Busy In Santa's Workroom!!

There's no kindy-kips, nanny-naps or Snoopy-snoozes going on at the Meares' Madhouse at the moment! Oh no! It's all systems go in Santa's workroom ... otherwise known as my sewing room. I've finished all the deadline items for the year that I had committed myself to and the Christmas list is out! And, I'm happy to say, I've managed to already cross a few items off the Festive version of the ol "To Do" list.

Here's the first two little items hot off the sewing machine ...

Two groovy little pairs of shorts for two of the nephews. Between both sides of our family, we have nine nephews and three nieces ... only one of those nephews is from my side of the family! Yep ... Scott's siblings are making our contribution to the population too! :0) I've got ideas in mind for a couple of little shirts to go with these shorts. You might remember I showed you the animal fabric a while ago when I fell in love with it at Marion's. At the time I didn't know what I was going to use it for, but I HAD to have some! Tee! Hee! Hee!

Next off the production line ... and it WAS a bit of a production line! ... were these handy little items ...

More gifts for nephews. This is something I designed on the fly. I'd seen some nifty pencil rolls on the blogs of some of the OPAM gals and decided to combine it with a book/project bag. The bags are lined and plenty big enough to fit in a sketch book, colouring book, a favourite story book ... or all three!! :0) And the pencils and felt pens are handily on the front in their little pockets, ready to draw and colour. Who knows ... there may be a future Monet or Da Vinci amongst the nephews! :0) I love the fabric I found at Spotlight to make these ... "Yo, Ho! Yo, Ho! A pirate's life for me!" Tee! Hee! Hee!

I've also got a couple of Secret Squirrel hand-stitching projects on the go for big-people gifts and some fun ornaments that just need a few hand-stitches before I can show them to you, so I'll be back in a couple of days with photos. I tell you what, though, this gift making is hard work, so I think I've earned a cup of lavender tea before I head back into Santa's workshop. Hmmm ... I wonder if Santa's elves have tea breaks? Maybe their inspired by Santa's favourite snack and have milk and cookies??? Ah the strange questions one asks oneself when in need of a cup of tea! Tee! Hee! Hee! Hope you're having fun getting ready for Christmas ... don't forget to pop into Kerryanne's blog regularly to see what she's up to with her "Simply Christmas" campaign!! Til next time ...

HO! HO! HO! ...

er ... I mean ...

BEAR HUGS!
CHEERS!
KRIS

It's Snowing In My Lounge Room!!

Well... SORT OF!! My SSCS parcel arrived late yesterday (while I was in the middle of end of month OPAM blog-hopping!) all the way from Finland, sent to me by Satu. See ... I said last week when my surprise 'just because' gifts arrived that I had a feeling my SSCS partner was more organised than me and posted pretty early! :0) This is what I found in my parcel ...

Pretty silver and white wrapping and a bright red envelope with my ornaments in. How exciting!!! I quickly put the main parcel away so I wouldn't be tempted to open it early, because I'm HOPELESS at keeping things wrapped until Christmas ... I'm like the kids who want to open parcels NOW! Tee! Hee! Hee! Inside the envelope was ...

A beautifully made card (Satu must be VERY patient to weave all those strips to make the pretty heart!!), a cute tin ornament and two GORGEOUS crocheted snowflakes! THANK YOU SATU! I love them!! I don't crochet much myself, so I really love to see other people's work.

There was just one problem ... we don't usually put up a Christmas Tree because our lounge room is quite small and by the time we get all of my collectibles and my Beloved Geek Boy's big TV in there ... there's no room for a tree. However ... Satu's snowflakes were so pretty that I REALLY wanted to be able to display them, so I went on a quest to find just the right tree. SUCCESS!! I found one that's about 25" high and a bit country/primitive looking - perfect for our green and red lounge room. So now in a corner of our lounge room, visitors will see ...

... A little bit of country Christmas! :0) There's my new snowflakes on the tree ... see ... it's snowing in my lounge room, just as my title says! :0) There's my country Santa I made quite a few years ago who never did get his beard cos I liked him so much clean-shaven, plus because he's not OVERLY Christmassy, he can sit in the lounge room all year round, so he KNOWS whether we've been NAUGHTY or NICE! Hmmm ... I have a feeling I know which one he would point to for me! Tee! Hee! Hee! And one of my other fave Christmas decorations ... my Christmas count-down Santa made for me by a clever painting friend from one of the lovely Kerryanne's patterns. EEK! Only 23 days until Christmas!! Actually, it will be funny to see how my friend Lynda reacts when she comes to visit. You see ... I'm not very good at remembering to change the countdown on Santa's blackboard, which brings out Lynda's OCD tendencies and she HAS to fix it if she visits! It's really funny to watch her TRY to restrain herself ... before she finally gives in! Tee! Hee! Hee! My theory is ... if I don't change it, I'll still have 23 days until Christmas for as LONG as I like ... until I change the number, so I might actually get everything done that I need to! :0)

Thank you, again, Satu for the lovely ornaments you've sent me from Finland ... where it probably is snowing for REAL! :0) And a big THANK YOU to the ultimate Christmas Elf, Miss Chookyblue, for hosting this fun festive swap!

