Feeling Productive

It is the start of January and I am feeling very productive, I almost feel like giving myself a tap on my back. Strange how it is the simple things that please us. I have been scrapping to my hearts content, so my January is off to a good crafty start. 

Last weekend was the Eclectic Keepsakes Crop, I love these days, I know I pretty much say it every month, but I can't help myself. It is so lovely to hang out with ladies who get the crafty thing. We had some newbies this month which was nice and as always there was the usual banter and gently teasing of me. This month was a little different as there was no actual class, so I actually got some layouts completed as well as doing plenty of chatting.

What am I saying, some stuff done. I completed FOUR, yes four pages. I made it my mission this year to do some Christmas layouts. I took lots of photos and even planned out some layouts in advance. Unfortunately I left them on the kitchen table, but my ever loving husband flew to my rescue and drove all the way home and then back again, with the layouts.

I love this photo of DD, her eyes are so big and she truly is full of Glee, she is such a huge fan. The papers are old Christmas ones, but I love that they are unusual Christmas colours. The pink works perfectly with DD dressing gown (the photo doesn't really show that).

For the layout below I used a sketch from the Sketch2Scrap app. It is so handy to have them on hand. I used a Hipstamatic photo (another iPhone app). I really like the effects, but the photos do come out a little dark once printed out.

Another Hipstamatic photo below, I used more traditional colours as they work so well with the big bow in DD's hair. 

My final layout features me and my lovely new boots. I scrap lifted a page from Julie Bonner's Blog, I was searching for some inspiration and I came across her blog. She has some lovely ideas. I also got to use the lovely papers that I bought at the last crop. 

I have actually done four more layouts this week, but I will show you them next time. So as you can see I am off to a flying start. I have started to make my 12x12 album to put my Christmas layouts in, this is proving a little tricky, but I am hoping to have it finished before the weekend, as there will be no crafting during the weekend as we are off to an outdoor show. Not exactly sure what it entails but I am sure that it will give me a chance to take lots of photos. 

Have a good weekend x

Merry Christmas!

The week before Christmas was spent making and dealing with illness, luckily we managed to kick the illness before Christmas Eve. DD and I made crackers for Boxing Day.

  We made decorations.

For our tree in the hall.

We decorated our Christmas cake.

DD made jam tarts for Father Christmas.

               

Together we made a centre piece for the table.

I have not done any scrapbooking but I hope to rectify this in the new year. I have failed in my target of 100 layouts in 2011, but there is always 2012.

For the first time in many years I actually have plans for New Years Eve, let's hope it is a good one. See you in 2012 x

A crafting high

As I sit here writing my post in between blowing my nose & sips of lemon & honey, I am still on a high. I feel like I have achieved something & I hope that, that feeling lasts a long time. Why do I feel this way? I feel this way because I sold something at the Colchester Christmas Market, if I am honest I sold a lot of things at the market. 

Vicky is the mastermind behind the whole thing, she organised us the table (lucky for us we were inside). She had the vision of how our table should look. Yes we do look very bundled up, it was so cold.

She also introduced me to the other lady who shared our table Lou. Lou is a true artist, the amount of detail that goes into her work is amazing. I fell in love with a red felt pin cushion that Lou had made & I made sure that it was mine by the end of the evening.

Here is our stall in all it's glory. You can see my bags hanging in the background, my owls were on the tree. Vicky had seen somewhere a great way of showing our brooches in a cake tray. As far as I am aware there were no other stalls like ours.

So now I have Christmas to look forward to & some scrapbooking to get back to. I think that I might fall a little short of my 100 target, but we will see. I have managed to just about keep up with documenting the run up to Christmas & I do plan to take lots of photos over the festive season.

Next week I have lots of things planned to do with my DD, we have decorations to make, mince pies to bake & stollen to attempt. So I might manage a sneaky post before Christmas. 

So that is what my blog looks like!

I hold my hands up, I have been a very bad blogger, so bad in act that I am now on Santa's naughty list. I can't believe that it is now December, I missed the whole of November. In my defence I have been busy, I have managed to go on holiday, start to prepare for a craft fair that I am attending, go to two crops as well as help my lovely husband buy a flat for him to stay in during the week. There is also all the usual Mum stuff too, going backwards and forwards to school, gymnastics, brownies and swimming with my DD.

My scrapbooking has gone completely out of the window, but after this months crop at Eclectic Keepsakes I can't wait to get back to it, I am brimming with ideas, it all needs to wait until after next Wednesday. Next Wednesday is a big day for me, I am being brave and I am attempting to sell some things at the Colchester Castle Park Christmas Market. I did say after my last attempt at selling my cards that I would never do it again, but my lovely friend Vicky has talked me round. Fingers cross that I sell something, I am feeling a little nervous. I have been busy making flower brooches like the buttonholes that I did for Vicky's wedding, I have also made some owls, covered journals and lastly bags made out of wool jumpers.

