Sunday Afternoons

Every now and then I get to have a crafty Sunday afternoon and if I am lucky I might even have company, this Sunday was one of those Sundays. DD is a Brownie (which she loves) and we were emailed last week about the Braiswick Handicraft Show, which we are encouraged to encourage our DD's to take part in. We have been sent a list of crafts that they can attempt. Now I am being honest here, by saying that if I got to enter I think I would have an entry for everything, but DD is a little more reserved so she picked out two. Posy of three paper flowers and a necklace of handmade beads. After a trip The Range for supplies, we sat down together. DD chose to do the necklace first, we had talked through a couple of options, like paper beads, but DD chose Fimo (good choice). She picked her colours red, white & blue to go with the theme of the jubilee and got to work.

First she rolled out the Fimo.

Then she measured, marked & cut to get the beads roughly the same size.

She rolled to get the bead shape.

Then she skewered them, this puts the hole through the middle & also helps them in the oven. Mummy puts them in the oven for required time.

Once cooled, DD then threads them on some elastic in her chosen pattern.

Hey presto! We have a finished necklace, ready for the handicraft show. Next task the posy of paper flowers.

What was I doing I hear you ask, well I was making this very yummy Rhubarb Bakewell Tart, recipe courtesy of The Caked Crusader. I have never used rhubarb before in a recipe, but I will definitely be making this again, it is very yummy. So there we have it my crafty sunday afternoon, very productive I think.

Can you see the potential?

Over the last couple of months I have been dabbling with crochet. I am finding it much easier than knitting & it is much easier to play around with as well as very easy to undo if you go wrong. I have completed a couple of hats for DD & her dollies & also made a flower brooch for her new denim jacket.

As yet I have not managed to complete a take out coffee cozy, which is what I am really wanting for me, I just can't seem to get the shape right. I have lots of odd flowers & granny squares but nothing to actually put together.

So I am challenging myself to make myself a crochet bag & finish it. A lot to ask I know, but a challenge is a challenge. I have fallen in love with the variegated wools that you can buy, you know the stuff that changes colour. So I have treated myself to a couple of balls & I have started with some circles.
I love the colours, they are very girly. Can you see the potential? This was last nights effort, so if I can average four circles a night, I might actually have a bag by next month. We shall see, wish me luck.

Squeezing in a crop

Last weekend was a busy one for me, Saturday was crop day and then on Sunday we made the trip to Stratford Upon Avon for a family wedding. We had planned to go to Stratford on the Saturday and make the most of the long weekend, but the weather has been so awful that we decided against it, which was good for me as it meant that I got to go to the Eclectic Keepsakes Crop. It has been ages since I last went and it was so good to catch up with the ladies there.

I usually plan some layouts out in advance but I didn't do that this time, so I wasn't as productive as I could have been, I also spend a lot of time chatting. I love catching up with the ladies and I will admit to having some favourites. I also love looking at other people's stash, a lovely lady called Eileen has an amazing stash, I actually think that she could name any piece of paper you put in front of her. She also make gorgeous layouts. She has given me some washi tape to use on a layout, she is convinced that I will love it. I need some convincing but I plan to have a go.

This is my first layout that I managed to complete. I took the photo of DD on the morning of her birthday,  hence the big smiley face.

Here's a close up of the tape measure running a long the bottom of the photo, I stamped round the eight and then added some bling. Makes a change to a stamped number, I am really liking all the tape measures that are around at the moment.

The class this month was by Ann Freeman, I usually love Ann's layouts at first sight, but this time I was a little troubled by what I saw. There were paint and ink splatters and also large painted letters, all of which is totally out of my comfort zone! Ann as always was cheerful and VERY patient. I did brave the splatters but didn't push the boat out & paint the title. As I am sure I have mentioned before I am what I call an anal scrapper, I do straight lines and don't tend to use loads of embellishments. I guess we all have our own styles. I do like my finished layout, so much that I have attempted more ink splatters.

Unfortunately my ink splatters are not as subtle as Ann's, but I am liking how it takes some of the whiteness away from the background, it is not so stark.

I managed to take some photos at the wedding and I plan to take some more at the wedding party this weekend, so hopefully you will see them on some layouts soon. Who knows there might even be some washi tape and ink splatters.

