(grand festive music)
- We're at our old favorite, the garden center.
- Dobbies, that's it's name. (Jessica giggles)
- It didn't used to always be called Dobbies
when we lived here. - No, it was a Wyevale
or something, I think.
It was another chain, but anyway, it's a new chain.
We've come because they sent me a birthday card
offering me two hot drinks and two pieces of cake.
- Can't say no. (laughs)
- And also we need to get
some house compost because - Free cake.
- we propagated Evelina's plant
'cause it just went crazy. - Ooh, we did.
Yes. - What was it?
A water lily.
Not a water lily, something lily, something water.
You were the one who looked it up.
Anyway, - I did.
- lots of people want a little cutting from it, so.
- We propagated it because everyone who comes to our house
goes, (gasps) "I want one of those."
- Yeah, anyway, we'll talk about that
when we actually show you the plant.
- Mm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
And of course, you just got to go around the garden center
and look all the Christmassy goodness
and it's Rupert's first time. - Yeah, 'cause we got
our Christmas tree delivered this year
'cause we wouldn't be able to get it in the car with Rupert,
and normally we always come and get it
and we then get that Christmas feeling
but now we just-- - And shove it in the car.
- Yeah, which is always part of the fun
and Jessica's always like,
"I want that one, it's really big."
and I'm like, "We're not gonna get that in the car."
and she's like, "Come on!"
- "Well, we'll see, we'll see."
- I think we have actually always managed
to get it in the car.
- We've never once had it touch the windscreen.
- Last year it was like, out here though,
- It was close. - in between us, yeah.
- Close, we'll see.
Next year we're just going to have
to have someone else watch Rupert
whilst we shove it in the car.
- No, I think getting delivered it.
I think it being delivered was a good idea,
- Oh. - I liked that.
Anyway, it's a really gross day, it's raining.
- It's disgusting. - It is actually easing off
a little bit, so then we'll get him out.
I think he's asleep.
- When we go home and we get him to sleep,
we're actually going to make some paper stars
which is a new thing that I discovered online,
you know, Pinterest,
(Jessica laughs)
just to make the house look pretty and festive,
add a few more decorative touches
and just do a nice little skill.
(she coughs) Which is why
this video is sponsored by Skillshare.
To make ourselves feel calm.
- Put some Christmas music on, Michael Buble as always.
- She's got really into Michael Buble's Christmas album.
- Everyone likes Michael Buble's Christmas album.
- Does he do non-Christmas albums?
- I don't think, well, he probably does
but I don't listen to him
any other time but Christmas. - Do you think he makes money
from his other albums?
I don't know anything about music.
- Right, let's go whilst there's a break in the rain-ish.
- Oh, has it stopped?
- A little bit, yeah. - Oh my God, quick, let's go.
(elegant festive music)
My attempt to convince Claudia.
(nutcracker clacking)
Yes?
- Aren't they a bit freaky?
(Jessica laughs)
- [Jessica] I don't know what you're talking about, darling.
A much needed part of Christmas.
- [Claudia] He likes that one. (laughs)
- [Jessica] That was very unfair to bring the child into it.
- [Claudia] What about this one?
(nutcracker clacking)
No, he looked away, didn't like that one.
(Jessica laughs) He's like "Whoa!"
- [Jessica] I like this one.
We're going to try to find a Rupert.
- [Claudia] A Rupert personalized penguin.
- Not that we particularly want a Rupert penguin.
Do we need this?
No, no, no.
Anyway, there we go.
Okay, so. - I never can find a Claudia.
Oh, look, here's a special, special.
- [Jessica] Okay, special, special.
- Special son. - Special daughter,
special son, special mummy.
Why do you need to be special though?
Can't you just be average? - Let's find R.
Does that just say blank?
- An average. - They've got the name Blank.
Go back. - (laughs) No, silly.
So you can write on it.
- Blank. - So you can write on it,
- Oh, oh, I see. - It's blank.
Okay, right, I thought... (Jessica laughs)
I was like, what, they've got the name Blank?
And they've only got a Reece, a Riley, a Ryan
and what's that one? - Reece.
No, Reece, Riley, Rory, Ryan.
- [Claudia] And Dexter, who's just in the wrong place.
(Jessica laughs)
- [Both] And Taylor.
