12 Days Of Making, Day One.

So, a couple of weeks ago, I shared some information on the fun Instagram challenge that I am involved in. I thought I would also share each post with you here, with a few extra details, (because I can't stop talking about Christmas!) 

The first day of our challenge prompt was to introduce ourselves and tell you all about our favourite things about Christmas. (An easy start to get the ball rolling!)

As you know, my name is Sinéad, and I was born and raised in Shrewsbury, England, but have been living in America for 13 years now. I have always loved art, and have been creating since I was young. My dream is to own a small shop and gallery one day. In the meantime, I sell my work on Etsy, and lately have been focusing on mixed media collages, greetings cards and steampunk jewelry.

Because I am so far away from my family and friends back home, I admit that the holidays can be a difficult time for me. So, my boyfriend and I have a deal, where we alternate Christmas visits each year. This year we will be with his family in Virginia, but last year we got to travel home to a surprisingly snowy Shrewsbury!

My little sister and I actually used to spend hours talking about our favourite things about Christmas, so this is a fun prompt for me, but unfortunately, I don’t have the space to tell you EVERYTHING I love. To narrow it down, I will just tell you that I love the colder weather, especially if it snows, and I love wearing big coats, hats and boots and going on long walks in the beautiful countryside. I love the Christmas music, (although I try really hard not to play it before December, for my boyfriend’s sanity’s sake!) I love the traditional food, (especially my mum’s cooking!) and I really love all the beautiful décor and festive lights.

Photo credit to Brian Tomayko.

Photo credits to Kate Sanderson.

In the collage above you can see my some beautiful photos of my hometown of Shrewsbury. The first picture was taken at the bottom of Wyle Cop, on a beautiful snowy night when we were out celebrating my Mum's birthday last year. The other four pictures were taken by my sister, Kate, who loves Christmas just as much as I do! Top right is a view of the river and the Old Wakeman school from the English Bridge that crosses the Severn. Bottom left is the old Abbey, built in 1083, bottom right is my mum's garden, and bottom middle is a fantastic snow reindeer, made by my sister!