Christmas cards and a dolly

All going well here. Penny managed to make nine Christmas cards this morning so her relatives in NZ are going to be delighted. I managed to finish my doll do tonight I need to dress it. I'm going to make her an Elf I think. Perhaps an Elf on a shelf... 

Bonfire Night

I love this picture my daughter painted of the fireworks at bonfire night. 

Mini muffins.

I love all things mini and so does my little girl. These fab muffins by Annabel Karmel are just the ticket for our early morning starts. And they freeze. 

A new skill

I am determined to master amigurumi. It's taken a week of knots and swearing but I am finally on my way! 

I am actually very proud of this as I have given up a few times this week and this is my fifth attempt at a simple dolls head. 

I think I've cracked it though. Now I just need to decide on the colour of her hair. 

Halloween witches and fairies. Oh my.

My mother bought Penny's costume when we were in America in the summer. It is beyond adorable! 

Earlier she had been to a party at nursery and so not wanting her to ruin her best witches dress we dug this out of the dressing up box... 

When I was little, people in Britain didn't seem to go trick or treating - it was all about bonfire night and fireworks. So tonight was my first ever go at trick or treating. 

I better eat my way through these to save Penny's teeth. Brave mummy ;) 

Christmas Mouse Decoration

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I just finished this little mouse for a Christmas decoration. I was going to give it to a friends daughter for Christmas but I'm not sure I can part with it so it might end up in Penny's stocking. 

The pattern was free (just google) And the parts were quick and easy to knit. 

I can't believe that I managed to knit a star! 

I must say I found the making up process longer than the knitting. 

But it was totally worth it! Just too too cute. 

Christmas Baby Bear

I made this bear this evening. It's for my friends little girl who will be about five months old at Christmas. On one hand it was hugely satisfying as it just took an evening of hand sewing. No digging out the sewing machine and no tricky joins. Creatively though it left me rather cold. Very boring school girl sewing. 

The end result however is rather sweet and I love the snowflake fabric. Plus it was a free pattern and I used scraps so it's a free gift!! In theory I'd make more but I don't think I can be bothered as it's so dull...

Then again I have lots more fabric and my friends keep having babies... 

Christmas card prototypes

We had an experiment before bed tonight. The end results look like this: 

The glue will dry clear. I'm obviously fighting the urge to move all the shapes to 'better' locations. 

I would be very happy to get this at Christmas. Each one is made with a little bit of love and care. 

Christmas crafting.

When you've got a lot of cards to hand make it's wise to start early!! 

Today Penny and I went shopping for our Christmas crafting supplies which was certainly a bit crazy. 

We chose lots of sparkly shapes and cards. 

So at any given time we are ready to make our cards. 

When I got home I found a parcel had arrived ready for my production of Sophocles' Ajax (which we are setting in Vietnam) because we have a photo shoot for the poster on Monday. 

Making angels.

It's early, I know. But I like to start Christmas at half term. After half term everything goes so fast and suddenly it's Christmas! 

So today, in between marking some tests I made these little bead angels. All you need are beads, pins (jewellery not sewing) and some round nosed pliers. 

First you pick your beads (I got the wings from eBay). 

Then thread them on the pin. 

Use the pliers to make a loop. But be warned - it's addictive!! 

I'm going to use them to hang on presents with the tags I think. Then afterwards people can hang them on their tree or even wear them. 

A cheats guide to motherhood.

I was brought up by a full time mum. I however work full time but I want my little girl to experience all the awesome things I did! So - I cheat. Today I am baking her a little treat. Baking and cooking for Penny feels like love, but I had lots of marking to do, so here is a recipe that takes five minutes - maximum!

First cut small circles out of ready rolled short crust pastry and push into mini muffin tin. 

Next put little spoons of jam into each one (about 1/2 a teaspoon) 

Then bake for about 20 mins on 160. 

Bingo - little tiny nuggets of love (and they freeze!).

Now for the marking... 

Autumn.

My favourite season. I love my garden this time of year. Even a trip to the shops feels magical because I walk on all the scrunchy leaves. 

Penny's best friend

This is Penny's best friend. 

He is my grumpy glorious cat called Honey Monster who lived with me in London before I met my husband and moved with us to the countryside. 

He puts up with a lot but as they are always together I can only conclude that he loves her too. 

Or that he knows she drops food quite often... 

Early starts.

It's been an early one this morning so we had coffee and doodles to start the day. Penny is at nursery now and I'm on half term holiday so I have a day of baking and marking ahead of me! Yum yum (and boo). Can you tell I don't want to get started? 

Autumn leaves and paint pots.

Yesterday we went to collect leaves from our local park. The plan was to paint them later and use them as stencils. Of course Miss Penny decided that she didn't actually want any leaves in her bucket so after half an hour if running, tumbling, laughing and leaf throwing we came home empty handed.

We were not put off by a lack of leaves though and merrily painted the afternoon away. 

Penny paints so much that I plan to use it for wrapping Christmas presents this year!!