- [Claudia] You're just mucking up the system, guys.
- And Daniel. - And Owen.
Oh, no, Owen's in the right place.
- [Jessica] Okay, I don't know what's going on there.
But what about the average R names?
What happened there?
Where's Richard?
- [Claudia] No one's called Richard anymore.
- (laughs) Richards don't exist, sorry Richards.
- [Claudia] Rupert's like "God, parents, come on, let's go."
He's trying to break out of his buggy.
- [Jessica] Hang on, hang on, What's happening?
- So I searched everywhere.
Couldn't find a Rupert or a Claudia, lots of Jessicas.
- (laughs) I know. - I did find a Mrs and Mrs.
(Jessica gasps)
- [Jessica] That says Mr and Mrs.
- I so thought it said Mrs and Mrs
- I'm so sorry. - and I was like,
that could be a tiny S.
- Oh, honey. - Fine, well I found this one.
Baby's first.
- [Jessica] Aw, that does say baby's first, you're correct.
- It's really sweet, it's quite cute.
- [Jessica] That does indeed say baby's first.
This isn't the LGBTQ+ representation you were looking for.
Aw.
(jazzy festive music)
- [Claudia] This is the plant.
Oh, thanks for that raspberry
in the background there, Rupert.
This is the plan that Evelina gave us.
It's even started flowering
The flowers have passed their best now
but it has these little white flowers
and they're nice but I had it to give it a haircut.
It had basically gone halfway
down this little dressing table.
Sorry, that's my tea and stuff.
Halfway down there, I had to cut it
and I've taken some cuttings
and I've put them in water here
and then you're meant to let them root.
And see those little white bits coming off?
That is a root, the beginning of a root
and it's quite long already,
only took about a week to do that.
So I've got four cuttings, two in each one,
and then I'm gonna pot them up in these little pots here
and then give them to people who like plants
and people who maybe don't even like plants,
but they're gonna get a plant anyway.
(Jessica laughs)
Also, side note,
I've got this really cool book from Jessica's cousin.
"Witch's Garden: Plants in folklore,
magic and traditional medicine"
and it tells you these amazing stuff.
Oh my gosh, (laughs) I can't do-
You think I'd be more skilled at one handed stuff
now I'm a mum, but (Jessica laughs)
I'm not with it, I'm very sleep deprived.
Look. (jazzy festive music)
- So, the holiday season is such a special time of year,
and of course it's Rupert's first one
so it's extra special for us,
but Christmas can also mean more stress for many people.
You're hosting, you're buying gifts,
you're going to parties.
Maybe you're seeing people that you don't like
but you have to see once a year.
Maybe you love everyone and it's just,
How on earth do you see them all
in such a short space of time?
December is only one month.
We talked about it a little bit in last week's video
and thank you to everyone who joined in the conversation
on "Is Christmas A Time To Be Selfish?" or selfless?
Oh, and top tip, a good way to make Christmas about you
but not about you is to make it all about your baby.
Thanks for the person who left that in the comments.
I'll be using that.
A really good way to unwind can be
with a new skill or crafting,
but of course you don't have to be perfect.
You don't have to be amazing at the thing,
it's just about the joy along the way,
the fun of learning something new,
and that's why I really wanted to try out paper stars.
It's something I've never done before, it looks really cool
and I think it could be really Christmassy.
Also, found it on a mum blog
and it was all about self-care as a mum
and I was like, yeah.
So to learn more about creative activities,
I watch Sarah Beth Morgan's course on Skillshare,
"Self-Care Through Creativity"
how to turn your anxiety into art.
Sarah Beth Morgan is a director and illustrator
and talks about pulling creative inspiration
from your emotions,
which is something I will definitely try.
If you don't know already,
Skillshare is an online learning community
with thousands of inspiring classes
for creative and curious people.
It's really great to be able to explore new skills,
develop existing interests or just get lost in creativity.
You could also watch inspiring people
who are really passionate
about a whole range of different things,
just doing what they love for hours and hours on end.
So sign up today by clicking the top link in my description
and, freebie alert,
the first 1000 of my subscribers to click that link
will get a one month free trial of Skillshare,
so (hands clap)
and after that, it is only around $10 a month.
So I am excited to make these stars.
I'm using kite paper.
