HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Thank you to everyone who has read/commented/laughed/commiserated/sniggered with me this year. It simply would not be the same without you all.....
May your 2013 be filled with happiness, joy, peace and most importantly, fun :D

LLJ xxxx

WOYDT 186

It's Christmas time, there's no need to be afraid
At christmas time, we let in light and we banish shade

But in our world of plenty, we should spread a smile of joy!
Throw your arms around the world at christmas time

Hello everyone...hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas!

It has been a bitter sweet one for me, the first one without my mum has been hard. My dad is here and we've all been keeping ourselves going.  But Mum wouldn't have wanted us to mope and there have been a lot of laughs and some fabby prezzies too.

For example, 3 from a wonderful gift box from Julia:

A kaleidoscope of pretty beads - I think I might have to keep them as a display for now. They're too nice to use!

A red charger plate with flecks of silver bling...I LOVE it. Note how my turkey is doing the can-can dance, lol!

But Julia, being her wonderful Kitsch self, also gave me a wobbly snowman on a spring bottle stopper. Believe me, that's restrained!!! I love it too but don't let on, will you??  *grin*

And I'll leave you with a pic of my festive What's On Your Dining Table pic...

A beautiful table arrangement from my niece Emma, atop the blingy red plate from my best mate Julia on top of a table runner I made last year. All together as a whole. I love it when serendipity strikes...I'm one lucky gal.

Sending bloggy love and hugs around the world to you all.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

WOYWW 185

IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER,

FROSTY WIND MADE MOAN,

EARTH STOOD HARD AS IRON,

WATER LIKE A STONE.

SNOW HAD FALLEN, SNOW ON SNOW,

SNOW ON SNOW,

IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER,

LONG, LONG AGO.

My absolute favourite carol EVER!! Hear a particularly beautiful version here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6yevmluq2M

Well, I have been doing some crafting this past week. I had a whole day off on Saturday (whoopdidoo!!) and so I caught up with a couple of things. 

Remember those fabrics I bought last week to make place mats with? Well, my friend chose two completely different ones instead!! Such is life, eh? I shall keep them and use them next year :D

Here are the replacements...

I love these fabrics but haven't got much left. Hmmm, patchwork maybe?  Hahahahahahaha...like THAT'S going to happen. Not enough patience. Even my new mantra for 2013 'Make an Effort' won't be enough to lure me into the giddy world of quilting. I adore the results, just know I'm not meticulous enough...sigh.  However, I digress....

The same friend also asked for four Christmas sacks, lined bags with drawstrings. She wanted one for her lad, so I thought I'd zshuzsh (how DO you spell that??) it up a bit with some Bondaweb.

Not the best applique ever but I enjoyed doing it :)

Do you remember the Santa Grotto snow scenes I painted a couple of weeks back? Well, in the good old tradition of reuse and recycle...

They magically morphed into the scenery for the Infants' Nativity play! Yay, I'm really pleased that all that effort wasn't just for the one night!

So many kind WOYWWers have sent Christmas cards and little treasures and I'm ashamed to say that I haven't done any...but THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for sending them. The latest was this cute little Christmas doll from Wipso and Twiglet. She's gorgeous and so festive and I LOVE her - thank you girls for all the support and camaraderie over the past 12 months. Here she is sitting with Famfa's Korknisse on top of my piano, no less!

So they shall enjoy the festive music when I play my carols!

I felt that I would like to do an e-card on today's post to send Christmas greetings to all the wonderful folk around the world who are part of this amazing, crazy, touching, funny world that my dear mate Julia dreamt up. In the true traditions of Christmas, it's subtle, refined and tasteful......

NOT!!!!

Happy Christmas, all you gorgeous crafting folk - may 2013 be a good year, filled with love, health and happiness.

Much love, Lunch Lady Jan xxxx

WOYWW 184

MI MI MI MI 
MI MI MI MI
MI MI MI MI 
MI MI MI MI
DING DONG, DING DONG....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysIzPF3BfpQ

*sighs happily*

Right, where was I??

Oh yes, the desk is sadly lacking this week...too many other things going on!
I can show you what's on my table though.

This placemat is part of a set of four plus table runner that my friend bought for Christmas - she then found out that four more people were coming...and I've run out of that fabric. Ooops. So, a trip to Winchester was in order to seek out an alternative! I popped into C&H, gave Janet (Fairythoughts) a shock when I popped out from behind the embroidery threads and said hello to Lucy, a new Desker! I bought these two quilting cottons to make the other mats so there can be alternate settings on the festive table...

Similar yet different....
I've also been knitting - something for me this time! It's a Noro knock off (Noro is a very expensive yarn!) and is gorgeous. I love the colours...

I'm going to make a very very long scarf, then join the ends to make a snood that you can wrap twice around your neck. And even better, I got two balls out of the bargain bin in my local yarn shop for £2!! Yeehar :)

Now, many folk have said that this blog is a load of old bollards...well, here's proof...

These are in Winchester, in the streets all around the Cathedral Close!! Aren't they awesome?? Such a fun idea - DH and I had a great time identifying all the artists featured. It has been DH's Big Birthday this weekend, and there's been celebrations for three days.
Well, ya gotta do it large when the Bus Pass is in the post :)
Love you loads, G !!

WIYWG 183

WHAT'S IN YOUR WORKDESK GROTTO.....

Near Bethlehem did shepherds keep
Their flocks of lambs and feeding sheep;
To whom God’s angels did appear
Which put the shepherds in great fear.
“Prepare and go”, the angels said,
“To Bethlehem, be not afraid;
For there you’ll find, this happy morn,
A princely Babe, sweet Jesus born.”

The Wexford Carol is another favourite of mine - check this out. Her voice is truly pure and angelic:  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YClcMAn_wg 

Completely gorgeous!

Anyway, there's not been much spare time to actually make stuff this week, but that's not to say that I've not been busy...fat chance!!

Here's the finished little girl's apron, complete with heart pocket - hope the 7 year old likes it!!

My friend Sue (of recent wedding fame) asked me to make a couple of tea cosies for her, one to be a Christmassy one. D'ya recognise the fabric?? The gingham ribbon is on straight, it's just the bend of the fabric!! It's testament to our friendship that I made them...after the last Teacosy Debacle of 2011, I swore I'd never make another....

That's it for desk making, I'm afraid.. but this is one I prepared earlier...

We had our Christmas fair in school last week and I got to make the grotto!! Yeehar - I just love doing that sort of stuff. Here are my two snow scenes on the large floor standing notice boards..this was the way in to see Santa...

 
Give me a pot of paint and I'm a happy girlie!!
Santa was going to be in a small room that is used for group work and storing school detritus! It's amazing what you can do with white bedsheets and silver foil :)

I know that penguins shouldn't be at the North Pole, but four year olds don't care!! It apparently looked beautiful in the evening when it was dark and all the fairy lights were twinkling. I was playing out with my band so didn't get to see it in all its snowy glory... Incidentally, did you know that Penguin may be a Welsh word? One derivation is that the Welsh settlers in Patagonia named it Pen Gwyn, literally meaning White Head...referring to the white stripe around the eyes of some species.

And as I walked home from school after being surrounded by white, I turned the corner to my house and was confronted with this...

An Ice rainbow caused by the refraction of crystals in the freezy atmosphere  (it was perishing last Thursday)  And then it got even better...

There was an angel smiling down at me. It made me very happy.

Blessings to you all :)