Each year I make some decorations and some gifts for Christmas. When I get the boxes from the attic with our decorations in, I love to reminisce. My hobby when we were first married was hobby ceramics (I still have my own kiln which hasn't been used for a long time), so the first three pictures are of things that I made over twenty years ago!
All this does of course mean that we have put our decorations up!

The snowy day that I woke up to meant that even my mug needs a hug! A quick and easy knit that I made from hereLast night I got my sewing machine out to complete my Christmas bunting. Obviously I had to hang it straight away!I also made a tartan cushion for Christmas...I have also had my eye on this project for a while. As it is a Christmas gift maybe I should have started a little sooner... But I have made a start...

Slightly later than I'd planned but here is my tutorial for a microwave rice bag. I hope that you haven't got hypothermia whilst waiting...

How to make a rice bag...

supplies:

1kg rice (Asda Smart price was 73p!)

50 x 28cm calico

62 x 30cm fabric for outer layer

Turn the pocket right side out and fill with the rice. You could add some dried lavender at this point.
Tuck in the raw edges of the pocket and sew them together. That is your rice bag complete!

Now for the cover...

Hem the two short edges. (The length of this should now be about 58cm.) Hold the fabric portrait with the wrong side of the fabric uppermost. From the bottom edge measure 21cm and fold. Measure and fold down the top 12cm. There will be an overlap of fabric.
Pin and sew a 1/2 cm seam along both side edges. You are sewing on the right side! Turn the cover inside out so that right sides are together and press the seams. Resew the side edges with a 1cm seam this time. Turn the cover the right way and press the seams again. Pop in your rice bag and it is now complete!
To heat, remove the cover and pop the rice bag into a microwave for about 2 or 2 1/2 mins.
Put the cover back on and enjoy thye warmth! Hopefully this will be useful to you and make sense! It makes perfect sense to me but then so do the voices in my head ;0)

I have emails sent to me as part of my local neighbourhood watch scheme. This is the latest one that I wanted to share with you. Please let everyone know...

POSTAL SCAM AS CHRISTMAS IS APPROACHING

> It has been confirmed by Royal Mail. The Trading Standards Office are
> making people aware of the following scam:
>
> A card is posted through your door from a company called PDS (Parcel
> Delivery Service) suggesting that they were unable to deliver a parcel
>
> and that you need to contact them on 0906 6611911 (a Premium rate
> number).
>
> DO NOT call this number, as this is a mail scam originating from Belize.
>
> If you call the number and you start to hear a recorded message you will
> already have been billed £315 for the phone call.
>
> If you do receive a card with these details, then please contact Royal
> Mail Fraud on 020 7239 6655.
>
> For more information, see the Crime Stoppers website:
>
> http://www.crimestoppers-uk.org/crime-prevention/helping-preventcrime/ scams/postal-delivery-scam

I have spent 30mins this evening on a really quick make. The idea came from Martha Stewart, I was a little disappointed that the templates that she provides need to be enlarged. Why couldn't they just be the right size as they easily fit onto an A4 piece of paper? Anyway enough moaning! I drew out my own template onto an old cereal box (not exactly old, I now have some cereal loose in a bag ;0) - but needs must!) and I must say my little mice are looking very nice!

I started off with one...

... but the trouble with mice is that they breed very quickly!

Although I have spent what seems like most of the day watching no 4 play football (yay! she scored a hat trick!), I have still managed a little crafting time...

some festive decorationsand I needed to put the finishing touches to the fimo cupcakes that I made. The roof at church needs replacing so I have offered to make some crafty things to sell to help raise funds. The sale will be in a couple of weeks, so I'm thinking I need to get a wiggle on!

I have been asked where to buy the coloured chocolate coins, I bought them from BHS quite recently.

I am pleased to say that my gifts for the Secret Stocking swap have found their way across to the other side of the world...
the stocking was made with a felted woollen blanket, upon which I redworked and beaded a Christmas tree.

