The End of Christmas!

It's coming to the end of Christmas! I started to take down our decorations today, because it takes so long! I put up loads! All in a shaker style. Here is the door wreath I was talking about yesterday - using the tomato paste tubes for the metal hearts at bottom left and right hand side. I made this wreath a few years ago from a blank wreath. I wired on all sorts of things including free cookie cutters I got with a magazine and a metal bow. I had seen one like it in a shop and it was £65, so I decided to make my own!


I have enjoyed taking far more photographs this year. The digital age has made it so easy to experiment and record everyday things that may have been forgotten. My favourite piece of equipment is my small Sony digital camera, I take it everywhere! It has altered how I see things, allowed me to try something new. The best birthday present my DH has ever bought me!

Other favourite Christmas decorations include the russian doll santa given to my elder son on his second birthday, a rusty tin welcome garland bought for me in America, my Weinacht pyramid from my SIL in Germany, my tin angel and my set of houses from M&S a few years ago. last year I bought a new nativity scene. I takes hours to carefully wrap each decoration in tissue and store for next year! This is the first year I have not bought anything new! My sister bought me a tin tree and that is the only thing!

Unheard of for me! Shows that I have been ill!

The other thing I am very fond of is the little advent tree, which has little wooden ornaments you hang on each day. This year I made my new advent calendar, but not in time for Christmas! So that will be nice to bring out next year. I have a fabric advent calendar I quilted for the children, with pockets for a chocolate for each day, but we did not even bother getting that out this year! Maybe they're getting too old for choccies! In the drawers of my new one I plan to put little suprises maybe £1 coin on some days, some promises, some treats! I will have fun planning it.

Today I started to make a booklet showing all our christmas traditions, including our own special recipe mince pies! The shaker style tree and decorations and all that it means to us as a family. This will be a lovely keepsake for the children to show their children how Christmas was when they were young.



One of my favourite photos is this one of the kitchen dresser. It shows advent calendars new and old on display and my altered lampshade I mad a few years ago (close up on the slide show at the foot of this page.) This is where we display all our family Christmas cards and my row of houses I mentioned earlier. A photograph of my late MIL is also on show here all year round, so she is watching over the family.
This dresser was one I altered! My friend had decided it was going to the tip! She had had it since she was first married and got bored with it, so she had a go at paint techniques and painted it bright blue and green! When I saw it languishing in her garage, I could just imagine how it would be for me. I took off the upper glass doors and changed all the handles and knobs. I sanded it down and undercoated it in white, then applied two coats of Farrow & Ball eggshell paint in "string" to match my kitchen chairs. Thinking back I have been altering for years! She did not recognise it the next time she came! I always think this looks bare when I take down the decorations and replace with all my normal country china! Still more to finally remove tomorrow! You see why I had to start early!