garden sofa

Thank you for all your 'Happy Birthdays' you really made me smile. My day was mostly spent at work, where they bought me a cake and we had some cava, (very nice!) then in the evening Stuart cooked us a delicious meal. (Crispy chicken with serrano ham and tallegio cheese on a tomato sauce) There is no picture as I ate it too quickly! For my birthday Holly got me a beautiful summer dress, which she chose with some help from Stuart I think, but it is very nice and it fits! I'll take a picture. And this is my present from Stuart, its a fantastic fold-up sofa for the garden. I've wanted one since they started making them last summer, and now one is mine! I don't have it yet, it is being delivered on friday, I am hoping for some sun so that I can try it out. (sofa and picture from johnlewis.co.uk) And how nice to discover that I was in an etsy treasury west on my birthday, thanks backwoodsophisticate ! Some new keyrings are now starting to make their way into my shop, the one above is there now, another one later : )

happy birthday to me

Can you spot me? There are 275 etsy people whos birthday it is today, I think I will be having a look around some of their shops later. So today I am (whisper really quietly) 34, where is the time going? I've just realised that I have missed my 100th post (last week sometime) and with it being my birthday too I think I will be planning a little giveaway soon, so keep your eyes open for a chance to win. And I took this photo last night out of Holly's bedroom window, we are certainly having April showers, can you see the faint second rainbow? Thank you for all your kind craft fair wishes too : )

craft fair sunshine

Well I survived the craft fair! It wasn't a resounding success but not a disaster either, I sold a little bit of everything which I think shows that my range and prices must be going in the right direction at least. It was a bit of a trek to get there, involving a lift to the station and then two trains, then a ten minute walk. Luckily I had managed to pack everything into a shoulder bag and a small suitcase that I could pull along so carrying it all was fine. I was slightly disconcerted when I got there as the shop it was in was a lot smaller than I thought and it was in a small parade of shops in quite a residential area. But the garden out the back of the shop where the fair was set up was a nice space and we had a steady stream of people. The weather was great, really hot and sunny, so much so that I managed to get a red neck and arms! I also met a few fellow bloggers and etsy sellers, Lottie Frank , Cheeky Leopard and The White Verandah . And I spotted a celebrity chef, Gennaro Contaldo too! I think on balance that my first craft fair like this will probably be my last, as taking a whole day out is quite hard to do when you work full time and have a family, and I don't think it would be feasable on a regular basis. But after being invited to take part I am glad that I did, it was a fun and exhausting day. And we were so lucky with the weather, it has been raining today! For those of you that wanted to know when any keyrings left would be back in my etsy shop, there a few there now, if your ideal colour isn't there, I will be listing a few more in the next few days. : )

cutting into new fabric is hard!

Yes, I find cutting into new fabric quite hard, but with this one it was a bit easier as I couldn't wait to make something with it. So here is the first pouch/purse with the fabric I showed you earlier in the week as it's lining. I am quite pleased with how it has turned out, the colours work well and the thickness of the fabric lends some weight to the finished item. And one of my other pouches/purses is in a treasury, thanks Subrosa123! Wish me luck for tomorrow, I almost have everything ready to go, and if any of you happen to be in London tomorrow do come and say hello! : )

my fingernails are getting shorter

Here is the latest pile of things ready to go to the craft fair on saturday, I made some little labels for them that I am quite pleased with, they were quite tricky to put onto the curved keyring but I got there in the end. At the moment I have one keyring to finish, one purse to paint, and then three pouches to iron, along with my table cover. That is my plan for tonight, then I will have friday evening to unlist everything from my shops and make sure I have everything ready to go. And I must remember price labels... This beautiful tree is in our street outside next doors house, it's blossom is such a gorgeous deep pink and it is lovely to see when I draw the curtains in the morning, so I thought I would share it with you before all the blossom is gone. The sun is shining here this morning, some springlike weather at last! : )

more fabric!

On my day off on Monday I went to the fabric shop to stock up on some basic supplies. But what do I find? One of my favourite prints in a different colourway!! The flowery patterned one I already have in a light blue jersey (see the lining of the new purse I showed you a few days ago) and now I have it in coffee/raspberry too! This is a thicker more textured fabric, but I have already nearly finished a new purse using it as the lining and it has a great luxurious feel to it. I bought two metres... maybe I need more... and, one of my little boxes has made it into an etsy treasury, thanks fishlegs! : )

boxes everywhere!

I have had busy fingers for the last few weeks, and here are some of the results! I think it isn't until you make a number of something that you can see how they work together, I could spend a long time with these deciding on combinations, I like how they seem to work on their own, or you could have a number sat together. Back to work today, a rush this morning as I took Holly to school as well, her poor little legs were going very fast! : )

worth a try

morning! We had quite a quiet weekend this week that involved lots of chores and a children birthday party. I did manage a bit of sewing, and I have started to get sorted out for the craft fair on saturday. Luckily I got given a huge piece of calico last weekend, which is perfect to use for my table cover, so that is one thing sorted. I have the day off work today so I am doing the school run, it is the first day back for Holly today after the Easter holidays. So I will be back later to catch up on all your blogs, but what, are you wondering, are those shoes?? Well these flip flops are called fitflops, and supposedly they give you a workout as you walk, by using lots of core muscles that don't get used very often. I keep seeing them and thought they looked worth a try, of course since I got them on Friday the weather has been really cold and I've been stuck in my winter boots! : )

