https://sarahmcdonnell.co.uk/ Creative projects, honest opinions and real life. en Sun, 08 Nov 2026 10:26:40 GMT https://sarahmcdonnell.co.uk/worst-potter-in-the-room-defence-of-beginners/ https://sarahmcdonnell.co.uk/worst-potter-in-the-room-defence-of-beginners/ Adults in this country have quietly agreed that hobbies are only worth doing if you turn out to be secretly brilliant at them. I've spent nine weeks being visibly mediocre at pottery, and I'd argue it's the most useful thing I've done all year. Sarah McDonnell Creative Projects Sun, 08 Nov 2026 08:40:54 GMT https://sarahmcdonnell.co.uk/four-pound-candle-defences-against-4pm-sunset/ https://sarahmcdonnell.co.uk/four-pound-candle-defences-against-4pm-sunset/ There's a point in early November when the dark stops being atmospheric and starts being a slog. Here are five genuinely cheap things that have helped me through it, plus two that absolutely did not, because you deserve the full picture. Sarah McDonnell Opinion Sun, 08 Nov 2026 08:40:54 GMT https://sarahmcdonnell.co.uk/twenty-quid-four-charity-shops-questionable-blazer/ https://sarahmcdonnell.co.uk/twenty-quid-four-charity-shops-questionable-blazer/ I gave myself £20 and a Saturday to build a whole outfit from UK charity shops. There were fitting-room sweats, one regret, one genuine gem, and a rather uncomfortable lesson about my own taste. Sarah McDonnell Creative Projects Sun, 08 Nov 2026 04:42:40 GMT https://sarahmcdonnell.co.uk/mulled-wine-mud-mild-panic-festive-markets/ https://sarahmcdonnell.co.uk/mulled-wine-mud-mild-panic-festive-markets/ I love Christmas. I do not love paying £9 for a lukewarm hot chocolate while standing in a muddy field with 4,000 strangers. Here is my honest, slightly grumpy, entirely practical guide to festive markets — including permission to stay home. Sarah McDonnell Opinion Sun, 08 Nov 2026 04:42:40 GMT https://sarahmcdonnell.co.uk/case-for-deliberately-unambitious-november/ https://sarahmcdonnell.co.uk/case-for-deliberately-unambitious-november/ November has become a self-improvement bootcamp before the actual bootcamp of January. I am opting out this year and calling it Slowvember instead — not as a productivity hack, but as a quiet refusal to reinvent myself in the dark. Sarah McDonnell Opinion Sun, 08 Nov 2026 00:42:46 GMT https://sarahmcdonnell.co.uk/weekend-stopped-polishing-made-a-zine-anyway/ https://sarahmcdonnell.co.uk/weekend-stopped-polishing-made-a-zine-anyway/ I gave myself 48 hours, a cheap photocopier and a strict ban on overthinking. The result was a slightly wonky zine, a kitchen table covered in paper offcuts and a useful lesson about finishing things. Sarah McDonnell Creative Projects Sun, 08 Nov 2026 00:42:46 GMT https://sarahmcdonnell.co.uk/christmas-ads-2026-unqualified-ranking/ https://sarahmcdonnell.co.uk/christmas-ads-2026-unqualified-ranking/ I have watched this year's festive commercials so you do not have to. Here is my honest, slightly grumpy and entirely personal ranking — including the one that made me cry into a mince pie. Sarah McDonnell Opinion Sat, 07 Nov 2026 20:43:13 GMT https://sarahmcdonnell.co.uk/one-hour-a-week-craft-project-creative-reset/ https://sarahmcdonnell.co.uk/one-hour-a-week-craft-project-creative-reset/ I used to think creativity needed a whole weekend and a clean kitchen table. This autumn, I tried giving it one hour a week instead. Here is what I made, what went wrong, and why I am not going back. Sarah McDonnell Creative Projects Sat, 07 Nov 2026 20:43:13 GMT