A sneak peek at "The THING!"

I have put my name down to set a Time to Create challenge over on Crafts by Carolyns later on in the year. I had an idea of what I was going to do straight away as I had "something" lurking in a dusty box on the top of a cupboard in my craftroom that I wanted to use as inspiration!

I have been working on "the thing" on and off since last weekend and have really enjoyed it, until yesterday I sliced my thumb on my scissors. My awkward attempt at crafting since then hasn't been so enjoyable.

I cannot share anymore with you until nearer the time but until then, why don't you pop over to Carolyn's and join in with the current challenges!

Hello Tilda & Edwin, long time no see!

It's been a very long week. I have had no real child free time for over 3 weeks now. SO- after a rather noisy morning at the Pre-school I told myself I deserved a bit of me time! I had my lunch and headed straight for my craft room.

I ended up making a simple little card topper and greeting and I have popped it onto Ebay alongside one I made yesterday! I don't suppose they will be of much interest or sell, but I had fun making them and that's what matters!

I had forgotten how much fun colouring and adding the tiny little details could be!

x X x

Going potty about recycled pots!!!

I am striking whilst the iron is hot! Grasping at the little bit of creativity I have found, straight after blogging this yesterday afternoon, I grabbed the next pot to hand and got ripping out pages of that old book again! Decoupatching it didn't take long at all..I even started on another item too before dinner!

This morning I have very quickly decorated my newly "tarted" pencil pot and I am feeling quite smug that I have now actually got two little storage item that sort of match! The beginnings of a whole collection hopefully.

Oh well, creativity must be put on hold. I need to get start getting ready for work.

x X x

Up-cycled pots and crafty storage.

Over the last few days I have been making an attempt to tidy my craft room, declutter and re-organise. IF I am ever going to get back into crafting I need to be able to actually move in my little room! My room was always going to be a thrown together, mish mash of storage. Certainly not like the dreamy, designer craft rooms you see in the mags or online. To see a little bit of carpet would be nice....but instead I chose to use my precious time sorting, colour co-ordinating buttons into glass jars! Hmmm

My Doctor has told me to make more "me time!" SO under Doctors orders I have come home from work and instead of doing some washing up or hoovering...I have finished decorating the knitting needle pot I decoupatched last year.

I used pages from a very old, discoloured book, ripped them up and stuck with a watered down mixture of PVA. Today I attack it with lace, ribbon and flowers!

I hope to "style" more storage and pots in this way to give some "uniformity" to my mish mash room!

Hope to see you again soon, with my next installment!

x X x

Another box and some Thunderbirds!

Just thought I'd pop along and show you another little box I have made. I made this one for Jack to use as a little gift box for his girlfriend. Really enjoyed making it, quite quick and easy. It took me much longer to choose the paper than it did to actually make the box!

I have been stuck at home for over a week now with an awful flu bug, hopefully the antibiotics will kick in soon. During my time at home I haven't felt well enough to actually do anything but my poor little brain has been going into overdrive. I'd really like to step up my crafting again, posssibly even long term, I love to consider going self employed and trying to earn a little money from it! Hey ho, I can dream can't I!

Anyway, I need to pick some brains that are actually working, mine is still feeling rather fuzzy! I have an old single duvet cover in my cupboard, that I thought too good to just throw....rather retro....any ideas what I could do with it? LOL Is it "Thunderbirds are go!" or is it Thunderbirds gone in the bin!

"Woolly Hugs!"

I have taken part in my first ever "woolly hug" blanket. A lovely Mumsnet donor posted me some wool, Rowan Cashsoft DK and the rest was up to me...as long as my square measured 6x6inches. I still have enough to make another square...possibly even two. Once finished I will post my squares to another member who will put all the squares together, eventually making up blankets for families in need of some comfort who have recently suffered a tragic loss!

I am quite a confident knitter but still I stuggled trying to find patterns for squares of this size. I love cabled knitting and when I happened to cross an aran jumper pattern using the "hugs and kisses" cable, I thought the idea would be perfect to use in my little square. A way of sending hugs and kisses through entwind cables.

Sorry, colours are awful, will try to update when I have better lighting. If any would like me to write up the pattern I am happy to do so.

I feel quite honoured to feel my little square/s will join so many others from all over the place to provide a comforting, keepsake. Probably even more so as a dear friend lost her husband tragically and unexpectedly, on Valentine's Day. Leaving her with 3 boys to bring up alone, the middle boys being just a little older than Amelia, also has Down Syndrome. It's left me feeling that life is so very precious and that I just had to contribute to something "useful" for families in such awful situations. My heart goes out to you.

