Where does the time go - almost July!

Well I don't know what happened to June, really I don't. Time seems to have really flown since my last post, for various reasons, and I'll explain a little more why soon.


That aside, I have been getting on with a few bits and pieces. I finally got round to making some of the fabric fridge magnets a la Sarah Moore and I love them!
 

 
So much lovelier to look at when you are pining all that much needed stuff to the front of the old Frigidaire, I wish!

I am enjoying writing to new pen pals, some from my #PostCircle and others I have gathered along the way. A new correspondent, Kathleen in California, sent me some quite beautiful doilies which will be used for my vintage bunting I plan to make; very frustrating as I just need a couple more to start but I am picky, not me!, about the size I want to use! One of them is in the picture above.

The end of the school summer term is almost upon us and one of our wonderful teachers is taking retirement. She was with both my boys for their Reception class and gave them a wonderful start to their main school experience; an honour to have such a dedicated person to encourage and nurture my boys. I have decided to give her as a gift one of my journals I have embellished as the words on it are quite appropriate. We will add to the collection being made for other gifts, of course, but wanted to do something special as she has always been very supportive of my crafting projects. 




I shall also have to think about presents for the teachers of both boys' classes - a total of four, including teachers and teaching assistants, but then there are other staff members that help out who the boys really like but where do you stop? I like to make things for them so it isn't just a case of buying a box of chocolates; I need to get my thinking cap on. I did consider sewing some "Thank You" hearts out of the hessian I  recently bought from the wonderful Pocket and Pin.



I made the item below for my dear friend, Little Bohemian Butterfly, for her recent return to work; I thought something along these lines would be good for teacher gifts. 

What do you think?

 Well, I didn't want you to think I had forgotten about you or indeed that you had forgotten about me! So I hope you enjoyed out little catch up and I'll be back again very soon with more to share with you.

Catch ya later.xx

Recent Crafty Sensations!

To say I have been itching to show you this first project is a mahoosive understatement! 

I came up with the idea of sewing a liner for the lid not long after buying the suitcase for the knockdown, bargain price of £8 on this trip out junkin'.

It has taken a while and one reason for that is I didn't want to cut into any of my fabric stash and was trying to use scraps. Well, with the help of some fabric donations from the lovely Little Bohemian Butterfly I have finished this labour of absolute love; I squealed with excitement when I held it up against the case to see if it looked as good as I hoped it would - and it does!!

So here is the before picture...
 

and here with great excitement is the finished article, with close ups!

I am so very pleased with it, as I think you can tell.

Next up is something I have just not got round to re-jigging but now this is done, too. I bought this little straw hat for 75p from a charity shop to use as a summer decoration. Again this has been fixed with a donation of fabric and I have pinned the chiffon-like scarf fabric onto the hat and draped the tiny beading around it. I really like it and because of the size it will probably fit on the mantle along with the bunting I recently made to go up for summer, so here it is -

And finally, I am looking at trying out new mediums for my crafting and just seeing what I can come up with. This is a small piece of mounting board, 2 x 2 inches, which I have covered with some fabric, added a co-ordinating brad and used some distress ink on the edges to age it a little. Not sure what I will use it for but love it anyway! Take a look!

I do hope you like my crafty sensations? I feel sensational finishing my suitcase and trying new things.

Thanks for stopping by, tell your friends and catch ya later!xx

A Friend Indeed Is A Wonderful Thing!

Do you have an address book full of friends, a Christmas card list as long as your arm or a Facebook account full of followers?

My answer to all of these questions is no.

At the ripe old age of, nearly, 46, I can count on the fingers of one hand the good friends, apart from my husband who it goes WITHOUT saying is my very best friend in the world, I have made and kept over the years.

I suppose I am guilty of something, as are many other people I am sure, which is out of sight out of mind. Due to moving around the country and travelling at different times in your life you do lose touch with some people, but we get wrapped up in our own lives and seem to find less time for other people.

However, the absolute joy of meeting somebody new and knowing immediately that you have so much in common through opinions, interests and ideals that you are sure to stay friends through thick and thin is quite remarkable.

  

 

This happens very rarely but when it does it makes your heart jump! Your head can't help racing with all the wonderful things you know you can share, talk about, be inspired by and enjoy together. I am very lucky that I have recently met such a person and when you are older and it happens it is indeed a wonderful thing!

Have you ever made a friend like this when you were a bit more than a teenager? I would love to hear your comments about your experiences.

Catching up, again.

Hello!

I have really been neglecting my little blog for a while so here I hope to make it up and that you enjoy catching up with me.

The first news I would like to share is that of issue 13 of Pretty Nostalgic. It was in trouble for a while but they have had a reprieve thanks to new subscribers and much support so the latest issue goes to print as we speak and here is a sneaky peak of the front cover.

This is such good news and we hope it will continue to inspire and encourage us to spend wisely, waste less and appreciate more. I did all I could with a mini Twitter campaign and if it helped at all I am very grateful - one for my Journal of Gratitude!

I have finally completed one of my unfinished sewing projects and here it is! I made this bag not sure when but if you could see inside you would witness a beautiful French seam! I have now added the panel of embellishment and the buttoned handles and I love love love it!

I recently met a lovely new friend, through another friend at school, and she has a wonderful blog called Little Bohemian Butterfly. Don't you just love the name? If so why not take a look for some sewing, crochet, up-cycling inspiration; it's beautifully laid out and has a wonderful feel to it.