Mmmmm

Here is a newly finished pouch/purse that will be going into the shop tonight, I am trying hard to make a few of these for the fair next week (next week!!) as all the ones of this design I have made previously have sold. This one is slightly different, in that the top folds over and closes with a snap fastener rather than a loop and felt ball that I have done before. I think my favourite part of these is how some of the lining fabric shows up the sides, a bit like piping. Last night we had a good friend around for dinner, this was supposed to happen at Christmas but we could never find a date that suited everyone! Stuart loves cooking and as he is on holiday from work this week he spent lots of time cooking, and I had to take pictures to show you the delicious results. The main course was lamb wrapped in lettuce, and the pudding was a lemon and almond cake with raspberries, hence the title of this post, mmmmmm! And I also wanted to say thank you very much to red otter for featuring me on her blog yesterday, what a lovely surprise : )

revealed

ok, so this is what my sneaky peek yesterday was all about, I have created a big pile of picciolo pencils using the same six designs I put on my cards. I had to modify the size and spend a while getting it right, but I am quite pleased with the results. I am going to take them to the craft fair next week as giveaways, and pop them into parcels as little extras before they get sent out too. I have been trying for ages to think of a small inexpensive item like this and at last they are done! : ) And, a lovely surprise awaited me yesterday when I visited cosy up 's blog, she had given me and several others this award, how kind! Some of my favourites received this award from cosy up too, including cicada daydream , red otter and fog and thistle , so I won't award it to them again, I am going to give it to: indigo blue , high desert diva , I'm a ginger monkey and claire's blog , really I would like to give it to everyone in my blog list but typing them all would take far too long (I wish there was a super quick way to do a link!). But I do love all of the blogs that I read every day, you know who you are and I think you are excellent even if I haven't listed you here. : )

???

This is a slightly blurred sneeky peek at something else I have been up to, I will show you a better picture tomorrow! And I just had to show you this, yesterday when I left for work I wrote Holly a little letter on this drawing board. When I got home she had written me a reply, with no help at all! Bear in mind that she is in her first year at school and has only just started writing sentences, she must have concentrated so hard to write this. I know it isn't very clear in the photo, it says: To mummy, I love you from Holly. I was so proud! And you can be sure I claimed all of those kisses! Thank you so much little sweetheart! : )

new cards

I noticed a short while ago that my stack of little business cards was running low, so I have been designing some new ones! The last lot I did were all the same, but this time I thought I would have a few different versions to show a wider range of things. As well as being cards I also use these in my packaging, so a choice of which one to use will be good, and I have freshened up the colours as well. Now I have a big stack of new cards to put in the card case I made myself last week : )

down on the farm

Holly and I had a great time at the farm despite the weather, which started off as above, but quickly changed to being freezing cold and showery. Holly made friends with a sheep that kept following her along the fence to be stroked, which she loved, I think that was her favourite part of the day. They also have lots of adventure playground type things, this being the best, it is like a very big bouncy pillow, and I wish adults were allowed on! We couldn't go home without spending a lot of time stroking every single rabbit available, you can get in their pens with them, and Holly went in to every one. I did manage to squeeze in some sewing when we got home, I'm starting to panic slightly about the craft fair I am doing in a couple of weeks now! : )

finished!

Remember my sneeky peek from last Friday? Well now it is finished, and this is the result! This pouch/purse has a little pocket on the front when you open it, and another larger pocket on the inside. The idea for this one has been in my head for some time, I wanted to achieve a finish that had more movement and life in it. Initially the leaves and stems were only attached at the bottom, but I felt that this left it a bit fragile, so added a single stitch to each to help give them a bit of stability without compromising their movement too much. The lining, which shows partially on the front too, (the purple band at the bottom) is part of a recycled tshirt, I bet it never thought it would end its days like this! : ) And I wanted to thank High Desert Diva for the little surprise she sent me in the post, do you recognise this little envelope? The one with the number two on I admired on her blog a little while ago, and now it has travelled all the way to the UK! Thank you so much, it was very kind of you to send it to me. And I also love all the stamps on the main envelope and the bird on the postcard, I had to show you them too. Thanks very much!! : ) And, in this, my longest post ever, I am also in a treasury! One of my purses with a padded circle on the front is here! ***And I have just seen that this treasury is on the front page of etsy, right now!!!*** Holly and I are off to a farm park today as I have the day off work and it is school holidays, so I will be catching up with all your blogs later. : )

ouch!

A few days ago I was attempting to tidy up my big fabric draw, and came across a needle felting kit that I have now had for nearly a year. I unpacked it all and started to follow the instructions, and I especially liked the last point which was simply 'now shape into a heart'. Great! So I spent a good while stabbing at my piece of wool, and it is quite amazing to see it gradually draw in on itself. I was rudely awakened though by Stuart, who was watching me, and his comment was 'Isn't life too short for that?' and I can see his point a bit, as it was taking me a while to get anywhere with it! And it is also very painful if you manage to stab yourself and not the wool, which I did quite a few times, ouch! But here are my results so far, hopefully as I work my way through the other 10 in the pack they will get better! : )

pinky pinks

Here are a couple of new keyrings, the top one is in my etsy shop now. It is such fun choosing the colour combinations for these! I hope you don't mind, but I have added quite a few of you to my list of blogs, to make it easier to keep up to date with your news without having to click through from comments left. : ) And, I have been tagged by the little illustrator . I was tagged a little while ago (see here) so I thought I would just follow the rule about posting a link to her blog. Have a happy wednesday, the sun is shining here today, and I have put my winter boots in the cupboard and put on these, my new spring-like shoes! : ) (picture from next.co.uk)