December Around Here

Road trips & abandoned churches, Frankie Mag covers & peonies, card making & our dog gets into Christmas a bit early...it's all apart of December around here...

Somewhere near Newstead I once passed this little church in the middle of nowhere at dusk in winter, and I made a mental note to come back for a photo one day.  I've had lots of summer road trips to Ballarat, Daylesford & Creswick...and for one of them it was just me and my podcasts...the perfect time to go looking for that tiny little church in the middle of a crunchy dry paddock for a photo. Spur of the moment detours on road trips are a must...

Smitten with the hand stitched/embossed look of Frankie's 50th anniversary issue. Click the image for a larger look.  I may be a massive fan of digital magazines but how can you go past this...so deliciously tactile.  I love that the back of the cover looks like the back of a cross stitch...a very neat one!

I finally got to see peonies in real life! These lovely ones were from the local farmers market, sourced from the Spring Hill Peony Farm near Kyneton. If ever there was an excuse for another road trip, that would be it...I am going to visit there one day and breathe it all in (and take lots of photos!).  Also have been getting crafty...these are cards for my sisters...I tweaked Creature Comforts' free downloadable gift tags, adding some twine and some craft paper to some blank cards...another excuse to use my glue gun!

Riley has been very casually wandering past the growing pile of presents under the tree every few days...we thought he was just being his adorable self and giving the gifts an exploratory nod. Turns out he was also being his mischievous self...with every trip past he was slowly but surely narrowing down which one contained the treats for another dog in the family, and we finally caught him trying to open that exact present about a week later.  It's safely sitting on top of the piano now, well out of paw's reach....and I'm quietly wondering whether the bottles of wine should be up there as well given he gave them more than a passing glance too...cultured little chap that he is ;)

Nothing better than receiving parcels in the post with more than the average padded post-parcel wrapping!  Have been clocking up a few km on the bike as part of the Map My Ride Stay Fit Holiday Challenge. Have also had my one disastrous puncture for the year on the Axedale Rail Trail so I should be good to go now.  Seriously there is nothing better than the sun on your back and a breeze in your face...an awesome playlist pumping in your earbuds and the road/track all to yourself. Speaking of, click through for my new favourite track to get a new burst of energy when you think you're running on empty...love it.

Design Resources: Paislee Press cards...Be Merry, Diptych & Fairytale

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