Heart Pompom makers

The Clover pompom heart makers I got just before Christmas are excellent. The one on the left is what you get if you don't read the instructions because you think you know what you are doing and use them like an ordinary pompom maker.

The one on the right is what you get if you follow the instructions, see MUCH better!

Once you get your head round the stages, it is very easy but hell on the scissors as there is so much snipping and shaping to do. I've also found the little 'lugs' separating the sections you wind the wool round are a bit fragile as I've accidentally 'shortened' one or two as I've been snipping away. Decent scissors are a blessing and I found that hairdressing ones are ideal for this as they have sharp tips and are not too expensive from ebay.

There are two things from my experience of these to be really fussy about. One is the strength of the yarn you use to tie it all together because as I've pulled the final knot the cotton yarn had snapped on a couple of occasions and the whole thing has fallen apart irretrievably. The second is to be careful that the little heart picture in the middle of both sides of the maker is pointing upwards so that the 'wings' on either side match. You tube has some tutorials which are helpful.

The pompoms are lovely and the small ones are even good as part of a gift tag. I have vague plans for a long chain or curtain of popmpoms but need to think more carefully about this as leggy little Red has nicked most of the ones I've made and can also jump up to items that are at my shoulder height without blinking so anything would need to really high.

Scissor Sisters

I've blogged about my terrible fixation with scissors before, but once again I've been seduced by the lure of more, and the holy grail of better snippiness.

On this occasion, I blame the damn heart pompom makers....! I got my lovely makers and am seriously chuffed with them but they have totally blunted my dinky razor sharp scissors that I got on a magazine because of all the major league snipping that needs to go on. In thinking about the problem I decided some curved scissors might be useful, or even ones that could be sharpened at home, or even some kind of specialist scissors....? See, I think waaay too much about scissors. Anyway, somehow four pairs 'fell' into my amazon basket. This isn't even the worst of it because then I decided to see if I could get them cheaper, and ebay had some good offers and some alternatives I hadn't thought of.....and then somehow I'd ordered eight pairs. Admittedly, these eight were cheaper than the four on amazon, but the bit between selecting and buying is somewhat foggy in my brain. So here are my latest purchases, or 'roll call of shame' if you prefer....

There are the hairdressing ones - super sharp, fab on hair AND fur. Unfortunately, I know this because Magic happened to be sitting on my lap when I opened the packet, and once I'd test snipped the odd few ends of my own hair the lure of a full coat furry beast who probably wouldn't miss a wee strand or two was just too tempting. Best of all these scissors are 'pretty' and I can fiddle with the tension screw, handle inserts and little finger rest. I've tested the blue ones on the heart pompom maker and they are fab. As you know from my last post the fringe trim went very wrong with the blue ones but that was entirely my fault as normally I use whatever scissors are to hand instead of razor sharp ones.

Then there are the surgical scissors. Surgical scissors are pretty sharp and can always be sharpened again if needed? The ones with the gold handles most resemble the single pair of household ones we had all of my young life. These are what probably started my terrible scissor compulsion as they were perennially lost and I was almost always the culprit as I'd mislaid them under a pile of crafting. I still don't understand why my parents only ever had one single solitary pair kept in a long flat Tupperware box in the house. These childhood ones were plain shiny but I love these gold 'bows' for added prettiness. The curvy ones and the small ones I thought might help me trim the heart pompom's more accurately. I am mystified by why I bought the small straight ones as the longer ones are much better but I think I was still a little nauseated by having seen the other suggested scissors described as dental ones for cutting gums which made my stomach flip and I must've clicked on the extra pair just to get off the page. These small ones don't seem quite so sharp and are too thick to use with the pompom makers so these might get relegated to being paper scissors if they don't pan out with material.

Then there are the work horse scissors useless for pompom making, so no idea how they ended up in this order. The pink handled ones are tuff-cut shears useful for more things than you can ever even think of. If you've never owned tuff-cut or paramedic shears then you need some in your life. I've had this type since I got my first pair nearly 30yrs ago and they are fab. The really good ones are reputed to cut a 2p, but I never fancied wrecking mine trying to prove this. I've used these to do everything from work to DIY to haircutting (my hairdresser winced when I admitted to this). I think these fell in my basket as they are pink and this is the one colour I've not had. These are a smaller than the standard size tuff-cuts but are still very functional. The little ones are Lister bandage scissors and, like the tuff-cuts, will be good for slipping below two layers of fabric as they have the little scoop edge unlike my big fiskars dressmaking ones. The Lister's might benefit from a bit of a sharpen up if I every find my sharpeners in the spare room of despair. The Scotch ones are probably best kept for getting a nice clean cut or glide on wrapping paper.

