I'm not panicking.  Really.  The fact that I've failed to organise most of my pressies and have still only made half of my Christmas cards is NOT worrying me AT ALL.  (*gibber*)  My defense is that the cold has frozen my brain.  I was making a 90th birthday card this morning for my Nan's birthday (today!) and wondering if I will ever manage to do anything before the 11th hour - even at the 10th hour would be something ...

I have made a couple of birthday and Christmas pressies this week (photos under wraps until the occasions are over!), a commission which inspired some barbed wire earrings for yours truly, and a couple of Christmas-inspired things.  And it's time I started getting some of the ingredients for our seasonal grub - I always make a Panettone, and I must not let myself leave the purchasing of the mixed peel until the last minute!  So much to do and so little time - remind me again why I love Christmas? ;D

Anyway, I hope everyone else's preparations are going much more swimmingly than mine - for me,  it's looking like a wing and a prayer situation, but I keep trying to convince myself that's half of the fun!

And that is a relief, let me tell you.  I think I was wondering in my last blog where all the time goes, and I've yet to find a satisfactory answer.  December is zooming towards me like a train, and I feel like the bimbo heroine tied to the tracks.  I just can't seem to get into gear this year - and I have to.  Could someone please arrange to have more hours slotted into the day so I can catch up?

Anyway, it's probably no surprise that I have nothing to show this week on the jewellery front - I'm still arguing with the 'birthday' beads about how they should be made into a necklace, and the peyote bracelet I started is still not finished.  And as for the fact that I've only made twelve Christmas cards so far - let's not even go there ...

Never mind.  In spite of the fact that I seem to be woefully unprepared this year, I'm still looking forward to the festive season.  Counting the lit Christmas trees in windows, listening out for the first Christmas song on the radio (forcing poor hubby to listen to my entire Christmas cd collection from the 1st December), wearing scratchy tinsel in my hair every time I go out for a drink, queueing for hours in the supermarket for the same amount of food you buy every damn week ... it's all part of the fun.

Oh yes - I've at last added a couple of new bits to the website tonight - fruity raspberry jewellery in the Earrings and Pendants sections.  Enjoy.

As my hubby would agree, my middle name should definitely be 'Sparkly'.  I love this time of year - I've spent enough years coaxing cats out from behind sofas to appreciate that Bonfire Night isn't fun for everyone, but in spite of that I do still love fireworks.  Probably because they're sparkly to the nth degree.  Whatever the reason, having already dragged the polymer clay out to make some beads intended for a friend's  birthday necklace, I was inspired to make something sparkly.  So Christmas beads seemed to be the order of the day - I expect they'll find their way into a Christmas-themed bracelet or two, but at the moment they're sitting on my desk looking all festive, and reminding me that I still have loads of Christmas pressies to organize (gulp).  I have made a couple more presents, but I've still got a lot to do - where does all the time go?!

I did make a couple of pieces inspired by beautiful books that I got for my birthday - one is all seed-beady, and the other is (of course) my old fave - wire.  I now have a ton of sanding and polishing to do on the beads for the birthday necklace, but I shall endeavour to list some new stuff in the shop very soon.

In the meantime, enjoy the cold snap of Autumn and the scent of burning leaves, and remember that Christmas is ONLY NEXT MONTH.  Sorry, couldn't resist ... ;D