For the love of coffee

Is anybody else hating all this rain? It makes a girl want to just snuggle up in front of the fire and not go out. I am definitely getting my moneys worth from my wellies and raincoat. The only upside is that I get to spend time in my craft room, always a plus.

This post is dedicated to my love of coffee & Starbucks, a love that I am now sharing with my DD. For years now I have frequented Starbucks, I guess it started when we lived in New York. Even when I was pregnant and off coffee I would go in there for a donut and a sit down on one of their comfy chairs. We were lucky enough to have a Barnes & Noble bookstore near us that had a Starbucks in store. Books & coffee, my kind of heaven.

I have coffee in the mornings with my breakfast & when I go over to my friend Vicky's it is coffee that we drink. If I am in town I will try & make time so that I can sneak a coffee in.  For years my DD has gone along with this, when we returned to New York for a visit my DD & I got into the habit of going to Starbucks for coffee for Mummy & a donut for Ella. I would grab a take away & take Ella to the park. It has now got to the point that if I take Ella into town she is just as desperate to go to Starbucks as I am.

The layout below show's Ella's favourite coffee, shame that it was only a limited edition. She is even bold enough to go & order what she would like on her own, my little girl is growing up.

The next layout shows a photo of our order together. When my DH has his haircut in town, Ella & I go & get ourselves a magazine each & then go to Starbucks. We sit on the sofa if it is available flicking through our magazines, looking at new fashions & boy bands sipping our coffees. 

The photo doesn't really show that I stamped some swirls around the butterflies and also drew a border around the edge. I still think that it is missing something, but the beauty is that if I think of something I will be add it at a later date.

Well next weekend is going to be a busy one, I am finally getting to go to a crop (hooray!) and we are also attending a family wedding, let's hope that the weather improves. Should be a great opportunity for some photo taking. 

Happy Birthday Ella

This week was my Ella's 8th birthday, and I am still in a little denial about it. From being a little girly girl, she is now showing signs of becoming a big girly girl. This years birthday was all about gymnastics and One Direction, yes my DD loves a boy band.

Again I have done no real scrapbooking but I have done some cake baking. Ella's birthday cake is where I try to pull out all the stops. I had an image in my head and a trip to a shop called Almond Art, helped me with trying to make it.

In my head I saw a cake covered in flowers, with butterflies fluttering over the top. The idea came at Christmas when my Mum & Dad bought me some butterfly cutters for Christmas. Unfortunately for me my butterflies were a little over weight.

The didn't really flutter, as more dive bombed the cake, oh well Ella loved it (which is all that matters) and said that I was very clever (added bonus).

Finally here is the gorgeous birthday girl, she is growing up so fast. I managed to get some shots of her on her birthday so I will have have something to scrap at the next crop, which I am going to hell or high water.

Back to normal

The Easter holidays have flown by, I guess it helps when they are jam packed. As for crafting my prediction was right, I didn't do any. So as I sit at my worktop looking down at a layout I started before Easter, I can't remember where I was going with it. Oh well let's hope some inspiration returns.

The End of March

The last week of March has been glorious this year and I have spent much of it outside. We are sorting out the bottom of our garden, which has involved us deepening the ditch so that we can put in some pipes and then covering with tonnes and tonnes of soil, all of which needed to be shifted by hand. It will be worth all the hard work once it is finished.

This is our garden before we started work.

I also managed to have a day off from working in the garden to go to Cambridge for the day, as I have never been. It is a lovely place and I will definitely be going back. Relaxing by the river was a great way to spend my birthday in the sunshine. This is me and my lovely husband enjoying a boat ride on the River Cam.

 

With all the above going on I surprised myself by managing to complete three layouts. Funnily enough they are all winter themed which feels a little strange with all this gorgeous weather. As always my DD is the feature. I used sketches from My Little Sketch Blook, Creative Scrappers and ATDML, all of which are a great source for ideas and sketches.

I have dusted of some of my very many stamps to stamp a boarder on this layout. I had forgotten how much I enjoy stamping, I love how it adds just a little extra to a page.

The layout below is my first attempt of using embossed card, which I sanded a little to bring out the snowflakes. I also used some rub ons from my sale stash.

More stamping on the layout below and the odd rub on, I even managed some bling.

So Easter holidays have started, so not sure how much crafting I will get done. Am hoping that the sunshine sticks around and that it continues to be warm (I am not holding my breath though). Hope the Easter bunny brings you lots of eggs x