Posted by Originally posted 16 November 2018
Dear lovelies,
Last week, I worked out that I had 6 weeks until my kids and hubby finish school and work for the festive holidays…6 weeks! Now 5! That sounds panicky but I am not panicking…I have a plan! After a few of weeks of not quite being able to visit you here in blogland and dabbling with making some products to sell, I started to feel that my ambition to do it all was resulting in me not doing anything particularly thoroughly. So for the foreseeable future I have decided to throw most of my energy at the blog and play the long game, which is to try for that book deal one day. I want to spread my passion for seasonal exploring, living and crafting and I am determined to get ahead of myself so that I can achieve my goals and more!
I want my blog to be a place of celebration and inspiration and what better time to celebrate and be inspired than Christmas! So, right here and now, I am beginning my countdown to Christmas! Here on the blog and over on instagram too, you can expect Christmas craft ideas and tutorials, recipes for delicious festive treats and some home styling too.
But hang on a minute, is it too soon? Might we peak too early if we start now? I think the answer is definitely yes. However, the plan I have for my business, i.e. getting ahead, is the same plan I have for the festive season. For me, having a plan means less stress, worry and less of that familiar feeling of overwhelm. I am easing myself in gently, taking it slowly, trying to keep it simple, scaling the whole thing down and doing what I love, which is to create!
I am starting with stars this year…these celestial bodies aren’t just for Christmas are they? We can get away with introducing a few stars to our makes and bakes without getting overexcited can’t we? Oh yes!
So…
I have tweaked my quick and tasty cinnamon hearts biscuit recipe by replacing the cinnamon with the zest of one large orange, cutting them into star shapes, dunking them in melted chocolate and adding a sprinkle! Ooo delish! If you prefer cinnamon to orange, follow the recipe as is – it is a simple and fun bake!…
I have also made a few simple reversible star decorations, using the same method for the gold leaves in last week’s garland tutorial, skipping the embroidery hoop and the stitching stage. Here is a little run down of the steps…
Choose your fabrics and use google images to create star templates of different sizes…
Iron fusible webbing to the wrong side of both fabrics…
Taking one of the fabrics, draw around the stars onto the fusible webbing, which is paper side up and cut out…
Taking the other fabric, remove the fusible webbing revealing the gluey side and iron onto a section of interfacing, which is larger than the fabric…
Remove the fusible webbing from the stars and iron them, gluey side down, onto the interfacing, which now has fabric on the other side. If using faux leather (leatherette), do protect the iron with a piece of fabric or a clean tea towel. Cut out…
If you would like your stars to be stiffer, for example, if you are using them as shelf decorations, paint on a layer of découpage glue to each side, allowing them to dry in between coats. Please note that découpage glue can make the colours on some fabrics run, so I would advise testing it out on a small piece of the fabric first.
Now, these pretty stars are so versatile! You could use them as pressie toppers, Christmas tree decorations (just add a ribbon before the last ironing stage), to make a garland (as with last week’s autumn leaves) or a wreath (glue or stitch together). I am going to use these stars in my festive styled pictures for instagram and to decorate our flat!
So, 2 starry makes for you this week lovelies. I hope you enjoyed this post and might give them a go! I am excited about the festive season, but not too excited ok? Tee hee!
Until next week!
Lots and lots of love,
Lucy
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Lucylu dreams... 
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