A Christmas Quandry...

Cherry Menlove is passionately dedicated to the lives of homemakers and in making life more simple and beautiful. Tune in weekly for her inspirational tips and advice that celebrate every aspect of the domestic arts, homemaking, cooking, crafting, gardening and decorating.

You’ll also find Cherry - the UK’s answer to Martha Stewart – online writing her blogs: Tales from Pixiewood, Cherrys English Kitchen and L’Influence.

I recently placed myself in a bit of a pickle. I’ve been making my own Christmas decorations for a few years now and I started even earlier this year due to a magazine shoot that was taking place in my home in September.

As a result (or so I thought) I had my Sugar Plum Wreath (pictured left - I'm finally launching my shop at Cherry Menlove in Feb) all my trinkets, baubles, centrepieces and other ‘hanging’ items ready to go, until that was, I remembered last week that I hadn’t finished the stocking project I’d started in early August (too organised for my own good!).

You see I need to have four stockings hanging from my mantle this year and safe in the knowledge that there was no chance that I’d be able to finish them I went shopping. It was a busy morning and I needed to get back to my desk to finish off some bits and pieces so when I saw four stockings decorated in yummy colours, it didn’t take me long to buy them. I was in such a rush however that I didn’t really look at the price until I got home and it was only then that I discovered they’d cost me just £2 each. And therein lays the problem.

I’m not going to spend the next half an hour regaling you with my thoughts on what does and doesn’t constitute as fair trade but I shall say that I tried to take the stockings back because I just couldn’t justify buying an item that was THAT CHEAP - and this household works to a budget just like any other.

So it was with much relief and pleasure that I came across Posh Graffiti whilst perusing the SheerLuxe Directory a couple of days ago.

If you’re not in the enviable position of being able to make your own Christmas Decorations but struggle with the ‘Sweat Shop’ factor then I urge you to do a little home shopping via this wonderful website.

Apart from selling the wonderful posh graffiti that founder Emily Readett Bayley is so well known for, the site also has a beautiful Christmas range and an ethics section. Emily’s business has been set up in the spirit of doing the world and your home some good and not just the company’s bottom line, and for that I hope she drowns in riches.

My absolute favourites from the current collection are these floral hearts...

Nowadays we can decorate our house for Christmas in any colour scheme we wish - even blue and black if the mood takes us - so don’t be afraid to use bright florals on your tree. A Christmas tree needs all the help it can get in the ‘lightening up’ department.

I’ll end by saying that the shop refused to take my cheap stockings back and I came home with them still under my arm. So, I made two short vows to myself that day.

1. Never to shop in haste for items such again and to do a touch more research in to the background of the item itself.
2. Make sure that those stockings are used every Christmas until the year that I pass on to the great Christmas tree in the sky.

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