It's called kite paper
but clearly you use it to make the stars
because that's what they've put
on the front of the paper pack.
- Yeah.
- Apparently it's the same paper that you use to make kites.
- Oh, okay, lightweight and yeah.
- So I have to choose a color selection.
in order to keep myself calm.
- She gets very funny
- For anyone who's new here, - if you have any
- I have... - wrong color combinations.
If I dress Rupert, not always but sometimes,
she'll be like, "Hmm, why have you put those socks
with that outfit?"
and I'm like, "They're just socks, Christ."
But no, it'll really upset her for the whole day.
- It will.
- Anyway, (Jessica laughs)
I'm using houseplant re-potting mix.
We didn't use to use this.
Whenever we had houseplants in the past,
we used to just use normal compost.
- Yeah, we did. - And I think that's where
we were going wrong.
I think the houseplant compost has got way more coir
and stuff in it.
- Coir, I enjoy that word.
- Water absorbing stuff.
Let's have a look, let's see what it says.
- What color should I make these stars?
- I love how we're just totally doing different things.
Jessica's like, "We're gonna do a video about making stars."
and I'm like, - And you were like, "No."
- well, I need to pot my plants, so.
- Anyway, what color should I make my stars?
You can at least help in that regard.
- Blue, white.
- You wanna go on an icy theme.
- Yeah, and then I think another set should be orange
and, oh, what?
Oh, oh. (Jessica laughs)
- We're not- no.
- Orange and red and brown.
- Okay, well they can go in separate windows
on separate sides of the house.
- If anyone wants to know,
this compost has coir, composted fine bark,
wood fiber and sterilized soil.
That's why it's particularly good for houseplants.
All right, I'm gonna plant it up.
I've got these little pots, gonna give them as gifts.
Our cleaner mentioned that she really liked it
and asked for a cutting
and we're gonna give one to Paige, our assistant.
- Sorry. (laughs)
We drink wine every night and we have a cleaner.
We're solidly middle-class.
- We have a baby. (Jessica laughs)
I mean, cor.
I was actually cleaning.
I was cleaning all the way through my pregnancy.
"I'll just do the housework and the cleaning
and looking after the baby"
and then Rupert came along and I was like,
"Oh my God, you take up a lot of time."
And Jessica was like, "We've got two dogs and a baby
and I'm really messy and dirty,
so we need a cleaner and I'm happy to pay for it."
So I was just like.
'Cause I actually do quite enjoy cleaning.
- I know you do, love.
It makes her sad actually
that she can't clean all the time now.
- Yeah, it burns off a lot of excess energy.
- She's got a lot of excess energy.
Phrenetic energy. - My New Years resolution,
I know it's not New Year,
but for my birthday New Year resolution,
I am going to become a clean, lean person
and drink water every day, lots of water,
cut out my gluten and dairy a bit, not completely,
- Spent seven years trying to cut that out of her.
- and exercise daily,
even if that's just lying on the floor next to Rupert
and doing a few little
- Stretches. - leg lifts or a plank.
I read that a plank is one of the best all-body workouts.
I'm not a much of a fan of cardio, so I'll just plank it up.
- Basically, you just have a lot of energy
and you've got to get rid of it somehow.
- So, last time they made me quite itchy.
I touched them and then I must've touched my face
'cause then my face became really itchy.
I've got my gardening gloves and my trowel.
Was my present from last year I think, wasn't it?
- God, no, years ago, wasn't it?
- No, it was two years ago
from my brother-in-law and his wife.
Says Kellgren-Fozard on it. - My brother.
- I think they can get that, yeah.
Oh, no, I guess. - No.
- But I think it's really nice
to give people cuttings of your plants.
It's very green, it's like sharing,
it's like sharing of passions and interests,
and then when you go round to their house.
- A little bit of your house goes to their house.
- Yeah, and then you see their thing
and you say, - Friendly.
- "Oh, is that the little plant that I gave you?"
And they're like, "Yeah, it's really thriving.
I found it likes the bathroom the best."
You have a little conversation about it.
Lots of fun.
- Or if they kill it.
- If they kill it, you can be like, "Oh dear."
And then you can gloat a bit
about how yours are still thriving.
- Okay, let's get ready.
Right, I've got three different sizes of star
'cause I just got really excited and into the star idea.
