winter light

In the few precious hours of midwinter daylight this week I have managed to find a little time for making, including these papier mache tree decorations for my best friend... a coat of Swedish Blue emulsion with initials and snowflakes in silver dry gouache powder mixed with iridescent medium... chocolates inside and all wrapped up in snowy white tissue paper.

I've also been doing some sewing, making market bags for gifts as well as costumes and accessories for the York Mystery Play we recently took part in.

Taking inspiration from here I spent an evening quietly snipping and folding, and now our front room has a rather 1960s feel, with big round snowflakes descending from the picture rails.

I have always loved to pile the house high with evergreens at Christmas, and as we are lucky enough to live in an area with many flats and student houses that have big mature gardens I have been out doing a little 'community pruning'...

( I locked myself out of the house taking this photo, not for the first time this week... the other two incidents were snow-related...)

I love the gentle, homely preparations for Christmas that run alongside the inevitable busyness... all the quiet, solitary occupations that light up the house and make it magical. Now we are almost ready and the next thing I know it will be Christmas Eve and I'll be getting up early to join the queue outside the butcher to collect our turkey, spending the day making fragrant stock for the gravy, bread sauce and chestnut stuffing, ironing the table linen and peeling sprouts as the rest of the family come and go, the rustling of furtive wrapping-up can be heard behind closed doors and the pile beneath the tree begins to grow. Lots of cups of tea, and carols on the radio.

Have a lovely Christmas.