So, I suppose I must admit it now....Yes, I am RedSetter and I am a scissor-holic.....though I am not sure I want to be cured right now till I've had a really good play with all of my new lovelies!

Do any of you have an enduring fixation for a particular craft tool or item or am I on my own in this?

Letterbox joy - Christmas Decoration Swap

I've decided to stop blogging misery and concentrate on the fun and crafty. I decided last night that despite nothing changing my life needs a little more niceness and that is exactly what I got this morning. I seem to have had some crazy oddness this year with my post thanks to the Royal Fail oops sorry Mail!

My car tax form remains missing in action, my Christmas Decoration Swap went astray and between Christmas and New Year a lovely wee old man brought me my mail. He apparently lives in the same number of house but three streets away and the postman had just stuffed all my mail in his letterbox so the man very kindly brought it round "In case it is something important you are waiting on pet" he said. What a star! Our usual postie is totally on the ball and will check the delivery office or chase up items and knows who it is ok to leave parcels with etc but he's obviously had some time off!

I've no idea why the card wont flip over the right way as I've tried!

These are so delicate and I certainly will be handling them very, very carefully

 

 This morning's mail brought me joy ~ my Christmas Decoration Swap arrived from Jessie's Needle which I am delighted about as she was as dismayed as me by its non-appearance and had even offered to make some more and send them. I am delighted with these beautiful, delicate and fragile little snowflakes. I made a couple of very simple crochet snowflakes this year but nothing so very delicate as this and on such a small hook too. The tree is coming down tomorrow which is unfortunate but even if they had arrived in time I still think I would have wanted to be able to enjoy them throughout the year so I think I'll probably attach them to something I use everyday. Thank you so much Jessie's Needle, you are most talented and kind and I wish you a very wonderful, successful and prosperous 2014.

The second thing that arrived was a calendar from a friend with two party invitations. I am delighted by the calendar as I don't actually have one this year and by the invites as wonky knee or not I'm definitely going to both.

Both of these lovely pieces of mail have cheered my day and the fact the car tax reminder is still missing worries me not one jot as I've already paid it, even though I still cant drive, but this my big goal in the next week or two!

16hrs in and the pragmatism is gone

Well yesterday was fun-not! After I published my last post I went to have a nice hot shower and afterwards I decided to trim my fringe as I haven't been able to get to the hairdressers because of my knee. I got a bit carried away as the mirrors and lighting are different in this house and...well...that and my enthusiasm means I've now got a little hairy pelmet round my hairline which is going to take quite some growing to look normal. Not even my trick of raising my eyebrows is helpful here as the fringe is beyond all help.

As if this was not enough, I'd noticed the bath had been slow to drain and poured some drain cleaner down while I cut my fringe. Unfortunately the reverse happened and water came UP the drain, so I got the plunger but couldn't clear it as I couldn't block the overflow properly. Anyway, worse was to come as the bath level raised and then the back of the toilet started hosing out water and the only fella that could have helped was Neptune!

I called the home emergency insurance folk who wanted my policy number - "erm, not got it at the moment as I'm trying to stem the flood". I managed to slow then stop the flood then it took me 40mins to get through to the next person to arrange the call out as they weather was resulting in them 'experiencing high call volume'. A plumber came out two hours later and diagnosed a blockage which he could jet, had the tools to do it and the skills but couldn't because of health and safety because it was night time and it was too noisy! It was only 8pm. He then got the toilet working but not the hand basin or bath and assured me a plumber would arrive at 8am to do the job. I've no idea what happened but apparently they are still coming sometime before 6pm, but had to get approval for the job from the insurer despite this being the plan yesterday.

I know many other bloggers are having significantly worse times with deep freeze conditions and river flooding so my minor internal flood is minimal and I shouldn't really be moaning. However, at only 16hrs into the New Year my plan of pragmatism and hopes for a better year are really up the swanee. I just wish I hadn't cut my fringe as at least I'd have had something to shield my eyes with!

