Even though there don't seem to be enough hours in a day at the moment, I've somehow managed to get myself super organised with Christmas shopping and Christmas preparations! How on earth did that happen!! And my Christmas energy is in overdrive this year! I'm HAND embroidering serviettes for the Christmas table. The boozy Christmas cake, which is getting boozier by the week as I inject more and more brandy into it, is already baked. The Christmas Eve prawns (they're even getting cleaned and prepared for me) have been ordered and paid for. Starters have been ordered from Cape Town! We're making our own Christmas Crackers for the table, roughly around 50 of them and I even managed to source the Christmas cracker snaps so they'll make a nice bang!
I'm just loving all this Christmas enthusiasm and if you're struggling to find your own, then I hope some of mine rubs off on you!
This dreadful recession means that I can't be lazy and rush out to the shops to buy all my Christmas presents so I believe that necessity breeds creativity and that that is what has fuelled my boundless energy. And I'm loving it! I've done a lot of brown craft paper wrapping so far but I'm also breaking my own advice of 'sticking to a theme' and I'm using up all my odd rolls of Xmas wrapping paper. I've discovered that I seem to have a bit of a fetish for Xmas wrap and I've just got WAY too much of it!
In my quest to use up my Xmas wrap stock, I've been making gift bags from the gorgeous roll of left over wallpaper that I was given. My new ribbons are in stunning iridescent shades and I'm quite chuffed with how the soft gold of the wallpaper and the iridescent blue/green ribbon compliments each other. I'm also doing some experimentation with Washi Tape and you can see the Green Washi Lace on the end of the brown gift tag.
The little bell tied onto the Gift Bag makes a gorgeous tinkling sound whenever the package is moved.
Often Christmas wrap can be such busy paper and the ribbons just get lost on the package. If you find that this is something you're struggling with, then look through your scraps of gift wrap and find some wrap in plain, complimentary colours. Secure a band of the plain paper around the gift where you'd like your ribbon to sit and then tie the bow over this. You'll find that your ribbon becomes far more noticeable.
I haven't only been doing Christmas wrapping mind you! My cousin recently got engaged and whilst I unfortunately couldn't attend her engagement party in Mpumalanga, I did send along a gift for her. A beautiful Sue Sylvester Handpainted Tablecloth.
To keep with the theme of painted Hearts, I attached a gorgeous wooden heart onto the gift in the same shade of green as the table cloth. Something which can be used as a Christmas decoration or just be hung up on the wall.
Now I need to get back to some of the many busy activities that are on my To Do list but I just want to remind you that the I Heart Markets start this Saturday from 09:00 until 14:00. There will be another one the following weekend on the 8th December and the last one will be on the 15th December. I won't be doing a January market. I think I'll need a little break! My gift vouchers will be available at the Market. If you buy a voucher for a Course, then you'll receive a gorgeously decorated gift box to nestle your voucher inside. Vouchers can be bought in any denominations if you're just wanting to give a scrapbooking friend or crafter a spoil.
I'll be sure to post more pics of Christmas wrapping as the days go by, but I just want to leave you with a picture taken on my last Gift Wrapping course on the 17th November. This is Vicki who told us that she wasn't a good wrapper at all. I think her very first attempt at wrapping a bottle was excellent!!
Until next time...
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