Thursday, November 29, 2012

A Couple of Christmassy Things...

Oh my! Can you believe that this Sunday is the beginning of Advent? How did that happen? :o)

I'm not totally unprepared however, I have managed to get all my overseas gifts posted off and all my Christmas cards are written out and addressed. They will go into the post over the week-end.

 We are off to buy our Christmas tree tomorrow which is very exciting and we will spend Saturday decorating it together. We have been baking Christmas pies - delicious!- which were all consumed in a day, so we shall be baking some more soon :o)

I really dislike the consumer edge that this precious time of year has taken on, so although I love the excitement of decorating, I am on guard against going on a shopping frenzy and filling my trolley with all those ADORABLE decorations. In line with wanting life to be a bit more simple, frugal, resourceful and homey, I decided that any decorating that is to be done in our home had to be homemade or natural oh - and FRUGAL! Simplicity is the keyword.

For years, I mean YEARS, I have wanted to make sweet smelling pomanders. I'm not sure why on earth it has taken me so long, because once I sat down to studding that lovely smelling citrus fruit, time flew by and before I knew it my lounge was -and still is- smelling very Christmassy! What a doddle ;o) The best thing about this craft is that the pomander's can keep for years. Cost: £3.00 (cloves, ribbon and two oranges)



Our bees wax dipped leaf garland has been replaced with a little felt stitchery. I just loved making this sweet little Christmas bunting and it didn't take me long at all. From cutting, stitching and sewing up, working a little every day, I had it finished in 4 days. What cheer it brings to the mantle! Cost: around £2.00 (felt)

I have always known Poinsettias to be the Christmas flower. So when I saw our supermarket shelves beginning to fill up with these cheery flowers, I bought two to grace our mantle. They immediately brought in a Christmas air into our home. I just love that beautiful deep red and green! Cost: £3.00 for two
I am currently working on little cross-stitch bands to fit around the pots. I think that they will add further cheer and quirkiness to our mantle.

I'm not the only one who has the Christmas Craft Bug! Miss V-L has made this cure little Christmas heart hanger out of felt. Isn't it sweet?

6 comments:

  1. I need to mail my international package soon too. Thanks for the reminder! I hope you find the perfect tree and yes I cannot believe it's going to be advent :)

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  2. Lovely, you are amazingly organized.

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    1. Occasionally I can be -LOL. I'm always super impressed with what you are getting up to when I visit your blog Cath.

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  3. Loving the decorations. Wishing I was as organised as you!

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  4. Love the photos as always, Shirley Ann. And I think I'll try the pomanders this year, too. But how do you preserve them?

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    1. Hi Lisa. It is really interesting. The oil from the cloves seeps into the fruit causing it to shrivel up a bit and preserve!

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