Last minute Christmas Gift Sack

I've been meaning to make Ellie a stocking or sack to lay out on Christmas Eve for a few years, and I finally had the chance on Monday.  While I wanted to buy some new bright prints for the sack, I really needed to be a good girl and continue to destash my fabrics, so instead I used some more linen, and a mix of vintage, solid, liberty and Anna Maria Horner Prints.

Hopefully it will last her a few years to come. I tried not to make it too young, and something she could grow into as well.

Lined with some thrifted brushed cotton, the sack has a drawstring closing with a vintage Grosgrain ribbon all from the stash.  It's quite thick and heavy with the linen and lining, and hopefully sturdy enough to hold several gifts.  I'm looking forward to seeing it get some use!  Only 2 sleeps to go.

Have a lovely Christmas and New Year everyone.  I'm off for a while - to seek some much needed R&R...and then there's that childbirth and newborn bit coming in only a few more weeks!  Yikes.  

Hope you have a wonderful celebration with family and friends and I'll see you sometime in the New Year when we're home and settled.

G x

Farewell.

Today was an emotional day as I joined with my family and friends in saying farewell and giving thanks for the life of my Grandpa who left us last week and went to be with his maker.

I was so blessed to know and grow up with such a wonderful man, who loved me and showed me how to love others. It's not going to be the same without him. He's left an incredible legacy behind, and he will not be forgotten. xo

Christmas Table

Yep, one Christmas dinner is done and dusted in our house.  We celebrated Christmas a little earlier than normal this year on my husband's side seeing as I won't be able to fly next weekend. This year I went for simplicity on the Christmas table settings.  I used red, silver and white, and also some New South Wales Christmas bush, a pretty Australian Native that grows in my part of the world in the festive season.  It's one of my favourite parts of an Aussie Christmas.

I added some place cards using chalkboard paint onto some shipping labels, which I also used in gift  wrapping.

It's been a big week for our family for many reasons, with another big one to come, so I'm looking forward to resting up after Christmas for a few short weeks before I'm back into the swing of life with a newborn.  At least the Christmas shopping is complete.

Have a lovely pre-christmas week!

x

Advent Calendar

This post is very tardy I'm afraid, sorry about that friends.  Life here has been ongoingly hectic preparing for Christmas, rearranging and re-carpeting our house, and generally trying to cut our belongings down by what feels like 50% before our next arrival in January.  To say I'm exhausted is an understatement, but here's the finished product!  Better late than never!

 

My calendar is made of 25 linen handmade bags, labelled using the beautifully handprinted DIY advent calendar numbers on linen by Leslie of Maze and Vale.  The numbers are lovely and simple with a touch of vintage, and were exactly what I was after.

Bags are lined with some red and white heavyweight cotton I had in the stash which I originally intended on sewing into some nice grocery totes, but never got to it.  After fixing the numbers on by applique, I added some hand stitching as well just to add a handmade touch.  They're secured to twine on my wall using the covered pegs I described in last post.

As usual, I grossly underestimated the time it would take to sew these bags up.  25 identical pieces is a LOT of repetition and it felt like a sweatshop in here for a while there.  But they're done now, and the best bit is, next years calendar is done too!

I am very pleased with the outcome of these, as time consuming as it was to complete.  We're doing lots of Christmas-ey activites now, which is also keeping me on my toes (but I secretly love it).

Happy December everyone!  Hope you're enjoying your own christmas prep.