Merry Christmas from the Bissums!

Hello one and all,
with only a few days until Christmas I hope you're not running around like headless chooks, frantic with last minute tasks. This time of year can bring a lot of pressure and expectation but ultimately it should be about the people you're with, not the things you give or receive.

I read an interesting story in the Guardian recently about whether home made or shop bought gifts were better. It's an interesting question because from the mania I've seen from a distance at local shops, people certainly seem to be tending towards the shop bought. Who can blame them though when most people work right up until Christmas day and time is in short supply.

Something I decided to have a crack at this year was truffles. I have a few people to see over Christmas and thought no one would seriously turn their nose up at chocolate honey truffles. Maybe part of me secretly hopes they will though - more for me!

So have a great time over the next week fellow crafters and the Bissums will be back in the new year.
xx

Lamp makeover

I've always really admired the style of Dottie Angel and Ted & Agnes. They're the author's of 'Granny Chic: Crafty recipes & inspiration for the handmade home from Dottie Angel and Ted & Agnes'. One of the cool ideas in the book involves tarting up an old wire lampshade with scraps of your favourite fabrics and I decided to try my hand at it.

I picked up a scalloped wire shade in a thrift shop for £1 and cut the old cover off and used scraps and doilies from my collection for recovering. It can be a wee bit fiddly but once you get the first few scraps on, it's much easier. The trick is keeping the fabric taut and pinning and stitching as you go makes that easier.

I heartily recommend the book if you're serious about cultivating a love of all things granny chic. The photography is fantastic and the can-do spirit of the authors is inspiring.

For the love of a plate

I did a little plate arranging on a bare wall last night and added a linen napkin embroidered with a favourite line from a beautiful Wordsworth poem called 'Lucy'.