it's friday!

It's Friday everyone! Hooray. I know it has been a short week, but it seems to have lasted a very long time. I am glad to be home from work, even if I have got a list of things to do as long as my arm. (One of them was to put a bottle of wine in the fridge, I've done that one!) Above is my latest little box, it will be listed at some point over the weekend. This cream colour has been going well and my stash of this colour is fast depleting, and it has been discontinued. Typical. Last night Holly and I had a game of hide and seek, can you spot her in the pictures below? We had lots of fun, except when she couldn't find me, (I was under the desk with the chair pulled in) she started crying, she was worried about me, what a sweetie! Hope your Friday has been good, I'm going to check that I haven't burnt the dinner now... : )

pencils!

I bought the above pendant a few weeks ago from Jen Maestre over on etsy, I fell in love with it and ended up treating myself for my birthday. It arrived a couple of weeks ago and I've worn it most days since, can you believe that it is made out of pencils? Very apt for me I thought, being a graphic designer (weak excuse I know, but I had to buy it!) I was wearing it on Saturday when the weather here was really hot and sunny, and after being outside for most of the day I ended up with the pendant shape outlined on my skin when I took it off! Thankfully it has faded a bit since then. And I did have suncream on! And did you notice the other item in the photo? In my parcel Jen included this wonderful brooch, it was a wonderful surprise and already it has pride of place on my jacket. (Jen has let me know that my extra item was a special birthday present, she doesn't usually have extra items to send out as she is so in demand. This makes me even more lucky, thanks Jen!) So if you love pencils, this is the store for you, be warned if you go and look, you will want to buy everything! : ) (the weather here is still grey and raining, I am looking forward to an evening of sewing, whilst ignoring the ironing pile) : )

a grey day

It has been a miserable day here today, grey clouds and drizzle. Yuck! I've been trying to take photos of things but haven't had much luck. I have listed this little 'home for pins' though, and can you believe it, the one I posted to Australia on Friday afternoon got there yesterday! That's quicker than the post here I'm sure. I've also been working on a custom order, but I won't show it here until I know the person that it is forhas seen it. Off to body combat soon, another dose of rain for me on my bike. : )

back to work

After a lovely long weekend it was back to work for me today. The photo above shows the glorious weather we had when we stayed with friends on saturday, we went walking along the sea front after a really nice pub lunch, and later on we had a barbecue. We were certainly lucky with the weather as it rained for the rest of the weekend, typical bank holiday! I have also been busy sewing once we were home again, this new 'home for pins' is now listed. I hope you all had a good weekend : )

and the winners are....

Ok, so the time is up, and the draw has been made! I put all 55 names in a hat (well my very favourite birdie bowl actually) and then got my wonderful assistant Holly to pick two names. First out of the hat (ok bowl) to win one of my fabric boxes was... milliedog designs! And then the second winner, who will receive one of my soft keyrings, is emily! If you could both email me your postal addresses I will get them on their way to you, I will pick both the box and keyring at random from my stock, so it will be a surprise when you get your parcel. Thanks to everyone that entered and for all your kind comments. I'm off now to make some more 'homes for pins' as the first one I posted about yesterday is now on it's way to Australia! (Thanks Annie!) : )

homes for pins

This is the finished item from one of my sneeky peek photos the other day, a squishy, huggable (not with pins in) home for your pins. And it is double sided, combining one of my favourite fabrics with a fabric painting, allowing you to choose which side you want face up at any time. Easy to use and a cheerful item for your sewing table! This one will be listed in my etsy shop later this evening. I managed most of my to-do list from yesterday, which means my felt is super tidy and I can spend the evening choosing a new set of colours for another pincushion, (once I've done the boring things like laundry). : ) Last day to enter my giveaway, see here : )

