Merry Christmas

wishing you all a very Merry Christmas

may it be filled with love, laughter and happy memories

Christmas Eve

when you are sure that your Christmas tree (stick....) is perfectly decorated,

then it is time for a brisk walk,

and a little stone reindeer making

just incase Rudolf needs an extra helper this year

an excess of cookie cutters

there was some gingerbread dough left over from the pinecones so I got out the other cookie cutters to choose a few different ones. apparently (according to the rest of the family,) it's not normal to have two large(ish) boxes of cookie cutters, and I have a ridiculously large collection of them. so many in fact that some escaped into the garden.

well I'm sorry but I beg to differ, we're going visiting tomorrow, and if I come across any cookshops I know what I'll be looking out for.

what do you have lots of, but can never resist?

gingerbread pinecones

This post is inspired by Emma's making winter and her making winter pinecone tutorial
which looks fantastic, and I wanted to make some straight away but I didn't have the clay and was too impatient to wait......

but it's ok, I have an alternative, and it allowed me to indulge in one of my Christmas passions, and make pinecones too.

Gingerbread dough!

I couldn't get the cookies to shape very well, even when warm they cracked, but I stuck them together with icing, and I have a secret weapon when it comes to decorating.

everything Always looks better when covered with the icing sugar snow!

go here to see more making winter festivities

Happy 11th Birthday E

take 2 chocolate logs, a Lot of melted chocolate, a tube or two of smarties and a bit of wizardry and you have one broomstick.  perfect for a Harry Potter watching party, which captivated 6 boys for some of the time, leaving them plenty of free time to run round the house playing tig, leaping out from behind doors and shouting Boo, and giggling a lot.

now if only I'd learnt a magic spell that would tidy up all the mess................................

happy birthday Miss K

It was Miss K's birthday on Saturday. we now officially have a teenager in the house.......
when she looked outide this was her present. well she got lots of books and music too, but the snow was hugely exciting.

later there was a sleepover, and giggling, and making snow globes, and cake. of course!

the car and I got a present on Saturday too - winter tyres. we are now prepared for the worst the British weather can throw at us, so hopefully from now on we will have the mildest winter on record.

what day is it?

I wrote an email to a friend this morning, and ended it happy Wednesday.
a couple of hours later it occurred to me that it is Tuesday.........

the days are rushing by in a bit of a blur,
and I feel a bit like this

but if I slow down a bit then things calm down, and become clearer,

and sometimes amongst the chaos you find you have booked a treat for yourself (by booking a workshop for your sister in law, and then having to go too!) and now I am waiting impatiently for my glass Christmas bauble to cool safely and then be posted to me.

and then let the decorating begin xxx