Getting ready for Christmas.

Well it's only 361 days to go - and I will need all of those to be ready time.  I want to make all my Christmas cards, and as many presents as I can - so I started today with a couple of tags.

There is a blog giveaway which I posted here on The Artistic Stamper - so I am doing two things at once as only us ladies can!

I have made these tags as entries for the blog candy draw, and also for parcels for next Christmas.

I started off with plain chipboard tags from The Artistic Stamper shop.  I like these because they are thick and easy to work on.

The tags are made 'in the style of' Tim Holtz as I didn't have all the stamps etc he used.

This one was made by inking the tag in pale blue, then stamping it with snowflakes, and embossing with a matt type embossing powder.  The swirls were stamped on next, and the green border sponged on.

The image which is part of a TH stamp which I used to stamp onto acetate as he did, then  it cut out and glued onto the tag with glossy accents, then coloured it with red alcohol ink.

I am actually pleased with this tag - took me ages to do, and looks so much nicer in real life.

I had to improvise again for this tag.

Background technique as above, then the TH swirls stamped on in layers, and he famous 'bird on a branch' stamp, which I have turned into a robin by inking his chest red. The fibres on the tags are Christmas red with lots of gold strands in it.

The big thaw

Yesterday there were these

And these

 

And these

And these - but like the snow and Christmas - they have all gone!

It's all over

The presents have been opened

Lots of quizzical looks

Plenty of 'Ooohs and 'Ahhs'

Nanny had to help with the big ones

Especially when there is lots of  bubble wrap inside

All the mince pies, sausage rolls, Christmas goodies, chocolates, nuts, crisps have been eaten.

The visitors have gone back to their own homes, leaving wonderful memories, of laughter and fun to savour for the rest of the year.

Christmas is over

Christmas is all about.........................

Your grandson's first nativity play and Christmas concert

Does he look cute in this?

The grand theatre

The procession begins - no sign of pre-performace nerves

Or is there?

My proud 'boys' after the performance

Who looks most proud - daddy or Luke?

Whose footprints are these?

Large footprints in the snow

Big feet - tiny birds

My little bantam babes

I swept all the paths again yesterday and shovelled the snow in their pen, but they wouldn't venture far, so this morning I lifted them out and put them in the lean-to green house for a run about, and left the door open.

And despite another snowfall last night layering on the paths again, the little madams decided to follow me Pied Piper fashion back up the path.

They decided to have a peck at the snow - and seemed to quite like the taste!

The path is crispy and frozen now so they are not getting their little starfish feet wet.  The are only tiny - and smaller than a pigeon.

Gozzie the all black Rosecomb, shed all her feathers two weeks ago - a complete moult - thankfully most of the new ones have grown through.

Don't worry - they are not cold, they are wearing thick duvets after all and are warm as toast when you pick them up!  They have had a scratch around, and are just having a 'conversation' and trying to decide whether to try out the deep snow - which will cover them incidentally - so I think they will wander off into the sunshine to preen, and than maybe take a wander back down to the lean-to green house to scratch around in the tray of compost I have put in there for them - or to perch on the shelving.

I almost bought four more a couple of weeks ago, I had been wanting some for months now - and there is a breeder who works in shop in the town I go to for the course on a Wednesday.  Each week I am so tempted to buy some of his birds - he is the breeder I bought Gozzie and Scrabble the Wheaten Game bird from - the one that looks like a 'stork'.  I decided to be sensible and wait until after the winter - glad I did now.  It is not 'often' that I am sensible, my heart rules me head!

Hels fantastic blog giveaway at Sunday Stamper

When I checked out Sunday Stamper Hels has a great giveaway - oh how I would love to win it!  Hop over and take a look

I wish it could be Christmas every day yay

The Christmas songs are playing on the radio, there is deep snow on the ground - ooo its lovely.

I have been out to my studio to finish something off.  So thought I would show you in case you think that on the days I am not posting, I am lounging on my sofa with a glass of sherry in my hand, stuffing my face with chocolates, and pulling crackers.

On Friday afternoon, rather recklessly I went out in all the snow to a workshop in a village about 12 miles from here.  The day before I had been out in the snow, and sleet gathering foliage, got soaked to the skin, chilled to the bone, and pricked by ivy.  I packed my car the night before - so what the heck!

Sadly I could only stay an hour and a half as the conditions were so bad that I wanted to drive home whilst it was still light.

Its proving to be a bit difficult to photograph.

I only  have a little lounge and only one table

You can get the idea of it though can't you.  It's a wreath - with a bit of a modern twist to it.

I did a lot of the preparation work whilst there which took most of the time.

The hour and a half to be precise.

Cutting 8 twigs 2ft long, and cutting dozens coloured stick into tiny bits.

Then on two long lengths of wire, I had the tedious task of winding the wire three times one way, then in reverse, then twisting it around on itself before adding the next one. (I felt like 'life's too short to faffing about doing this'!.  It really made my fingers sore, and I am not sure that it adds anything to the arrangement - but I always do as I am told - and it's the 'in thing' this year.

So I have been making the wreath at home. With fresh foliage, wild holly which I sprayed here and there with gold.  Some box hedge, holly, conifer, and pittosporum from the garden. Silk poinsettias (in the place of red roses which is like finding chickens teeth in the wilds of Norfolk)

I have improvised madly with what I could find, gold ribbon to create 'roses', gold beads, a few sprayed nuts and cones, and a candle in the middle to finish if off.

Next came the hard part of creating a 'tepee' of twigs, then  swirling the wired little coloured twigs around - clockwise then anti-clockwise.  Then taking apart a decoration to wire  the 'bauble's' to finish it off.

(I took this last night by the light of the Christmas tree - minus the fruit etc.)

It actually looks lovely on the table with nuts and fruit around it, with the snowy backdrop of the garden behind it - but it proved impossible to take a photo of it like that as the bright snow made the arrangement look dark and in shadow.

I have been  making more presents which I can't post - and am now off cooking!