It's beginning to look alot like Christmas

Hello everyone, hope you aint all snowed in and your Christmas preparations are coming along nicely. I had another quiet weekend. We have snow now in Ireland too so it's beginning to look alot like Christmas. We're snowed in yesterday and today as our lane has a very steep hill so today they are trying to clear it so we can take the cars out.

So I wrapped some of my presents,

And started to compile my wetland bird identification booklet which includes characteristics to identify each species and a sketch of each. I have the Swans and Geese almost complete, it takes awhile to draw the sketches, I then have to arrange them in my book and add photographs and more sketches, I have about another 60 to do so that will keep me busy over the Christmas. Here are a few examples

On Saturday I started this.... Any guesses what it is?

Did you guess right??

I think it looks quite cute, I finished it last night.

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So let me know what you have been up to? I have some more Christmas gifts to buy but I will have to wait until the snow clears and it stops freezing.

Some Simple Seasonable Treats for kids to make...

If you'd like alittle treat and some fun with the kids here are some Christmas recipes for you to make whether your having friends over or just for a wee treat. Hope some of you try them out. The basic ingredrient is Kellogg's Rice Krispies Breakfast Cereal. You will find the recipes on the Kellogg's Website.

Festive Fruit Wreaths

Happy Snappy Holiday Trees

Lots of Kitchen Inspiration....

Here is a whole lot of kitchen inspiration, you have to forgive me as I do not have the sites where I got the photographs, bad blogger I am!!! I promise I will start to blog properly and give credit to all those who designed or sell these kitchens (so if you come across them let me know or I can remove them). So from these photographs you will gather that I'm liking white, cream and light wood kitchen units, with clean simple lines. I love the cream and white as it means you can accessorise with any colour you like and it won't look dull. Plus a bright kitchen is always nice, once you have enough time to keep it nice and clean that it. I also like a workstation in the kitchen with shelves and a desk, that way you can keep all your cookery books, kitchen planners and letters at hand but neat and tidy. I also like free standing dressers to display all your lovely china. I also think a kitchen diner is nice with two windows because at the end of the day the kitchen is the hub of the home and we spend so much time there, I hope you enjoy looking through these kitchens.

Mother Christmas Naughty but Nice all the same!

Where are thou Mother Christmas,
I really wish I knew,
Why Father should get all the praise,
And no one mentions you.
I bet you buy the presents,
And wrap them large and small,
While all the time
The dirty swine pretends
Hes done it all.
So hail to Mother Christmas,
The uncomplaining slave.
And down with Father Christmas,
The good-for-nothing knave.
                                                                  ~Roald Dahl

Just another Manic Monday---> Nooo, it was a Festive Fun Day Monday

Hello all my blogger friends, this evening I started putting up the Christmas tree and decorations. I was busy taking everything out and putting it up around the sitting room, and then I went to look in the box to get the remainder of the decorations and there was my wee cat Suki sitting in the box, talk about making yourself at home! She was rather comfy and liked the decorations.

So as Suki relaxed I got to work, I have nearly all the decorations up but there are a few that I want to finish tomorrow. Here are a few of the decorations in the sitting room. Here is the crib/nativity, my dad made the frame out of wood and I added the bark and mosses last year, its amazing how well they kept, isn't it, I will add some more moss, holly and ivy tomorrow.

Some santas and snowmen from over the television

The top of the crystal cabinet

Some decorations from the mantle piece

Some more wee decorations and cards

And here is my tree, I want to hide the wires underneath but I will get around to it Tuesday evening

Here is one of my favourite decorations.

I also made these two very quick decorations today made from green and red ribbon, cutting from old christmas card and pine cone.

I have my pine cones dried off a little as they were soaking wet, have you many ideas of what I could do with them???

I was thinking of incorporating them into my garland, any other ideas from ye all are very welcome. I hope ye are all getting into the festive spirit, I will wrap my presents sometime this week too and put them under the tree, it looks like I have lots of presents then :) Have you put your tree up yet? I know some of ye have as I have seen it on your blogs. Christmas blessings...

Alot of Crafty Inspiration ....

Since creating my blog I have got so much inspiration from each and everyone of my blogger friends. It inspired me to start doing some crafting and I have completed two cross stitch patterns and a rug. I am hoping to make a christmas garland next week as I have collected some pine cones for it. I have started to draw and sketch again, these are all things I loved but with work and uni I never made the time to do them. So now I have started to re-visit my creative side. As I don't have a sewing machine, you could almost say I don't know how to sew as I havent used one since I was in secondary school. I want to make so many things I have seen on other blogs, I want to learn to crochet, make some greeting cards, redecorate old furniture, my list goes on and on. You have probably already seen some of my cross stitch and other projects on my blog but for those of you who havent here they are;

I have a few more cross stitch patterns to start but as I have been busy lately I have to get around to them yet. So the projects I have completed so far were easy enough to do as they were projects which I received as gifts. I hope to buy a small/mini sewing machine after Christmas in the sales. Then I want to make some of my own crafts from old material. I have lots of ideas from all your blogs. I have also come across some wonderful crafts from other websites, magazines and even shops, here are just a few of them. I am sorry as I do not have all the links to these projects but some of them are from Prima and Hobbycraft

Some lovely simple bags for shopping should be simple enough to make!

How cute are these teddy bears, I want one! A bit more difficult perhaps.

A more advanced pretty cushion, I might leave this to the more expert crafters.  I can just see it on my bed

Now these look pretty simple & they can be filled with lavendar too as Crafty Mermaid did with her christmas presents. Oh a Mermaids Purse will like the blue and white one with Sweet Pea on the front :)

Now this wee owl I would really like to start on.Oout window shopping recently I saw it in Monsoon Accessorize & thought it looked quite simple to make :) Isn't it sweet!

A simple heart cushion from Prima

This is a truly beautiful idea check it out at Prima

Paper Dove from Hobbycraft all we need is white paper & feathers, even the kids can do it! So I might start here :)

More ideas from Hobbycraft Non-sew bunting which I can make once I get some material

This cat is just adorable and its from Hobbycraft too which has so many lovely ideas and products

These are just a few of the hundreds of ideas I have come across, I want to make one of everything I see but firstly I will have to get a sewing machine and nice material (cheap of course). But for now I will make the Dove with Feathers and try my Christmas Garland. If you have any nice simple projects I'd love to check them out. I'm sure some of you have made all these before, others may get some inspiration from these projects and websites, but whatever you do enjoy yourself making your crafts :)

Some Feathered Friends

I had a quiet weekend yet again, I was learning to identify wetland birds so now I know the difference between Mute Swans, Whooper Swans and Bewick's Swans. I also have learned 5 different Geese and a few Ducks so I have a good many more to go, I have sketched each of them to aid in their identification. I have yet to see some of these birds but as I am going to volunteer to do some wetland bird surveys I need to know what Im going be looking out for- haha it would help wouldn't it!!! Anyways enough about those birds, here are a few blurry photographs of garden birds I spotted out the window this morning when I was having breakfast. There were some Goldfinch, Robins and some Blue Tits I think thats what they were anyway. They are blurry as I have a very unsteady hand and I took them through the window so I wouldn't disturb them. Hope you like my new feathered friends :)