OPAM'ers ... Peg and I have just about finished our blog-hopping to collect finishes, so stay tuned in the next day or so for Peg to announce the November winners. Just a little note ... we've been coming up against a few blogs that have been deleted, changed names, or made 'private' and they are now 'invitation only'. I understand that some of you may have reasons to do this, but if you do ... can you please let Peg or I know, or make sure you send us your monthly finishes, cos otherwise, we can't record your finishes and you miss out on a chance to win a prize in the end of month draws.

And last but not least ... if you haven't already popped across to Kerryanne's blog to take a peek at her "Simply Christmas" fun, you won't know what tutorial I've posted over there and you won't know how to enter the give-away, so take a blog-hop over and say "G'Day!" Lots of Christmas inspiration there to help you get ready for the Big Day. Now ... I'm off to make some Christmas lists ... I'll be checkin' them twice, gotta find out who's naughty and nice cos ... the jolly chubby fellow in the bright red suit will soon be coming to visit! :0) Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!
CHEERS!
KRIS

My Favourite Christmas Treat!!

You've heard of the saying ...

"When life hands you lemons, make lemonade"

... but I have to say that when life hands me lemons, I like to make my FAVOURITE Christmas treat ...

LEMON SHORTBREAD!!

And since we all like a good Christmas treat, I thought I'd share the recipe with you all ... my good blogging buddies ... so here we go ...

LEMON SHORTBREAD

 

Ingredients:

• 250g softened unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup sifted icing sugar
• Juice of one lemon
• Shredded zest of two lemons
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cup plain flour
• 1/4 cup rice flour
• Extra tbsp caster sugar

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180. Line 2 trays with paper.

2. Using electric mixer, beat butter, icing sugar, zest, juice & vanilla in a medium sized bowl til mix is pale. Sift both flours & add to butter mix. Fold in using a metal spoon. Mix to smooth dough.

3. Roll dough on floured surface & cut shapes with cutter.

4. Place biscuits on trays, then lightly prick holes in each with a fork & sprinkle with caster sugar. Bake til golden brown. Stand trays on wire rack for 20 minutes before turning out on rack to cool.

 

Did I mention it's a REALLY easy recipe to make?! :0) And I love that hint of lemon zing to balance up the sweet shortbready flavour. Why not make some up to give as Christmas gifts - pop it on a pretty plate, or wrap it in some clear cellophane and tie it with a pretty ribbon, add a gift tag telling the recipient what tasty treat you're gifting them with and I can guarantee you'll be invited for a cuppa to celebrate! :0)

And if you REALLY want to go all out, why not pair some of this sweet treat with a hand-appliqued table runner. What was that ??? You don't know what to applique on the table runner??? Well ... it just so happens I can help! :0) Pop on over to visit the lovely Kerryanne's blog, because it just so happens that today I was the guest poster and shared a cute (if I do say so myself!!) Christmas design over there as part of Kerryanne's "Simply Christmas" campaign. Not only can you download the design and check out the step by step instructions on 'how to' this project, you also have the chance to win my original tablerunner sample ...

Which turned out rather well ... if I do say so myself! Tee! Hee! Hee! All you have to do is pop across to check out the tutorial on Kerryanne's blog, then come back and leave a comment on THIS post to let me know you've visited us both. You have until NEXT Wednesday, December 8, to leave your comment to go into the draw, so get blog-hopping!! :0) While you're visiting Kerryanne, you might pick up some more great Christmas ideas for gifts, cooking, decorating and wrapping because there's been some FABULOUS Christmassy tips shared through Kerryanne's "Simply Christmas" campaign.

Right now, though, I'm off to see if I can put those lemons to good use ... and perhaps pair the results with a cup of lavender tea! Tee! Hee! Hee! Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!
CHEERS!
KRIS

Santa's Sleigh Is On Its Way!!

Huston, we have lift-off! The Eagle is in the air! Bombs Away! Contact! Ignition! All Systems Go!!

Are you getting the feeling that SOMETHING is going SOMEWHERE?! Tee! Hee! Hee! Well, you'd be right! Today on my way home from work, I popped in to visit my mate Raymond at the post office and popped this ...

