handmade christmas wreaths

mum and i decided to attempt some christmas wreath making today, here are the results!!! all greenery foraged for locally so they were absolutely free!! Merry Christmas!

what do you need?

1 x wire coat hanger

1 x roll of florists green tape

green florists wire

ivy, holly, any greenery you can pick locally

berries

christmas robin plates

a few months ago I spotted these gorgeous Royal Worcester gold trim side plates in my local second hand shop and knew I would be able to up-cycle them at some point.....

Now the temperature has dropped and it is feeling a lot more festive, I decided to go with these very cute little robins, how cute?....

ps sorry for the lack of posts, busy being a student midwife, start my placement on Monday, wish me luck....

12 crafts of christmas completed

finally the 12 crafts of christmas are complete, merry christmas everyone, i'm very excited for the new year and and the new craft projects it will bring ...

twelfth craft of christmas: christmas pudding semifreddo

i have the pleasure of making the dessert for christmas day this year, i don't know about you but after a huge turkey christmas dinner, I can never quite face christmas pudding as its too heavy, so I decided to give this recipe for christmas pudding semifreddo a whirl, having recently tried this at the union chapel in islington, i thought it would be a winner, i will let you know how it went down in the new year.....

ingredients

600ml double cream

300g creme fraiche

250ml cognac spiced cream

2 tsp cinnamon

2tsp vanilla extract

250g christmas pudding crumbled

9 egg yolks

250g caster sugar

topping

200g christmas pudding crumbled

50g demerara sugar

20ml brandy

method

1. whip double cream, creme fraiche, spiced cream, vanilla extract and cinnamon until soft peaks

2. whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar over a suacepan of boiling water till pale and thickened (4-5 minutes), then mix with electric mixer till cool

3. combine the cream mixture with the egg mixture and add the christmas pudding.

4.sprinkle christmas pudding crumbs with sugar and brandy and bake for around 10 minutes

5. line tin with christmas pudding crumbs and then fill with ice cream mixture, freeze for 6 hours minimum

eleventh craft of christmas: robin red breast

so I am nearly there, hope you've all enjoyed my 12 crafts of christmas, the eleventh craft is my felt robins enjoy!!! 

shopping list

felt robin pieces - £1.50 for 6 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/390638391144?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

toadstool candle £15.00

http://www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk/toadstool-candle/invt/5558446320002

scrabble tiles £1.99 for 10 pieces
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/WOODEN-SCRABBLE-TILES-CUSTOM-LETTERS-SET-FOR-JEWELRY-SCRAPBOOKING-HANDCRAFTS-/231033317297

tenth craft of christmas: drinky poo's

my lovely friend Sarah generously bought me a huge bottle of Tanqueray gin for my birthday so I had to find a christmas cocktail in which it could be used, so here goes....I wonder just how many I might have over the christmas period

christmas southside cocktail

Recipe

35ml Tanqueray gin

15ml sugar syruip

25ml fresh lemon juice

8 fresh mint leaves

10 frozen cranberries

25ml cranberry juice

crushed ice

ninth craft of christmas: make a festive wreath

time is quickly running out and i have 3 more crafts to crack on with, so I am afraid to say I have stolen this one from the brilliant Emily Henson, author of Modern Rustic £19.99 @  Anthropologie, i love the traditional look of their wreath and promise to give it a go if i get time this year! if all else fails there is always christmas 2014.....

eight craft of christmas: snowflake pompom

my very clever Mum had a spare 20 minutes this morning and created this gorgeous snowflake pompom, the plan is to make a few and bunch them together in front of her mirror in the hallway.... i love it and am definitely going to try it out at the weekend, I have included a link to a video on how to make it, enjoy!!

the ritz

having already kicked off the 30th birthday celebrations last month with my trip to Paris, yesterday was the next instalment, my lovely friend Michelle took me to Christmas Afternoon Tea at The Ritz, what a magical and opulent place it is... I loved every single second, the champagne was amazing and sandwiches and cake to die for, thank you so much for such a special treat.....

vintage baubles

wanted to share with you these gorgeous vintage baubles I bought from e-bay last Christmas, can't wait to get my tree up, not long now....

fifth craft of christmas: felt holly

to accompany the Christmas pudding decorations on the tree we also made these felt holly leaves, so easy, just cut 2 x holly leaf shapes and then one slightly smaller, add wadding and the string loop and then sew all together however you please, the berries are just red felt painted with red glitter nail varnish (I used Barry M). mine is the first darker leaf and Mum’s is the second lighter one. Coming up next for the sixth christmas craft is baking.....

fourth craft of christmas: cake stand winter wonderland

this is so simple and looks so effective, create your very own mini winter wonderland..

shopping list

plastic reindeer - http://www.craftcompany.co.uk/reindeer-1715.html

plastic trees - http://www.craftcompany.co.uk/bristle-christmas-tree.html

wadding / snow - e/bay / Amazon

stag cake stand - http://www.johnlewis.com/culinary-concepts-stag-cake-stand-dia-29cm-silver/p453992

third craft of christmas: felt christmas puds

sorry for the delay on the next christmas but i promise i will have a few for you this week, the third christmas craft involved felt, i saw these beautiful christmas pudding tree decorations on pinterest / etsy, and wanted to try and recreate them, so have a look at how we got on below... very simple and only took about an hour start to finish, enjoy!! mine is the stripy string one and mum went for red satin ribbon.