Recently I was invited to my friend Serena's house with my oldest daughter and hers to do some crafting. Serena's kitchen table was covered in newspaper with paint trays and a basket of stamps to print with. I had brought my stamps over too, so added to the table along with ink pads. We were made cups of tea and coffee, with access to a water jug full of ice and lemons.
Christmas music was selected and seranaded us as we all settled down and got to work in our aprons, stamping and painting festive scenes on cards ready to send out to family and friends. Hours passed and I actually got 'in the flow' which hardly ever happens. In fact, we were all so absorbed in our task that it was 3pm before we remembered to stop for lunch.
Serena had homemade a pot of piping hot cauliflower soup which tasted delicious and gave us the energy we needed for the final hours of artwork before we stopped for mince pies straight from the oven and warm mulled wine with orange slices.
The day as pure joy and I cannot recommend doing something like this enough. We were lost in our own thoughts, our creativity and chatter amongst ourselves. The atmosphere for the whole day was utterly blissful and good for the soul.
Even if some of my attempts at Christmas cards were laughable, it didn't matter. As Serena's daughter said - it was the journey, not the destination. She was so right because even though we all wanted to make a pile of cards to send out, we hadn't realised just how fun and relaxing the process would be.
Since then, Serena has been to my house, this time minus our daughters and we made Christmas wrapping paper using stamps and paints again. We ate a lunch of chilli con carne with jacket potatoes in my kitchen, as carols surrounded from the record player and we worked happily away. We toasted our work with a sherry and a mince pie at the end.
Before Serena left, I showed her my attempt at a collage of a tractor over some ploughed fields, which she was kind, about while I laughed at it. It's not always easy to attempt to make something but it's important not to take yourself too seriously and if it does go hideously wrong, at least you tried and you can have a good old laugh at the outcome.
That's the thing about crafting, it's so personal. Some people will like it and some people won't, but if it brings you joy, then it can't be too bad.
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