Last year my ‘Secret Santa’ pal from South Africa, the lovely Joey,  included in her present to me two of the cutest little  gnomes I have ever seen.  Here’s a glimpse of one of them, nestled in this years table wreath created by the talented Danella

Isn’t he cute!  They are very tiny, being about 7cm high (2 3/4″)   I love them.

Then my friend Sue arrived for her annual visit and with her arrived two more gnomes -even tinier and every bit as enchanting.

And here’s the entire family

At the time I was putting together a Christmas bag for Siddy’s favourite courier which included a bottle of wine.  The bottle was taller than the bag it was destined for and I hit on the idea of making a bottle topper – so a gnome was created that fit just right and peaked out of the top of the bag.  Of course I forgot to take a photo of it, but the courier was delighted.  Luckily my first attempt at a bottle topper gnome was too big and he has been photographed

He is with a friendly pukeko who also lives in my house.  This gnome was made for grander things than being a leaning post for an affectionate swamp hen however and soon took up residence in The Green Room 

While all this collecting, creating and curating of Gnomes was going on there was also an excess of cards being made.  Some have been squirreled away for later, some have been sent out already.  These are ‘S’ Fold cards.  My friend Alys gave me the pattern a while back and I had fun playing around with the idea.  The first card is a simplified version.

Above card closed, below opened

And this one features the extra component,  partially open ……..

………. almost open ……..

…………fully open

Crafting fun!

Then of course many more gnomes were called into service – this is just a few of them

These were a conveyor belt, multi step process that was both time consuming and daunting – but thoroughly worthwhile.  It produced cards that are sparkly, texture rich and fun.

And of course we must finish with Siddy.  Not quite a gnome, but trying very hard to be a good reindeer.  Here he is, trying on his antlers,  ready to help  Santa if required

Thank you for coming by today, have a  happy and blessed Christmas, Mid-Summer. Mid-Winter, Hanukkah and or Kwanzaa.   Wherever you are in the world and however you spend this season, be happy, make someone else happy and remember you have the power to change the world with a smile.  With love and thanks for all the times you have made me think, made me feel, made me smile.