French Knots

Simple Advent Calendar

On Thursday it will be December, so this week my thoughts have turned to my annual advent calendar planning.

I have a string of decorated envelopes that are pegged onto ribbon, with a slip of paper in each announcing that day's activity or treat. The children enjoy taking it in turns to open the envelope and see what is inside. I do plan the more complex or time consuming things for the weekends so we have the time to enjoy them and the quicker things for busy after school weeknights.

It would be easy to make your own, either with decorated envelopes like mine or slips of paper tucked into a fabric advent calender. Activities range from a visit to the Christmas Market, decorating the tree, making salt dough ornaments or Reindeer food, colouring Christmas pictures or filling in a Christmas crossword.

Of course we have the annoying chocolate type too, otherwise there would be a riot!

Lest We Forget

Woooosh!

I love Bonfire Night! The smell of the fireworks, the weesh of the rockets and the aahhs of the appreciative audience.

Of course you have to write your name with the sparklers 

Even if you are too little to know how to write yet! Not so little any more though as he's started playgroup 2 mornings a week, he loves it and I must admit I do too. I dash to the Studio and get some work done guilt free. It's got much busier than I thought it would and squeezing in workshops planning and preparation, buying materials, writing tutorials for magazines (eekk!) and taking the accompanying photos, printing leaflets, building a website etc etc all takes time I haven't really got. So I need to fit it into my two 2 hour child free slots a week. No problem!

I've learnt so many thing over the last few month building the business but one of the most satisying was creating the website, the hosting company are brilliant and made it all so easy even I could do it! Just need to stock the shop with more goodies, well actually make the first but you know what I mean. Do take a look if you have a moment and let me know what doesn't work :)  www.frenchknots.co.uk

Guess what this is? One of the 4 amazing Pfaff sewing machine I have in the Studio now for people to use, I could spend all day in there playing with them myself. I'm also selling the sewing machines so if someone fancies taking one home with them after a workshop they can. Perfect!

I have several 'back of an envelope'  lists on the go at once, plans for new workshops, new magazine tutorials, new things I want to make. Woosh! It's all good!