Talking of new blog finds, words fail me in how to describe it but you MUST visit the wonderful world of Susan Branch.

Our dog, Jake, is now becoming a real part of the family and is 15 weeks old tomorrow. We had a lovely time yesterday, Bank Holiday Monday, walking him around our local beauty spot, Hollingworth Lake. He made lots of doggy friends along the way, had a paddle and we had coffee, cake and ice cream!





















I am sneaking in this slightly hurried blog post as both the boys are fettling in the shed with Jon so apologies for the roughness round the edges! I know I will not be called for anything, apart from my coffee that is in the microwave warming as I can hear it beeping at me!

I hope you enjoy my blog; I really do need to find some time to make it more attractive but I just seem to have other things to do! Hey ho, guess I'll just ramble on!

Thanks for stopping by anyway and catch ya later! xx

Call To Arms - Pretty Nostalgic Needs Our Assistance!!!

Pretty Nostalgic, our favourite British, independent magazine needs our help, immediately!!

To keep this wonderful publication going we are encouraging people to take out their lapsed subscriptions or a brand new one. 

Think of somebody with a birthday coming up, would they love it as much as we all do? This would make an ideal gift and you could also be making a donation to charity at the same time.

Nicole and Rae work so very hard, along with all of the fantastic contributors and subscribers, sharing theirs and our passion for all things well loved, vintage and up-cylced.

Please, please pass on this message via Twitter, Facebook or any other social media and keep alive, what is in my house anyhow, a beautifully British institution.

Thank you in anticipation.xx

Sewing, crochet, dogs - you name it!

Well, this last week or so I have managed to get some sewing done, finally.

I sent for some fat quarters from Jane at The Little Fabric Shop, lovely, and I got started. I initially intended to make a cushion cover from some fabric I bought from Ikea but this was so cute that I had to use that first.

Here is my first ever effort at an envelope cushion cover; it is to put behind my back when I am sewing or crafting as I have a tendency to lean forward. My excuse for not trying to do a zip is that I do not currently have a zip foot for my machine. What do you think?
 

 I then got the bug and made this one to go in the spare room; this is the fabric from Ikea.
 

So now I am scribbling away in my sewing project book about all the lovely things I really want to make! Talking of scribbling - check out The Reading Residence, a fabulous blog run by the lovely Jocelyn who has been kind enough to include me today in her campaign to #BringBackPaper. It gave me chance to ramble on about journals, scribbling and stuff. Great fun! Check out the other articles on her blog about keeping stationery alive and kicking!

Now I think I mentioned that we have an addition to our family. This is Jake, a Border Collie and he is the grand old age of 13 weeks today. He is a bit of a handful at times, I must admit, but he is lovey and ridiculously cute, as you can see.

Thanks to Anna from Miss Beatrix I have joined a second #PostCircle. Anna was interested as to whether people would like to join an overseas group and I said, hell yeah! So I have a couple of new pen pals including a lady in California; I am very much looking forward to corresponding with Kathleen and the other members of Fallow Deer.

On Saturday I popped along to the latest event being run by Saddleworth Creative Network.
This was a three day Bank Holiday extravaganza where you could go along and have a try at a number of different crafts. Well, a very kind lady called Diana was very patient with me for about an hour helping me with the basics of learning to crochet. I hope now I can sit down and work out a few bits for myself and I will of course let you know how I get on!

I've been baking as usual to keep the tin full for the boys when they get home from school hungry as hippos! Can't quite believe that we have only just had Easter and in about two weeks time they are on half-term. Have to get organised with a few activities for that soon!

Ok, must dash as today is my catch up day for The Big Allotment Challenge with my lunch, plus my Sew magazine came yesterday and I want to have a proper look at that, too.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will come and enjoy my ramblings again soon!

Catch ya later. xx
 

I DO hope you haven't forgotten me?!

Hello!

It really has been a while since I've posted on my little, neglected blog. I changed the name and my Twitter account to better suit me and my stuff and Google have just acknowledged it, if that is the right term and I know it isn't, so I hope more people may find me now. If you haven't visited for a while, or this is the first time you've encountered my ramblings, I would love to know what you think. All comments are welcome and appreciated!x

The main reasons for being absent for a while are that the boys were on half term and the day after they broke up we acquired a dog. He is called Jake and is a Border Collie who was 11 weeks old yesterday! Check my Twitter feed for some photos of the ridiculously cute addition to our family! So, I am feeling a little frazzled around the edges but learning to treat him as if he were a baby and getting as much done as I can when he is napping!!

I managed to get some gardening done in the front in the last couple of days, a bit of tidying up and planting some seeds to flower in around June time. Today I have finally put in a Clematis which will, hopefully, work its way up and over the front gate. Nice huh?

I have also been looking for something suitable to put in the tin I found when I went junkin'; you may remember seeing my post about the fun I had that day! Well this conical affair I think just fits beautifully and I think it really shows the tin off nicely with the contrasting colours.

I have also managed to sort out the myriad of sewing projects I would love to get started or finish so I will hopefully have something to show you in a couple of weeks.

I think that's it for now as I just didn't want you to forget me! If this is your first visit why not become one of my Friendly Followers or subscribe to receive my ramblings straight to your inbox.

Thanks for stopping by and I really hope you'll visit again soon.

Catch ya later.xx