A Handmade Christening Gift

Life has certainly been hectic these last few weeks and I've been unable to grab even a tiny amount of time in cyber space.  It would be super nice to have a bit of time this weekend to catch up on some lovely blog reading and feel inspired and connected again!

Recently, my gorgeous new niece was Christened and so we made the 2 hour journey to stay with family in Bucks before the ceremony on the Sunday.  Here is the beautiful blue eyed girl with her doting Aunty J9!  She reminds me so much of my Little Lady as a baby.  Truly blessed.

 

 

I contemplated what would be a suitable gift for the occasion for some time.  Financially, every spare penny was going to our extension work plus rather than just buy something I wanted something more personal to give to mark the day.  Of course this prompted some crafty time!  I had already crocheted a blanket which was given to her when she was born - so that box had already been ticked!

After some thought, I decided I wanted to create something that incorporated her name - given that this is a key element of being christened - you are 'given' your name as part of the ceremony.

I considered cross stitch but the family décor is more modern in style so I decided to craft a scrabble tab picture.  I used an IKEA box frame and chose some scrapbooking papers as a backdrop.

I was really pleased with the outcome.  They have said that they liked it and I hope that it will be a treasured memory of this special day.

I'd been asked to bake cakes for the occasion too so on the last day that I had my oven (before it was removed during the building work!) I baked and decorated a wonderful fruit cake with a 'new to me' recipe from this book.  My most favourite fruit cake mix so far - I thoroughly recommend it as it is not at all heavy!  As the lovely 'Mummy of the Baby' requested, I also made a Delia Smith coffee cake but sadly I didn't get any photos - that one got devoured really quickly!!

It has been a manic time in this house over the latter part of this year and I have not paced myself well on the pain management front.  I have a few ideas in mind to craft for my new kitchen space which I aim to work on during the new year once Christmas is over.  Generally though I'm planning a slower pace of activities over the coming month - I no longer thrive on rushing around being so busy and list driven that you can't stop to smell the roses as I did in my twenties!  Project managing this build has certainly tested me and I'm looking forward to a return to 'balance'.

That is my promise to myself.  I need to slow down to my usual happy mode and take time to enjoy the passing moments.  I hope you manage a bit of the same - especially over the Christmas period!

Thanks for reading and enjoy your week - whatever you're up to! 
J9 x