My creative journey

I don't know about you, but when I am busy at work my creativity tends to dry up and that has been my reality for the last few months. I have also been busy trying to finish stitching  Christmas gifts.  Because of the deadline, I didn't want to start any new stitching projects until they were finished, and as they took far longer than I expected  I had a few projects  (that I was itching to start) that were just collecting dust. Thankfully I have been able to start them now and they include kits from Wildfloss and Innocent Bones. This is not my picture but is the sample from the new embroidery kit I am working on from Wildfloss. Embroidery Kit, 8" Abstract design on natural canvas £36.00 I have completed every Wildfloss kit so far and I love them. I have been embroidering for about 18 months now but would still consider myself a beginner so I find these kits perfect. They offer the right balance of pattern/guidance to creative freedom. The cross stitch pattern I am working

Over the past few years, I have shared with you my favourite unique Christmas cards, stocking fillers and tree decorations, all available from Etsy This year I want to share my favourite advent calendars. Maybe like me, your children are growing up and so they will appreciate a unique advent calendar for the treat it is, or maybe you would like the joy your family members get from opening their gifts to extend beyond the one day, or perhaps (also like me)  you just want to treat yourself a little bit. The possibilities with Etsy really are endless, and there are many more options than those that I am sharing, so I would highly encourage everyone to grab a cup of their favourite hot beverage and spend a fun 30 minutes persuing these sellers, and many more besides that. For the foodies, I have a list of food-based calendars  that contain items such as pork scratching and cheddar cheese, alongside those containing the more traditional chocolate options.  Cheesies Advent Calendar £32.50

Etsy is a treasure trove of goodies and browsing the site for new sellers and products is my favourite way to whittle away 30 minutes. One of the Etsy features I love and use frequently is the favourites features as this allows me to save those products that I may not want to buy immediately but I know will perfect for a future occasion. As someone with quite a few favourites (read that as over 4,000 items) I think that it is fabulous that you can organise your favourites further into lists. At the moment I have 12 lists such as  Modern Jewellery   which contains items like these gorgeous  Eighties Squiggle perspex Earrings from OttoLangs.  I already have one pair but they will remain in my favourites until I have another pair. I have my  Embroidery Kits  list that contains kits I want to try, or try again, such as these from Wildfloss Embroidery and Dropcloth  Samplers I also have a Fun Homewares list that contains gems like these Oven Mitts And an Art list that contains prints