... in the mail. Yep, my SSCS giftie is on its way ... a few days late due to my bout with a head cold last week. Wanna know who and where it's going to?? Well ... It will be going to a lovely lady in a cold place. :0)Not much of a clue, really is it, when you consider that the northern hemisphere is about to head into it's winter months, so probably EVERYONE up there is a bit chilly round the edges! Tee! Hee! Hee! I'm not allowed to tell you who its for or Chookyblue would shoot me! :0)

This is the third year that I've been part of the Secret Santa Christmas Swap hosted by the hostess-with-the-mostest, the delightful Chookyblue and this year, it was the ONLY swap I signed up for, cos I know it is always so very well organised and co-ordinated, with helpful email reminders to keep us motivated and on target. Not to mention all the chasing up that is done behind the scenes to match people, then make sure everyone gets their giftie.

THANKS CHOOKYBLUE!!

And now, I'm off to finish some urgent stitching for something that will be revealed on Wednesday ... I hope?!?!?! Back to the salt-mines ... or maybe that should be 'back to Santa's workshop'! :0) Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!
KRIS

Tiffy's Party Pics!

Life in the Meares' Madhouse has been ... well ... a little MAD this week ... madder than usual! Tee! Hee! Hee! Just as I was starting to get over my nasty head cold, my poor Beloved Geek Boy started coming down with it and has spent the weekend sleeping it off. Oops! Apparently I SHARED! :0) As a result of all the sneezing, snuffling and coughing, I'm running about a week behind, so I thought I really should share a few photos of Tiffy's 21st party with you ... before she turns 22! :0)

Firstly ... a big THANK YOU to all of you lovelies who sent Tiffy birthday wishes. She was a little bemused by people she didn't know wishing her Happy Birthday ... but said thank you very much for your kindness and birthday wishes. :0)

Now ... the party preparations got off to a bit of a rocky ... errr ... SOGGY start! You see, the plan was to have the party in Mum and Dad's front yard, which had been tidied, mowed, had the fence painted etc. in preparation for the event. Then ... it rained. And rained ... and RAINED! Uh oh!! Quick re-think of venue and decorations. Mum and Dad have a double story house with garage, laundry, rumpus room etc. underneath, so this was dubbed "Party Central". But it was a bit boring looking and Tiffy was pretty disappointed, so we had to get creative to make it more inviting.

So ... we hung some bunting and fairy lights, scattered a few pretty candles on the tables and VOILA! ...

Not a great pic, but do you know how hard it is to take photos of fairy lights?!?! :0) Next, we added some burning torches at the roller door entry ... but I forgot to take photos - oops! Then we created a little corner of serenity to welcome guests ...

Another challenge I discovered ... how hard it is to take photos of fairy lights that are BLINKING! Took a few goes, but I got them glowing! :0) The water was trickling out of the top of the ball and running over the surface to trickle into the bowl, making a very soothing sound and some of Mum's growing collection of potplants were brought in to add some lush green colour. Now since it was a birthday party, we needed a birthday CAKE ...

A stand of YUMMY chocolate and white-choc-mud cupcakes with a candle on top served the purpose ... and tasted DELICIOUS!! I'm not telling you how many of those white chocolate cuppies I ate! Tee! Hee! Hee! Next, we needed to feed the guests, so we needed some champion chefs to cook up a gourmet storm ...

What we ACTUALLY got was three blokes manning the barbie! Tee! Hee! Hee! Dad pretending to be helping, family friend Doug and of course my beloved GB. (wonder what was so interesting about those sausages that he wouldn't look up and smile?!?! Tee! Hee! Hee!) Add some friends ...

There's Tiffy second from the left surrounded by some of her friends. Yep ... it was official ... we had a PARTY!! It was a lovely night for Tiffy to catch up with friends and her parents were even able to attend, which was a surprise, as they had been living interstate and just decided to move back to QLD ... in time for Tiffy's 21st! :0) Here are a few more pics ...

Tiffy with her cake. Don't you love her skirt!!

Here's Tiffy with her quilt - which she loved! And she even remembered to call it a 'quilt' not a 'blanket'! Tee! Hee! Hee! She loved the bright colours (which was good, since she'd actually chosen the fabrics months ago!) and she especially loved the butterflies and was last seen trying to work out if there were any two butterflies the same. :0)

And here's a nice photo of Mum's friend Karen and Mum. Mum was chief organiser and caterer for Tiffy's party - my 40th earlier in the year was a practice run! Tee! Hee! Hee! My Mum amazes me with her ability to get things done and fit extra jobs into her already hectic schedule. She and Dad make me so proud to be their daughter when I think of all the people they've 'adopted' over the years and all the lives they've touched. And I know that Tiffy (as my sort-of-sister!) will agree when I say a big ...

THANKS MUM!!!

So there you have it, a quick wrap up of Tiffy's party ... even if it is a bit late coming. Have had a busy crafting weekend, but since my poor eyeballs are currently hanging three inches out of their sockets, I'll have to tell you about that another day, cos I'm off to have a shower and hit the pillow ..... ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!! Hope you've all had a fabulous weekend that included some catch-up with friends or family and some creating time - the perfect weekend, really! :0) Til next time ...

BEAR HUGS!
CHEERS!
KRIS