Silence is Golden...

Hubby and I have had our usual November colds - we seem to get the same colds at the same time each year (possibly linked to a couple of cold and damp fair venues in close succession??) and, as usual, this means that hubby has had a little peace and quiet over the last couple of days when my voice took a brief sabbatical!

Not too much of a problem when I am on my own creating (apart from not being able to shout at the cats...) but yesterday was a market day.   It definitely makes selling a problem when no-one can hear you! Cue Superhubby who came along to help and in the end we had a great day - a little windy and cold with some fun and merriment for all caused by my attempts to make myself heard but all-in-all not too drastic and my voice actually came back by time we were heading home (hurrah!)

Snow, snow and more snow
our little car is buried!

Now is the start of the countdown to Christmas and I have five more visits to Bromley Market - weather depending, to fit in before preparing our own home for the season.  I love this time of year - seeing the Christmas lights go up to brighten the early dark nights definitely takes the edge off of the chill in the air, although it is fortunately still very mild for the time of year (not that it felt that mild freezing our whatsits off yesterday!

Icicles over the studio

I am seriously hoping and praying that the snow holds off this year - it can snow on Christmas Eve night for a couple of days if it really, really wants to (see, I think I am being more than generous!)

Last year was more than enough to last us for a while and I will be very happy not to have a repeat of the snowy scenes in 2010, thank you very much!

Anyway, today is Handmade Monday and whilst I haven't been creating any brand new designs to show off this week, there have been plenty of orders to complete and restocking to do to cover the rest of the season

Christmas is such a great excuse to let out your inner child and have fun recreating Santa's Grotto in your own home - perfect for big kids like me!   I love the fun animals and snowmen, santas, bells, candles, wreaths, trees and lights and secretly wish they could be around all year!  It is also one of the best excuses I know to bling out and cover everything with glitter!

Bells

 

Bling

and Angels

I am pleased that the large tree has proved to be popular and I will certainly be looking at creating more large designs for 2012.  Watch this space!

All my Christmas designs can be reused year after year if stored properly and are available at the Ali's Craft Studio shop - go on... treat yourself this year to some extra festiveness!

Head on over to Handmade Monday to see what everyone has been up to...

Mid November - Already?!

Can you believe it, it is mid-November already!   It only seems five minutes since we were all talking about the summer and outdoor events.   The weather is still being kind and I am seriously praying that the Snow Gods have booked their holidays somewhere else this year as hubby and I are still trying to catch up after all the snow-related disruption at the end of 2010/beginning of 2011!

Christmas events are now in full swing and after another great weekend, it seems that the Christmas shoppers are out already and planning ahead (which is something I have never been good at when it comes to Christmas presents!)

I am pleased to say that the extra large Christmas Trees are proving very popular and I already have a number of orders finished and on the way to their new homes with more still to complete.   One happy customer also ordered an extra large Santa to go with the tree so expect to see that in the shop sometime soon too (although if I am being 100% honest, it will be likely to be more for the 2012 Christmas season than for the 2011 one!)

Extra Large Decorated Christmas Tree

I love Christmas and the fact that people just seem to be generally more friendly and family-orientated at this time of year (sad that it doesn't last for 12 months!) and with one of the movie channels now dedicating itself to 24-hour Christmas films and the odd one thrown into the mix on the other channels too, I am in corny-snow-covered-movie heaven!!   It certainly beats making snowflakes and Santas in blazing summer heat which quite frankly, just feels wrong.   Hubby is very happy that he is out at work all day and doesn't have to suffer the sugar-shock of all these (if I am honest - really rubbish) films.  But I love 'em!  There are absolute classics like 'Its a Wonderful Life' and, of course, 'The Muppets Christmas Carol' (not so much a classic but one of my faves!) which have to be seen at least once every year but most are pretty bad (in a good way).

So, the first film of the day is already half way through whilst I am writing this and a quick trip to get my errands done in the high street when it has finished will set me up just right for the next one and some copious decoration making!

Christmas Corner Decoration

If you are in the Maidstone area next weekend, we are at the wonderful festive fair at Leeds Castle on Saturday and Sunday - please make sure to come and say hello!

Anyway, time is moving quickly and there are trees and Christmas decorations a-plenty to be made...  

Do head on over to Handmade Monday to see what everyone else has been up to - and maybe find some gifts along the way!