These Twixmas Days (Part 1)

Greetings lovely friends & readers -  Happy Bright Shiny New Year to you All !!!

I read on Lucy's blog that the days in between Christmas & New Year are called Twixmas days.  After the busy-ness of Christmas passes I just love these more relaxed days with less pressure & no meals to cook as plenty of leftovers to consume.  Sometimes it inspires me to craft & create, to garden or just relax with a book.

This is how the furry two spent their New Year - tucked up together on the bed !!

My New Year celebrations involved a glass of bubbles, an early night with a good book & at least One Cat tucked up beside me - just perfect !!

We have welcomed a new furry member to our extended family

After the sad passing of dear little Karma in * this post * Sid's family have welcomed a new furry girl into their lives ... dear little Darcy whom is both delightful AND rascally all rolled into one.  She even got to take part in the annual Christmas Photo Shoot.

I spent 2 1/2 days putting the Christmas decorations away & this was alot less fun than it was putting them all out. 

 I came across this stitchery tucked in a Simply Vintage magazine - it is an older pattern by Natalie Bird of The Birdhouse - stitched way back when I ran my craft cottage.  I found some matching fabric in my stash so I bordered & backed it & made the 5 felt pennies that the pattern called for.

As I didn't have any spare wire hangers I used this old wooden lace making spindle to hang it from.

This sweet little Moptop kitset was a gift from my neighbor for pet feeding duties & I finally found time to make her up using a hot fix rhinestone tool borrowed from a friend.

The lace detailing on her felt hat                                          Her beaded "legs" under her petticoat

 I must be honest here & say that although I am pleased with the finished product she was not especially enjoyable to put together & I didn't seem to have enough fingers or hands at times !!! 😉

Whilst I was digging out long-forgotten-kitsets I found this one above - an Op Shop purchase for $5 & it had everything included inside to create the 6 wool felt decorations.

These were very enjoyable to stitch of an evening & you can either affix a tie to hang them from the tree or a small gift can be fitted inside each one as they are backed with wool felt.  My favorite was the black cat but Sid told me he preferred the sheep 😊

In early December I ordered the above pad of Iron Orchid Transfers from * this online store *    - it was not inexpensive but had so much in it - 8 pages of transfers in total.

I wanted to affix the Deer's head to a mirror but had nothing suitable - I was so delighted when The Mr picked this one up for me off Facebook Marketplace for a bargain price & wasted no time applying my transfer

Really tricky to photograph !!  The Mr thought I may want to paint the frame but I loved the slightly coppery rustic look of it all.

The day after Boxing Day I headed down to Kinloch - a small bay on the edge of Lake Taupo.  My eldest son & his family have built a holiday home there & younger son & family were also staying in Kinloch.  

We had a wonderful family day together. I took a picnic lunch & we went to the Lake edge where we flew kites, & the little ones swam in the crystal clear (but freezing cold) lake water.

Even Darcy came along for the day 😊

Thank You all So Very Much for your visits here today dear friends,

I shall be back soon with Part 2 of my Twixmas escapades.

I hope your week is going well ... remember to be kind to yourselves & to each other,

With much love & friendship to you all,

Julie & the furry ones x0x0x