Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas Lovelies!!!
I hope you are all having a wonderful day, full of fun and laughter!! Thanks for a wonderful 2012!! Lots of love from me!!!

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OH the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful......

Nothing  fills me more with Christmas spirit than waking up to a fresh coating of snow. The thought of it excites me no end!!! Yesterday morning I wasn't disappointed! I woke up and went into the living room to find it was still dark. A chilly layer of snow was covering the windows and letting no light in. I loved it! It made the Christmas tree lights feel even more magical.

The urge to wrap up with all things woolly and head out to the snowy park was way too strong. So after breakfast the coat and scarf went on and off I went with my camera to take some lovely frosty pictures.
.

It was bitterly cold!! My fingers were frozen as I wore no gloves so that I could work my camera. It was well worth braving the elements, the view of the park was stunning.
As I walked along the lake the ducks followed. I think it may have even been too cold for them to swim as they were much happier walking around the lake than swimming on it.
I love the sound of their "quacks". It really makes me laugh and there was a lot of "quacking" going on!

After my lovely trip to the park I returned home to finish decorating the Christmas tree (it was looking a tad bare). I just feel like time has been flying recently, but in a good way :-)
I recently had my lovely Mum and my Great Aunty (I call her Maggie Moon, but not sure why?!) come and visit for a while! What a fun filled Christmassy time we had!

We spent a lot of time in the city enjoying Hamburg's lovely Christmas markets! Drinking Gluhwein!

Eating yummy sausages!!!

and in general enjoying Hamburg at its best.....Christmas time.

Now Mum and Maggie Moon have returned back to England for Christmas and I'm finishing the touches and preparing for my Christmas here in Hamburg. That means finally putting the decorations on the Christmas tree and around the apartment!!

So after my walk in the park I came home hung some simple paper chains from the windows!

Placed the Christmas Wreath out to play.

Added baubles to the tree.

and other little ornaments.

and I'm finally done with Present buying!!! Which meant I had a spare half and hour to come share with you lovely people!!! I'm really looking forward to the Christmas days off from work. Writing this makes me realise how EXCITED I am!! I just have one more day at work, which means I need to get going or I'll be late!!!

I hope all of your Holiday preparations are on track!! Don't you just love this time of year?!!!
Happy Sunday!!!

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Creative Christmas: Crocheted Christmas Trees

Just a quick little post from me today as I'm already falling behind on my list of "things to do".
I just had to stop and tell you much I am getting into the spirit of things!!! I bought my Christmas tree yesterday and spent the evening decorating it (pictures coming soon), the Christmas decorations are out of storage boxes and stockings are hanging from the drawers! I get excited just thinking about returning home from work tonight to my Christmas tree with its twinkly lights :-)

Now one of my Christmas decorations I simply must share with you, are these lovely little crocheted Christmas trees. They are a real favourite of mine and I love seeing them sat perfectly on a table or on top of the drawers looking out over the apartment.

I have four in total, ranging from a very tiny light green one:

  Up to a much darker and more substantial one:

They were actually made a few Christmases ago with an amazing pattern by June Gilbank. Despite being a few years old they always come out of the storage box looking fresh and as festive as ever.

They are topped with cute little stars that simply shine Christmas cheer!!

Sat on my chest of drawers amongst a scattering of pine cones

I imagine them to be grouped together deep in a forest surrounded by frosty snow.

They are one of my favourite decorations and very worthy to be shared with you lovely people! I hope you liked seeing them!
Speak soon!!!

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Creative Christmas: Crocheted Christmas Wreath

Christmas is well and truly on it's way, and it comes in the form of a sudden downfall of snow here in Hamburg. BRRRRRRRR it is chilly!!! Thank God I've been wrapped up nice and warm at home working on another 'Creative Christmas' project! This time my project takes the form of a happy Christmassy wreath!

Last month for my Birthday my fabulous friends bought me an assortment of craft supplies to use as I pleased. Amongst these supplies was a straw wreath, ready to be decorated. I've been working on it at a nice leisurely pace over the past few weeks.

I started by crocheting a stripy sleeve for my wreath. I made it out of an assortment of green "Rico creative cotton".

I wrapped it around my wreath and sewed it together on the underside of the wreath.

A stripey green hoop! Nothing too festive though :-( I think it could do with some decorations! :-)

A cute crocheted rose by June Gilbank.

and once again some Jolly Holly by Lucy at Attic24, In a variety of bright and happy colours!

I carefully arranged my decorations on my wreath and once I was happy with the positioning, I secured them with a good helping of glue.

Finally I made some lovely crocheted stars using a pattern that Dennis had made up. (yes...that's right Dennis is back in town and we've been hanging out. He wants to say a big "HELLO" to you all and hopes you are all doing well!?).
Dennis very kindly let me share his pattern with you all. You can find this amazing tutorial for "Simple Crocheted Stars" here on my blog or as a PDF, ready for free Ravelry download!

I added some beads and bells to my crocheted star and added it to my wreath.

Finally some more beads and string to hang my wreath up with. This is what I came up with!

Sure the bright colours are not traditionally Christmassy, but the happiness and cheerfulness couldn't be more Christmassy to me!

AAAAH Creative Christmassy Bliss!!!
Until next time!

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Creative Christmas: Christmassy Jars!

Hello there!! My aren't you looking fabulous this evening! I'm so glad you could join me!
I have another little Christmassy project to share and hopefully inspire your creative minds!!

Ever since transforming some old jars over the summer (read about it here) I've been kind of hooked on the idea of making-over old glass jars. I thought it was about time I put my ideas to the test and once again recycle some more beloved jars, but this time for the festive season.

I've been busy eating my way through various types of jarred food, so that I'd have some tools for this project :-)
I can't tell you how quick, simple and satisfying this project is!
You just need some old jars and string, plus a sprinkle of creativity! Here's what I did:
I ate my way through a jar of gherkins, peeled off the label and washed the jar out.

I placed a blob of glue in the position where I wanted my string to begin.

I attached my string (I just bought this from the local supermarket) to the glue and started to wind it around my jar as neat as possible.

Every now and then I'd add a blob of glue to secure my string.

Once I was satisfied with the amount of string, I fixed it with one final blob from my trusty glue gun.

Oh how simple and neat that looks!!

For that Christmassy touch, I gave the string a little covering of gold acrylic paint.

I like the natural look of the string, but I love the gold Christmassy string!

I pulled out my collection of embroidery thread, buttons, bells and ribbons, and made myself some cute little decorations.

I added some Christmas holly. (Using Lucy at Attic24's Jolly Holly pattern)

I added festive ribbon and a classic button, plus a couple of golden bells.

I crocheted some mini flowers and glued them to my jar.

Here's what I ended up with!

Cute eh?
They are perfect for dotting around the apartment! I added candles for a magical glow.

and candy for festive feasts!

Not only do I love how simple and cute they are, I love that I can fill them with just about anything!

A very simple and fulfilling project!
Why not give it a whirl? I promise you wont be disappointed!!!

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