25 Days Of Christmas:: Days 24 + 25

Friends. Wings. Halo. Laughter. Takeaway. Christmas films. Nail polish. Running-out-of-places-to-sit. Presents under the tree. Unexpected visits. 

Yesterday I was too busy working open-till-close, then arriving home and getting generally caught up in the fact there was more than three people in our house to blog. It was the first time I've sat down and not done anything, not even knitting, for a long time, and it was wonderful.

Today we'll be over indulging and visiting relatives, playing boardgames with rubbish Christmas telly on in the background. Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you have a lovely day, however you're spending it. 

25 Days Of Christmas:: Day 23 :: Getting there!

Today I have baked about 50 pies, wrapped the last gifts, written the last card, put the finishing touches to the crackers, completed my 'costume' for work tomorrow and eaten over half of a tube of Pringles (hey, it's Christmas)! Our Christmas guest of honour has arrived, and things are pretty much all ready to go. I still have a couple of last minute things I want to do, when I get home from work tomorrow night, but I think it's all going to get finished! Which is always a relief! I'm going out for dinner with a friend tonight, then home to bed for my super early morning tomorrow! Ax

ps. have you heard the wonderful cover of Blue Christmas by Katie of Skunkboy Creatures? If not, you should have a listen, because it's fabulous. 

25 Days Of Christmas:: Day 22 :: An evening with friends

I haven't had much of a chance to use my camera over the last few days, and I didn't realise how much I missed it, until I picked it up again today! Tonight my family and I stopped by some friends to deliver Christmas wishes and gifts.

Spy that card? An extra special cross stitch cat card, that I was pretty pleased with! That's my first ever cross stitch right there - I was labouring under the impression that cross stitching was a lot more difficult than it actually is! It's just stitching crosses, in the right places! Roll your eyes if you must. The card I received in return was far more superior - it's got a handmade Johnny-Depp-jigsaw in it! Haha. :) 

Evidence of my wrapping skills (the ideas are there, the wrapping itself leaves a lot to be desired!)

An improvised nativity and a handmade (not by me) raffia manger.

In other news, I've been working on my costume for work on Christmas Eve, and it's coming along fabulously (though I can't help laughing every time I get near a mirror!) Will share photos on Saturday, probably! Tomorrow I have a lot of mince pies to bake, and a couple of other things I'd like to do, depending on what time I crawl out of bed... Axx

25 Days Of Christmas:: Day 21 :: A Day Off

photo credit: Miss Sarah Dickson.

Knitting. Laughing. Cute cats. Big jumpers. Harry Potter. Penguins. Chocolates. Drawing. Cards. Presents. Chats. Christmas. Friends.

In other news, I have finally finished knitting my last gift! I can almost relax now - the end is in sight! Haha. Axx

25 Days Of Christmas:: Day 20 :: Dress Up

I wanted to share this photo of me from... lots of years ago! I'm the angel by the way, that's my pal Robert dressed as a lamb! Can you spy me desperately clinging on to his hand, that's because I was terrified of people dressed up! (and nothing to do with the fact we were going to married! But I won't go into that here!) All credit for my costume goes to my mother, who was handy with the tin foil - we used to have a tin foil star on top of our tree too... Haha. 

I'm supposed to be concocting a festive outfit to wear at work this weekend - but there just isn't room for that on the To Do List! Anything non-essential has just got to go, which is a shame really as I like dressing up as much as the next person! (speaking of which, my Halloween Crown was featured on Rookie Magazine yesterday)

If you've got any super quick - super cheap costume ideas, send 'em my way! Or maybe I should just recreate my tinfoil angel wings!?

25 Days Of Christmas:: Day 19 :: Checking in

I watched Love Actually whilst frantically making Christmas cards the other night (yay! A Christmas movie! At last!) and it was as fabulous as ever.

