..and a...

It's still a day or two off, but getting in early as I'm off on a wee short holiday to the hills. Hope the new year is good to you, and thanks for dropping by this year :)

Merry Festiveness

Can hardly believe how quickly it has all happened this year - in fact, the last few weeks are a bit of a blur. And here we are. Soon it'll be time for new year's resolutions and planning for 2009 but for now, it's time to stop. And time to eat. Eat a lot.

Now I just have to wrap some (OK, all) the gifts I'm giving, and finish off some of the handmade ones. If only I was as organised as Fiona, and had a batch of these waiting to be eaten. But I did manage to whip up more than one batch of shortbread, most of which has already been eaten or given away.

Apartment Therapy

I think all my dreams came true this morning when I saw this.



That's my tea towel. On Apartment Therapy/Re-Nest (it's an article about wrapping gifts in gifts - what a great idea!) Can you tell that I kind of like Apartment Therapy and to see my work on there is insanely exciting? Thanks to my eagle-eyed colleague Michelle, for bringing it to my attention!

A pile of elephants...

..and a whole lot of polka dots. Yep, they're for new babies for friends and friends of friends, and also some for shops (or at least one shop). At least they won't get wet on their trip outside, now that the 48 hours of solid rain we've had this weekend has finally stopped. Summer? Bah.

Another Handmade Christmas

Can you believe there are now over 32,500 people who've pledged to Buy Handmade since the site's humble beginnings about a year ago? Wow, how great. Now, to make this a reality...



I've started with some delicious Christmas cakes (OK, they're made, not bought) that are now doused in brandy and rather delicious and not-too-fruity. Or for something much more heavy and long-lasting, try Delia's Classic Christmas Cake - if you've got a spare 5 hours (or make it as cup cakes, as I do, and it's a much more reasonable 1-2 hours!) You might need four mixing bowls and a bit of time up your sleeve, but they're worth it - insanely fruity and delicious (see below). Yep, I've gone cake-making mad.

Small home

I finally got around to making my little Ashley G house mentioned last week and oh my, how very cute it is. And yes, next time I'll remember to cut the window/door out. Oh well. How very sweet it would be to have a Christmas tree hanging a bunch of these.



In other news, I've finally got around to stocking some of my patchwork elephants and tea towels in a couple of lovely shops - both here in Melbourne (thanks to the great guys at Mike's - hope shopping night was fun last night and wish I could have made it - and the fab Bamakko) and in Adelaide (at the gorgeous Nest Studio).

And I have also put these guys (below) in my own wee small Etsy shop.

Weekend

I had an impromptu long weekend and don't want it to end, especially because it's now actually December and feels like time to start slowing down, as the weather warms up.

My weekend consisted of lots of fun things - 2 raffles, one involving a spinning wheel in a country town (1); buying freshly picked cherries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries from the farm door (2); a family bbq; ...


..a trip out to a bunch of op shops/thrift stores (3) where I picked up a few good things, like a small wooden toy from the Netherlands (4); a pub meal and a walk in the park with friends; lots of time dedicated to trying to complete a 520-piece puzzle, purchased at one of the aforementioned op shops (5); admiring the lovely Japanese apple pins I bought at a newly discovered and lovely cafe/shop in Collingwood (6) and sadly, no Design Market, due to running out of time. Is it Friday again yet?