Winter Star Wreath

I added some winter star flowers to the Beech wreath I made last week, as an experiment to see how long the flowers will last. They are plentiful at the moment.

Solstice Star

In preparation for the Winter Solstice celebrations, I have made this star with a wire candle holder. It is based on a design from the December issue of Country Living Magazine. The star itself is willow bound with twine.

A Wreath For George Stephensons Cottage

Having collected some lovely wreath making materials near the birthplace of world famous railway pioneer George Stephenson, I thought it would be nice to make a wreath for the cottage. It is owned by the national trust. The 18th century cottage is furnished as it would have been in 1781, when George Stephenson was born there. It is the smallest national trust property in Northumberland and is open to visitors March 'till November. The cottage is occupied all year round and is situated on the country park footpath, that was once a railway line, on the banks of the River Tyne.

Kindly, Joy, the lady who lives and works there, said she would put my wreath on the front door of the cottage. Sure enough it was there this morning when I walked up there with the dog. It looks a little rustic, but this probably suits the style of the cottage.

Honesty Butterfly

My Little girl Robyn has enjoyed making these pretty butterflies from Honesty seed pods. They are plentiful at the moment. We made the anntenae from a birch twig.

Beech Wreath

On a walk with the dog this morning we came across a very old beech tree down by the river, quite near George Stephensons cottage. It is certainly over two hundred years old. There were lots of mast cases still on the branches, so I helped myself to a few and made this simple wreath. Some of the cases fell off as I was making it, but enough remain to make it look quite sweet.

Collected lots of other bits and bobs, including some nice holly.

Rosehip Hearts

Here is one of the rosehip hearts I made this evening. The hips are from my mum and dads garden. They are larger than those found on wild roses and look lovely threaded on to wire longways. I love them.

Advent Calendar

This year I decided to make my own advent calendar. No tacky choclate and plastic calendars for us this year. Im hoping to reuse the envelopes next year so i've not sealed them down. Each one holds a cute or funny photo of the children and /or our family pets, taken in the year 2009. I may try to add a joke each day as well.