Baby, it's cold outside...

The snow came down as forecast and all is pretty for the time being.

It's clinging to the plants in the garden making it all very festive out there.

I know where I'd rather be...

...my house is looking all twinkly and warm.

With a few added splashes of colour this year, courtesy of Habitat. They had some wonderful Christmas decorations, as usual. These pick out all the colours of my glass bunting that I made a couple of years ago.

Including this beaded light curtain that I had hankered for then finally purchased at sale price two whole weeks before Christmas! It was meant to be mine. Thank you, Universe!

For the teenager in the house, there is the perfect bauble.

And for when cooking for 21 - yes, that's right, 21 - on Christmas Day, one for me!

Pansy suncatcher...

My chain order arrived this morning, so here's a photo of the suncatcher I made at the weekend.

I've had real difficulty sourcing suitable chain for hanging my suncatchers. The one we used in the States was a really nice weight, but I've had to go for jewellery chain here because everything else was too heavy, but I do think it's a bit too lightweight and I'm hoping it won't break! The supplier I found eventually has copper and gun-metal as well as silver colour, which is good because then I can use different patinas on the soldering. I used black patina on this pansy, which I think works really well.

If anyone knows of somewhere that sells decorative chain, do let me know!

My next glass project is a dragonfly (surprise, surprise!). No2 chose some wonderful glass that suggests the delicate veining on the wings, but I'll probably use some copper wire to pick out some of the veining too. He quite enjoys our little forays into the glass shop and I'm more than happy to let him pick out the glass - the colours are so tempting. We bought lots of turquoises and greens this time and some yellow to pick out the centre of the pansy.



I also just had delivered a clever little tool for cutting circles out of glass which should come in handy with this project as it has mosaic border at the bottom. I just have to wrap up warm and face the freezer that is my garage again...

Coming together...

This is my first attempt at stained glass creating on British soil... First you need to cut the glass and grind the edges so you don't cut your fingers off!

Then you need to put copper foil tape all round the edges, using a burnishing tool - or a plastic thing from a Dino-Dig set, in my case! That's improvisation for you...

Then you spend a couple of hours soldering all the edges, adding rings for attaching ribbon and beads. Voila! Custom-made glass bunting for my conservatory for the festive season.




A few weeks ago I spotted some half-price amaryllis bulbs in Woolies. They just can't help themselves, they have to grow!

And before you know they're looking gorgeous just in time for The Big Day!

And look perfect with the bunting! 'Scuse the dirty windows...

So, I'm nearly ready. I put the tree up on Monday with some new decorations from Ikea. I was worried it looked a bit sombre, but in the evening it looks nice and twinkly...

Finally, this is my first attempt at needle-felting. I bought a little kit at the Knitting and Stitchery Show way back in October. I decided to cut the tree out as my triangles weren't very neat. I only made 5 and sent them to my nearest and dearest.

Photo catch-up...

I've had these photos ready to post for a week or so.

These are a couple of the stained glass pieces I made in the summer

I have a bit of a turtle thing going on in my downstairs loo(!), with some beautiful carved wall-hangings and an old map of Barbados, where I had the most amazing swim with some 4' leatherback turtles a few years ago. So this little one looks just right hanging in the window.

Meanwhile, back in the chicken house...still no eggs. Lily is now 22 weeks old, so should start laying any time. Or so I'm led to believe. She has got bright red wattles now, which is supposed to be a good sign too. They both love exploring the garden, hot on my heels when I'm out there.

They tuck into all our kitchen scraps, so I'm loving not throwing anything away anymore. After nearly 4 weeks, I still have one dog who is totally obsessed with them...

My workshop on Saturday was uplifting. It was really well thought out and the conversations were flowing and honest. I came away feeling as though the faith that I have in myself is a good thing. We talked about some pretty big questions concerning the World View... I wasn't really sure what exactly that was (still not fully comprehending, but hey...). Anyway, I met some lovely new people, was given a couple of new book titles (already ordered on Amazon!) and have signed up for a retreat!

A New Craft...

Back in the summer, we stayed with a friend in Florida. She is a stained glass artist and is lucky enough to have her own studio at the house. During the daily Floridian downpour she tempted me into creating something out of glass. Within a couple of hours and after some elementary tuition, I was hooked.


Over the course of the 10 days spent with her, I made about 5 things - mainly suncatchers. If the sun comes out I will photograph them to post. When we got home I scoured the internet to find a local supplier of the tools and materials needed. My mind was buzzing with ideas. The trouble was, I already had a longish list of things that needed doing once we got home. It took lots of self-discipline not to rush straight out and buy all that was needed to start creating. I'd never worked with a 'hard' material before, but it's almost patchwork, just with a different medium. As with the other things I like to make, the best part is selecting colours and textures to create a wonderful end product.


Anyway, today was the day. So, off we went this morning to find Lead and Light. To say I was like a kid in a candy store is somewhat of an understatement and a tidy sum was spent indulging in my new hobby.


This is the kit you need to get started

And then you can go mad picking out your glass...

The colours and textures and fabulous

My first projects will be Christmas based. The photo's don't really do the glass much justice, but the pile at the top are beautiful, rich purples, violets and plums. A lot of the glass was in the sale bins so I felt justified in buying such a lot!

The thing is this... I need to get a work bench before I can get going. Another trip to Ikea then...