December

I thought my star photo would make a pretty calendar for December




















I hope this December will be calmer than in previous years
I hope that my time writing cards and making gifts can be savoured and enjoyed

In December I wish you inner peace
Let's all try to go slower and savour the moment ...

Carolyn ♥

Give to me the life I love

Here in Cornwall, it's been stormy, blustery and rainy for weeks now. The opportunities for little walks in the countryside have been few and far between

Last Friday, though, we had a dry bright day and I walked three miles to my "local" garden centre, stopping to pick berries and leaves along the way. I picked bittersweet and pyrocanthus berries as I was interested to see if they would give any dye at all. I will share the results with you soon

By the time I got home, it was nice to get the kettle on, the stove burning and a little bit of knitting on my needles. I love life's simple pleasures ...

Oak leaves and oak apples from my walk on Friday














... Or let autumn fall on me
Where afield I linger
Silencing the bird on tree
Biting the blue finger
White as meal the frosty field
Warm the fireside haven
Not to autumn will I yield
Not to winter even!

The Vagabond
Robert Louis Stevenson

♥
Since Friday it's back to stormy, rainy and gloomy again so I decided to cheer myself up by sprinkling a little bit of Christmas around the house. I started with our bathroom which is decorated with white, cream and natural colours




















... adding just a few little touches of Christmas ...















Cinnamon candle










Cosy corners









I like collections of seaside things - fish, fishing, boats, starfish and shells













I got the fishing card because my hubby likes to fish for mackeral and pollack in the summer. There is a little place he goes to just 15 minutes walk from our cottage














A fish fossil







Another fish - this is an original charcoal drawing that I bought in Padstow years ago










On another wall I have this "tasteful" print which I like




















On the windowsill ... a polished agate inside a candle. I found the brown pebble on the beach, it had interesting textures and patterns




















The crystal is Citrine which is thought to attract good fortune and abundance. Citrine is also believed to be a healing crystal encouraging self confidence, self belief, self esteem. It's emotional qualities are optimism, hope and warmth so it's a very nice crystal to have




















Remember my story of removing the old cast iron bath ... well this is our new bath with the old taps and my other little display area. Hubby did all the work including the tiling

I put a St. Ives seagull feather in a frame




















Pretty star














The bathroom is a very neutral, calming, peaceful place so long as I shut my eyes to one or two areas of unfinished refurbishment! We are getting there ... but renovations are shelved now until new year ... I just can't stand the mess at the moment so we are taking a break




















Recently hubby made the door because we couldn't get one to fit. It needs to be painted yet, but the side of the door frame needs attention first because we had a touch of woodworm in just a small area but the whole frame had to come out bringing with it loads of rubble from inside the wall. Our cottage has cob walls (not much further on than "wattle and daub" but without the dung!)




















I'm pretty easy going! I just let it all float over my head and concentrate on making the nice bits look pretty!

I'm on a tight budget this year and sticking to it! So I haven't bought any new decorations and I'm making most of my gifts and cards and, do you know what, I feel so much better for it! I'm enjoying a much simpler Christmas experience, taking more pleasure from picking holly, spraying twigs from the garden and making my own decorations. On that note, I thought these oak apples I found on my walk would look great painted gold, silver or white ...

So give to me the life I love ... a warm fireside haven



















Thanks for reading my rambles. Oh, and in case you were wondering ... there is some RED coming soon! Have a happy day!

Carolyn ♥

Thank you

I am absolutely overwhelmed by the lovely, thoughtful words posted by Lynda of Diva Designs on her blog today. Thank you very much Lynda ♥

Frosty Seed Heads



















I had another sweet write-up from Monica on her blog The White Bench. Thank you so much for yourvery kind words and fabulous photographs Monica ♥

Thank you very much to Gez for the really pretty blog award. This means such a lot to me my dear friend ♥

Finally, thank you to Doreen, Sharne, Mel and Ger for posting about my Rock Pool Hearts. You are all so kind ♥♥♥♥

What blessings!

Shells

Two mosaics today for Mosaic Monday



















1. Having a good time despite the long skirt 2. Galveston shadowbox 3. Corners of my home - sitting room 4. Ghost Bird Necklace 7

All credit goes to the wonderful and talented artists and photographers whose work is included in both of these mosaic. Please click on the links to go to the artists' work - for Mosaic Monday













1. Dead man's fingers 2. Pebbles 3. Silver nautilus shell 4. Snail spiral pendant 5. Sun rising collage 6. Rock pool heart 7. Patterns take time 8. Heart urchins 9. Shells on felted vessel 10. Riders on the storm 11. Conch 12. Raku shells 13. Untitled

My creative week ahead is a busy one. Lots of Christmas stitching and photo processing. Hope your week ahead is a lovely one too!

Carolyn ♥

Rock Pool Hearts

Vintage seaside photos



















My father's gone to sea
My mother's gone to fetch him back
So please remember me




















On Mixed Media I blogged about my Rock Pool Hearts
Have a great weekend

Carolyn ♥