…a little more Christmas!
Last Sunday quicker than you can say 'first of December' my super amazing advent calendar (thank you Middle and Mini!) was strung up and I was gleefully unpacking stocking number one…
...which was stuffed with four beautiful star-topped gold rings!
Next task for the day was to bag myself a tree so I zipped up to Prince Edward and hit the flower market which was jam packed with pine trees, wreaths and Poinsettia. After a little wander to check out what was on offer I settled on a tree packed shop and got down to the serious business of finding the one…
It didn't take long, within seconds, he caught my eye, I grabbed him, bundled him into the back of a van and whizzed him straight back to his new home. A little bit of fairy light festooning later and he was glittering proudly in the middle of my living room.
He wasn't the only festive touch in the flat though, hanging on the front door was a berry studded wreath
and over on the side was a twinkly little star.
But I couldn't leave my beautiful tree's branches bare so I got straight onto Pinterest to get some Chrimble-spiration. A few days and a bit of DIY-supply shopping later and I was ready to get crafty… First up, some fruity decorations…
These couldn't be simpler and have the added bonus of making your house smell festively scrumptious while they bake away! Take a bag of oranges, slice into rounds roughly a centimetre wide and pop them straight onto your oven shelf to bake at 135 degrees for an hour. Once the hour's up, flip your slices, turn the temperature down to 100 degrees and bake for another two hours or until the slices have dried out completely and aren't sticky to the touch.
Once your orange slices have cooled, take a needle and some gold thread, stitch through the flesh at the top of each slice, tie on a cinnamon stick and a little gingham bow, knot the thread, and there you have it - a kick of zesty festivity ready to be hung on your tree!
Next I grabbed my rolling pin, mixed up a batch of salt dough and whipped up a flurry of snowflakes. After a couple of hours in the oven, my snow storm was ready to be painted white, sprinkled with glitter and strung up on the tree.
By now my tree was looking pretty drop dead gorgeous even if I do say so myself.
But there was still something missing…
As everyone knows, your tree's never fully dressed without a topper. As I already had my star twinkling away on the side, I decided what my tree needed was an angelic touch so I whipped up this little lady, she's called Gabrielle…
The perfect finishing touch. And the perfect inspiration for Saturday night's Christmas party outfit!
Only sixteen more sleeps until the big day, hope you've sent your Christmas letters off to the big man up in the North Pole and that you're making sure you're being particularly nice. No one wants to wake up on Christmas morning to find a stocking filled with coal...
