Happy New Year!

Christmas is over! I don’t mean to sound all humbuggy, but it was a saga of long car journeys through ice and snow, sick children, over-eating (for once, not over-drinking) and it was a huge relief to get home and have the whole thing done with for another year.

I am excited about New Year though, very excited about 2011. I'm not exactly sure why yet, but it’s a nice feeling, being hopeful of good things. *

*(Mmm, that almost seems a bit Zen or something of me. Anyone who knows me knows I am as far from Zen as well, as far as a chaotic, disorganised, dysfunctional obsessive crafter can be. But there you go; I'm feeling zenish about the New Year. Hand on, Zenish isn't the right word, optimistic is not right either. Anticipative, expectant, sanguine. Sanguine, I think I like sanguine... Did I mention I tend to think/talk/type too much...)

Some Quotes for the optimist..

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves. ~Bill Vaughan

In the long run the pessimist may be proved right, but the optimist has a better time on the trip. ~Daniel L. Reardon

It doesn't hurt to be optimistic. You can always cry later. ~Lucimar Santos de Lima

It's still possible to be a cockeyed optimist these days - you just have to be a little more cockeyed. ~Robert Brault

One too many paper chains, perhaps...

In a previous blog post, I had talked about the fun we had making our Halloween Decorations, and talked about bringing back the paper chain. Well, over the past 2 weeks I have gone a bit mad with the Christmas decorations. It’s my first year in my new house (and hopefully the first of many, many years in the same house...). So, because of a combination my Yarnaholics Programme*, and the appalling weather we’re been having over the past month, I have managed to have nothing to do! I don’t mean nothing to do, but no crazy community projects or deadlines, having to be here there and everywhere. And my god, it’s tough! Its way harder than working hard. I am usually rushing around chasing after projects as time slips away, but now I am humming and hawing about what to next. So, for my first year in my new house, I have managed to make nearly all the Christmas decorations.

Firstly I made these....

Then I made these.

Lots of these. These were my favourites as a kid, and with a few different coloured packs of crepe paper, it’s amazing how many you can make, and get carried away with...

The tiny little synthetic tree was unwrapped, and we made angels

Then a lino-printing session to make all the Christmas Cards

Then, I had to crochet some snowflakes, and well, got carried away with that too, and made a few for the tree, and the window by the front door, and a bunch for token presents to friends and family

Snowflakes blocking

Oh, and we painted the front door...

Inside and Outside

PHEW! To top it off some Christmas tunes from The Rat Pack and Leon Redbone... It’s a festive, very cheap and cheerful Christmas. I'm almost ready to be snowed in...

*Must update the Yarnaholic Programme, it'll be my New Years Resolution...

Happy Christmas