Inside the stocking I sent a handmade heart with hand painted gingerbread man, some chocolate coins and a gingerbread lip salve. Sarah is really talented and makes such lovely things that I really worried about this swap! Now having seen the photos on her blog she is also a brilliant photographer too(they are far better than mine!)! Although I must say even I am quite impressed with my stitchwork! I love blogland and it is so nice to meet such lovely people through swaps - however it feels slightly odd that Sarah is typing away on Saturday whilst we are still on Friday...

I've had my eye on this doorstop from Laura Ashley for ages.
But at £22 I found it very hard to justify because with a little free time (ha!) I could easily make one myself. However, when mooching around B&M Home Store I came across this for only £3.99.Not exactly the same but fine for being kicked around my kitchen by children or dog who never look where they are going!

Last night when I went to bed my feet were freezing, and with the heavy snow predicted next week I think that it is time to make another rice bag or '2min30' as my Mother likes to call them. I am planning on making a tutorial for those who have absolutely no idea what I am talking about! There is still time to make some as Christmas presents, as they are so easy.

On Tuesday, No 1 fell off her moped so an afternoon was spent in A&E. She has broken her elbow. She was also concussed which meant that we had the same conversation 6 times! Amazingly her moped has only two scratches. Today she received some beautiful flowers from her boyfriend who is serving over in Afghanistan at the moment.

Despite the pain suddenly the world is a better place!

We've had a lovely day today. Husband and son went to do their training at Silverstone to become race marshals for next year's racing, so they were packed off early and excited this morning! The rest of us went for a walk in the woods...burying your feet in leaves is childish but good fun!
When we got back the teacup candles that I had made this morning had set...
I've also made a start on some more pickles for Christmas gifts. I was worried that I may have begging letters from Wales if I didn't make extra!

I am also very excited because finally I have taught number 2 to knit! Her first project is this one...using this wool...from this book...

At last we have started Christmas!

Last night we had our own bonfire. Lots of homemade burgers, sausages, spiced cider and of course a Guy were the order of the evening. We invited friends and all had a lovely time. Here are the two boys sorting out the Guy - I'm sure they wouldn't have managed quite so well without No 4 supervision!

Meet Good Guy Dave!There is something magical about writing your name with sparklers - something that you just never grow out of!Time out for food!After a slow start, the fire lit and provided us with lots of heat. As the evening wore on and the fire subdued we drew our chairs in closer. We left the field at around half past eleven, it was only when we left the warmth of the fire that we realised it was very cold - the car read 1 degree!

Hope you all had a safe Guy Fawkes!

The new shop Cally Co that opened in Lincoln recently...Lots and lots of lovely fabrics including Amy Butler, Tilda... My purchases...
...destined to be a bag!

My swap parcel was awaiting my return from Wales... As soon as I opened the parcel I felt I was being watched... Lots of lovely gifts...
...including this handmade skull necklace...Thank you for my gifts Ali.
Changing the subject, it's been a good year for sloes, and it was lovely to be able to pick them from our very own hedgerows...Lots of sloes means lots of sloe gin....

Sadly we didn't grow the picking onions - maybe next year! But I did spend an hour or two pickling a net of onions that I had bought!

I must confess it was me that moved the missing cable, I can't remember when but I know it was me because I'd used one of my really good 'safe places' - as in this case so safe I completely forgot it's whereabouts! So now is my chance to bore you with some photographs...

On the Saturday before going to Wales I went to my jumble. There was not masses of stuff that was of interest to me but I did manage to buy some lovely bits....

One of the Royal Albert collector's plates - Queen Mum's favourite flowers series - Elizabeth of Glamis.Denby cups and saucers, I know there are only three but hell, I can only drink from one at a time anyway! An Anysley posy which I have hankered after for a while...

This 1970s soup bowl set, still in its box, and protected with 40 years of dust. And yes, homemade soup tastes amazing in it! And yes, I did wash it first ;0)!Unusually, I didn't take any photos in Wales although I did on the way back. We stopped at Ikea and number 4 had a go on the climbing wall. She even managed to get to the top!

We had a dinner party ...only the brave came!Before our guests arrived I tried to cut Husband's head off (well I have seen silence of the lambs 2 and it would have gone well with the Chianti that I had chillin') and in his best shirt too!Number 4 was just a little off colour

Still have more photos - I'll be back tomorrow!