Under the Tree

We've had a few mysterious presents turn up under the Christmas tree this year. I think we'll need to leave a little plate of cookies outside the door to feed all of our generous wandering guests.

And, if you'd like Red Red to come right to your mailbox, you can now get updates by email! 

All lovely people subscribed by December 1st will be entered into a drawing to win the newest Travelling Tillberry: Bramble

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Christmas Challenge

Now that Thanksgiving is over, turkeys everywhere are putting on their Christmas hats to prepare for the next holiday.

And, to spread a bit of Christmas joy in the next few weeks, lots of other things around here will be donning Christmas hats, too. In fact, I'm on a mission to cover the neighbourhood in Christmas cheer.

But why stop at one neighbourhood? With your help, we can cover the whole world in little Christmas hats!

So, I challenge you to join me. I've written a little tutorial on how to make Christmas hats yourself, using either red and white paper, or red and white felt. Whip up a few hats of your own to adorn the statues and garden folk of your home and those of your neighbours!

 

How to Make a Christmas Hat:

You can use either paper or felt, and the same instructions apply. With paper, you'll need tape and glue; with felt, you'll need thread and, optionally, fabric glue. For both, you'll need a pompom for the top.

Cut a cone shape from your red material. I like to use a corner of the paper or felt, as shown below. The longer the straight sides are, the bigger your hat will be. Usually, two sizes will fit most statues: 4 inch sides for a small, 8 inch sides for a large.

Place the rounded edge of the red shape on top of a piece of white paper or felt. Cut along the edge, so that you get a matching edge on the white paper.

Now, cut a parallel line along the edge of the white paper, to make the band at the rim of the hat. For a small, the band should be 1/2 an inch wide; for a large, it should be 1 inch wide.

Now, you have these two pieces:

Glue along the rounded edge of the red material if you are using paper. If you are using felt, use fabric glue, or stitch the band in place with white thread.

Place the white band on top of the glue, making sure all the edges line up.

If you are using paper, add a strip of tape along one long side. It should be sticky side up. You will then roll the hat up into a cone, and stick the edges together. If you are using felt, roll the cone up, and then stitch along the long sides to hold it together.

Your cone should look like this:

Add glue to the point, and stick on a pompom. You can also stitch it on, if using felt.

Ta-da! Now, go out and put in on some garden statues!

So, have a go at making a hat or two (or buy yourself a couple of cheap ones -- they are everywhere right now!) and put a smile on your neighbours' faces. And every week or so, I'll put up a few of the best photos from the group on here, so check back to see how we're taking over the world!

And Yet More Advent...

I have a feeling that, by the time December 1st actually rolls around, we'll have so many advent calendars around here that we'll spend all day every day up to Christmas opening doors, drinking advent tea, and, now, flipping over little numbered red hearts.

I was inspired by this advent calendar, which reveals a letter of a hidden message each day. A lovely way to count down to Christmas, without it having to mean more sweets to eat!

(source)

So, on the backside of each heart is a letter, and on Christmas Eve, when the final one is turned, it will read "We wish you a Merry Christmas."

And yes, it's another good use for my peppermint wool or your baker's twine!

P.S. Don't forget to subscribe by email if you'd like to give Bramble Bear a home!

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Head on over here for more Creative Spaces!

Advent Tea: Sneak Peek

Exciting, unusual, tasty-looking teas have been arriving from the lovely people participating in my advent tea swap. And though the final wreath isn't finished yet, here is a little glimpse of it in progress.

English tea, French tea, Finnish tea, Texan tea. 

Red tea, green tea, black tea, white tea. 

My teapot is quaking with anticipation!

Here Come the Christmas Goats

One of my favourite Christmas memories is of the pair of five-foot-tall straw goats that my family used to have. Just before visitors arrived, we would put the goats outside the front door -- sometimes with hand-written welcome signs tied to them, sometimes with Christmas hats on their heads -- to welcome the guests.

The Christmas goats, or julebuk, as the Danish call them, are a big part of the Scandinavian Christmas celebration. Some think that they are a tradition left over from Viking times, when families would sacrifice a goat in the hopes of having a prosperous year; the julebuk was a hommage to the spirit of that goat. Others believe that the julebuk comes from the early worship of the god Thor, whose chariot was pulled by goats. The goats like to make sure that all the Christmas preparations are done properly, and if they are happy, they have been known to put an extra present or two under the tree!

This year, we've welcomed a family of five goats into our home. I like to think they've journeyed across from Denmark to be here with us -- dodging sharks and whales and tankers as they swam across the Atlantic.

 

I hope that if we keep the julebuk warm, well fed, and out of the jaws of Bella, they might not only make this year a good one, but keep alive the Danish spirit and tradition of Christmas that has been so strong in my family, and help us pass it along to Tilly.

