So little sleeping and so much reading exchange.

#somuchChristmas  was this year's exchange of books and other gifts in
So little sleeping and so much reading.
It was my first year of taking part and I really enjoyed it.
We had to buy a book from the recipent's wishlist on Goodreads and add to the box whatever we felt like.
Here's what I received from sweet Marili who lives in my city too.
The book is Jessie Burton's The Miniaturist which was in my wishlist, and dear Marili made for me a crochet bookmark, a crochet bracelet, crocheted snowflakes which I adore and a crochet mug coaster. She also made me a lovely fabric owl bookmark, and sent me a beautiful card, some tea and delicious candy. All in all it was an exceptional parcel.

And here's what I sent to a lovely lady in Orestiada called Christina!

After wrapping up everything I realised I should have taken a photo of the things before wrapping them too, how silly of me!
I included two books from the recipient's wishlist, two more second hand books from my collection, I made some chocolate and put it in the tin box, I made a card, and the rest of the little parcels contain bookmarks, pencils, stationery, stickers, cards, music cds,candles and candle holders,handmade soap and more bits and pieces.
But here's a photo taken from my recipient's fb page.I know she enjoyed my parcel!

Thanks So little sleeping and so much reading for organising this!

Around the World Blog Hop

It's been some time now that Around the World Blog Hop is taking place.
I was asked by sweet Sarah of Sarah in Stitches to take part so here I am. I am supposed to answer four simple questions.
So here goes:
1. What are you working on?
Currently I am not working on cross stitch. I have so many other things happening. I have been taking part in various workshops and have been learning new techniques.
First I was taught needle weaving by Natassa Fokianidou aka Faraona.
Here is my finished pendant.

Then needle felting by Christina of Celdeconail. Here is my finished Halloween pumpkin.

And then weaving by Anna of inmycloset. Here is my "Sunset at Chalkidiki" handwoven art.

I am hopefully going to continue cross stitching and making my sea glass felted stones and my felt ornaments but I also want to continue with the new techniques I have learnt and get better in them. Of course I have got lots of UFOs (Unfinished Objects) which I wil hopefully continue,too. But Christmas is coming soon and I have to prepare for that.
2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I don't think my work differs. If we are talking about the felted stones then they are different from other people's because I have added sea glass and other beach finds on them. But the rest of my work is usually something I saw somewhere and got inspired and made my own.
Pink and blue stone, gift to my friend Dora.

3. Why do I create what I do?
I love creating. I love keeping busy. If it is not something handmade, it will be something at interior decoration at home. Or else something on my blog. I love meeting people and learning creative things and making things with them. That's why I take part in so many workshops.
But cross stitch has always been my love. My very first. My grandmother Ariadne taught me how to do cross stitch and we also did it as a lesson at Primary school and I was always good at it. I always come back to it in the end. It relaxes me.
A Michael Powell cross stitch picture I stitched twice, one for my friend Marabeth in the States and one for myself.

My sea glass felted stones were isnpired by the talented Lisa Jordan of lilfishstudios. Her stones I fell in love at once and wanted to try something like that but with a touch of my own so I added beads and sea glass and other finds from the beach. They give me so much satisfaction to make them and each one is so different form the other.

I also do lots of felt ornaments every time I have the chance or if I want to make a gift for some occasion. Recently I made this little closet ornament for my friend Anna of in my closet.

4.How does my creative process work?
With cross stitch I just choose what I like to stitch usually from a pattern in a magazine or maybe a kit if I have one. I always do counted cross stitch and I mainly make things to be framed and I give them as gifts.
With my sea glass felted stones I take a stone and decide by its shape what colour I want to cover it with. Then I take my beads and sea glass and try combinations till I find something I am excited about. I stitch each bead and each item on the stone separately. And the design evolves little by little by itself. No two stones are the same ever.
Well, phewww I managed to answer all questions. Now I am supposed to enroll three people to continue with Around The World Blog Hop. I only managed to find one person so hopefully the rest of you who are interested can enroll yourselves.
So I am enrolling Anna of inmycloset to continue on the Around The World Blog Hop.Anna is the creative organising mind behind all the amazing workshops I have been attending for a couple of years now. I met her through Etsy Greek Street Team as she also has an etsy shop.
Thanks Sarah this was fun!

It was Halloween

Although we don't celebrate Halloween in Greece I always do the custom at school in a lesson for the children to get to know the British and American customs.
With some of the children we did this colouring page and I made muffins for them in a special Trick or Treat muffin paper that Marabeth had sent me last year.

I also showed them these things I recently bought.

And gave them some stickers I had brought from the States.

And then in the afternoon I went to Peirama for a Halloween workshop with a needle felted pumpkin (of course I was the one to make it in fuchsia!) taught by the talented Christina of Celdeconail

 And we also made a little ghost out of felt taught by Aggeliki of Pocolocini.

It was fun!