2013 The Highlights and Lowlights

I'd started this long rambling post ages ago to review my 'sort of' resolutions . Normally I don't do resolutions as they are invariably written in hope and end in failure making you feel even worse but I decided to set myself some fun goals to enhance my life.

In April, and the last half of the year, I got back into blogging while ill or injured and it has been a brilliant window on the world. I've loved reading the diversity of the posts shared by other bloggers and it has been lovely to share in their lives and particularly humbling that they have taken time to comment on my own posts. 

Well how did I do against my semi-resolutions from January 2013? The three were:
1. I am going to 'Go Beading' more often
2. I am going to learn some new craft skills
3. I am going to create and enjoy a kitchen garden:

1. I have definitely beaded a bit more and taught some friends how to make their own jewellery. I've been diversifying by adding beading accents to other crafts and have tidied and reorganised my shamefully large stash, more to maximise storage space than anything else. 

2. My inner Kirstie Allsopp is alive and well nourished. I took two college courses in machine sewing basics and decorative glasswork both of which were pretty cool. I've  refreshed my yarny crafts of crocheting and knitting and attempted needle felting. I've learned how to read a crochet pattern and had an accidental knit and natter evening. I've enjoyed paracord knotting and inadvertently created a must have toy that Red adores.

The house now has an increasing amount of wall or other art or enhancements which I am blending into the character of the house and trying out new styles and ideas. The kumihimo still doesn't enthuse me and my unblocked tapestries have yet to be located in the spare room of despair.

3. The garden was a source of failure and frustration and the only thing I can eat is my words! The last time I cut the grass it took me six hours, though admittedly this was as my knee was failing, I made the strimmer belch smoke from over use, strangled it with the long tough grass till it could turn no more and lugged grass clipping that filled the entire brown bin and four mega black bags. I hate the back garden as I have neither the time nor interest in manicuring an unused expanse of lawn. The only thing I use it for is drying washing and in truth I sat out only a handful of times. I am not a sun worshipper and if I want to sit and read or browse the internet there are far more comfortable places indoors to do so.

The good bits about the garden were seeing the cats actually have the space to run like lightening and meeting some friendly feline visitors and one very unwelcome one. A glorious peony appeared in May and brought me delight at a very sad time. The wisteria is a pain as it grows like a weed, but I'm fond of it, and don't really mind giving it a haircut. Some daffs and primroses grew and were a lovely spring surprise.

The front garden is a different story. It is a small, easily managed space where I can cope, potter and prune. My first hedge trim was with the shears. I was very angry and upset and had that horrible compulsion to get stuck into a mindless physical activity. Well, I did and it helped me emotionally. The downside is that I got a bit carried away and only quit when the light dropped. I couldn't quite work out why there were so many clippings and then realised the hedge was....well.....twiggy bald! I thought it might look better in the morning but no it was actually just brown sticks on the inside. I thought it might get better looking if I trimmed the tops and front carefully to promote growth but 8mths on it is still predominantly brown on the inside and insane on the rest. There were two rose bushes which had some kind of mould and wonky leaves embedded into the hedge and they kept scratching me, so I lopped them in revenge so that I could cut the hedge. Surprisingly they've survived (I had planned to uproot and bin them) and not only that, but they have flourished and are probably healthier than they were and were still popping out some roses up to last week. They've won their reprieve for now but if I get gored by thorns again then I'll maybe rethink.

The crocosmia is rampant, the rambling rose has been rebuked to half of it's height as has the pieris. The conifers are too tall but next year will see them hard pruned (you know their fate if I get the power tools or shears out). I bought lots of daffs and spring bulbs but couldn't get them planted in time.

I've now seen the gardens through a full year and think I am probably a Lady Gardener; I like pruning and tootling about as that is actually what I need as a relaxing activity, even if I do get a bit carried away with shears and power tools. I thoroughly dislike pointlessly mowing and have realised if I am to get any enjoyment out of my garden during my working years then I need to bite the bullet and spend money on finding someone to keep the grass and hedges under control. If I do this then I might start enjoying it rather than dreading it, so I suppose I have learned something of value here.

I'm not making an resolutions for 2014, semi, or fun or otherwise. I am just going to take it as it comes without any hopes or dreams to dash. This is not to elicit sympathy instead it is a very positive neutral stance to live in the moment.

I wish everyone a lovely New Year and much happiness and will continue to enjoy reading your end of year reviews or resolutions depending on your perspective.