I'm looking forward to a day of rest, a day where I can do as little as possible and not feel bad about it. A day where I don't have to think "I should be baking/knitting/sewing/making cards/blogging/drawing/doing ucas" and feeling guilty about it.
On that note, I'm off to continue checking things off the to-do list! Ax

25 Days Of Christmas:: Day 18 :: This time next week...

There is a week to go, which should mean relaxing, drinking mulled wine and eating mince pies, right? Well if there's anyone out there doing so, please send hints and tips my way! I am a surprisingly organised person - I started working on things for Christmas back in August, but does that mean I'm not still frantically knitting one last gift? No, it does not. My to-do list is just getting longer - I've had to start delegating tasks! This is a big deal for me, I am a control freak ;) 

A Christmas To-Do List::

- Finish the cards.

- Deliver cards.

- Wrap gifts. 

- Make gift tags.

- Ditto Christmas crackers. 

- Finish knitting one last present.

- Ice the cake.
- Make more mince pies. 
- Make an extra special card. 
- Buy some last minute gifts. 
- Distribute gifts.
- Work some open-till-close shifts at work...

These photos are from a little adventure my mum and I had, in town the other day, which basically involved her taking a photo of me, in front of every Christmas tree we saw! (there wasn't actually that many about! Sadface!)

Here's to a productive week! Axx

25 Days Of Christmas:: Day 17 :: Christmas Lights

Yesterday I ventured into town to see the Christmas lights - something I try to do every year - and every year, they're always a little disappointing! But it's still fun :) Luckily we got to Oxford Street before their huge power cut! 

Trafalgar Square Christmas tree! :)

All these image based posts mean one thing - I've been doing a lot of last minute Christmassy things, and a lot of artwork for my university application! I'm trying to take it easy (which isn't really working!) Haha. Ax

25 Days Of Christmas:: Day 16 :: The First Snow Of Winter*

It's snowing here in South London town! Granted, its nowhere near as much as we tend to get (yet...)

When I was younger, we never really had any 'proper' snow. My parents would regale me with stories of snow storms past and I'd think longingly of no school and sledging and snowmen. But a few years ago, we had about a foot of snow over night, and the whole of London and the South East just shut down. It was crazy, I'd never seen so much snow in my life - for the first time in my living memory, all the schools closed, the airports closed, the buses stopped running, the shops ran out of bread and milk, it took three times as long to walk anywhere... but it was fabulous! And we've had a heavy snowfall at some point every winter, since then. 

It's been snowing steadily, but not really settling, all morning... I haven't established my professional opinion - everyone turns in to a weather expert when it snows, right?! - yet, but I have a feeling that if these heavy flakes keep falling, it'd be unwise to go into central London this evening, if I ever want to get home again! But it is making me feel rather festive, which is always good! :) Ax
*The First Snow of Winter was a made-for-tv-movie about a cute cartoon duck that got left behind in migration season, and had to survive on his own through the winter. Does anyone else remember this!? It was on telly when I was about eight. Happy memories.

25 Days of Christmas:: Day 15 :: Bauble Wreath DIY

::Bauble Wreath::
This is my third Christmas wreath design and it's bold simplicity and bright colours have earned it a place on my front door this Christmas! 

To make this wreath you will need: 
A selection of baubles in mixed sizes and colours.
A wire wreath frame (or you can make your own  frame out of garden wire, like I did).
Thin wire (for securing the baubles to the wreath).
Wire cutters.

You will also need a hot glue gun.

First step, cut the thread of your baubles, and instead, thread thin wire through the top of your bauble.

Wrap the ends of your wire around the wreath frame / hoop. I found that wrapping excess wire around the bauble fixture helped hold it in place.

Group them together, it's easiest to use bigger baubles first, then fill in the gaps with smaller ones. When your frame is pretty much full, start to hot-glue the baubles together where they touch - careful not to use too much glue, you don't want to be able to see the glue. 
Note: you don't have to hot glue the baubles, but I found that without the glue, the wreath wasn't stable enough.

