Thursday, December 1

crafty joyful gleeful mojo...

every year the gleeful season comes around and i am gripped... 
gripped by my love of this season and gripped by the fear of having lost my crafty joyful gleeful mojo.

i like to think i am not alone in this gripping state i find myself in. once the mixed feeling of love and fear has got me in its grip i spend several days in a blur, a blur of blankness, where my crafty cogs won't turn and my crafty senses all but abandon me. upon which i climb the ladder to our attic space, bring down my box of gleeful goodness and usually within the piles of joy, i find my crafty joyful gleeful mojo waiting patiently for me.

however this year, upon opening up my little gleeful box, and doing a bit of a frantic dig around, i could not find my little mojo. alas and alack, i had misplaced him, for he was nowhere to be found. i wandered aimlessly from shed room to shed room, mourning my lost gleeful mojo. 
"oh where for art thou little mojo of gleefulness?" i weeped.
i shared my woefulness with my lads of three, who stared back blankly at me. 
i shared my fretfulness with Used Dog (in her cone of shame) and Little Olive, 
who did not stare back blankly but offered some very practical and sound advice as only critters can do. they told me to not fret at the missing mojo, to do what one can only do at such times as these. to pull up my joyful gleeful crafty knee socks, to rustle around in the kitchen drawer of ever growing piles of crappity crap for my little elf cap and to embrace my inner glee!

oh such wise wise critters, indeed such is their wisdom, i am thinking of offering up Used Dog (in her cone of shame) and Little Olive to our local 'living nativity' which must be starting some time soon. i am quite sure they would qualify for the three wise men roles. although obviously there is only two of them, so maybe they could take a friend along. i am now racking my brains for another wise critter within our shed. i think i would pick Linus the cat. for he is wise and has nice whiskers. however Used Dog would have to stand between Linus and Little Olive to avoid any 'argie bargie' which might go on between them. i am also thinking they may have trouble carrying their incense, myrrh and gold, so i would have to rustle up a little something to carry their gifts around their necks. 

gosh, do you know, having just asked Linus the cat who is sitting on my lap as i tippity type this ramble about whether he felt this was a role he would like to play. he has stumped me with his wiseness. he tells me that although we say there were three wise men, apparently it does not say that in the bible. it just says 'wise men' who bought three gifts. therefore we assume there were three wise men, one for each gift. in fact according to wise Linus the cat. there could have been more wise men or less, and therefore he is going with less and says because of that, there is no need for him to go along and stand near Little Olive. well that seems fair enough, so now i am back to just two wise critters to offer up to our local city 'living nativity' upon the wisdom, our cat Linus has to offer.

i fear i have gotten off the crafty joyful gleeful track, but do not fear, i am back on it! and with knee socks pulled up good and proper, elf cap securely pinned on with nice looking bobby pins in turquoise no less, found in old blighty this past summer and with it, my crafty cogs have turned...


yes indeedy! starting tomorrow, i have '12 days of joyfulness' here on my shiny place, you can call me crazy, you can call me nutso, you can call me Al, but that's what one has to do when a mojo is lost, fly by the seat of one's crafty pants.

here's a list of ingredients required for the coming 12 days:
fabric (vintage or new) * embroidery thread * lace * wooden clothes hanger * strips of old fabric scraps * gleeful ornaments, whatever is in your own box of glee will be fine, perhaps some with a bit of sparkle too * old jam jars * sticks, twigs and a branch from the yard * an old stool with a flat wooden top * sticky back plastic (oh yes indeedy!) * mod podge * vintage decals or stickers * household paint in white * paper coasters or paper doilies (itty bitty ones) * old book pages * linen napkin (creamy white sort) * cream cotton embroidery thread * a trusty sewing machine (not necessary but would greatly speed things up if one were used) * and last but not least, a doily or two

each day i will be sure to least the ingredients necessary to complete the project. do not fret, most things can be made from what you may have already lying around your sheds or indeed within your box of glee. you can change out things to your own liking, own colour choices and indeed improvise if you do not have the exact ingredient i list. yes, after my fretting of late (breaking my new years resolution of 'fret less' for about the 50th time so far this year) i am now banning all fretting for the next 12 days. yes, no fretting allowed.

most things will be easy peasy, a few i would put at medium peasy. some things i think small beings and little critters could easily do themselves (although where knots are required it might be tricky for little fingers and paws). where i have been inspired by someone or something i will be sure to point out and that is that!
hurrah hooray, 12 days of joyfulness starts tomorrow

she is delighted to say, Used Dog is feeling most perky and we have high hopes for the results next week ~ Tif

40 comments:

Charis said...

Sounds like fun Al! Erm, I mean Tif ;)

Rachel at Stitched in Color said...

Hurray, hurrah indeed! So glad you are flying by the seat of your pants. I find it a very good way to go myself. After all, one can hardly fret when one is so busy running!

Vintage Market Place said...

So glad to hear that Used dog is feeling better.
I can't wait to see what you have up your crocheted sleeves for 12 days of xmas
Happy Holidays
Amy

Apple Blossom Barn said...

Well done getting back on the crafty road, my sewing machine is giving me dirty looks I swear,

Take care

Denise

Andrea said...

i'm excited!! i too, have been rather uninspired, despite all the christmas bits i have collected...

Carol said...

I can see a rainbow of sparks as you fly past by the seat of your pants. I am excited by your 12 days of joyfulness and hoping I can find all the ingredients.
Carol xx

at-the-attic said...

I'm happy that your Used dog is feeling better !!!
Bless you*

Alicja

Sarah said...

