blog!!! It is from Teje (and Nero) at Nero's Post and Patch. It was a wonderful surprise - thank you Teje! I've learnt that when you are the lucky recipient of this blog award you then reveal ten random things about yourself in return. So here are my ten things:

1 When I was younger I had deep auburn hair which gradually faded, from the age of about 29, to blonde.

2 I don't mind doing housework! I like the feeling of restoring order out of chaos, and the satisfaction of seeing things fresh and gleaming.

3 I love interior design and painting furniture white!

 4 I loved fabric and colour even as a small child. I can remember fabrics my mother sewed dresses from for us both when I was four years old.

5 I have twin sisters, a few years younger than me. They are both arty and crafty too.

6 I love to read and read and read...novels, biographies, diaries and letters, old fiction, new fiction and of course crafts books...

 7 My husband was my first boyfriend - and although we parted for a while we eventually got back together and got married. He's my best friend.

8 I don't enjoy sport but I love to take exercise in the fresh air - especially walking or gardening.

 9 I do truly believe you should always try to be positive about life and to think the glass is half full.

10 Sometimes I get so excited about a new creative project that I can't get to sleep at night and wish I could get up and start making it right away!

Thank you again Teje! And thanks to everyone who reads my blog. I hope you all have a wonderful  start to your week - and I shall be back very soon with a crafty post! x

Stitching Stars

One night last week we saw the clearest skies and the most stars we've seen for ages - so sharp, bright and twinkling. Soon I'll be putting Christmas lights in all the windows. (I've already got a string of fairy lights in the kitchen to brighten up my cooking.) One of my favourite things is seeing all kinds of little lights in different houses shining through the winter darkness in such a warm, welcoming way.

 This week I've been stitching some little stuffed stars to make a decoration. I haven't decided on the final colour way yet - I might keep it all cool blues and turquoises or add in some pink and red....

 Sometimes one colour works best and looks the most stylish - but I have such a love of colours and their effect on each other I find it hard to resist combining them. I think that's why pretty floral designs work so well for me - the mixture of colours is delicious to my eye!

 It's not just been stitching stars here, but baking them too. These are Vanilla Star Cookies - which are really just the basic cookie recipe with a couple of drops of vanilla essence added. I put some in the freezer to have later in the season. I might make some more as gifts too, as they look pretty in a cellophane bag tied with ribbon or raffia, with a homemade tag.

            We did keep one or two to try - just to make sure they really were good enough to eat!

I'm looking forward to this weekend, with winter walks, sewing, and cosy family time. I hope you all have a  lovely weekend with starry nights and sunny days. x