Today will be an odd day. DH is finally home for the holidays, and we are off to the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway for our (now-) Annual Santa Special trip. We're all very excited about it, since it really marks the start of our family Christmas Celebrations. Sadly, though, it is the first Anniversary of the loss of my Gran. I'm finding it challenging to juggle the range of emotions that these things make me feel. I have been focussing … [Read more...]
Very easy Peppermint creams make excellent last-minute gifts
Here's the super-quick scoop. It's embarrassingly easy. Had I known, I wouldn't have spent years messing with actually making them from scratch and then trying to keep The Girls from eating the raw-egg-laced dough (hence my embarrassment). You need: 1. Leftover fondant icing from icing your cake 2. Peppermint oil or flavouring 3. Optional: food colouring Mix colouring and flavouring into your icing, by kneading until … [Read more...]
Seeking Pinspiration?
Crikey- this time next week it'll all be over! Can you believe it? I thank the good Lord for coming up with Pinterest, and the interweb in general. Aside from providing my beloved husband (the internet, not Pinterest) it provides hours and hours of distraction and ideas to keep the Girls occupied. We've been busy with our Advent Activity Calendar, as inspired by Activity Mom this month, and it has been wonderful, so thanks to Activity Mom. … [Read more...]
Pinspired
If you know about Pinterest, you will know that the single most used word to describe it is 'addictive'. Trouble is, I get more than a little bit carried away with the pinning and forget to get on with the actual making part. And thus was born my idea for a linky. It doesn't matter what you've done, visited, made or bought, if Pinterest is the inspiration behind it, and you've blogged it, then link it. To get you started, here … [Read more...]
Kick-start Christmas: how to make an easy Advent Calendar!
You will probably be amazed to learn that, despite my love of all things chocolate, I am a hardened fan of traditional Advent Calendars. Right from the childhood days, probably even before the chocolate Advent Calendar had been invented (did I mention I am now officially middle-aged?) I loved opening the window not for the gift but for the picture. Each seasonal symbol somehow made me feel a step closer to Christmas. And now that I have children … [Read more...]
T for Thanksgiving Turkey
Although Thanksgiving is not a British holiday, we have American family. To help LBG and her Dimpled sister keep an association with them, we made some turkeys this week. It was clear autumn day and The Girls and I picked up some leaves from the garden, which put me in a mind of a turkey craft I had seen around the internet somewhere. I drew around each girl's foot onto the inner side of a carton of some kind, then cut them out. This would … [Read more...]
How to paint fireworks
I recall as a child that a painting of fireworks was de-rigeur for this time of year, along with the Public Safety adverts that put the fear of God into me as far as spending time with actual fireworks. Even now I am happy to watch from the safety of my own home, pick up the detritus from others' fireworks that has landed in my garden (man that stuff travels) and teach LBG how to make a fireworks painting with a cotton bud (that's Q-tip to you … [Read more...]