Sorry, more waffle!

x X x

Thoughtful Friday!

Did you see the sunrise this morning? It's a shame the colours never quite came out as vivid on the photographs but I still think it looks pretty.

Still in search of some creativity, will let you know if I find some!

x X x

The Little Box Swap!

I have just taken part in a little box swap over at Crafts by Carolyn forum. We were given a few links to make up our little boxes and then crammed them with tiny little goodies and swapped. I really had fun making up the box, easy to do and surprisingly sturdy. Then I rummaged aroung my craft boxes to try to make up a varied selection of bits and bobs. I had forgotten all about some of them!

Here are some of the goodies I put in my little box, when it was as full as I could get it, I sprinkled seed beads into it to try and fill up all the little gaps.

A grat fun and enjoyable swap, thank you.

x X x

Snowy Sunday

Well, they said it was coming, looking out the window last night, it was quite blizzard like. Here's what we woke up to this morning. Just typical really as we had a sickness lurgy in the house last week, with Chris missing a day's work (and pay) Jack missing most of the week at school and Amelia the whole week. Fingers crossed that the snow won't cause too much disruption tomorrow and our little corner of Kent does not come to a complete stand-still!

Chris and Jack clearing the drive.

Our snowy little garden.

Stay safe, stay warm. I am sorting out patterns and wool in another vain attempt to dust off my knitting needles.

Wedding Invitation samples.

Things are hectic in the "Dingle House." Chris is starting a day release course from work, this means his already overloaded work schedule is being crammed into a 4 day week. I am helping to cover sickness at work and fitting in 5 session a week at the Pre-school for a little while.

It was my "day off" today so after trying to catch up on the boring things like phone call and housework, I decided to start putting together the ideas I had for a Wedding Invitation enquiry I have had.

Very basic design but I think I would have preferred that the dotty paper was blue and perhaps the ribbon was wider.

Still, it has long last got me in my craft room.....still can't really see my desk though! LOL

I am determined to get creative again this year, perhaps I need some new goodies to play with to inspire me!

Adele
x X x

Just had to share......

....................THIS!!!!!

Ho, ho ho!!!! It's has been a very long hard day, I feel tired and grumpy and getting stressed that I am running out of time (especially child-free time!) BUT when Amelia came home and gave this to me it put the biggest smile on my face ever. Isn't it often the smallest things in life that make the biggest impact!

Sorry for the waffle and the awful lighting but I just wanted to share some Christmas spirit.

Love 'n' hugs.

x X x

Well, just back from another hospital visit with Amelia. After several cancellations, I complained and we have at last got to see an ENT consultant. Amelia has been going round telling everyone that the doctor is going to "hoover her ears out" and we giggled about having to wait and the fact that I couldn't exactly clean them out with my Dyson!

Luckily the wait was unusually good but it seemed the consultant barely had time for us to sit down before he was trying to get us back out the door. At least her likkle ears are wax free again for a while but her has referred us to yet another Paediatric ENT consultant regarding her adenoids. Ho hum, something for us all to look forward to next year then!

Anyway, enough of the moaning, let's get on with the only little bit of creativity in a while. We melted some chocolate the other day and poured into some little Christmas moulds we salvaged from a previous year's Advent Calenders. Then after they had set Amelia enjoyed selecting them and putting them into our "Advent Truck" which was a bargain in the January sales at Lakeland Plastics.

Concentrating hard...decisions, decisions. Hmmmm

Hmmm, I wonder if mum would notice if one "went missing!"

"I'll save the spare one for Daddy!"

Thought Jack might have been too old to want to do this but I think the thought of chocolate swayed him to give 5 minutes of "Game time or tv time or computer time!"

Right, I have a few hours "spare" shall I try to do some crafting or start that fight for Amelia Blue Bagde that I keep on putting off?

Take care.

x X x

Santa Claus is coming to town..

I had a "day off" today. A day to attempt to catch up on housework, phone calls, work records...and even a bit of online shopping.

In a vain attempt to find my crafty mojo I have been scouring the crafty sites but got annoyed with myself for wasting so much time and still not knowing what to buy to get me crafting again. Eventually I settled for a few downloaded Christmas sentiments so I have at least created SOMETHING today.
This afternoon I sat at my breakfast bar singing "Santa Claus is coming to town" all to myself! I coloured the sentiments with my copic markers, inked the edges , backed them onto an old Cuttllebug stamp shape die and finished off with a dab of Glossy Accents on the berries.

I might add a dash of glitter or metallic high lights....that will have to wait until my next "day off!"

Ho, Ho, Ho! ( Trying to get Festive!)

xxx