Festive Round-up, And Planning For The Year Ahead.....

First of all, Happy New Year!

The festive season was a special one for us in 2012, as it was my son, Harry's first Christmas; and also because Mr S was home this year. I'm used to spending every other month by myself, but it's always a little harder at Christmas if he's away, so we all had some lovely family time....

I had the added joy of creating a 'Christmas Mantle', as we'd finally had the fireplace and stove fitted in December. I received some beautiful gifts from Nicki, who writes the wonderful blog homebird
including some pretty candles, which were swiftly added to my display!

I also made use of the abundance of holly and ivy in the garden and made a few winter wreaths....

Christmas Box Success!

The Christmas boxes were a huge success, and thanks to everyone who purchased, we raised over £400 for charity.
Here's some snaps of the work in progress.....

Planning With Intent

So the first few days of 2013, I spent clearing away the remnants of last year, wearing some Spring florals to brighten up the drab weather, getting my work in order, and sitting down with my new diary, a cup of tea and a lit candle (this has always helped me concentrate), and turned straight to the back of the book, to the 'notes' section, to write my Plans/Resolutions for 2013.

Like a lot of people, I plan with intent. I enjoy the process and the quiet excitement of thinking about, and writing down wonderful things that I think I could achieve.... but also, like a lot of people, when the page these plans are written on closes, quite often, you forget about it. They are swallowed up by everyday life...

So this year, I'm doing it differently.

One of the things I used to do in my old job, was a form of Life Planning through Graphic Facilitation. This process involves an illustrated chart of your life, who you are, your qualities and also your weaknesses, where you are in life, and where you want to be. Then, you set about, through flow and process diagrams, how you are going to get there. What's more, is that this kind of planning makes you discover more about yourself, and realise that nothing is impossible.
Through everyday small steps, you can achieve almost anything....

So if you've made plans and resolutions for yourself, with intent, please do have a go, and keep it in view every day. As one of the worst things you can do in life, is lose sight of yourself.

Make 2013 about You

L xx

Scented White Winter Dove Tutorial......

These are my favourite Christmas decorations, and so easy to make.

To make these, you will need:

MATERIALS....

White felted wool 

Velvet ribbon (I use 6mm ribbon)

Small silver bells

Polyfibre or natural Kapok for filling

Small faux diamante

White thread

Christmas fragrance oil or Essential oil

TOOLS....

Sewing machine

Hand sewing needle

Pins

Pencil and card to make a template

Scissors

Pinking Shears (optional)

1. Draw a Template.

When creating templates for anything, I find it easier to draw a picture of what you want to create, and then draw a cm border seam allowance right around the picture. This way, your picture inside will be the finished shape of your creation.
It's too easy to make the mistake of cutting out the picture as you've drawn it, and then finding once its sewn and stuffed, its a completely different shape to what you'd envisaged. 

Using your template, draw and cut out the two sides of your dove.

2. Pin and Sew.

Cut a length of ribbon and place it right side down, with loop end upside down, between the two pieces of felt. Make sure the ends are sticking out of the felt at the top, so you can sew them securely.
Pin, and sew around the edges with a running stitch, taking care to keep the shape of the bird, and leaving a 1.5 inch gap at the neck, to turn out and stuff. 

Once sewn, gently snip round the extra felt with pinking shears, or fabric scissors, to trim excess fabric.

Your dove should look something like this...

3. Turn, Shape, and Fill.

Carefully turn right side out, using a blunt pencil or similar object to get into the narrow parts like the tips of the wings, and beak. Felted wool can be manipulated into shape if your dove looks a little different from your template! It should now look something like this....

With your chosen scent, sprinkle a few drops onto your filling (a large hand full should be enough) and 'fluff' up'. My Kapok is left to cure for a few days to take on the scent, but this isn't necessary if using polyfibre filling.

4. Sew up, and Embellish!

Turn the opening in, and press into shape.

Then, using your white thread, hand sew small slip stitches to close. 

Sew on your bow and bell with a few stitches, and stick on your faux diamante for the eye. Hang up, and enjoy!