A Very MSE Advent 2025

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, that's a beautiful sunrise! 🥰

I was up before 7am again for some candlelit yoga 🥰 Then me and Mr Cheery have brought the treats budget (and a free coffee) to a cafe for breakfast 😊 We have already seen several cheerful dogs and some lovely festive lights 🥰

Today's jewellery offering is a necklace of large stone beads (well, not really stones, but large and flat). Blue and cream and brown. I don't often wear it as it's quite long and tends to get hooked round one boob 😂😂 but I've tied it up today so it's more of a chocker style, which looks good actually and works well with this (blue) dress 😊

Rosa_Damascena

Makingabobor2 said:

£45 for wreath making?? That really is extorniate! What happened to season of goodwill??

At the same time - it is a small business. If it teaches a skill for life then its an investment, but seriously? Tutorials can be found on YouTube and I can guzzle as much wine as I like in my own home!

Cherryfudge

Beautiful sunrise! And I'm enjoying hearing what people are wearing: I'm not a jewellery wearer but I might just look in on mine, inspired by you all.

I've been put off wreath workshops by the cost but spotted a couple of online tutorials and am now torn between them. One was using a large potato studded with hard-stemmed foliage which anchors it, and presumably feeds it a bit. However, our birch tree has thrown down some twiggy bundles in the recent wet weather so I've gathered them together as I think they would make a great centre for a wreath. Has anyone any good tips please? I have free access to holly, ivy, variegated Euonymous, evergreen branches and cotoneaster berries.

Rosa_Damascena

I chopped down a troublesome hawthorn branch recently - am now wondering if I should drag it indoors and turn it into a yule branch a la Queen Charlotte?

Suffolk_lass

Cherryfudge said:

Beautiful sunrise! And I'm enjoying hearing what people are wearing: I'm not a jewellery wearer but I might just look in on mine, inspired by you all.

I've been put off wreath workshops by the cost but spotted a couple of online tutorials and am now torn between them. One was using a large potato studded with hard-stemmed foliage which anchors it, and presumably feeds it a bit. However, our birch tree has thrown down some twiggy bundles in the recent wet weather so I've gathered them together as I think they would make a great centre for a wreath. Has anyone any good tips please? I have free access to holly, ivy, variegated Euonymous, evergreen branches and cotoneaster berries.

I would suggest you have a stuffed central ring of wire to keep the foliage going; traditionally moss, but it could be wet newspaper with moss from your (well my) lawn, then wire your twiggy bits and foliage in using florists wire. My wreath (not done the backing tape to protect the door yet) is Holly, variegated Euonymus and the bottom fronds of the Christmas tree - A simple red ribbon to hang it on a hook and a big red bow here. I might post a picture when I finish it

Suffolk_lass

This morning I have donated to St Mungo's homeless charity and been to collect my party platters from Morries. Young Charlie saved the day. Having ordered a month ago, the supply chain omitted to send two platters. (You can imagine, with 35 people arriving two hours later...) He went round the store, picked up the equivalent in small packs and knocked the price off. Then found a mis-delivered Chinese selection instead of me trailing round the store to pick up unrelated things - so I have that for free too. I have cooked 80 sausages in a hoisin, sesame, honey and mustard marinade and a moderately ginormous amount of roasted potato chips (as in 1/12 of a potato [x400ish], roasted).

I am wearing my black Christmas T-shirt with a series of diamanté Christmas trees in silver and two different greens on the front, with a green cardigan (who doesn't love a cardigan!?) 

Cherryfudge

Suffolk_lass said:
I would suggest you have a stuffed central ring of wire to keep the foliage going; traditionally moss, but it could be wet newspaper with moss from your (well my) lawn, then wire your twiggy bits and foliage in using florists wire. My wreath (not done the backing tape to protect the door yet) is Holly, variegated Euonymus and the bottom fronds of the Christmas tree - A simple red ribbon to hang it on a hook and a big red bow here. I might post a picture when I finish it

Thank you - that's a very good point as I don't want the poor thing to die. We still officially have a hose pipe ban here (though I don't think that will be for much longer) though floods are more likely than drought now. However, the water doesn't reach up the front door. I think I could take the moss from the lawn though that would probably leave bare patches, I rely on the moss to keep it green! I watched this video to give me a starting point and I'm going to dig out one of my several pairs of dud secateurs for the wire. First I need to get the wire, and mess around seeing if I can combine moss and birch successfully.

I'd love to see a picture when yours is done, please. How long does it usually last?

Wanna_Bee_Free

I am wearing my lovely blue celtic earrings today. They clash with my orange shirt I'm also wearing to cheer myself up but I don't care!

I feel better while doing nothing but as soon as I do anything I feel rubbish again. My achievement so far today is descaling the kettle, which is quite an OATY OAT now so that's good.

Makingabobor2

Wanna_Bee_Free said:

I am wearing my lovely blue celtic earrings today. They clash with my orange shirt I'm also wearing to cheer myself up but I don't care!

I feel better while doing nothing but as soon as I do anything I feel rubbish again. My achievement so far today is descaling the kettle, which is quite an OATY OAT now so that's good.

Blue goes with orange, bet it looks lovely
That's just how I feel, fine if I sit down. Do 1 luttle job & I am exhausted with shaky legs. I hooverec the loung & kitchen and feel like I climbed Everest. 

Wednesday2000

I did a Christmas wreath making workshop last week and it cost £40, I think. The wreath looks quite nice though and they said it should last until after Christmas. I did it as I set myself the 25 classes challenge for 2025.

Out of all the classes I have done this year the ones I have enjoyed least have been the wreath making class and the flower arranging class so I won't ever be doing either again. I found them fiddly and annoying.

I went out to pick up my library books today as I wanted to bring a couple with me to Brighton to read on the train. There were 6 books there so I had to lug them home in my backpack. I changed the bed covers to the winter dark green ones and did the laundry when I got home. I did give a donation to the charity bucket collecter while I was in Leigh-on-sea.

With all the talk of jewelry on here I was going to buy myself a xmas present of a necklace or earrngs on the way home, but I ended up carrying too much. I might look while I'm in Brighton.