Thread some ribbon around the frame at the back of the wreath, and hang on your door for Christmas! 
In case you missed them, here's my Snowflake Wreath and my Pom Pom Wreath. There's no excuse to be wreath-less this Christmas! ;) Axx

25 Days Of Christmas:: Day 14 :: Festive Photo Frenzy

Here's my second instalment of my Festive photographs - in case you missed last week's post, I'm taking part in a Festive Photo Frenzy, and taking a Christmas themed photograph, every day until Christmas!See the first seven here.
It's been a pretty festive week, with a minor Christmas based meltdown in the middle, but a little stress over the holiday season is only to be expected, right?! Haha.


Day eight:
Christmas lights in town.

Day nine:
This was a sign of how the day was to progress... sigh! 

Day ten:
My first Christmas card arrived!

Day eleven:
Holly-hunting.

Day twelve:
Making Christmas crackers...

Day thirteen:
Lights at the front of our house :)

I haven't actually taken today's photograph yet, but I'll add it on to next week's post!
Hope you're having a good week! I'm visiting my last university open day today, which is bringing on a whole other level of panic! haha. Happy Wednesday everyone! Axx

 

25 Days Of Christmas:: Day 13 :: Christmas Inspiration

Today I wanted to share some fabulous tutorials for Christmas decorations and gifts, as well as general Christmas inspiration, that I've stumbled across recently.
Firstly, Martha Stewart's website is full of fabulous Christmas how-to's and ideas, these are a few of my favourites...

one. two. three. four. five. six. seven. eight. nine.
Click here to see more.

image credit - channel four
Another place to turn to for some Christmas inspiration, is Kirstie's Handmade Home and her other various other shows. I know a lot of people have mixed opinions of Kirstie Allsopp, I really like her, although she is probably one of the most middle class people on television, her shows are good for putting on in the background while you're making Christmas cards. If you're a fellow UK resident, you can watch her shows on 4oD:
Kirstie's Handmade Britain
Kirstie and Phil's perfect Christmas
Kirstie's Homemade Christmas
I'm not sure this work's if you're international, but it might be worth having a peek on youtube :)

Ruche's Hondmade Holiday Guide

credit - Elizabeth Kartchner  you should also check out Elizabeth's blog, because it's gorgeous!
This is definitely worth checking out, even if you have no intention of making anything this Christmas, because the whole thing is put together beautifully.

one. two
Better Homes and Gardens' Holiday Christmas Crafts 
I hope you're feeling inspired to go and make something beautiful this Christmas! I'm not even sure the things I'm making are beautiful anymore - but as long as they're finished, that's good enough for me! Haha. Axx

25 Days Of Christmas:: Day 12 :: A Little Christmas Panic

I haven't had a chance to post much about actual life, since December started, so as well as some little snaps of my Christmas tree, here's a little bit of behind-the-scenes nonsense...

It was pointed out to me by a friend and keen observer, that I am trying to do too much. I was writing a to-do list at the time, probably with a very panicky expression on my face! There is less than two weeks to go until The Big Day and I (like so many people) have so much to do. Ice the cake, finish making presents, make cards for everyone I've ever met etc etc. It's the sort of list that no one could complete in a short amount of time, without even considering working, or my dreaded UCAS application. My portfolio has been put on hold and I haven't read a book in about two months (this is a big deal, reading is probably my number one hobby after arts'n'crafts) which is pretty dull. I haven't even had the chance to properly decorate the house yet, which is probably the saddest thing of all! 

I absolutely love Christmas, but I have so many ideas and I am terrible at saying no. I should probably have bought all my presents from amazon.co.uk, but that feels too much like quitting to me, what's another sleepless night spent knitting anyway?!

 I am trying so hard to make it extra-special, that the Christmas season is passing me by! I haven't watched a single Christmas film this year, or read any of my just-for-Christmas trashy chick lit novels... I'm having a little bit of a Christmas meltdown! Am I the only one?! Lots of you will be reading this thinking, "Uh Amy, get a grip, I run a house and bring up children, and work full-time, this is nothing!" and you're quite right! 
Kudos to you, ladies (and gentlemen), you've earned my respect, good and proper! 

Lots of love, a very frazzled, but still festive, Amy xx