The preparations are laid, and traveling done.  It's time to just enjoy the moment.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas from our little Seven-Stitches Family.

This is what happens in our house, when the adult take their time putting up the advent calendar*.  Small children take matters into their own hands.  She's done a great job recreating our calendar don't you think?

I was worried that I may have lost some of the pockets between the years.  But this little burst of creativity from miss H was all I needed to get myself sorted and out calendar up.

Sorted - now for the chocolate.

In honor of the last day of Daycare for the year, H and I made sprinkle fudge to give to the teachers.


To make your own you will need:

395g can sweetened condensed milk
100g butter
200g  brown sugar
3 Tbsp golden syrup
180g white chocolate buttons
2 tsp vanilla essence
Lots of sprinkles  - 100s & 1000s, chocolate buttons etc.

1 Combine the sweetened condensed milk, butter, sugar and syrup in a microwave-proof bowl and cook on medium-high power for 7 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes.

2 Mix in the chocolate and vanilla and stir until combined, then beat well until glossy. Spoon into a lined 17cm x 27cm tin . 

3 Sprinkle - gather the decorations and go for it!  Set aside to cool, then cover with cling film and refrigerate for 1 hour until firm. Cut into bite size pieces.

Then the thrifting - I found a breadmaker at a recent garage sale.  At $10 with a "it might not work" caveat I wasn't expecting much.  I found a copy of the manual online and 3 loaves of bread later, the bread maker has more than paid for itself.


Finally, the Christmas - With a surplus of quince meat, 3 pints to be precise,I'm on the lookout for recipes to use it up.  This braided loaf recipe was in the bread maker manual.  I had my fingers crossed behind my back expecting disaster but it was brilliant.  It tasted even better on day 2 and 3, which is a little unusual in my experience of home made bread.


Now I only have 2 1/2 pints of Quince Meat to go, any ideas?

I have been sketching, carving and stamping up a storm, gradually reducing this stamp until I was happy with it.

Every Christmas I think, this is the year I'll start sending Christmas cards again. I used to be so dilligent, posting them out to my university friends as  I went home to my parents each summer, sending little notes and baubles to friends as they travelled around the world.  Somehow it all fell by the wayside when I had children, but this year it really will happen.  The international ones went out a month ago and I'm gradually getting together the less urgent, local ones.

Such fun!
The Yellow Owl Workshop Carve a Stamp kit was birthday present earlier in the year.  You can get yours from The Village Art Shop, they are ever so friendly.

The Christmas count down started early in our house. To be precise it started the morning after Halloween. I woke to find two little girls at the breakfast table, felt pens in had and a long list of 'How do you spell...?'

The lists sat on our fridge until last week. We didn't want to bother Santa before December. H and I folded them up and posted them to the North Pole.  New Zealand Post runs an annual Postbag to Santa.  You can read more about it here.  You can even Email him.  We are waiting in anticipation for our return letters.

Sometimes projects are just an angels breath from completion.  These little pegs had been sitting painted for a while, waiting for wings, skirts and faces.  I imagined skirts made from slices of lightly coloured vintage embroidery and paper doily wings.  Consulting my drawers of damaged, vintage embroidery, I found other ideas. 

A hand embroidered table cloth, too long in the napisan was waiting for me.  It had been so long bleached that the thread work and hems were dissolving, but still not long enough to remove whatever the tenacious stain had been.  The white on white details remind me of feathers and so wings they were.  The tattered edges became an underskirt for each modest angel, with just the smallest whisper of cotton lace over the top.  My very own mini host of mini angels.

The strangest things rise to the surface when parents start clearing out spaces.  I spied a pair of these glass domes on a shelf in Dad's garage.  At first he though they might be old valve domes, but closer inspection and splashes of white paint suggest they were outdoor light bulb covers.  With $2 of thrifted decorations,  they look grand. 

The kids are latching on to the idea of treasures under domes.  I found a little match box house hiding under a crystal glass (you can see it if you squint).  I just couldn't resist playing with lego trees and a sugar bowl.