floating world

felt ball wreath

I finally finished the felt ball wreath. I love it, although I might change the bow. Ali's campaigning for gold, and I think he's right. I am very happy that I made this, even though it drove me crazy at times. I used balls from an eBay seller, and the Pickles tutorial, and a foam wreath from Spotlight wrapped in strips of burlap-type fabric. I used thread to attach the balls, as per the tutorial, but then everyone who saw me work on it said, in bafflement, "Why aren't you using a hot glue gun?" The answer is that I haven't got a hot glue gun and I'd never used one, but it would have been a good investment. Although I do like the slight wonkiness that the threading gives it - the ones made using glue guns (like this and this) are lovely but much more regular. I think I'll use a glue gun to secure some of the balls before I put it away after Christmas, which will hopefully keep it looking beautiful for next year.

(Oh - and if you like the look of a felt ball wreath but are not insane enough to glue 150 felt balls on yourself, you can buy a very nice one from here, for only slightly more than the cost of the felt balls. I didn't see this until after I had made my own, obviously).

my new baby

There are pros and cons to a birthday that's close to Christmas. But one of the advantages is being able to claim an extra generous gift as a "Joint Christmas and Birthday Present", which is how I came to unwrap an overlocker on Sunday morning. I've been coveting one for years, and the clincher was using Kirsten's in Lancefield - so fast, and such a nice finish. It came with white thread, and I haven't attempted changing yet, so all sewing for the next little while will be in pale colours. I have already finished two t-shirts, which I will photograph if it ever stops raining, and am a total convert. I know lots of people manage to sew knits successfully on a conventional machine, but I am not one of them, and I wear t-shirts and thin woollen knits almost every day so I am very happy to finally be able to make my own.

christmas books

The tub of Christmas books has been out for a few weeks.

My favourites are the Dick Bruna Christmas Book and Another Night Before Christmas with Rob Ryan illustrations.

Ali's favourite is The Grinch and the Dear Santa book with the letters and postcards inside.

Milla likes this one because it plays Jingle Bells (over and over again), and My First Christmas because it has textured glittery stars and a pop up nativity at the end.

We've been watching a few Christmas movies and shows too. I got The Grinch DVD but it wasn't very good - much less charming than the book. Just more evidence for my theory that there are no good movies with Jim Carey in them. The Mr. Bean Christmas special has been a big hit though. And I loved watching Love Actually when it was on TV this week - it's a bit cheesy, but that's okay at this time of year.

christmas is coming

Christmas is creeping up quickly, and I'm feeling surprisingly relaxed and well organised*. Ali and I collaborated on the cards this year - I printed the trees with the gocco, and then he decorated them with glitter glue and stickers.

Quick, easy and fun. And now in the post.

The wreath is on the door - the one I made two years ago is still looking pretty good (tutorial here).

The tree is up, and it smells amazing. I was worried that Milla would knock it over but she has been really good - she takes off the decorations she can reach and moves them around, but the bottom of the tree has all the felt and fabric ones so that is fine. It looks so pretty with all the lights on, and we've been playing carols so it all feels very festive.

And we spent a rainy afternoon this weekend decorating gingerbread houses with friends. I did the same thing last year, but this year Ali stayed to help which he absolutely loved.

Now I just need to finish a tiny bit of Christmas shopping, wrap presents and pick up a ham. And spend some time relaxing, catching up with friends and family, and enjoying these last few weeks of the year.

--

* I think this is because I have decided to cut myself some slack this year - no homemade presents, apart from some jam, and deliberately not planning to do too much. Instead I'm trying to buy handmade things or support small local businesses with the Christmas shopping. Much less stressful.