Christmas is coming and the geese are getting...

Finished my ID class in Colour and Theory last night and feel free, free at last!  Maintaining my "A" grade and enjoyed every minute of it.  I changed my board up a little to make it more "readable" and "perfect" for my portfolio...maybe I will get a castle in Scotland to decorate (or somewhere warmer right now).LOL!!  I did get "perfect" on my essay which was in a Scottish style too...so that literary award may not be too far off (OK, I won't hold my breath on that one).


The final, final project, castle style

During this stressful time...I did a little Christmas decorating and it sure put me in the "spirit" of the season and along with my final project I am thinking a tartan Christmas theme this year, celebrating what we are all about. So I now I need to add tartan, more tartan...or...I will finish later.


The Mantle



The star and figgy pudding bell hanging under the mantle

were Esme's additional touch. They will be replaced with stockings soon

and take their rightful place elsewhere.


I am putting my knitting (that was in waiting) and my Floral Gifts cross stitch on linen ( yikes) in little tidy packages to take on a nice little trip somewhere warmer and quieter than here. I am looking forward to working on those and seeing the results.

It will be fun to continue with the decorating once my little trip is over...and I will be planning my moves whilst I am away, but I might need to come back to some snow to give me inspiration!  In the meantime we have the advent calendars to plough throw each day...finding the number is a chore in itself but the countdown with little sweet things is fun...for the kids, for the kids!



Esme and Euan's advent calenders
- names are on each, just in case

As for a Christmas thought to round this out...here we are just starting and I am thinking on Christmas Day or Boxing Day when all the wrapping has been torn off, boxes and ribbons all over the place and little faces that are still excited and bring me lots of joy just thinking they are thinking happy thoughts. It is like that dream vacation...the part before you go is just as important as when you go and get back and find it is all over.  So I am drinking in the many thoughts and joyful feelings of Christmas past and looking to add many new ones this year. It is a beautiful life leading up to a beautiful Christmas 2010.

The Sample Board

Well here it is and I love it...it has been in for marking for a week and I missed it.  Looked even better when I saw it again. The inspiration for this board were memories, the tartan fabric and the picture.  Muted tones with a moody feel, I have included a couple of paragraphs from the essay to describe what it is all about - changed it a wee bit so it makes sense cut down.

Memories of dark stormy nights looking out at a landscape that is damp and mossy in green and earthy muted tones and fields that are framed by stone walls and inhabited by fierce and passionate humankind that are in total contrast of their backdrop in dress tartans of reds, greens, blues, and yellows.


Using a Scottish painting of a *Ghillie and the Lomond tartan for colour and mood a complimentary colour scheme soon emerged. Historical green on the walls brought to life by the warm and deeper reds of the upholstered pieces and grounded by the soothing tones of neutral shades that help the colour scheme flow from room to room.  The kitchen cabinets are in oak to remind the client of their favourite tree, the Birnam oak ( MacBeth's tree) in Perthshire, and finished in Moss with a Mocha glace. The flooring in the hall and kitchen is a shadow gray slate and the polished gray stone back splash is a reminder of the **dry stane dykes in Scotland that surround the fields to keep the sheep from straying. The wood floors are extended throughout the living room, dining room and family room in warm mid browns, and conversation and eating areas in these rooms are defined by patterned wool area rugs in similar but more muted hues of greens, reds, and neutral tones.


* Ghillie - boy or man that works for the estate looking after/ managing the fishing and gaming liceneses for the property and taking care of his masters parties to ensue good gaming and fishing.

**Dry Stane dykes = field stone walls with no mortar

It's a beautful life in a Scottish Castle!!