Category Archives: Christmas Countdown

Christmas Countdown – Day Eighteen

Good Morning! This is going to be quite a quick Christmas Countdown post because DH and I have recovered enough to tackle a trip to Norwich for the last of the Christmas shopping. Aftere that I can concentrate on the food aspect of the festivities…

Last year I made these little Spice Biscuits which were a great success and looked really pretty on the tree and wrapped up as gifts…

Spice Biscuit – Planet Penny Advent Calendar – Day Eighteen

If you are feeling very ambitious, how about some iced decorations?

Stina Saem

Buttercream and Chantilly Factory

Aren’t they gorgeous? Don’t think that’ll be happing on Planet Penny this year!

And finally, with no provenance, no recipe, just a fabulous picture on Pinterest…

I hope this has been inspiring…

See you tomorrow…x

Christmas Countdown – Day Seventeen

I can’t believe we’re on Day Seventeen of the Christmas Countdown already, time is just flying by. Things are not progressing very fast here at the moment as we are beset by cold germs. It’s at this point I wish I was SO much more organised and didn’t have such a long ‘Last Minute List’

Ho-hum…maybe I’ll add that to the New Years Resolution List!

But back to Day Seventeen. Last year in the Advent Calendar it was all about mice and you’ll find quite a selection of them featured in this post.

Planet Penny Mini Mice – Etsy Pattern

But I’ve been having a scout round and it’s surprising how many mice you’ll find scampering about in cyberspace. These are Racing Walnut Mice! They sound lots of fun and an easy craft to do with the little ones, just click the image for the link as always…

Walnut Racing Mice Christmas Countdown Day 17

Oh Baby!

Here’s a dear little tree decoration with a jingly nose…

fabric mouse tree ornament - Christmas Countdown Day 17

Pimp Stitch

A couple of years ago I made this little group of needlefelt carol singing mice which I sold and then rather regretted losing them I must make some more just for me!

carol singing mice Christmas Countdown Day 17

Planet Penny

I love the little fabric mouse below from Lucy Kate, don’t you?

Lucy Kate Crafts

And finally, we have the mouse in our house who lives in the skirting board.

PAWS – Paper and Wire Sculptures

All right, I’ll admit it, it’s all pretend. Can you imagine Higgins tolerating that situation? It’s a little sticker from the very clever Sue McLearie which I secreted on to the skirting board. So far only one person has noticed it…

…but he doesn’t seem too bothered!

I hope you like this collection of Christmas Mice..

I’ll be back tomorrow…x

Christmas Countdown – Day Sixteen

Day Sixteen of the Christmas Countdown and I’ve just found the paper decorations I made for last year’s Advent Calendar…

Planet Penny Advent Calendar – Day Sixteen

The music sheets I made them from are photocopies from a music book I came by in a most puzzling way as I explained in last years post. Looking around on the web I found various other ideas using the musical theme which seems to chime in with Christmas very well…

Path Less Travelled Market

I used the paper heart garlands as part of the decorating for my son’s wedding last year, it’s a perennial motif, isn’t it? Suitable for all occasions!

The Path Less Travelled – Etsy

No instructions for this next one, but I think it would be simple enough to fiddle around with paper strips and work out a template…

Not On the High Street

The instructions for this lovely bauble are in Hungarian, but I’m sure Google will translate for you, and there are pictures too…

Kifli es Levendula

And finally there are these amazing trees which would look lovely on a mantelpiece with white fairy lights…

HGTV

I hope this has given you some musical inspiration…

I’ll be back tomorrow…x

Christmas Countdown #15 – Gluten Free Cake

Day Fifteen on the Christmas Countdown and it’s recipe time, and for those of you who haven’t checked out the Recipe pages on the blog I’m referring you to my favourite Damp Orange Cake.

Making this cake fills the house with warm, citrussy Christmas smells, and it’s a good alternative as a festive cake for those who don’t like the dried fruitiness of Christmas Cake and mince pies and is also excellent as a pudding with cream or ice cream.

It’s very moist and moreish, and having no flour makes it suitable for people with gluten intolerance…

Planet Penny Advent Calendar Day Fifteen

If you want to ring the changes on flourless cakes how about Nigella’s Lemon Polenta Cake…?

Nigella

and this chocolate one sounds heavenly…

The Gluten Free Home Maker

And for a festive gluten free fruit cake it’s back to Nigella again. Apricot, Pear and Ginger – sounds heavely!

Nigella

I’ll be back tomorrow…

Happy Baking!

Christmas Countdown – Day Fourteen

It’s Day Fourteen of the Christmas Countdown and I’m all behind! With spectacular bad timing I’ve come down with a stinking cold and my carefully planned run up to Christmas (lots of scribbled notes on scraps of paper) has rather fallen apart. The cards are yet to be written, and my only decorations to date are the Christmas cards which other , more organised people, have sent to us. Still, not to worry, Christmas will happen whether we are ready or not and I’m sure if I can spend enough time this weekend steaming my head, drinking hot lemon and honey and cuddling Higgins (who is an excellent hot water bottle) I’ll be fine.

Higgins in Hot Water Bottle Mode

Day Fourteen in last year’s Advent Calendar was Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day and I made these from last year’s Debbie Bliss pattern, you can read about it here. Little jumpers seem to be quite popular as Christmas tree decorations, these from Ravelry are cute…

littel jumpers - Christmas Countdown Day 14

Berroco Design Team

…and I love the embellishments on these…

little jumpers Chrismas Countdown day 14

Braybrook and Britten

This teeny tiny cardigan from Bugknits is just amazing. Follow the link by clicking on the photo to see more views. I just can’t imaging knitting something this small.

Bugknits

This little set is very sweet, but with no pattern I can track down…

However, if you would like a change from jumpers, how about these adorable mittens from my blogging friend Mrs Micawber?

Mrs Micawber

or some cute little socks from Little Cotton Rabbits…

Little Cotton Rabbits

I hope this has given you some knitting inspiration, I’ll be back tomorrow… See you soon…x

Christmas Countdown – Day Twelve

This time last year there were a lot of robins twittering around on Planet Penny so I thought I’d include them in the Christmas Countdown. I haven’t had time to make any this year, and I really miss them so this is a good excuse to have them on the blog!

Today for the Countdown I found some mini wreaths, just the right size for the Christmas Tree. I made these for our local Christmas Fair last year. Very simple and effective – hooray for the trusty glue gun!

Planet Penny Advent Calendar – Day Twelve

Oh, and here’s a another robin getting in on the act!

Planet Penny

I have a box of rather old and tatty curtain rings tucked away, this next image has given me lots of ideas for recycling them, using an assortment of pretty oddments from the ‘Bits and Bobs’ box.

curtain_ring_wreaths Christmas Countdown

This little crochet wreath is really sweet…

Planet June

This is simple and effective and made with a white rose would be perfect for a wedding…

Sew Made By Me

And here’s an great way to use up tiny scraps of fabric too pretty to throw away…

Crafty Painter

And finally, we’re back to buttons again….

Martha Stewart

I hope I’ve given you some ideas to squirrel away for Christmas crafting now and in the future,

I’ll be back with more tomorrow…x