AWOL

I have been such a bad blogger this last month of the year. One reason was that my Etsy shop was busy, which was really nice. Another reason was that I hadn't created anything worthwhile, and therefore had nothing to show. Two years ago, just before Christmas, my mother died and was buried the day before Christmas Eve, and I get rather quiet and maudlin in the weeks before Christmas. I sit and plan all kinds of things to make and do, but they stay in my head and my hands stay still in my lap. I get frustrated with the mess around me, my craft stuff and the many many things I have bought in France for the shop, and the more I try and organise and clear up, the worse it seems to get. So I leave it and just get more and more frustrated. I hope I haven't shocked you too much by writing such personal things, I realise thats not what you expect or what I usually do. I just felt that I owed my wonderful bloggy friends an explanation for my long absence. 

Having said all that, Christmas was wonderful and uplifting and filled with much laughter and joy, and I am feeling so much better within myself again. So I am giving myself one more week to get my act together and get on with organising my stuff, and then I will be back to normal blogging, yay!

For now I just want to thank you for being such loyal friends and followers, and I wish you all a very happy, healthy, peaceful and successful 2014! May all your wishes for the new year come true and may you ( and ME!! ) stick with your New Year's resolution for longer than a week, tehehehe!

Here are some fun 19th Century Happy New Year cards from my collection -

Toodlepip xxx