Happy 2014

Happy New Year to all of our lovely blogger and real life friends. Hope this one is good for everyone. Both cats are curled up cosily, Magic at my feet and Red sprawled across a chair. I am sitting cosily too and my gammy knee is very slowly improving, I hope. I'm still walking like a punch drunk sailor but seem to be lurching around slightly less. Thanks to everyone who sent me good wishes for my recovery too.

May you all be blessed with health, happiness and love, as well as enough money to see you through.

Pause in Advent: Week Four - Rest, recuperation and hope

I have thoroughly enjoyed joining in with Floss and the other wonderful bloggers participating the Pause in Advent. Now we are at the last one the big question is 'have my Pauses made a difference to my Advent period'? 

I'd no idea how this was all going to turn out. I was aware I was sharing much deeper thoughts than I normally do as my blogs are usually frothy fun places. As I reach the final Pause, there is a rather profound change in me as I reflect on this year and I am so glad I have had the opportunity to record some of my thoughts in these pauses.

It is hard to categorise this year as in all truth much of this year has been unpleasant, distressing, painful and unreasonably difficult and I would willingly delete it from my life in a heartbeat if that were possible.

However, to do so would mean wiping out the first half of the unexpected summer holiday as this was a shaft of sunlight I thought I'd not experience with someone I love dearly again and the amazing kindness and support of friends and colleagues in helping which has been humbling. I cannot bear not being in control or having to ask for help but this year I have had to and, despite all my fears and concerns, some friends have proved to be absolute rocks of support particularly in practical terms. Blogging and learning new crafts has also helped make me feel a continuing part of the real world while I was so limited and at times despairing. 

I face a very different Christmas this year which I didn't quite expect, nor would it be in any of my top ten choices for how to spend it. However, though it will not be ideal if I am honest, I have experienced worse and this one has much hope to commend it. It comes with no major expectations, the limitations are fixed and in many ways this is immensely liberating and I find myself looking forward to how and with whom I will spend the day.

My relationship with God has received a boost through writing these pauses. I have not attended mass regularly for nearly three years now since my life imploded spectacularly trying to care for someone who's needs and demands totally consumed and overwhelmed me. My faith sustained me through all of that but I still find my emotions can overwhelm me in church, and I am not a pretty or quiet crier! However, for me my faith is a personal value and ethical attitude which does not need a shop window to it. The strength of my faith exists between God and myself and by joining in these pauses and in reading the reflections of others has helped me recognise and reconnect more effectively.

I speak with God more often, I have offered up the worries and fears I have to him and let Him know that I am leaving it in his capable hands without fighting him for control and I am trying my very hardest to stop pushing for things to happen or fretting. Lack of control and acceptance are majorly challenging to me. So this Advent and Christmas I am letting go, not entirely without fear admittedly, but I'm trying. I have been using my Angel Cards before bed as a meditation tool to focus on a particular aspect or attribute and, this too has been helpful. It has helped me particularly in this last week as I finally underwent surgery and as I continue to recuperate I am more at peace than I have been. In all truth I am starting to suspect this has been a bit of a watershed and that there are indications of a time of change ahead but instead of fretting about it I am going to leave it in God's hands and let him guide the way.

So, as the celebration of our Saviour's birth approaches I want to send my love and thanks to my real life and blogger friends, to everyone who has been there for us this year, to Floss for arranging these Pauses and to God for being in my life and continuing to be there. May everyone have a beautiful, peaceful and fulfilling Christmas and look forward to a bright, promising New Year.

With much love,
RedSetter

Round up of some little makes

Post number four today which I 'think' completes things to date!

The Green Dragonfly posted a wonderful little Mousie Tutorial which I decided to make to test my crochet pattern reading skills and just because he looked so cute. To save me standing on my painful knee I used some Flutterby wool that was within reach and a larger hook. I had thought it was also a good idea it might be more human hand sized and if the cats pinched it the mouse might not get munched so badly. It all worked out well and the pattern was very easy to read and follow so kudos to The Green Dragonfly. My mouse is not the bonniest but I think that is due to the trouble I had with his features and trying to hide the ends, which is also why he has the oddest whiskers! However, I love him, he feels great, I learned the popcorn stich and the cats don't bother with him apart from a disgusted sniff-winner all round.

Sizewise this is him beside Magic's front leg (she was giving him the intruder once over). Both cats are complete photobombers!