parcels and tags

A wonderful parcel was delivered to me at work yesterday, and I was itching to open it but had to wait all day until I got home. And look at what was inside, a stock replenishment for my pile of felt which I bought from my fantastic sister over at paper-and-string . I now need to sort out and tidy all my felt as it is taking over! And, I've been tagged! By the amazing little byrd , click here , to check out her answers, here are mine: 1. What was I doing 10 years ago? Ten years ago I was living in Stratford-upon-Avon in this little cottage with Stuart. I was working in Oxford and had a 90 mile round trip each day which included 3 miles on my bike. It makes me tired just remembering! 2. What are 5 things on my to-do list for today? Pick up the car from the garage Listen to Holly practice her reading Sort out things to take in for the school summer fair Photograph my two new items Sort out my felt pile (urgent!) 3. Snacks I enjoy Chocolate Nuts, seeds and raisins Cereal Chocolate(!) 4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire Pay off my mortgage and all the families, go on a wonderful holiday (or two) and have at least one lie-in a week. And make more time to create things than I have at the moment! 5. Places I have lived before Plymouth, Exeter, Stratford-upon-Avon, Birmingham, now in London. Now I am not going to tag anyone in particular, but if you feel like sharing then consider yourself tagged! And don't forget to enter my giveaway if you haven't already, see this post for a chance to win! : )

busy fingers

I seem to have been on a roll the last couple of evenings and these two new items are nearly ready. I don't think I have given too much away in the photos, I need to paint them tonight and then get them photographed and ready to list. I love it when little ideas come together better than you had hoped. : ) And don't forget to enter my giveaway if you haven't already, see this post for a chance to win! : )

new!

It's finished! Here is my new pouch/purse, which I have just listed in my etsy shop. After a weekend involving a car with a petrol leak and much worrying, something simple like finishing this item has helped bring my stress levels back down a little bit! I've also got a couple of new projects up my sleeve, more of them soon. And don't forget to enter my giveaway, see my previous post for a chance to win! : )

It's giveaway time!!

Ok, so at last I am having a giveaway! I missed my 100th post, and my 5,000th blog hit, but hey ho, it is here now. And this is what I am giving away to two different winners, one of my little handy boxes, and one of my soft keyrings. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me which is your favourite item in my etsy shop . You have until Friday 23rd to leave your comment, I will draw the two winners in a random manner on friday evening (UK time). Good luck everyone! : )

finished!

At last after a stressful week I can add something new to my shop, this little box will be listed later on. I think this is one of my favourite colours! And do you remember my wonderful butterfly stickers from Paper Menagerie ? Well my grandads box is now finished and I am very pleased with the results. In the end I just cleaned up the box and positioned the stickers to enhance the different stains and knocks the box has had over its life, I don't think it needed much and I wanted to keep its character. I love it! Now, what to keep in it... : ) See you tomorrow for my giveaway information!

cheeky fox

Just a little note to let you know that the details of my giveaway will be posted on saturday, sorry for the delay, what a week! And look at this cheeky fox, he is fast asleep in broad daylight on our next door neighbours shed roof! I sneaked up on him to get a better photo and he wasn't bothered by me at all, but after all that this photo was the best. I had Holly and Stuart laughing at my sneaking attempts from her bedroom window! And thank you all for your kind comments, they are much appreciated : )

oh the stress, what a relief

Yesterday was sooo stressful, but in the end the outcome was good so I can't complain. The (very very helpful) pc man came at lunchtime and discovered that the power supply had blown, which he said was very common and easy to fix. So he tried a new one which worked, and then tested the mother board which was ok. So then he started up the computer and got nothing. Oh, he said, some bad news !?!?!? Apparently our hard disk had been damaged, and we could either try and retrieve everything which would mean sending it away, (and cost a lot of money), try and restore the hard disk or have a new one. Not wonderful news. But then we had a wonderful piece of luck, when everything had been unplugged for the fitting of the new power supply, when it all got plugged in again it worked! I think we were very lucky. The worst thing is that we had everything plugged into an expensive surge protector plug which should have prevented it happening in the first place! So I went back to work very happy. But part two. I came home in the evening and sat down to try and catch up on things, and I could get onto the internet no problem, but not log into any sites. It kept saying there were problems with the websits security certificates. After five phone calls, one system restore and nearly two hours, it got sorted. It was because the time and date had been reset on our computer when the power supply was changed, which meant they didn't match those on the sites I wanted to visit. By this time I was very stressed and exhausted, but so happy now it is sorted. What a week, and it is only wednesday. I shall try to shake off all my worries in my body combat class tonight! To show that I have done a little bit of sewing here is an update on the work in progress I showed you last week, it is coming on! : )

