It all adds up to Christmas

 What has changed for the view of Christmas ?

Not much for me but for many who always gathered at a family home ..a highlight of the year.... driving or flying long distances for a few days.....

My Christmas's are about creating and decorating, 

while others 

it is baking, 

or gift making, 

or gift buying.....

getting the house in order....

Now in the lockup's of the virus 

we have vegetable gardens needing daily watering and picking food... everyone in the street has one now..can we travel away...who will be able to tend the garden..

So maybe Christmas needs to reconfigured.....

We make paper chains to give the children a bit of distraction...... we slice oranges left over from a crop to dry and use in all style of decor...

Pull out the flour and butter to make shortbreads...

Grab some fabric and start a family sewing group....

Tell stories as you show how to stitch into fabric or knit or crochet skills for days when we are all bored to living like this....and not much hope to lift us from the small worlds... 

But !!!! let's even start a Gratitude Journal....for your self or do a huge board on butchers paper and get each member of the family to write what they are grateful for today or yesterday....... 

Theodora Cleave Christmas 2021

 As the pandemic rolls on & on and vaccines have lagged behind the virus spread and lockdowns and really lockouts have been common. We hold on to the hope of the world just swinging back to the way it has been... with only gradual changes to our lives.

Yesterday this state was rocked by a large earthquake and damage was seen in the inner suburbs of Melbourne and the demonstrations by angry "men" continues to put all at more risk.... I know it makes them feel big & tough but they are just plain angry men and that looks pretty sad in this era.

It is often harder to turn one's head away from all and focus on creating and just keeping doing some things that bring pleasure..... so here I am with some dashes of Christmas Spirit.......

This season I have not had much in the way of designing buttons or Christmas decorations. .my creations come from within I don't cast about looking to see what I can glean from st elsewhere....so because of all the disruptions to my world that are still settling and the rest of the stuff mentioned already ...life has less space for plain creativity from my pencil.

I then have to consider if it is worthwhile to get an image I draw prepped for laser cutting and then cut & how many ....will these sell in this season of despair & hope ?

I have been able to selectively revisit so many of my designs and I see them in a new way as I paint the delicate lines of a deer.....or careful weave a small brush around a Santa's beard. 

I love all of it and i love the designs that can be just hung from a tree or simply applied into a project to make a tag or frame.

Today will be devoted to some serious reorganising my papers of painted Santas and people of where I placed things for work easy access... that are now a bit clunky...

Once I mail out my orders..... the day will be sort of free range.....

Enjoy your day and with the day I send us all much hope for a happier world.

Santa Blue

Beautiful Sunshine day as I sat down to make more collages of the blue Santas.

www.Befunky.com is where I use the program to play....

 Waiting to be let out of the home again ....it is a long wait... at my age any wait is kind of short as in time I may have left to live a life I choose......

Bit like waiting for Father Christmas when I was little