“I adore Yule, but I don’t make many decorations these days
— I prefer to rescue the decorations of others.”
Yuletide Kitten
Some people have a horrible tradition of throwing out their old festive decorations and buying new ones, thus I rescue the old ones and give them new life when I can! I also make Yule cards (and Christmas, and Chanucah, and Atheist — I’m happy to make cards to please the recipient) from used ‘Christmas Crackers’ and packaging. In fact I spent several years as The Ethical Cardmaker, explaining how to do this (link).
Yuletide greeting cards
I love the different textures of re-used material such as ribbon, or even in one card the wire from a champagne bottle, turned into a tree of life (sort of!). The swan card was made from a beer can, cut into swan shapes — the inside of aluminium cans is a lovely pewter colour, great for gothic craft. The midnight blue background came from an old and torn blouse, which made about twenty cards in the end! One recipient put the card up on her wall.
One can also subvert the heterosexual card market, as I did with a card for gay friends. Environmentally friendly and also inclusive — that’s the idea. All my cards are made entirely from recycled/re-used elements, except for the glue!
The main thing, I think, is to act with consideration and love, as always, and add in a little extra joy and indulgence at Yule for everyone!
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” . . . Back in 2007, my best friend blackmailed me into submitting my poems and stories to magazines — he made it his New Year’s Resolution to see me published, and said that if I didn’t at least try, then he’d fail at his resolution and it would be my fault! I only sent submissions to publications to prove to him that no one would want them — and I was delighted to be proved wrong!
“My childhood love of fantasy and science fiction has always informed my work, as have my complicated spiritual path, my disability and bisexuality. They are all rich veins of inspiration to mine, and I’ve published all kinds of things — from comedy pieces to spiritual pieces to political work to fairy tales.”
To read more of her wonderful work, please visit:
That Inkling Feeling . . . a collection of publications
Poems of Experience, at Women Writers
Life Still, and A Nursery Worker Explains the Stains, at Melusine
Twelve Breaths, at Buddhist Poetry Review
“Poems For Big Kids”, at Traveler’s Tales
…… (the 2008 anthology is free to download and contains my first published poem!)
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Cathy Bryant won the 2012 Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Prize and is a former blogger for the Huffington Post. Her stories and poems have been published all over the world in such publications as the Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine, Star*Line, Night to Dawn and Midnight Times. In 2012, Cathy was runner-up in the SFPA Poetry Contest, as well as winning the Bulwer-Lytton, The Sampad ‘Inspired by Tagore’ Contest, the Malahat Review Monostich Contest and the Swanezine Poetry Contest. Her collection, ‘Contains Strong Language and Scenes of a Sexual Nature‘ was published recently. Every year Cathy co-edits the anthology Best of Manchester Poets. To contact her, please email cathy@cathybryant.co.uk
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hyacinth noir 