phew!

After a very stressful day, our computer is now ok!! (she says with all her fingers crossed) Hopefully normal service will resume tomorrow! : )

fingers crossed : /

It seems that it is our turn for computer problems, I went to turn it on yesterday, and nothing. Not even a light. We have someone coming on Tuesday to look at it, so we have all our fingers crossed. So this post has been done on a dial up connection, hence no pictures, I just wanted to let you know in case you wondered where I had gone, especially after promising a give-away! It will be coming, hopefully we will know more on Tueday. : )

new project

You know when you have an idea stuck in your head, not quite there yet but struggling to get out? Well this one has been tormenting me for a little while now, I have been itching to start it but it has only now become fully formed enough to let me start cutting out the fabric. It will all have to be unpinned again as I have decided that this item will need to be painted before I start any sewing, a first for me as the painting is usually the last part of the process. The pouch/purse below is a new addition to the shop, it has a wonderful Robert Kaufman lining which you can just see peeking out : ) Oh and also, I haven't forgotten, I will be doing a giveaway sometime next week, so stay tuned! : )

lots of pictures today!

Hello! Here is the second pouch/purse, this one uses the new fabric I got a couple of weeks ago which is a bit thicker than cotton and lends a nice weight to the finished item. I can't decide which is my favourite colourway at the moment, when I look at this one I think 'cappuccino and pink', but then when I see yesterdays I love the different blues with the lime! And can you believe it, yesterday I managed to snag a treasury, which I have filled with all the fabric I would buy if I had limitless money to do so. Imagine having a room full of all of these, heaven! And finally, I have found a box for my butterfly stickers project, I remembered this box that I inherited in a box of tools from my grandad. It was homemade (by grandad?) to house his wood plane, but I think it is too nice to hide away and never be used so I have found the plane a new home. I have also dug out some sandpaper, and it is in need of a good clean too. Just look at the inside of the lid, I love it, it looks as if the date stamped on the original box was 3rd April 1914. I know that this isn't the most beautifully finished box, but it has a lot of history and means so much more because it was my grandads. : )

butterflies and lime

At last I have got my act together and have three new purses/pouches ready to go into the shop. This style of pouch is fast becoming my best seller, so far all the ones I have made have been sent to various points around the world which is very nice! This one is in the shop now. And the postman had a nice surprise for me yesterday, my parcel from paper menagerie arrived! These stickers are made from repurposed paper and I couldn't resist them. Go on over and take a look, especially as they have a sale on at the moment! I have a plan in my head that I will find a really nice simple wooden box and use these to decorate it, varnishing over the stickers. I just need to find the perfect box now! : )

leaves everywhere

So the trees are down. It was a bit shocking to walk into the garden for the first time afterwards, but I do admit that it looks so much better. My mum, dad and nan have been visiting for the weekend and we spent a lot of sunday in the garden, trying to tidy it up. We filled about eight bags with green waste before we were too tired to go on, and a good start has been made. Thanks mum and dad! I have had a couple of attempts to count the rings, so far I have got to 90 but I don't think it was very accurate. And my fantastic sofa arrived, we have had such good weather this weekend that it has been in use in the garden already, I had to prise myself off it to take this picture! A couple more keyrings have made it into the shop, one is on its way to the Isle of Wight at the moment! : )