Merry Christmas

This is my last post before I fly home for Christmas, so I want to wish you all a Happy Christmas and a peaceful New Year. I will be back in January with some fun posts - we are revisiting some of the Style Resolutions from last year to assess how successful the writers were. Then, we will have a new series of Style Resolutions for 2010 from some British bloggers. Would you like to take part? I'm looking for perhaps one more British blogger to take part. Leave me a comment if you are interested - please note that if you leave me an anonymous comment, or your blogger profile is not enabled, then I can't respond to you.

I want to leave you with some of my favourite blog posts from 2009 from different bloggers around the world. This is a pretty succinct list, as there have been so many I have enjoyed, and so many ideas I have taken from them.

Have a great Christmas!

*Adored this perpetual anniversary gift
*Hot chocolate gift
*A lace fence
*Happy holidays in a box
*Pom pom vines
*Still loving these newborns photos
*Love everything in this shop
*A magical bedroom
*A scarf completion ceremony
*Loved this owl tea-towel
*Cool map booklet
*An easy peasy craft project
*The best-dressed stall ever
*A stamp-collector's treasure box
*Your bike is hot tags
*Winter light photography tips from a stunning blog
*The styling of this Etsy shop
*An office chair I like (still looking for a comfortable one)
*Love these tea party invitations
*Numbered milk bottles
*Loved this patchwork chair makeover

Christmas wreath (with tutorial) by Emma Lamb.

Christmas decorations

This is the best I could do with photos of my Christmas decorations. This is the first year I've really bothered with any and I made a little bit of an effort. Ideas I've copied or come up with: milk glass brooches as decorations (I don't quite have enough but I lost the will to buy more), roses with hairspray and glitter, painted white willow branches, with mirrored string, starched white doilies, ribbon and gold leaf, and fresh mistletoe. I also really like the dove garland which I bought from Traidcraft.

UPDATE: I joined in with Violet Posy's Christmas decoration carnival - add your decorations too!

Five Friday Faves

*Love this fluffy Christmas garland.
*I'm off to steal some ivy from the common so I can copy this wrapping idea.
*Simple but effective - this bright orange and kumquat arrangement.
*Prettily packaged button magnets.

*Reviews of Kirstie's Homemade Christmas here and here - what did you think? I enjoyed it, but I can't remember much except for the gold-leafed pears (which I did think were lovely) and the slightly scary red lipstick.

Have a great weekend! I have now done my Christmas shopping (courtesy of Amazon wish-lists, I'm afraid), and I'm going to try and and take some photos of my Christmas decorations over the weekend. I have heat and hot water again, so I'm happy. Notes from the Frugal Trenches (a blog I love) would not be happy to know that I did not even realise that £15.99 was coming out of my bank account each month for boiler insurance - but in this case it all worked out! By the way, my mum says that all she wants for Christmas is a knitting pattern for a sheep with loopy stitches for its coat - does anyone know where to get such a thing?

Photo Decor8, spotted on Marvelous Kiddo.

Designer Makers this Saturday

I have met Cassie of English Design & Co at a few events and I've always been impressed with how immaculate she is (! - something I can never quite achieve), and also how she promotes herself really well - not too pushy, but at the same time helpful and with all the information to hand. So, I know that the Designer Makers fair that she has organised in London this Saturday will be a great event. Cassie has assured me that there will be some new designers there who haven't done the rounds of all the craft fairs this season, so I am excited to see what talent I will discover. For more information about the event and it stallholders, see the event's blog here.

Pacha Design

One of the commenters I've noticed on my blog is 'Sammy and Glenn' from Pacha Design (I suspect Sammy is the driving force behind the comments, not having met that many men in the blogging world - but I may be wrong.)

Anyway, they run a furniture workship in North Devon making modern furniture and accessories from reclaimed wood and other natural resources. My favourite items are those which use slate - especially the kitchen table and benches. I like how they've been photographed in front of whitewashed stone walls, too. There is a range of good, solid furniture, but also smaller, less expensive accessories too, such as these delicate leaf lanterns made from plant fibre. Lovely.

Winners

The winner of the giveaway is Cassie of Hydrangeas and White Daisies (check out her Etsy shop here) another stoic reader living without hot water (there were a few!) I'm also going to send a runners up prize to Krista of Rambling Tart and Philippa of Philippa Gardens. Winners, please send me your addresses. Thanks to everyone who entered.

A quick competition

A quick competition to celebrate my 600th post and distract me from the fact that a) I haven't started my Christmas shopping and b) it's snowing and my boiler has stopped working. I can't even bring myself to call someone out yet as that's accepting the worst - I'm hoping, with diminishing likelihood, that it might come back to life.

Anyway, to enter: let me know which is your favourite item from my shop, or which you'd like to win the most, and I will send you a parcel of goodies which will include it. If you are in the UK, I promise to post it tomorrow recorded delivery so it will arrive in time for Christmas. To make the Christmas deadline, this giveaway will finish tonight at midnight (GMT.) Good luck!

To clarify: if you are not in the UK, you can still enter. I just can't guarantee that you will receive the prize before Christmas. Oh, and if you don't have a public profile, please leave your email address in the comments.

