Little felted notebook covers

Now that everyone will have had their little handmade Christmas gifts, I can blog a few of them, so that you can see what has kept me out of mischief over the last few weeks!

The little book covers are needle felted using my embellishing machine. I worked yarn, threads and dyed silk onto an oblong of felt.

Once I was happy with the picture, I added a few beads to complete each one.

They are simply glued onto the front of a little notepad.

I added a little poem of my own to the inside page just for fun!

Christmas Greetings

The last few weeks have flown by- I expect its been the same for most of you. The cleaning, tidying, shopping etc in the build up to Christmas, seems to take up lots of time. I do a bit of that but most of my last few weeks have been thoroughly enjoyable as I have been busy crafting away and making lots of gorgeous little Christmas gifts for friends and family.
I might blog a few after Christmas but not now as I don't want to spoil the surprise!
Its always hard to know what to buy and post to my friends and this year I decide it was going to be "Twiglet-made" goods. So, at least some of my Yorkshire friends will have received a little parcel with a few of these goodies!!
My photo is just the flowers on my hearth with some of Ms old favourites alongside. The little stained glass Santa candle holder was a gift for Ms first Christmas and from the same folk who made the little wooden Santas. A special Happy Christmas to them if they read this!
Christmas will be different for us this year, as we will be spending some of it with M in her new home. She is cooking Christmas dinner and has done the "big shop" instead of me this year.
So, to all friends and family who read this - All my good wishes for a very happy Christmas and a brilliant New Year!

Three little maids...

Have you ever done something that is so familiar to you that you can put yourself on auto-pilot and "go with the flow"? My daughter has decided that her tree decorations are going to be colour coordinated to match her new lounge. (Very "Ideal Home" and fine - until you get to the stage in life when the tree goes up at the last minute and the box of old faithfuls come out of the attic!!)

So, wanting to help with a few little tree decorations, I went into the sewing room and lifted down the box labelled "Christmas mouse bits". What a little treasure store of felt mouse heads, beads, ribbons, lace, lurex threads etc! I collected all the necessary - scissors, needle, sewing thread - and carried them into the lounge so that I could work and watch the Friday night comedy.

And then this was when nostalgia hit and my brain went into overdrive.....

I must have made hundreds of these little mice over the years. Many weeks, working up to Christmas, have been spent making these tiny creatures, either to go on our tree or to give to friends or to sell at craft fairs. Many, many more have been made for the children in my class each year. Girly ones with satin dresses and lace pinnies and boyish ones dressed in felt on skis made from lolly sticks with "cocktail" ski sticks! Each one being carefully wrapped and labelled to go under the class Christmas tree on the last day of term.

Then I remembered the birthday mice - probably for my daughter's seventh birthday. I made her a tiny, two tier wedding cake with a little bride mouse on top and seven, dainty, pink bridesmaid mice for her little friends to take home after the party.

I haven't made any for years now, but, as I sat down to sew, it was as if I made them yesterday. The needle flew and the scissors snipped and in no time at all I had three, gorgeous, white mice dressed in pink and silver. They stood on my mantlepiece over night, looking very festive, awaiting collection. I am sure they will delight their new owner and probably bring memories flooding back to her too. Now I think I might be tempted to make a few more - anybody want one?