Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to write a quick post to say a great big Happy Christmas to all my lovely followers! It's been a fun filled and busy year and the blog has grown beyond all my expectations. I love it when you comment or email to let me know you like my little rambling posts, it always makes my day. But this is going to be my last post until after Christmas now as my little people have broken up from school and all my attention has been diverted to keeping them out of trouble happy.

So for my last bloggy craft project I decided to make a Christmas Wreath today. Unfortunately I got so involved in it's creation that I forgot to take step by step pics. But it really is very simple.

I bought a plain artificial wreath from Ikea from the grand old sum of £6.67. Then I wound some battery powered led lights around the wreath. I bought these from a local garden centre for £4. I then taped the battery pack to the back.

For my decorations I visited a local florist and bought two dried oranges and one dried lime. Then various dried orange, lime and apple slices.

I pushed wire through the whole fruits and slices and twisted at the back. I then pushed the wire through the wreath and twisted together at the back. I did the same with a few pinecones. The golden berries were also bought from the florist but you can buy these in most stores that sell decorations for about £1 a bunch.

Then all I needed was some ribbon to hang the wreath with and I was done. I'm quite pleased with the end result although I did intend to add bunches of cinnamon sticks as well, but forgot until the end when I didn't have any space left.

So with that I shall say goodbye until the festive craziness has ceased. Have a wonderful time whatever your plans, Merry Christmas!

Memories Of A Lifetime Christmas! Book Review

Time for a festive book review! Christmas feels like it's approaching with alarming speed right now, in fact it feels like that most years. But if you embrace the idea of a homemade Christmas what better than a book to help you along the way. I recently received a copy of Memories Of A Lifetime: Christmas by Nancy Rosin from GMC Publications.

This book has the unusual advantage that you are instructed to cut into it's pages! The book offers 57 pages of scrapbook prints that you can cut out or photocopy. Or if the idea of cutting up your new book doesn't sit well with you, all the images are also provided on an enclosed CD so you can print them off at your leisure.

Most of the pictures have a vintage and somewhat Victorian feel to them. There is a gallery at the front of the book with suggested uses of the images. One such use is to make a bookmark. Here I mounted an image of St Nicholas onto card and added a gold tassel.

Next I decided to make a present tag. I used a luggage label as the base and a gorgeous snowy scene as the image.

Finally I made a Christmas card using an image of a snowman. I think he looks a very jolly fellow and perfect for the season.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, I would. It isn't filled with writing or bogged down with ideas so some people might long for a tutorial or two more. But if ideas and images are enough to inspire you then you really can't go far wrong with this book.

Could it be improved in anyway? Not really. As I said some people may prefer more detailed step by step instructions of projects. But there are plenty of books on the market that already offer this. What this book offers is a no nonsense library of beautiful images ready to be turned into beautiful creations.

Book Details

Title: Memories Of A Lifetime Christmas

Author: Nancy Rosin
ISBN: 9781402723674
RRP: £11.99
Publisher: Sterling
Publication Date: Spring 2006.

Mulled Wine, Snow and a Review

If like me your in the UK then chances are that you have experienced at least a moderate amount of snow over the last few days. But how do you survive these cold spells in good humour? Personally it's all made me feel rather festive and in the spirit of this I thought I'd bring you this review today. As one of CSN stores preferred bloggers I was recently been given an opportunity to review another item from one of their online stores. With Christmas fast approaching I chose to review the Sagaform Thermal Glass Mulled Wine Mugs (set of 4).

Delivery & Packaging

Delivery was very prompt and as usual carried out by UPS. These are obviously delicate items but they were well packaged and protected.

Do The Mugs Work?

This evening we made some mulled wine and poured it into the glasses. The outside of the mugs stayed cool and easy to hold. But the mulled wine kept it's temperature for a considerable time. I was very impressed by how well they worked. The design is very clever, but does mean that the glasses feel very fragile. I haven't dropped one so I'm not sure how robust they are. But then again no glassware is every truly durable.

Would I recommend them?

Definitely! They would make a wonderful gift, or great for when you have friends over during the festive period. They aren't that large so no one can get overly tipsy, but they offer a lovely little touch to your festivities. The designs are very cute as well.