I was having such down in the dumpity dumps day today till I read your blog, but you accomplished what nothing else could, a smile and some laughs. I love reading your blog. Thank you so much for sharing. I also can't wait for your 12 days of Christmas. Sarah

jane said...

I am supposed to be labelling our eldests underwears,socks and toothbrush for his impending school trip but I find myself itching to go in my shed to search for 'ingredients' :) x x x x x x x x x

Lisa A said...

Such a delightful read today's post is. I'm afraid if a project is not easy peasy for me this year it will not get done. The weather has been rainy and cold since last week and it has taken my mojo and hidden it somewhere.

And how observant is Linus. Although I think the world could use as many wise men as we can find about now.

Can't wait to see how your joyful craftiness expresses itself this season.

Karen said...

this is just perfectly apricotty and I can hardly wait to open all your boxes of joyfulness. Making my pile of ingredients as I write! Looking forwards to lots of loveliness and perfectly peaceful moments of creative indulgence.

Mom&Daughter_Crafters_Extraordinaire said...

This sounds so exciting. I can't wait until tomorrow!!! I will gather up my ingredients from my box of glee, I believe, I have most of the ingredients, hopefully easy enough to find!?! I am told quite often lately that I am continueously flying by the seat of my pants!!!!
Thanks for sharing your 12 days of Joyfulness.
René

Debby said...

You always make me smile.
Glad that Used Dog is feeling better. I hope the results come out okay.
Looking forward to your creativeness......

Little Blue Mouse said...

Ooh, I can't wait to see what you've got planned for your 12 days of joyfulness!

greenrabbitdesigns said...

Haha, I am glad you're back, you've cheered me up! :)
Good news about Used Dog!!
Vivienne x

Janet Brown said...

Looking forward to the next 12 days of joyfulness - sounds such fun!! Pleased to hear I'm not the only one who frets too much and think it a wonderful idea to ban fretting :) Glad Used Dog is feeling perky - such a relief xx

dottie angel said...

see already! a little glimmer of glee and joy is starting to flicker :)
many thank yous for your joyful comments
x

Sharon Stanley said...

ooooo i am so looking forward to the gleeful days!! i can't wait and am beginning to feel a bit of glee myself. i am pulling into my supplies as i write...little piles are piling up!

Jill said...

Always so nice to stop by. I'm looking forward to the next 12 days!

Andria said...

New to reading your site,Tif, and have so enjoyed today's post. Sometimes the events of "real life" make it hard to fling oneself into the crafty joy of the holiday, but I certainly don't want the fun of the season to pass me by. You brought me a great smile, and I also tip my hat to Used Dog (in her cone of shame), delightful old girl!

Maureen Cracknell Handmade said...

Oh, I can not wait to see what you have planned!!

Michelle said...

Oh too exciting!!!
Hunting and gathering as I type...
I think some "glee" will do me good this festive season...

julia said...

very relieved to hear that used dog is doing well, i will keep fingers and paws crossed until next week's news!

Sara said...

Yeah. This sounds so fun.
Thank you xx

sam said...

This sounds wonderful, looking forward to it very much!

hlimbrick said...

Ooh this all sounds rather delightfully exciting! I do wish your time was ahead and not behind my Brit clock as I am impatient to get started on said joyfulness! We have just "upsized" and therefore have had to spread our goods from house 1 around a larger surface area in house 2 so it's looking rather sparse and in need of some gleeful seasonal goodness.. Hx

Sharon said...

mmmm do I have all that stuff ? am off to rummage and will be sat with laptop and stuff at the ready !

Donna -Little Tiny Stitches said...

I am so pleased that used dog is feeling perky :o) :o)
Alas though that she has to wear her cone of shame :o(

I think that your critters would be most suitable as wise men :o)

Oooo, I'm looking forward to joining in your gleefulness my dear!

Have a most peachy weekend my lovely, and take care,
Donna xx

Mrs.Bertimus said...

ooooo ooooo It's like Tif's take on Blue Peter........do you remember when they'd always make a Christmas hanging thingy out of tinsel and coat hangers? Well ,I am sure that your crafty ideas will be much better than that.
Can't wait! x

Allana said...

Oh how exciting! I can't wait to see what delights you have in store for us! :)

LR said...

fun 12 days these will be. looking forward to it.

maria said...

You have gotten me excited about christmas crafting. Looking forward to reading the posts!

meppybn said...

jee and gloy beginning to abound over here too.....:)

Alice said...

Yay!! I can't wait!

at-the-attic said...

Tif my dear your book is amazing ...it's a real treasure!!!
I recived it yesterday morning !!!
please take a look at my recent post on my blog
http://at-the-attic.blogspot.com/2011/12/beautiful-dottie-angel.html

best regards
Alicja

dottie angel said...

actually i think blue peter kind of sums up my 12 days quite nicely!

thank you for the gleefully brilliant comments and your tippity top enthusiasm my dearies :)

morikomidori said...

i love it when you are flying by the seat of your crafty pants, because you do it with such style and i am trez excited about the 12 days! :)

Unknown said...

Dearest Tiff
thank you for a most joyful read that has lifted my heart tonight.
i am awaiting the joy hanging from you, but post can take ages to old blighty, so i am not worried.
will await your gorgeous christmassy creations with glee :)
kat xox

dottie angel said...

hello Kat,

yes lets keep our fingers and toes crossed Mr Postie hurries up. i've heard of other things getting to their homes so i have high hopes yours will be with you soon!
let me know won't you :)

Andrea said...

Ha im still laughing, love your post and looking forward with much glee into following the rest of your 12 days of festive sewing!!!