I saw this adorable Christmas movie last year on the lovely Whatever Blog and I forgot to post it then. I came across it the other day and decided that I just had to share it.
It is truly sweet and just sums up the best of the season! I love that little twinkly star, she has a lot of personality! Enjoy:
A lot like Christmas at the Michie house! It’s Official! We are slowly turning into a Christmas house. Mr. Michie and I went to the tiny grocery store near our house last night, where we go every year to pick out our wreath.
We chose this one last night and I sat on the couch listening to Christmas music and making the gingham bow to go on it. The ribbon was a great find, I have had squirreled away for the past month.
So, this morning we cleaned down the door, and Mr. Michie hung my wreath up for me! It makes the cottage feel more Christmassy just knowing it is on the door!
The “Calendar of the Month Club” has created a true cracker for December, a Nutcracker that is!
He looks just adorable jumping out of this box and very festively decorated! What a fun project to make with your little ones!
I hope everyone has a happy weekend, we are going to be baking cookies, listening to Christmas tunes, decorating the house and just enjoying each other’s company!
“Eglantine, Eglantine, Oh how you shine!” This little ditty was playing in my head as we carefully hung our Christmas pixie up last night. She was named after Angela Lansbury’s character in Bedknobs and Broomsticks. Mr. Brown sings this song to her after they go back to the house he has moved into in London. It is one of my favorite movies and it somehow fits this little gal.
This year we decided to fill her elfin sized pockets and hands with candy. I am going first this year, so when Mr. Michie gets in tonight I am going to reach in her pocket and see what surprise awaits me!
I can’t believe it is December 1st! Where has this year gone? I want to enjoy and savor this month. The time spent together, the time spent with family, it all goes by too quickly and I want to capture it all in my memory.
I have to say, living in England I find it hard at times to not automatically jump straight into Christmas, once Halloween is over, since they of course do not celebrate Thanksgiving. You’ll be happy to know, I do restrain myself, but I still let a few Christmas albums slip in under the wire and I listen to them as I do things about the house. We ate Thanksgiving dinner while the Charlie Brown Christmas album softly played in the background.
A new album that I can’t seem to get enough of, is one Mr. Michie bought me. It is Mindy Gledhill’s Christmas album, entitled “Winter Moon”. It is just a delight to listen to. Her voice beautifully floating out some of my favorite Christmas carols, as well as a new song she wrote the same title as the album. That song, “Winter Moon”, has become a favorite! I find myself humming it a lot lately as I work in the cupboard. It is just so happy, so upbeat, who doesn’t want to have a stolen kiss in their living room, under the winter moon?
It is like getting to listen to wintry music without it being overly Christmassy. But, now that Thanksgiving is over, we will be in full Christmas mode, we will even put a Christmas CD into the alarm clock to wake up to, crazy, I know! But, I wake up so much happier with Dean Martin filling the morning silence with “It’s a Marshmallow World”.
The final song on the album is “Winter Moon” replayed, but sung this time with the help of some friends. She has just released the video for it and I thought I would share it with you. Enjoy!
I know, I have written about this before on my blog, but in the States, it is a big thing to have “Christmas in July” sales and events. This is not the case in England, where people look at you, as if you are half mad to even mention such a thing. As school is shortly coming to a close for us (tomorrow is our last day, Yipee!), I thought this would be a good time to use a bit of the Summer break to begin working on a few Christmas/winter-y projects.
One, being my crocheted granny blanket, which I have yet to have the chance to begin, with all the craziness of school going on around us. But, also to possibly start a few Christmas projects early. Here were a few things I came across and I might just try to make some of these, or at the very least be inspired by them, especially the sock monkey coffee cup wrap, he has personality!
Do you begin your Christmas making projects early, or are you a last minute kinda gal (or guy)? Enjoy!
Now is a good time to start collecting vintage cookie cutters at thrift stores and yard sales. These “frames” would be gorgeous to have up all year round!
These mice would make perfect teacher’s presents or classroom gifts. If you changed the colors they would even be cute for an Alice in Wonderland Themed Birthday Tea Party.
Want to make your own granny square blanket to stay cozy with when the weather turns frosty, go to Meet me at Mike’s for a granny square tutorial.