Dwell

Dwell is a shop that I rarely go into, as their furniture is not quite my style. However, I found myself in there yesterday, and was totally impressed by their new range of cushions. Perhaps it's because they all totally fit with my grey/beige/cream theme but I kept seeing more and more styles that I liked. These photos do not do them justice; they really were lovely and good quality, made in natural fabrics such as silk and linen, and came in several different sizes in each pattern. These four (in a square style) are on my shortlist - which is your favourite?

1. Silk pixel dot £34.95 2. Mesh cushion £22.95 3. Stiched zig zag £29.95 4. Squares linen mix £26.95.

Tea of the week: Tea Time

by Colin Hill.

Christmas improvisation

No time for Five Friday Faves this week, but I could not resist posting this illustration by Kate Wilson. It is pure genius, and that is a fact.

Kate will have a stall at the Bust Craftacular tomorrow, and I'm planning to strike out (East London is a long way away) and go if I manage to recover from another early morning car boot sale.

On Sunday, the Shoreditch Sisters WI is holding a Christmas Fete near Brick Lane, with carols, a make-your-own Christmas cards stall, and part of the proceeds going to help the U-turn project.

Hope you all have a festive weekend.

Much loved: graph paper

1. Curious chocolate 2. Letterpress thank you cards by Julia Juliette ($6.75) (£3.25) 3. Graph tags (£3.75) 4. Collage ($20) 5. Graph paper notebook ($9) also on Folksy, £6. 6. Wooden ornaments ($16).

Paris snow globe print

Paris and a snow globe; perfect! $20, by Plymouth-based artist Clare Owen (portfolio, shop, blog.) Thanks, Deborah, for the tip.

Wednesday workspace: country chic

Remember Through the Keyhole? Dark painted woodwork, wood cladding and a limed floor - who would live in a house like this? I suspect it's a country dweller who commutes to London for a high-flying career - what do you think?

Via Living Etc.

Finch & Fouracre

Tiny models of Glaswegian tenement houses by Finch & Fouracre. Via I like.

Homes and Antiques: collections

I love the styling in BBC Homes & Antiques magazine (especially as Papermash has a little appearance this month in a feature on gift wrapping.) I am in the middle of a major decluttering exercise, but I love these photos of collections, in particular the old baking moulds as an alternative to plates on the wall. I'm trying to get rid of anything unnecessary, but one or two collections are beginning to emerge. Those expensive skirts I haven't worn in over two years? See you later. But milk glass brooches and old lady tea sets....let's just say more than one has found its way in. I've drastically cut my spending in the last year, but somehow in my head car boot sales don't count... Do you have any collections?

Photos via BBC Homes & Antiques.

Tea of the week: teacup necklace

Blue teacup (£13) by Maria Allen.

Gift Guide: £30+

1. Gold corsage brooch ($55) 2. Personalised stationery (£70) 3. Compact with rose facial balm (£34) 4. Lead crystal paperweight (£45) 5. Porcelain milk jug (£48) 6. Pleated silk necklace ($96) 7. Hand-printed eco cushion ($99) 8. Yellow fabric bird ($99).

This is the last of the gift guides for this week. What's on your list? Mine is much more practical and the items have no redeeming stylish features: a key finder (I lost my keys in my house a few weeks ago, and have not found them yet), a Lumie bodyclock (I've had one before and this will revolutionise your life) and winter Fit Flops (the most comfortable shoes ever.)

Events on this weekend:

We Make Christmas Fair
Tea and Make Christmas Fair

Have a great weekend!

Gift guide: £20 - £30

1. Cosmetic bag (£22) 2. Feather necklace (£26) 3. Vintage tin globe (£24) 4. Quiff bird print ($35) 5. Walnut bird on branch necklace (£27.50) 6. Fragments of memory photographic print ($35) 7. Make tea not war sampler (£22).

Christmas decorations (part two)

Although I'm yet to make any actual purchases or progress, I think I'm really going to get into Christmas decorations this year. Photo by Polly Eltes.

A winter excursion

Last Saturday I was lucky enough to be invited on a bloggers' day trip to Brussels as part of Eurostar's Little Break campaign. A 7am train and home in time for the X-Factor made for a fun action-packed day of chocolate-tasting, Belgian fries at a swanky restaurant and feeling very Christmassy wandering round the Christmas market. Lessons learned: leave more time than I think I need and make more of an effort to brush my hair at 5am...I wasn't expecting so many cameras (and ouch, even a video camera!) I love this review of our trip, too.

Gift ideas: £10 - £20

1. Enamel candlestick ($19), 2. Vintage handbag shopper (£12) 3. Lovebirds cup with lid (£11) 4. Milk jug (£11.20) 5. Russian doll egg cosy (£11) 6. Vintage red enamel coffee pot (£16) 7. Boxed letterpress notecards (£11.50) 8. Lambswool striped bedsocks (£16.)

A snowflake project

I have always loved Livy's style at A Field Journal, so I was thrilled when she agreed to design a paper craft project for Papermash. The project is 'snowflake votives', made with battery-lit tealights and doilies.

Livy used these doilies and these doilies, but any will work. I am in the process of making these myself, using jam jars instead of votive holders, and have just ordered these battery-lit tealights. Instructions are here.

Gift ideas: £10 and under

1. The Girl and the Fox print (£10) 2. Colour plate (for framing) ($6) 3. Four violet plates ($15) 4. Hardback journal (£10) 5. Yellow bird notebook ($6) 6. Mini tray (£7.50) 7. Vintage skinny belt (£10) 8. I love lists (£4.95).