Actually got really interested in this
after seeing it on the Nicole Kavanaugh's blog,
which is the Montessori blog. (chimes jingle)
Could have guessed.
Ooh, how far into the video did we get
before I said Montessori?
- I dunno, I think spoke
- Add that in a timestamp. - about my plants
for a good 15 minutes. - You did, look at that.
(both laugh)
There we go, got our own little obsessions.
We work well together.
- This is what married life is like,
doing your hobbies together next to each other.
They don't necessarily have to be the same hobbies.
- No.
- And look, there we are, look.
- Star. - A little potted plant.
- Oh, delightful.
- Lovely little gift.
- So lovely, darling.
(jazzy festive music)
- You know what was actually really nice about this plant is
Evelina gave it to us. - Hmm.
- It wasn't a propagation, she'd actually done her hard work
of growing it in her-- - Oh, no, she brought over
a small part of it
- from Sweden I believe. - Oh, really?
Oh, right, and then she let it grow
while she lived here in Brighton
- Yeah. - and it was pretty big
and then she gave the whole plant to us
and now we're doing the same thing
where it's just like, okay.
- I believe we have a plant
that grew from a propagation of a plant from Sweden,
(chimes jingle) - Oh.
- and now we are giving parts of it to our friends.
- Aw, that's nice, isn't it?
- Actually love this.
It's like the perfect calming thing for me.
- Yeah, we're always a bit like,
"Oh my God, we've got so much to do.
How are we going to find the time to sit down
and make stars and pot plants?"
- Folding is such a-
This is really odd.
I don't know, maybe it's not odd.
- I don't think it's that odd. - Did you, as a child,
have a thing about folding?
- I'm more of a like to take things apart
to know how they work.
- Mm, this is true.
I think folding was the only way
I got through my GCSEs, to be honest.
I used to, (laughs) sounds weird,
I used to sit in class and take a piece of paper
and fold it horizontally and vertically
into as many lines as I could
- Yeah. - and it was the only way
I could concentrate in class.
- Okay.
I'm going to tidy up.
- Doing this is also making me realize
how awful my nails are.
I need to go and get some nice Christmassy nails done,
but also COVID's getting worse again
and now I'm reconsidering leaving the house
and many, many people we know have got COVID now,
which is new.
(happy festive music)
I made a star.
- So you've made a star,
I've potted my little cuttings, four of them.
To be honest, I get so many from that plant,
but I thought I'd just start with four
and I'm now gonna water them.
We've got our lovely little jug and Baby Bio Houseplant Food
which, you're kind of obsessed with it, aren't you?
- Yeah. - You love feeding the plants.
- And everyone comments how great our plants look, so.
- It's true, it's true.
And your star looks great, I think you did really well.
Normally you take ages doing anything,
- Thanks. - especially if it's creative,
but that was really fast.
Unless I took ages potting the plants.
- No, I think we were fast.
- Okay. - I think we were good.
My insomnia's really bad at the moment
so I am very exhausted.
- Mm.
- So I am moving in slow motion
- Yeah.
- constantly and Claudia's quite bored of it.
- I'm also sleep deprived,
so I'm probably also moving in slow motion,
but it's all relative, isn't it?
- Right, I'm gonna make some more stars
and then we're gonna stick them on the windows
and then we will show you tomorrow morning
what they look like. (gasps)
(happy festive music)
So here you go, everyone, here are my stars.
Let me know which one's your favorite.
I'm actually a really big fan of the white one.
Yeah, I know, the one with no color.
Absolutely no one is shocked.
Yeah. (laughs)
However, I'm gonna have a play around
with trying to create some more complex ones as well.
I'll put them up on my Instagram @jessicaoutofthecloset,
I think might try and create some little Reels,
I think I might try and do some Shorts
here on YouTube as well
so make sure that you follow me on Instagram
and keep an eye out on my Shorts tab as well
and just we'll see what I come up with next.
Let me know as well if you're gonna have a go
at creating some of these stars
or if you've tried to in the past as well.
Thank you so much for watching
and I'll see you in the next Vlogmas video.
And of course thank you to Skillshare
for sponsoring today's video.
Remember to click that top link in the description.
The first 1000 people to do so
will get a one month free trial of Skillshare.
Fabulous.
(happy festive music)