I haven't made pom poms since I was a child/teenager. I know you can make tiny pom poms with a fork but anything larger means all that faffing around with cardboard circles which always took the fun out of it. As I wasn't very sure if plastic ones would work, I didn't want to buy the more expensive Clover ones, so instead I ordered this 4 size set from ebay. They took a while to come from China but they are so much easier than mucking around with cardboard. 

 

Mine are sometimes not round, but I think this is my error as the makers are the right shape. What I didn't realise you could do is make heart shaped ones and so I've splashed out and ordered some Clover heart makers. I cant wait for these to arrive.

Lucy at Attic24 posted a lovely tutorial for her Little Lacy Stars which I actually think of as Little Lucy Stars now! Sadly these are apparently very chewable and Lucy's wonderfully arty display on twigs is disappointingly just never going to survive in this house. It is not even worth attempting with the furry muggers around.  

Star one is claimed and "Off the 'puter!!" ignored

 Jelly Wares also had a lovely star tutorial that I decided to try after my little Lucy ones and this worked out really nicely too. Thanks to both for their great tutorials.

 

This was my first attempt at making a lavender stuffed felt heart on the sewing machine. It is very wonky and made me decide to stick to getting better at straight lines before I go round corners. It made me laugh too as a woman in my Glass class only makes straight edged leaded glass projects as she says the trauma of the little dove's curves at the beginning put her off for life!



Finally I think, I had plans for doing a pin cushion and was plotting how to make a super pincushion that sat firmly, didn't move around etc. However, when making my tree forest I realised I needed one NOW as loose pins and cats are not a good combo. So, instead of my feature rich pin cushion I leap in and made quite possibly the plainest one possible from an off cut which I will no doubt use for eternity as it works!

If you've hung in for this deluge of posts today very well done and thank you for reading and commenting if you are not too exhausted!

Sew Confident- Weeks five and six

A third post today which has been waiting to be posted. It got rather lost in waiting for me to snip the stray threads from my week six makes and to photograph them. I've managed to get a patch of sun today but all I think it has done is add shade rather than light!

Week Five
Oh, dear Lord, it all went a bit horribly wrong in week five and was all my fault! Flushed with the success of the make up bag the week before I was so looking forward to making the piped cushion. I hadn't managed to be out of the house since the last class due to my knee injury and had even missed my glass class on the Saturday so I was raring to go. I tried ordering the piping cord online but due to some slow deliveries I was probably best not to chance it. To minimise walking I went to a local Remnant Kings and got some on the way to the class as it was a small one and had parking right outside the door.

Once I got to class I realised I had forgotten the other essential - the zip! My heart sank and I was so annoyed with myself. Jenny was great and suggested completing the cushion cover the next week as the zip was one of the later stages which did make me feel a bit better. However, I then managed to very carefully measure out my fabric and cut it, before realising my square was....a rectangle, and even worse neither of the sides was anywhere near the size I'd intended. Jenny very kindly suggested that sometimes stripy fabrics can be deceiving but when she measured it even she was a bit lost for words. I've still no idea how I got it so wrong!!!! However Jenny retrieved the situation and reckoned it was still ok and I just needed to alter my piping length to fit and could subtract some stuffing from my cushion inner. I'm glad I was doing this in a class setting as if it had just been me at home I'd probably have given up as the piping was supposed to be the hard bit NOT cutting a square!

Things went slightly better from here on in. I did have to be shown how to use a seam unpicker for a little section before re-sewing but I managed to finish the cushion cover. In the end I decided I just wanted it over and done with and to get finished rather than do the zip next week so I chose to slip stitch it closed later. Getting the inner in was quite some deal as I hadn't really left a big gap so it was a bit like midwifery in reverse! The cushion is now really plump which is actually how I like them as I cannot stand limp useless cushions. Despite the trauma over its creation I really do like it and it matches the summer cushions perfectly, tho' I may have to trade the wee ginger boy in for a coordinated all cream cat!

Week Six
Week Six and the culmination of our talents to date. I was really excited about this as this was the freestyle week where we could make whatever we wanted with support on hand. I wanted to make my own knitting needle wrap in the blue vine fabric and researched online for ages to find a pattern or ideas. Part of the issue is that I have 18 needle sizes and most available do not have enough storage. I debated doing one with lots of pockets for all needles, Tunisian crochet hooks and standard crochet hooks and notions but realised I'd never be able to roll it up, so a single wrap would be best.

