Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!! Just a short note to share my best present ever. My Boy always makes the best stuff!

 How cool is this my own Monopoly board and my own get out of the house card and get your arse to the sales card and ca$h!

So from me the dog and the boys have a great Christmas and a rocking New Year

Christmas Cupcakes

Youngest son and I had fun making Christmas cupcakes for the Trampolining party.

Landfill Harmonic

I thought this was brill. Spread the word.

Make and do

 I have finally started to get to grips with my own Christmas list of things to make. I had started all the cooking and preserving but not the makes.And now I have. But have I left it too late? I have made my limited edition Christmas cards. Lino cuts this year.

 However Not sure I will have time to make all the boxes and bits and pieces and the swags of ivy I wanted to try.
Still here is a few I made earlier. I took my first trip down Marylebourne High Street the other day. It was so lovely and Christmassy with all the lights. I was particularly inspired by The Conran shop and  I saw a few things that I thought I could make myself.

I thought the little glass decorations in jam jars inspired and aided by my trip to HK and a quick run down to Wanchai market here are my version. Next little Japanese wooden boxes for string. I had some saved cheese boxes for just such a creative project and with the last of my Sham Shui Po string made two. The green glass food storage jars were on sale and I have one for my cotton wool balls and have made one into a vanilla candle.

I Heart Hong Kong

So more jet setting with a long weekend away in HK for a wedding. Wedding was great and catching up with everyone fantastic. So here are the gratuitous photo shots.

P.S. It's starting to look a lot like Christmas.

Mitt, Barack and the American way

It was an interesting time to go to The USA, just before Halloween and with the election 3 weeks away. I don't know what I expected but I certainly didn't expect the very political adverts everywhere. They make the English elections look positively staid.

It really was a trip of extremes with the full on city and then the laid back of fall in the Catskills with farmers markets the amazing fall colours and small town America.

It was the most fantastic trip and for what it's worth I would like Obama to win apparently along with the rest of Europe, but hey what do I know. Still some more photos but we'll save them for another time.

New York New York

Well its been a while hasn't it ? So lets see if I can update you a bit. I went to a great talk at the RA by Michael Wood on The Bronzes of the Tamil people in South India. Very good and the talk wasn't bad either! As my companion noted " He is seducing us with his voice". Well yes, he was!

I highly recommend the RA exhibition  Bronze which is on for a while longer until the 2nd of December. Meanwhile off we went to New York. Mine and the small boys first trip not the Husbands.

Real Brooklyn tin ceiling

Woodstock farmers market

A highlight The Highline

And how was Halloween I hear you ask? Well the natives were friendly, the streets full and the kids happy. All in all most enjoyable.

Happy Halloween

Halloween! Where has the time gone? Well a large chunk went on a trip to New York New York ( more of that later) from which this photo comes. Chelsea Market no less and opposite to where we were staying.

And so to my small efforts. Scary eyeball meatball the creation don't cha know of smallest child, a spooky wreath inspired by this bargain DIY instruction and of course the ubiquitous pumpkin though not as beautifully carved as the ones in Chelsea Market.

We have planned the annual walk around the neighbourhood trick or treating and who knows how that will go this year.

So stay spooky and I shall post a large long detailed entry about New York and all the other stuff going on soon.

Wallpaper

I really love this Brooklyn Tin wallpaper in collaboration with trendy uber shop  Merci, but at £219 a roll this is not going on my walls.

So time to do what I always do in these situations. Have a go myself. This is a work in progress. I want the background colour to be darker.

However I am really liking the distress and the feel of the print. I am going to get some more paint now will let you know how mark 2  goes.

Before and After

Finally I have finished painting the kitchen shelves that were taken out for the damp proofing . I have painted them a slightly darker cream and boy was that a pain . Anyway here are the before and after shots. It really doesn't look much different except that I have used my own printed wallpaper.!!!!That was the fun part, sanding, filling and painting not so much. What do you think? You may recognise the print as one I used earlier on fabric. My appetite is wetted, what next I wonder?

                                              Before

                                                After

And the award goes to.......

It's been a full weekend of Birthday parties visitors and a chance to celebrate Jewish New Year which was a real treat and an honour.

I'm afraid I can't celebrate a birthday without having a bit of fun myself and so a request to go to the cinema for a Birthday treat turned into a movie party complete with invites, popcorn muffins, cake and party bags. I may have gone a bit over the top but boy did I have fun. I think the kids enjoyed themselves too.

One lovely  parent even awarded me the Oscar for best Movie Party. Thanks Frankie  and if I could just take a moment of the academy's time I would like to thank ..............