WOYWW: Had ourselves a Merry Little Christmas

For more crafty workspaces on this What's on Your Workspace Wednesday, see our esteemed leader Julia's blog at the WOYWW link to the left.

No desk pictures today, as I am still in holiday mode.  Instead, I've loaded the pictures of our Christmas stay at the lovely Wroxall Abbey.

The Abbey was Sir Christopher Wren's country seat in Warwickshire, and is now a country house hotel, complete with the sweet little Wren's chapel.  This is the view from the back of the hotel late on Christmas Day afternoon.  The big windows on the ground floor are the restaurant and garden lounge (squidgy sofas galore), so you can see what a fabulous view we had over a sunny lunch.

This is the front of the main building.  It's just as welcoming as it looks, right down to guests wearing their slippers down to the bar/for breakfast.  The food was gorgeous, the company of the other guests great, and we had a wonderful time.

Finally, it's time to wish you a very Happy, Inky, Gluey, Sewey and Generally Crafty New Year.  OH, in one of his pensive moments, remarked that I had "met" some lovely crafty bloggers during my time blogging.  And he's absolutely right.  So thank you for the inspiration, scenes of desk chaos and tidiness, support for my new venture, making me giggle like a teenager and generally making my Google Reader a thing of beauty.

They'll be in trouble: A Farewell to Elf School

Tonight we had the pleasure of being guests at Goddaughter E's birthday party.  It was great to finally see her and her brother (Godson D) after our frustrated attempt to visit them on the Monday before Christmas.  She had a great deal of sympathy for our time spent at the services with a broken down car ("three and a half hours - that's a very long time") and understood entirely why we couldn't make it to see them.

It was also our opportunity to thank her and D for our lovely Christmas presents: a pampering weekend bag of body treats for me and a box of chocolates (at least 6 boxes of assorted chocolate yumminess poured into one gargantuan box for the husband).  In  fact, I had already texted them a picture of OH opening his present on Christmas morning.  The picture came complete with a blurred hand reaching into the box, such was the speed of his swiping the first chocolate.  What it couldn't convey was his shout of glee that must have woken up the neighbours.  Spoilt we are by E and D.

We also got to learn more of matters Elven.  All the mischief went down very well indeed, particularly the card sharks, and ElfDad's encounter with make up as did the movie night in, space rations, dancing inside  and playing on the Big Climbing Frame.  The reindeer food and Santa's positioning light also went down well.  D loved the volcano, and stared at it for the longest time (amazing for D, who's normally in perpetual motion), but the colouring and making weren't quite his thing.  He enjoyed decorating the igloo and laughing at the snowball fight the elves had overnight in the living room.   The naughty step (a big pair of Santa's trousers) was a big hit too.

The Chief Elf has asked if they would like to host elves again next year, and the answer was YES!  There were a few tears on Christmas Eve when the elves had to go home, but in a way I guess that shows their presence was appreciated.  Bless their little pointy toes.

And as for the title of this post...  When ElfDad woke up covered with lipstick and with Ha Ha written on this cheeks, Godson D was stunned into silence.  He stared, ran off, came back and stared some more.  E looked in and said sagely "They'll be in trouble..."  An expert on the ways of elf mischief after just 23 days...

Playing Cards - A Card A Week in 2011

The lovely Rachel over at katzelbows has set up a cracking challenge for this year.  Full rules are over at the link, but in summary:

• create 52 cards, plus jokers if you wish
• use any style, medium or technique
• use any suits of your choosing - either the originals, or those of your own imagination

Rachel has started the Ace of Hearts, which I think is a great starting point for the deck - a lone beating heart giving life to the project.  I'm doodling the Ace of Hearts, but I am still thinking about the suits; should I go for something other than the normal deck?  Ah, such temptations and so many choices!  

If you'd like to join in, you'll find the link button to the left of the blog.