The plan was to have everything cut and pinned so that I could make the most of my sewing machine time but I realised it needed done in stages and I'd only end up getting muddled. When I got to class I decided to design it without additional pockets. The large one for my knitting needles took me 2hrs, most of which was doing the pockets, and the small supplementary crochet hook wrap only about 30mins as I knew what I was doing by then. I am so pleased with these and delighted to see my yarn craft tools housed in matching holders sewn by my own fair mittens! It also makes it easy to spot them as they are all in the same print.

Objectively, my stitching could have been neater but it is vastly improved from some weeks earlier. The long pockets are a bit too long for 10ins needles but they are still kept safe. I could have put the bias binding round the edges if I hadn't left it at home, though I quite like the plain edges.

All in all, I have loved this class and Jenny's calm reassurance. We did tease her a bit though as her catchphrases were "No, its ok" and "its alright, that can be fixed" however, it was ideal to have her on hand and I think all of us wanted to take her home. Clydebank College is a great venue as it is new, clean and well appointed. It even has good access if you have a gammy knee and helpful staff. Six weeks is not a lot of sewing time and we badgered Jenny to run some more courses as she was great to work with. When I look back I am amazed at what I've achieved but am very much still a novice and want to keep going.

Sparkly snowflakes are falling

A second post today to catch up with what I've been making.

Once I'd got started making the snowflakes for the Christmas Decoration Swap arranged by Marianne at Ladybird Diaries I couldn't seem to stop........!

 ....And then there was the small forest of Christmas trees that followed....

Christmas Decoration Swap

I was delighted this year to join in with the Christmas Decoration swap organised by Marianne at Ladybird Diaries. I was paired with Jessie's Needle and we both made contact to arrange our swap. I was also delighted that Jessie's Needle offered her help and expertise with any crochet queries as I was just getting back into crochet again and my first attempts were seriously wonky.

I am trying to do some catch up posts as lots of things have got in the way recently and I have a backlog to share. I'm sure Jessie's Needle won't mind me sharing this as I know she has got my package and sent me a lovely thank you note. We were later in doing our swaps but were both happy to live with the delay. I know she has sent mine but I've been having dreadful problems with delayed mail here so will blog again once it arrives.

I loved doing the decoration and spent ages deciding what to do. I scanned Jessie's Needle blog to see if I could pick up some colour cues but couldn't spot any common themes. I would have liked to do something crocheted or knitted but my skills were not up to speed and I was too shy to send a wonky item. I can cope with some degree of sub-perfection within a  handmade item but too much pushes me over the edge. So I decided to go with jewellery making as it is full of sparkle, has endless colour combinations and I had bought some snowflake wire forms that I'd bought in a lovely bead shop in Perth at least two years ago that I had never tried.

As always, no endeavour should be unsupervised by at least one of the fur overlords

Many colour, texture, finish and size combinations must be explored till most of the dining table disappears 

 Eventually I found a pattern I was happy with which included elements I liked. The wire forms were a nightmare as they were so difficult to loop at the end and my first attempt was less than ideal, but I got there. This design is a mixture of faceted and coated rondelles and miyuki seed beads. The dangle is a blown glass puffy heart with a little chainmaille link. The tartan ribbon is a little nod to its Scottish provenance but mainly because it matched all the colours and seemed to peek out of my ribbon box.

 I found it hard to photograph the decorations when they were lying flat so I hung them on my little Yankee Candle Tart warmer.  

 I enjoyed doing the crystal snowflake but as my sewing machine had arrived (more of this later in a catch up post later) I wanted to try something machine sewn and personalised. I tried a heart but going round corners and machine sewing was just NOT happening. So I went with a mainly straight line simple embellished tree. Please ignore the wonky stitch on the right, it definitely didn't look that bad as I recall, so I'm saying it is all down to the Lavender filling.

 Hanging instead of just propped.  

 As I was in the 'zone' I decided to try another little lavender bag with some nice Christmas fabric and a matching ribbon. On the top left you can also see Magic's haunch as she was sitting with her back to me doing huffy snoopervising. 

 One of the trio with a snowflake punched card.

 I even decided to put a snowflake and little jewel on the envelope.

I had a ball making these and was delighted that Jessie's Needle liked them. I hope that we can keep in touch as she seems like a very nice person and I hope she has a lovely, happy and prosperous Christmas. I will definitely be joining in again next year if this is running again.