The bags started as an idea after I read The Inadvertent Farmer's Blog she had made a lovely bag and provided instructions on how to do it. Great I thought, something different, the hardest part has been finding the jumpers as they need to be 100% wool.

This was my first attempt, I am really pleased with the end result. What pleased me more is that I realised that I can get two bags out of one jumper.

I used the leftover sleeves to make the bag below. I cut down the seam of the sleeve to open it up, if you do this with both sleeves you then have a front and back. I used dowelling to make the handles sturdy. At some point I hope to add a how to, to my blog.

Here is another in purple. Foe the flower I used the Big Shot to cut out some hearts and a circle.

I think that this grey tote is my favourite, my Mum helped me line it . I have used brooch pins on the flowers so they can be moved or even taken off. Mum even used the shirt pocket, as a pocket inside.

So there we have some of my bags that I am hoping to sell (fingers crossed). If anyone fancies popping along, the Christmas market is next Wednesday 14th December at Colchester Castle, from 3pm. I would love to see some smiling faces and you never know you might even pick up some bits for Christmas. 

Then hopefully I will be back to normal :)

Wedding bells

I am going to a wedding today, my very good friend Vicky is tying the knot and I am very excited.

So this week has been all about the wedding. Vicky asked me to make her buttonholes, so I was happy to help out. I am really pleased with the results and can not wait to see them today.

Wednesday morning was spent making bows for the front of the wedding cars. As usual I turned to the wonder that is Youtube and found a great little lesson on how to make these, it is so simple. In the afternoon I made Vicky a card. I don't tend to make many cards these days, but I was really struggling to find something that I liked. Vicky is using the colours olive green, bright pink, maroon and deep purple so I used them on the card. The photo is of the happy couple at Vicky's birthday party earlier this year.

Yesterday was spent decorating the wedding venue (I will show photos next blog) Vicky and her family had gathered together lots of flowers and foliage and I think that it looks amazing, it also smells amazing as there is lots of lavendar and rosemary too.

So that has been my week, no flowers that I promised last blog, I am hoping to make some tomorrow at the Eclectic Keepsakes crop, I am sure that the lovely ladies there will help me and I am also really looking forward to Sue's class in the afternoon. I have managed to do a couple of quick layouts using Crate Paper papers. I love these papers, the colours are amazing.

Right I am off to glam up.

All thanks to Laurie

I have been having a slight drought with my scrapping mojo of late. Even a day spent with the lovely ladies at Eclectic Keepsakes did not manage to water my mojo. As yet I have only managed to finish one of the gorgeous layouts designed by Ann Freeman.

I took this photo on a day trip to Ickworth House, I love how the black & white photo goes so well with the lovely glittery papers that Ann used. A girl could be tempted to buy more in this range from My Minds Eye.

I have made a really good friend at the crop, Laurie. We go out for coffee and put the world to rights, this week she took me to a craft shop that she had found in Clacton. It is a great little find and if I had my mojo I am sure that I would have bought plenty, but I didn't (Steve, please take note!). The shop has pieces around that the staff have done, on a lovely tag there was a flower. This flower has taken my fancy, but I had no idea of where to start. This is where Laurie comes to my rescue, not only did she patiently explain how I could make one of these flowers, she went home and sent me an E-zine which had full instructions and photos. So hopefully this week I will be making flowers and have something to show you.

So Laurie has spurred me on and given me a friendly shake (just what I needed).
Look what I have managed to do.....

Not only have I managed to complete a layout I also managed to use Glimmer Mist and this gorgeous blingy flourish. Just what the scrapping mojo ordered.

So let's hope that this is a more scrappy week, I am hoping to have flowers, a layout and also the completed buttonholes that I have been asked to make to show you next, wish me luck x

Feeling a little lost

So yesterday my DD went back to school, she has gone into juniors (whatever that means). Now in the past I would be jumping for joy, planning what I would be doing to fill my child free days. Scrapping and crafting to my hearts content. This year I do not feel the joy, I still have not scrapped, I tidied my dining room instead (shock horror)!! Don't get me wrong DD is happy to be back at school (thankfully), as I type this she is downstairs all dressed and ready to go, an hour before the doors open.

While DD was at home last week I finished, yes finished a project just for her. I have been playing around with some material flowers and I decided to have a go using felt. Normally felt would be in my DD's craft box, what a waste, it is fabulous stuff! DD asked if she could have some of the flowers for her hair. So I was happy to oblige.

I started off with a circle of felt, that I then cut into quarters. I make five petals so you will need at another circle.

I then tied a not at the end of some thread and did running stitch along the curved part of the felt quarter, I used the same thread on all five pieces. I then pulled the thread so that the pieces gather together to form my flower.

I then sewed on a button as the middle of the flower.

Attached a hairgrip.

And made five more, so that DD has six.

Then attached to DD, who is very happy with them and has requested more in other colours.

So again still no scrapbooking, I am hoping that this will change on saturday as it is the Eclectic Keepsake's Crop. That reminds me I must do my photos.