Nearly Christmas!

And what an exciting week it's turning out to be...all this snow in the days leading up to the 25th get us all hopeful that it may actually be a properly white Christmas, although knowing British weather there will be a huge thaw and we'll wake up to stories of flooding once again. Daisy has loved seeing the snow although she's been unwell so hasn't been able to go out and play in it - her daddy is less impressed as it took him almost 5 hours to get home from London last night. Only an inch fell but it caused travel and traffic chaos across the area.

I've been a busy bird in the last couple of weeks, catching up with orders from the jewellery party in November (one necklace took a week to make) and and with last minute requests coming in from the website. I've run out of Ladybugs bracelets! I had a wonderful request to make 3 bracelets with black ladybirds for a lovely lady whose children's father had died recently, and at the funeral a black ladybird with red spots had landed on all 3 of her daughters and then flown away - I was really honoured to be asked to make something so special, and I really hope she likes them. They're pictured above. I've also made some variations on earlier designs for a teenager (blue squares, elsewhere in this post...).

Since getting everything into the last-post-before-Christmas I have managed to actually make some pieces for myself using the beads I had for my birthday back in June. Who knew it would take so long to get round to it??? The pictures are scattered through this post - my favourite at the moment is the turquoise and copper bib-style necklace made with beads from Bijoux Beads but I also love the blue lariat necklace made with beads and findings from Spoilt Rotten Beads. I still have some gorgeous margarita daisies and some pink glass beads left so will get round to them soon.

I have to admit I'm missing stitching though and will be taking a Flower Fairy off to France with me after Christmas so I can get a fix in while I'm away...it seems ages since I've done any (in fact, it may have been last time I was in France back in May) and I hope I haven't lost the knack....

We're almost ready for the big day - my presents are all wrapped up and ready for Santa to deliver on Christmas Day, the stollen is made and will hopefully last at least until Christmas, and the tree is decorated. I finally have icicle lights outside which make me feel festive every time I look at them, and we've visited Santa at the amazing Victorian Grotto at the Museum of London Docklands. It's only a stone's throw from Canary Wharf so if you're in the area do go and see the grotto, it's gorgeous and guaranteed to make even the Grinchiest Scrooge feel festive.