Super excited with the announcement yesterday by Kidspot that Go Make Me is a top 100 blog in Australia! Woohoo. Associated with the announcement were two events; during the day was a blogging Masterclass held at uber cool Megan Morton's Studio and an evening cocktail party was at Luxe studios in Sydney. Needless to say, this morning I'm very a bit seedy and severely suffering from Panda-eye-tis. It's going to be a coffee-in-one-hand and slippers-on-feet day mixed with Quick-Eze and rom-com movies 

One of the Masterclass sessions was about Facebook and how massively important it is. I only started my Go Make Me facebook page when I received the nomination email three weeks ago. How sad is that? I've been blogging for six years and no Facebook. I guess I'm VERY shy about promotion but I need to suck it up and get over myself. So, my page is pretty dismal with only 56 likes and in a brazened attempt to make myself look way more popular than I really am, will you like me and give me a thumbs up? It could be just the tonic to ease my throbbing head 

{ F A C E B O O K }    { P I N T E R E S T }    { I N S T A G R A M }    { T W I T T E R }

Christmas holidays have arrived here in Australia and the kids are bored already (which isn't such a bad thing!). Get them making Pomanders. They smell fabulous and can look just as glamorous by adding a glass pendant or crystal drop

I've made these previously on Go Make Me and mid this year Australian Woman's Day magazine asked me to make some especially for their Christmas Tree Decorations DIY article that finally appeared last week. I took a quick snap shot (above) of them hanging before packing them off to the editor in September

Fragrant Christmas Pomander Ornament
1} Select a ribbon. Wrap a thick elastic band around orange or lemon and make slightly wider than ribbon width as the fruit will shrink when the internals dry. This area will not have any cloves

2} Poke holes into skin with a metal skewer or tooth pick. Insert cloves and cover the whole surface. Don't place cloves too closely together as you will need to allow room for shrinkage

3} Optionally, when all the surface has been filled, you can roll the pomander in cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice

4} Wait 2 weeks before the pomander is fully dry or cure in a very low oven and bake for approximately two to three hours

5} Wrap ribbon around middle and secure with a pin or bow. Add a glass crystal drop

It's been a great experience to work again with the PR department at Etsy Australia and Woman's Day to create some Christmas decorations for families to make for the tree. The article features three Australian Etsy crafters including friend Sally Cooper from Jambo Chameleon, Rachel Smith from Love From Ginger and me, Cate Holst from Go Make Me. The magazine came out on Monday and it's always a thrill to see something that you've created make it to print. I bought several copies at the newsagent, not just for tips on decorations, but the gossip on Miranda Kerr's romance with billionaire James Packer, Brad's new face and the 'What the Frock' article. Juuui-cy

Back in September, I made over 150 individual decorations for the shoot (including pomanders, paper rosettes, paper light shades and some others that weren't used). The brief was to use inexpensive and everday items from around the house. Below are some work in progress shots that I supplied to the mag as reference. No harm in sharing them with you too!

Make cute covers for your tree lights out of muffin or cake papers. Cut a hole in the base with scissors or scalpel and insert bulb 

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Sally Cooper and I were approached by Fairfax Media to front a three part series demonstrating diy gifts (including food) and how to package them for Christmas on behalf of Etsy Australia. It was such a thrill to be asked and a very challeging new experience for us both

We shot the video's at my house and Sally's positioned in my little studio and I'm in front of the mantlepiece. I wanted to make some Christmas stockings to hang but ran out of time so it looks quite bare. Hopefully I'll get around to it this week

Anyway, the video's are up! Click on the pictures to take you to the Fairfax site. You can also purchase the supplementary digital E-book 'DIY Gifts and Edible Treats for Christmas' showcasing all that's included (and more) including recipes, how-tos, printables for packaging and gift ideas

Here's a few behind the scenes photos

Chocolate is always a favourite in our house at Christmas. Transform a good quality chocolate base into a little piece of heaven by adding cream, chocolate cake and liqueurs. Why not package these gorgeous and easy to make delicacies and give to friends and family at Christmas? The recipe is included in Go Make Me's first digital e-book for Christmas. Full of beautiful packaging ideas, gift tags, recipes and how-to's and is available now in the Go Make Me shop on Etsy