I've got big plans for this little tree...

This is the tree I picked up Tuesday evening after work. This is the tree we weren't having this year. Oops!

The revolution started last weekend when we saw some cute little trees in pots in the village. 

It wasn't long after that a plan started to form...

...We could have one in a pot, because that's more of a plant than a tree.

... And since we've removed the veg beds from the back of the garden we have a space to fill, so it would make sense.

And that's how I found myself in the garden centre, choosing a tree. It's a Norway Spruce and feels soft to the touch. But my plans for this little tree don't stop there. 

I like a Christmas wreath, and remember last year I made this one - well so far this year I haven't got a wreath, made or bought. I'd planned to make one again because it was much easier than I thought and I had a real sense of accomplishment when it was complete. Because the wire rings were so cheap I went against my instincts and chucked it all out. This year though it's been harder to get one of those rings and when I did find one it was almost three times as expensive as last year, so I declined. In fact the shrub branch cuttings are also a lot more expensive than I remember, and so much so that I'm not buying any. I think £10 for a bit of evergreen that's been chopped off a larger plant is a bit excessive and again a huge increase on last year.

Anyway, I digress. I have bought some rings - I bought ten online for the same price the florist was willing to sell me one - and I'm hoping to get out into the garden and see what greenery I have to add to it. But this is where my little tree comes in, not this year though. When it's planted out in the garden, growing its foot a year, filling the space where the veg beds used to be it'll also be growing greenery for my wreaths. 

A masterplan. I know. I thank you...

But it's got some growing to do, once it's finished being an indoors Christmas tree that is.

And remember my Christmas turkey? Well he's proudly sitting near the top of my tree, and makes me smile every time I see him.

CAN YOU SPOT THE PROUD TURKEY?

It's about four foot at the moment - the tree, not the turkey, so there's not a lot of room for decorations. This year for the first time ever, I think I've put more decorations away than I've put on the tree - but well, I didn't want to shock my little tree too much.

And you know what? Father Christmas has given it the thumbs up!

So that's fine by me...

A stroll along Brighton Pier

Well no visit to Brighton is complete without a glimpse of the pier. And it's even better if your visit includes a stroll along it, whatever the weather. We knew that our visit on 1 December was unlikely to be the best pier strolling weather, but although it was a tad blowy we decided to do just that.

The skies here are deceiving. It was another mild day, but perhaps not as warm as it looks.

The Brighton Pier - or to give it its full name the Brighton Marine Palace and Pier, opened in 1899 and as the Brighton Pavilion was built as a pleasure palace, this is a pleasure pier. It was also known as the Palace pier but is often informally referred to just as Brighton pier. When it was built it cost a record £27,000 - wow.

Well every visit to the seaside needs a seaside snap...

And yes, that is the Brighton Wheel you can see overlooking the beach there.

THERE WEREN'T MANY TAKERS FOR DECKCHAIRS EITHER...

Well you know me and ironwork. And well you know me and that thing I have about looking up...

You can imagine then just how happy the next shot makes me...

In the distance you can see the remains of the West Pier which closed in the mid-seventies and was then damaged by fires and storms. In 2010 it was partially demolished and this is all that remains. It's almost like the pier's last stand...

And while it was a nice stroll, it was a bit blowy so a few cobwebs were shifted in just a short walk. But oh, what a walk...

Screen printing with Daniel Heath

Well where to start? You may have already seen the screen printed peacock which I shared on my social channels last week - a fantastically detailed design, and one that last week I tried for myself after a quick masterclass with Dan. 

I'll share more on that in a moment, but first have a look at the fab venue - Blackhorse Studios in Walthamstow. What a fab place, it was quite a dash to get there after work but having looked at Daniel Heath's work beforehand I knew I didn't want to miss this event.

An easy place to be inspired, I'm sure you'll agree.

In The Window who organised the event had made sure there were cakes and some soft drinks ready for us when we arrived. And you know how much I like a cake, well somehow I ended up posing with these

These soft drinks were great too - they have a kick to them which is the cayenne, and I know it sounds odd. But trust me these are good. I'm reliably informed that the cucumber and mint variety is good with gin. As I was hoping to try out the screen printing, I opted for the mango and ginger version and drank that straight.  I liked it and would choose it again, it was a cold drink with a warming feeling. They're definitely worth a try, trust me.

Then we went up to the studio. Talk about overload for the senses. And for a magpie like me, I wasn't sure where to look first.

Daniel showed us how to screen print, all the while explaining the process and answering our many questions. In the photo below you can see the screen for the peacock design we would use. And yes, the screens have small holes in them to allow for the paint to go through and onto the surface - in our case wallpaper. 

With the screen positioned and weighed down with lead to stop it moving, Daniel added the gold paint and demonstrated how to print the design by moving the paddle across the screen. With a couple of taps he brought the paddle back the other way and repeated this once more.

I have to admit that the reveal of the gold layer was a bit of an anti-climax.

It seems you have to have lots of patience for this, and rightly so - the detail in Daniel's designs are incredible. He creates the designs, transfers them onto the screens and prints his designs by hand. That's a lot of precision.

Soon though the gold paint was dry and it was time for the teal layer. Just look at that colour.

It was also time for me to try my hand at screen printing - and just look at that concentration!

And this is our finished design - isn't it great?

This peacock design is 1.5 metres long which is quite large which means only two patterns can be printed in one go. So it'll take a while to print a ten metre roll of wallpaper, although Daniel says he can usually do that in an afternoon or so. Daniel doesn't only print his designs on wallpaper or as prints, he also screen prints them onto fabric (there's some fabulous examples on his website) and etches them onto wood. These were just stunning, delicate but still very stunning.

In the gallery below there's a few more examples of Daniel's work. Not only is he a clever and talented man, he's also very nice and deserves every success. Thanks to Daniel and to In The Window for a fascinating evening and definitely one that gave a real insight into the work that goes into hand printed wallpaper.

This is a collaborative post with In The Window but all words are my own.