Teeny Little Chrimble Wreaths for Mice

I collect scraps of paper, or rather, they collect around me. It's an occupational hazard of being a stationer. These recycled wreaths are a good way of using up paper - including coloured envelopes from Christmas cards. I think they make nice little Christmas tree decorations.

 

 

 

Aurelia aurita

   The common name for the common jellyfish is 'Moon Jelly'. But this is not what their mothers call them.

   Moons, in common with vampires, are associated with the night but can go out in sunlight; it just weakens them. When you see a moon hanging in the daytime sky it is so reduced it is almost transparent. If you peel such a moon away from the pale pottery blue of the firmament you will notice it is thin as a flake of laundry soap.

   When these moons fall into the sea they become sodden, and then gelatinous, and then slowly they billow into bell-shapes, and are seduced by the watery element.

   The three Ladies of the Moon are Selene, Diana, and Hecate. They know by now how their daughters wander, and how they fall. They let them go. In the ebb and flow of the tide, they rock their wayward babies to sleep.

   When Natural Philosophy came to name the world, he put on his best embroidered slippers and stuffed his pipe with Nicotiana tabacum. The lists were long and sometimes he ascribed unworthy names. Resting his eyes he fell, perhaps, asleep. If he did sleep, in his dream he was visited by three ladies: the first was young and soft-skinned, with pale yellow hair and a round, winsome face; the second was most memorable for her collection of weapons, and the third was an old witch.

   'See,' said the young one, her plump delicate finger indicating the drawing of a primitive sea-animal, 'See our precious babies. We miss them so, it is a perpetual ache. We wish to name them. It is a kind of spell, we know, what you do.'

   The weaponed one said, 'Their name will feel like a soft caress.'

   And the witch added, 'But at the end, there will be a little tskiness, so they know how naughty they have been.'

   Then they took his quill, and wrote something in his list. They all seemed to do this, and all at the same time, as if the witch and the warrior were shadows of the girl, or as if she were light playing on their silvering hair.

   Natural Philosophy awoke to a cold dark room. His candle had guttered in the wax, and the only light came from the stern eye of the moon. The list was as he had left it before dozing, but with a grateful shudder, he remembered the name.

   Below his tower spread the endless, black, moon-caressed sea. And through it, gazing up at their three mothers, swam Aurelia Aurita, the Moon Jellies.

(This is a re-post of a story I wrote a few years ago).

Desk Holder for 2014 Calendar

Quite a few people have told me they prefer to have their calendar sitting on their desk, so here is a recipe for a holder.

You will need:

Ingredients:
2 A4 sheets of cardboard (the heavier the better)
2 brads (the little tacks with wings that you use for keeping paper or card together)
Strong Tape or Glue

Equipment:
A ruler
A blade
Cutting Mat (or another piece of cardboard you can use as a cutting mat)

You can print out the jpeg below and use it as a guide, or if it's handier, you can use the measurements.

Measurements:

Take your first sheet of A4 cardboard. You should place it so it is wider than it is high.

Measure 7.4cm in from the left edge, and draw a vertical line to the bottom.
Measure 7.4cm in from the right edge, and draw another vertical line.
Score these lightly with your blade, so you can fold the sides back, away from you, but not so much the card will rip.

Flatten out the sheet again, and measure 4.2cm up from the bottom left corner. Draw a line from that point, to the point where the fold meets the bottom of the sheet. Score this new line, and fold it back away from you. Repeat on the bottom right corner.

Turn the sheet over, and measure 7cm from the top, and 3.5cm in from each fold. Make a mark in each spot, and fix a brad at each.

Take your second sheet of cardboard, and cut out a piece which is 14.6cm x 8.5cm. Use this as the base for your holder.

Fold back the sides of Sheet 1, and fold the bottom triangles under. Place Sheet 2 over the bottom triangles. Tape these in place.

Hang the calendar on the holder by looping the ribbons over the back and keeping them in place with the brads.