This sock monkey coffee cup wrap is too cute. Perfect for your coffee lovers, any time of year.
(All images copyright their respective blogs)
I have kept you guessing for the past few days and today I am finally revealing what my secret project was: a New Years postcard. Did you already deduce that? This past year, Christmas arrived in such a whirlwind and with everything that was going on in and around our lives, I had no time to send out my usual Christmas cards. But, I was not going to feel guilty about that, I had a plan, and that was send out New Year’s cards instead.
Well, New Year’s Eve came and went and I began my mission, I was on the hunt for Happy New Years cards. I had absolutely no luck. What was I going to do, I thought? And, then I realized, I am from a very long line of creative and artistic people, why was I even looking for a pack of cards. I would simply create my own.
I decided, that instead of drawing one, or creating one through a paper or fabric medium, I would design one using Photoshop. I went through a series of ideas, as all creating processes take and I stumbled on one that I liked.
I used images from a vintage children’s book and pieced different parts together to create my card. Using the background of one page, I removed items that I liked from others. Placing a little gnome in the corner and darkening his hat to a more Christmassy red. I put a glowing candle from the Christmas tree into his hand and placed a friendly woodland squirrel next to him.
Next, I placed “Happy New Years” on my card using pink and white as a highlighting color and the front was finished. Then, I moved on to the back, again using the same pink as on the front but with red as a highlighting color. After doing some more nerdy computer work, they were ready to upload. I have used a variety of printing services for different projects along the way, but this time I used MOO. They were a dream to work with!
Since, this was not going to be your normal “Christmas Card”, I decided that I would send out postcards instead. After uploading my design, I got envelopes to put them in and even had the chance to design my own sticker book. Everything arrived in my postbox this past week and this weekend I got down to business and wrote them.
I had so much fun coming up with a design and seeing the final piece printed up and in my hands, I don’t think I will go back, to buying cards again. So, look out, next Christmas I hope to be sending out cards designed by yours truly.
(Copyright, this design was created by Jennifer Michie and is not to be used without permission. All images property of Jennifer Michie)
Well, I promise this will be my last Christmas related post, although I don’t think snowmen are particularly related to Christmas, they exist with the snow and that, depending where you live could happen in any month!
I saw these on Bakerella’s blog and I thought they were just the cutest idea! Don’t you know if you came down to breakfast and saw him sitting at your place you would be delighted! I would be!
However, I would have to be unconventional with mine and have a brown snowman; I prefer chocolate milk with my doughnut holes! These are just so sweet, it would take me awhile to eat them, I don’t think I could bear to touch them and ruin their adorableness!
To find out more about these “Milk Men” visit Bakerella’s blog.
(Image: Bakerella)
I would like to introduce you to two very special people. I discovered them In The Art Cupboard, or they discovered me, we are still not sure which way it happened, but we are glad to have met. This is Goose Girl & Foxy. They have decided to leave the Cupboard for a little while and come and stay with me in my cottage.
Goose Girl & Foxy are very curious, I am not sure what they get up to when I am not at home. They decided to sit around the Christmas tree on Sunday and bask in the glow of Christmas lights. They begged me not to take it down, Foxy loves the glistening twinkle lights and the branches are the perfect canopy to sleep under. So, the tree will stay up a while longer.
They have agreed to travel with me when I go out and about. I have the perfect pocket in my purse for them to travel in, in absolute style, of course! So watch out, Goose Girl & Foxy will be popping up here and there, you never know, they might get their own spot on my blog….
Today is one of my most favourite days! It is Epiphany, the day of “Little Christmas”, the last day of the 12 days of Christmas and most importantly the day the Wise Men arrived.
We were always given a little something to celebrate the day in my family. One year, we received a big something: George Winston tickets to all go and see him as a family and what a night to remember that was! He walked onto the stage in blue jeans a plaid shirt and best of all: barefoot!
It has been such a crazy start up to the new school term that I do not have an Epiphany gift for Mr. Michie, so I think tonight on the way home, I will let him pick out a really yummy dessert with an I.O.U. for the weekend.
This last day of the season is one to treasure, and although your Christmas lights should come down after today, with all the rain and darkness here in England, I think mine will be staying up a little bit longer, because those twinkle lights just make me happy!