OMG! Have you been naughty or nice?

It's the 24th October today and I have to tell you that it is just 19 more sleeps to the Adelaide Christmas pageant when Santa comes to town! Now I know this is true, because when I went shopping on Sunday, I was confronted by this as I entered the local department store........

Then as I skirted around the displays using considerable constraint to prevent myself from snapping up one of the Jim Shore Santa's  (I am a collector you know...) I then left the store and was confronted by this!!

With Santa's chair ready and waiting...............

and one redeeming feature.........

A Nativity Scene.

I have to admit, I am a little bit excited.  I LOVE Christmas.  All the build up to the big day, decorating the house, putting up the tree (on the day Santa comes to town)!  Lots of  parties, food, drink, shopping, cooking.  And all the pretty decorations and weird gifts in shops.  And the fake snow!

Don't forget we will be in full Summer.  The Christmas pageant can be a sunny 32 degrees Celcius!  Sometimes it rains.  But the pageant has never been cancelled..... or was it -  only once during the war....

Anyway take a look at what we have to look forward to  here .

The pageant is really for the little ones, and as an adult it is 'not nice' to go and stand in front where a child could have full view of all the wonder of the floats that lead Santa to his Magic Cave.  And with crowds lining the streets in the thousands, I could enjoy the pageant like I did unexpectedly last year here .

It just isn't the same without little ones to take, and I am not a grandma yet!

Last year I got all interested in  Nigella and her Christmas recipes - but I ran out of time.  Christmas snuck up on us so quickly.  So now I will have another chance to make that chocolate christmas cake and the gingerbread christmas cookie tree.

So with Santa making his list and checking it twice, I want to make sure I make it onto 'Nice'.

We still have some time...............

Now I understand why it takes so long

I do miss making dolls.  There have been a few that made me very excited during the whole creative process. When you are really in tune, you can feel the life coming into your creation.  That must be what I miss.  I admire so many doll makers, and their different styles and imagination.  Sometimes I think I have no imagination.  I am very good at copying others work.  I can see how something has been put together and I love the challenge of trying to make 'that'.
But I so want to create in a style that can be recognised.  Like - There is the doll...... and you know the doll maker.
The problem I have had in the past, has been in taking classes from my idols, all I can produce is a doll that looks like a knock off of the designers doll.
In the last post, I listed the stages of creativity.  This has helped me realise I am on the path. And since exploring that, I found an interview with Cindee Moyer  in the newsletter by Adele Sciortino
Cindee has stood out, having surfaced only in the last few years.  (I started doll making 10 years ago)  Her style is very distinctive.  It has been, right from the start.  Now you may not like her style of doll, but nevertheless - she has a clear style which cannot be copied.    Cindee is just one example.  There are so many others.
Anyway, the one thing that stood out in the article was that Cindee had also learnt from experienced doll makers.  She had explored different styles and mediums, and, after making many many dolls, started to develop her own individual style and techniques.  !!!!!!!!! So that's it.  You have to make and make and make the type of doll you want, and eventually your own style WILL emerge.  I do believe this.  I just have to make and make and make.  So now that I only have time on the weekends - (I just can't think dolls in the evening at the moment) it looks like I will have my own style in the year 2020!   I will only be 63, that's still youngish............