A wonderful life

It's certainly feeling a lot like Christmas in this house now. Missy is off school and hubby only has 4 more days left in his job until he is unemployed so we are all winding down and settling in for the festivities. 

Today has been a wonderful day. I am so blessed to have this life and my family. After a relaxing lie in after drinkies last night all three of us made a spontaneous diorama. Did I spell that right? It's big in America from what I gather and Missy decided that was what we were going to do. Out came the pencil case, the sticky tape and a big pile of paper. Missy directed us through her vision of a Winter Wonderland and we all had our bits to make. In hindsite we should have looked for card rather than paper but with some engineering skills and a good laugh we got it together. Isn't it great!

All this crafting was hungry work so we decided to be naughty and have pancakes for lunch. Well, why not? It is the season to overindulge afterall! I think though that we must have still had crafting on the brain as we ended up spelling words in our pancakes. Missy decided that hers should say '#lol', hubby's said 'Dad' and mine was holly with black cherries as the berries. I don't have a photo of these though as they didn't last very long! 

The plan was to go out for a walk after lunch but it started raining. Instead hubby tackled the wrapping. It's so nice not to always have to take charge with these things any more. In the past I had to buy and wrap my own pressies. :/ Things are very different now. I tried to wrap a few pressies but the littlest member of the household refused to co-operate. See for yourself. 

Luckily the weather cleared before the sun set so I got to go for my walk after all. It's lovely walking through the Sirhowy Valley at all times of year. At the moment the streams and rivers are in full flow and there are a few waterfalls to admire along the route. Missy took her skateboard and found that it was much easier to be pulled along by me and hubby! 

Not long after these pics the heavens opened and we tried to shelter under the tree up ahead in this photo. It wasn't much help though and by the time we got back we were soaked through and laughing at how silly we were. It was good fun and one of our favourite walks. :-) 

Back home it was pajama time and after a well earned cuppa the family fun continued with Wii games and chocolates! I think a Christmas movie tonight will finish it off nicely... maybe with a few more drinkies! 

I hope you are all settling into the festive season now and I wish you all a wonderful Yule and Christmas. 

Cath xx

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Busy as, well Elves! Time to stuff those stockings.

This year I intended on being more organised with Christmas gifts and stocking fillers. For those who know me it will come as no surprise that I used Pinterest to pin the lovely ideas that I found and to keep them where I would be able to find them again. I am quite the Pinter-addict! 

I have most the main gifts sorted and of course many are made by my very own hands. I can't say much more though as I haven't given them yet and they are surprises. What I always seem to forget though are the little fun items for the stockings that Santa's Elves have worked on. So below are a few ideas that I've found and some of my own items that also make great stocking fillers. 

Women are always the easiest to buy for in my opinion. Jewellery always fits really well into a stocking as well. 

This Camellia Rose bangle style bracelet is lovely for both women and teens alike. I love how this catches the light with all the Rhinestones. You can find it here. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/UK-Women-Fashion-Rhinestone-Camellia-Rose-Gold-Bangle-Bracelet-Jewelry-/252194172779?hash=item3ab7f1af6b:g:pusAAOSwl9BWNgS3 

In the age of technology and just about everyone owning a phone, phone covers are a popular choice. I loved this Minion phone cover when I spotted it. I am bit of a fan. Shame they didn't come in the right size for my phone. 
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/iphone-5-5s-case-Hard-Back-minion-ganster-NEW-UK-seller-stocking-filler-/161567588558?roken=cUgayN

Missy is an absolute bookworm and every year she asked for the same thing from Santa, a notepad and pen. She writes so many stories and gets through so many notebooks that I'm sure she will end up being an author. These stunning notebooks have faux suede bindings with a leather strap to close them. I'm particularly impressed that you can refill them. 
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252207358462?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

While I'm talking about books I really must show you this stunner. The photograph is one of my mother's, Christina Powell. A few Christmas' ago her garden squirrel made of wire frosted over and this was the beautiful result. The photograph was used to make notepads and Christmas cards. I really love these in the glossy finish. 
www.etsy.com/uk/listing/256416663/frosted-squirrel-notebooks-original?ref=shop_home_feat_2 

For very young children the first thought is often of cuddly toys but why not make it that bit more special and go for a handmade one? I found this cutie on Etsy (home of handmade lovelies) made by Simply Stitched UK. I can see this fast becoming one of the favourites that has to be in the cot at night. 
www.etsy.com/uk/listing/185880009/crochet-bunny-rabbit-liberty-rose-with?ref=teams_post 

Another favourite for the stocking is smellies and goes for men and women alike. While I was browsing around some of my fave shops on Etsy I found these delicious looking (although not to be eaten!) bees wax soaps from the Soap Dragon. Don't they look wonderful! 
www.etsy.com/uk/listing/64482076/2-bee-natural-cold-process-honey-guest?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share

My next amazing find is from The Turquoise Eye. I've been a fan of her work for a few years now and am completely in awe of the detail in her work. Her art work transposes so well to these gorgeous compact mirrors that I'm sure they would be a hit for the lady in your life. 
www.etsy.com/uk/listing/234606969/dragonflies-pocket-mirror-christmas?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=stocking%20fillers%20uk&ref=sr_gallery_39

As my fans will know, I make ceramics mostly. They are not so easy to pop into a stocking given their fragile nature however, my ceramic pendants would be fine in the little jewellery boxes they come with. This is an example of a bar pendant that I have on Etsy at the time of writing. These have been very popular and make a lovely gift. Who do you know who is mad about green? Watch out, my sister in law is and she might get there first! 
www.etsy.com/uk/listing/240205148/lime-green-ceramic-bar-pendant-on-a?ref=shop_home_active_14

So here we are. A few ideas if you are still looking for the last minute gifts or are stuck with stocking filler ideas as I often am. Please do check out the featured shops as they have lots of wonderful goodies that I like to drool over. If you have no one to send them to, then I'm always happy to receive from them! ;-) 

If I don't write again this side of the festivities then I wish you all a very Happy Christmas and here's to another wonderful year in 2016! I'll see you on the other side.

Cath xx

www.etsy.com/uk/shop/TySiriolCeramics  
www.facebook.com/TySiriolCeramicsandCraftsG+: http://ht.ly/UvPxX
Twitter: @tysiriolceramic
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/tysiriol/