WANTED: Home for a Grizzly

This is Bramble.

He is a would-be-adventurer, a budding explorer, a rambler in the making. This year, instead of curling up for his annual hibernation, Bramble has decided he wants to see the world. He's seen all the fun that Potato is having in London with his new family -- Paris nights at the Eiffel Tower, horse-back riding, IKEA meatballs -- and he wants a bit of that.

So, what I'm looking for is a kind volunteer to give Bramble a new home. He's pretty low-maintenance; he finds his own food, he'll sleep anywhere dark and cave-like, he is good with children and dogs.

Oh, and he's very excited about Christmas. He loves singing "Jingle Bears" and can't wait to bake his special minced pies for his new friends. Bramble would be very excited to climb into a stocking, or jump out of a present to surprise someone, if you wanted him to.

Bramble wants to make sure we stay in touch, though, and has insisted he go to one of the lovely people who are subscribed to the blog by email. So, if you'd like to give him a home and aren't already subscribed, please sign up (by entering your email below) by December 1st, when we'll pick a winner!

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My Christmas Wall Tree

I'd loved this idea of a bits-and-bobs, collection tree ever since I saw it over at The Fable of the Table. And, with a rummage through my jewelry box, my buttons, pompoms, fridge magnets, ornaments that don't fit with our 'strictly red' tree this year, and a goodie bag sent over from Beijing, there were suddenly more than enough trinkets to fill up my tree.

My tree is backed with poster board with a linen surface, and the decorations are simply pinned on (and double-sided taped if pinning was impossible). It is outlined with a thin piece of twine. It can't get any easier than that!

I really enjoyed making it, and just love how personal it is. We have mementoes on there from such a range of times and places and people: incense from our honeymoon in Thailand, my badge from the summer I interned at IKEA Beijing, keys to Justin's old red Mitsubishi, a red clay heart from Auntie Jenni, a beaded wreath from Grandma Thies, coloured paper clips that I slipped off submissions to the Sonora Review, a pendant I remember buying in Nottingham when I was about eleven, a fishing lure that my parents attached to one of Justin's Christmas presents one year, and even the twine was a gift from my friend, Loreal! I'm sure this will be a yearly tradition, with new items added each winter.

For other beautiful wall trees, check out Jane's and The Sunday Collector's. And then make your own!

Adventures With a Can of Chalkboard Paint, Part V

This little piggy got painted.

Now, to find more animals for the chalkboard farmyard...

Babuskha Bowling

Well, the Christmas elves were busy last night. A whole set of Russian Dolls is finished, and they've set sail in the Russian Doll boat (ahem, bread basket) that our recent lovely house-guest made for Tilly. 

Tatiana, Katja, Sveta, Anya, Pinky and Matilda have a long life of fun in front of them. Not only are they dolls, they are also stuffed with little bells, so that Tilly can enjoy them as rattles right now. (Well, she could, if she would remove their heads from her mouth long enough to shake them!)

The dolls also double as skittles for a game of six-pin bowling:

But now they have to go back into the workshop to wait for Christmas, so that Tilly can pull them all out of her new stocking!

To see what others are creating today, stop by their Creative Spaces.

A Russian Doll Christmas

The time has come to make Tilly a stocking, to hang beside Justin's, mine, and Bella's. After hours of deliberation as to whether I should put an 'M' for Matilda, or a 'T' for Tilly, I decided on neither.

Instead, Tilly gets a pretty little Russian doll, which matches the lovely bedding my Mum made for her Moses basket, and the cushions and little quilt she made for the nursery. Plus, a lovely linen doll print, flown in from Beijing, for the trim.

And what will Father Christmas be putting in Tilly's stocking this year? Well, one thing that the little elves are sewing up is a set of stuffed Russian Doll skittles for a mini-bowling game. Here's a little sneak peek into Santa's workshop:

Start Now and Knit Your Own Wrapping Paper

As you might have noticed, I've recently fallen back in love with knitting. It's the combination of cold weather and a little tiny person for whom things knit up wonderfully quickly -- there's nothing like feeling you can finish a whole piece of clothing in a week or so!

And with my needles out and itching for new challenges, I've considered trying out this lovely way of wrapping a present:

(source 1) 

Surely, it is just a large rectangle of stocking stitch that has been seamed at the back and the end? What a great way to make friends and family feel all woolly inside.

And for those that can't knit (or those us who can, but inevitably run out of time), there's a cheat: faux-knitted wrapping paper!

And, to write your message, faux-knitted cards!

(source 2 & 3)

Just, please, don't compare the knitting inside the present to the wrapping paper... you'll be sorely disappointed!