Hetterbell
I should have posted this before, but I’m not very organised in December. Though, in my defence, I was better this year than usual. 
I love Christmas!
Besides the special meanings behind Christmas, I also love the Christmas inspired music and art and stories (as well as the Christmas cake, chocolate Yule log and mince pies 
).
All these festive feasts for the eyes and ears (and mouth!) inspire me, leaving me with an irresistible desire to make Christmas presents and decorations.
Though I didn’t make the stars, I did paint them, because I adore painting wood decoratively – hence the painted wooden spoons, too – and I hope they will have a timeless enough appearance about them to make anyone glancing at a tree that they bedeck to wonder whether the decorations are brand new or could be a cherished heirloom, passed down through the generations.
I’m also rather fond of Christmas tree baubles…
I’d painted metal ones before, but until this year I’d never made baubles from scratch.
Needless to say, these ones aren’t smooth, but I think their texture adds a certain quirkiness.
Plus it’s a lot of fun knowing you can choose your own colour schemes and patterns.
My Christmas preparations have also afforded me the opportunity to begin to learn some new crafts, such as crocheting and cross stitch. I chose a small Father Christmas face design, by Mouseloft, that I just fell in love with to be my first attempt at the latter. When it seemed to work out alright, I made a lightweight card frame for it and turned it into a Christmas tree decoration. Another one!
Not everything I’ve fidgeted with in recent weeks has been festive, though. I’ve also made some lavendar bags that can be hung up when the Christmas decorations come down.
Not only will they hopefully pierce the January-post-Christmas-bareness confronting eyes that dare to look at the walls of a room and recall what colour they were before all the bright and glittery trinkets adorned them, but they will give off a friendly, homely scent. My Great-Grandma used to make a lot of lavendar bags. Obviously, these don’t come up to hers because these are only my first ones, but knowing I was making something she used to make made me feel as if she was somehow closer.
Once all the frenzy of pre-Christmas preparations was over, like so many I kicked back to relax a bit. My fingers don’t like to be too still for too long, though. So I found myself doing these diary-like quick sketches to try to catch a slight flavour of the days of this Christmas season, so that I might remember them more easily when I turn my mind’s eye back some time in the future to have a look.
I hope that you’re all having a lovely time!
