A New Year Ahead ...

We have had such a merry, wonderful Christmas this year. The children have had so much excitement & we have all had lots of food & fun, there has been very little time for any crafting to be done!

At last I have a moment to update my blog! I have certainly missed it, despite having felt a little distant from it in the lead up to Christmas! I think a relaxing break has been just what I have needed.

Looking forward to 2010, I have some positive plans for this New Year!

I will be adding some new designs of fabric buttons to my shops over the next few weeks, with lots more listings to follow in the Spring, including needlefelted items & lavender sachets. I really want to move things along with a fresh approach this year, so watch this space.

I am hoping to lose some Christmas Bulge from my middle area (!?) in the next few months so will be eating mega healthily & working out hard at the gym...wish me luck...I will need it!!

I am returning to work after 3 & a half years. I'm a little scared! I will be going in to help out with our business, doing some admin work, just a couple of days a week...again..wish me luck! ha ha! My husband will need it!

In between all of this I plan to make the most of my time with Molly before she starts school next September. There will be lots of playing & park/beach visits. It will be a year of changes for us all. I feel quite sad as we are not having any more children & it will be a real end of a chapter, though with a new exciting one ahead for our little ones as they journey along.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL !!

I hope 2010 brings you all you wish for, as well as good health & happiness Xx

Merry Christmas to you all !!

I would like to wish all of my lovely followers & fantastic customers a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS !!

I hope you all have the lovely Christmas that you all deserve with plenty of laughter, love, good food & wine...oh yes...and handmade presents !


We are going to a local garden centre this morning to see Santa's real reindeer & this afternoon, when Daddy arrives home from work, the children are allowed to choose a present each from under the tree which they can open. It's a little tradition of ours & starts the excitement for tomorrow!


Wherever you are & whatever way you choose to spend Christmas Eve, enjoy it!

I'm looking forward to spending time with the family & lots of fun & cuddles with George & Molly. My Folksy & Etsy shops will remain open over the holidays & I will resume posting on Monday 28th December Xx

Christmas Parade

Last Saturday we went in to town for the Christmas Festival & to watch the Parade. It was very chilly but so lovely for the children to watch all of the decorated vehicles & hear the band!

We had a cosy pub lunch first & then made our way to find a nice spot to stand. The sun was shining in the icy blue sky & when all of the fun was over, we walked along the river & then made our way back home to the warmth!

Have a lovely weekend! My blogging may slow down a little over the next few weeks but I will be back in the New Year, blogging more often so do stay with me!!

Thrifty finds....

Off I trotted this morning, in search of thrifty goodness. What would my search yield? Very occassionally I find a real gem, usually I find a load of tat...not today! Today was a day to top all of my treasure hunting days...today I found these....!!

Gorgeous Christmas decorations for our tree. I am absolutely smitten with these little folk. I'm imagining they are hand painted, perhaps even vintage! I'm pretending they are Austrian or German with an age of history attached to them. Of course, all of this is pure guess work.

These beautiful little glass doves were also swept up in to my arms before you could say "Merry Christmas"...how exciting. I must have timed it just right because the lady in the shop said they were only put out on the shelf the night before.

I also have another reason to be very pleased with myself today (apologies for my completely self indulgent post!). I was browsing through the pages of UK Handmade Christmas Gift Guide Magazine & there, on pages 14-15, was my Cream Scarf...

Be sure to grab a nice cup of tea & have a browse through, there are lots of lovely gift ideas for Christmas. After all, it is only 2 weeks away!

Its a coming .....

How do I know it's nearly Christmas?

* Well, for starters, the Post Office was at bursting point yesterday with people standing in a huuuge line, parcels under arms & a grumpy look on their faces!

* Then there is the long list of things to do on my calendar, full with childrens parties, Nativity plays & Christmas Fairs....such fun (and madness)!

* Of course, my most favourite sign that Christmas is coming is putting up the tree & decorations. I love it!

It feels like there is so much to look forward to at the moment. We are going in to town on Saturday to watch the Christmas Parade which feels so festive & wonderful for the children to watch. It is for a good cause too, with all collections going to Save the Children. Then there is the business Christmas Party on the 19th which is when I really let my hair down & enjoy 'muchos vinos' (much wine)! lol.

At some point, in between the festivities, I want to get to work on some new designs for my shops. The present stock is feeling a little tired & in need of a freshen up so I really need to find the time to put some new ideas in to action!

What are you all doing in the build up to Christmas? I'd love to know Xx

A Little Gimp!

Following an Etsy e-mail the other day, I discovered the wonderful image manipulation programme Gimp 2. It is ideal for making your own blog headers & shop banners. I am completely self taught when it comes to blogging & all of the jargon that goes along with computers & I am certainly not a natural at it! However, finding tutorials on the web is easy so if you feel brave...give it a go.

I came up with this banner (above) for my shops but I like the one that Leanne of See the Woods was really kind to make for me so I don't think I will change it. Be sure to check Gimp out though, if you haven't already (I'm slow, I'm sure you are all fully aware of it already!!)

Oh yes, just watch when searching Google for it, you can find 'all kinds' of things!

Now...ChRiStMaS !!

It is going to be here in no time. I really must get organised, I'm usually all done by October but not this year. I'm just going with the flow.

It would be really lovely if we could have some of this kind of fun at Christmas though.....

Here's hoping Xx