Chelsea Flowers

I've enjoyed watching coverage of the Chelsea Flower Show this year.  The colour and form of the exotic plants coupled with the themes and structure of the garden designs - it's all really inspirational. 

I'm not very good at gardening truth be told, pansies are about as much as I can cope with (and they pretty much look after themselves!).  I do think they are really pretty though, so thought I would have a go at making a felt pansy brooch for my mum for her birthday. 

I choose a purple and lilac version (although it looks slightly blue in the photo) with a yellow centre and used a rich green colour for the background.  I'm really pleased with the shape of the petals, and although it turned out a little larger than I had intended, I think it will look really lovely on a jacket or bag.

Can't wait to give it to her.  Hope she likes it.  xx

A little treat

Wow, where has this week gone?  The last 7 days seem to have passed in the blink of an eye.  It hasn't been a terribly productive week for me in terms of making, but I have had fun (hope you have too?). 

Last Saturday I popped by the Warketon Village Craft Market, organised by Deanne over at Quirky Boots.  If you have not been yet, it's really worth a visit as you'll find lots of lovely local crafters selling their handmade products, plus there is an opportunity for a cream tea too - perfect! 

My friend Lorna from Dab and a Dash was there selling her handmade journals and notebooks along side other stall holders selling vintage sweets, jewellery, home accessories, vintage cake stands and driftwood art.

I treated myself to this beautiful rose scented candle.  I just love the green glass of the deco dressing table box - isn't it gorgeous?

 

I Love ..... Agatha Christie

On a Sunday, somewhere between swimming lessons (which start at 8:15am - yes, really, on a Sunday!!) dog walking, tennis lessons, bike riding, Sunday lunch (cooking and eating), homework, gardening and baking, we all go for a walk into town and have a coffee together.  And as long as I've remembered to pack the colouring books and pens for the children, I get to read for half an hour or so which is the the only time it happens in the week!.  

My favourite author of all time has to be Agatha Christie.  I know that some might find this a bit of an old fashioned choice but I prefer to think of it as vintage literature. 

I love anything to do with the 30s (art deco jewellery is another fav of mine) so I especially love the Poirot stories.  Apart from the fact that they are brilliant who done it's, the imagery is so romantic - ladies with matching hats and gloves, scarlet red lips and black patent bags, chaps with their sleek sports cars and gentleman's club both sipping cocktails on a steam train headed for the south of France.  Even the rotters are cool with their smoking, drinking and card playing. 

Yes a Sunday morning cup of coffee (a piece of chocolate cake) and an Agatha Christie and I'm a happy woman.

Decopatch addict

On Saturday I had a lovely few hours at our monthly crop.  As well as being able to finish off a couple of (very) outstanding projects, we also got to try our hand at decopatch. 

Have you tried it yet?  It's fab, but be warned it is totally addictive. 

Since the crop I have been wandering around the house looking for things to decorate and, well the long and the short of it is, anything that isn't moving will basically get covered in pretty paper and glue! 

So on my workdesk this morning I have the first of my many decopatch projects and have a couple of lovely little papier-mache boxes which I intend to decorate - too cute!

What's on your workdesk this Wednesday morning?

Wishing you a productive day x.

Oh by the way, a big thank you to everyone that has left me lovely comments on my previous WOYWW posts - although I have visited everyone's blog in return, for some reason not all my comments are published.  I am sure this is due to my limited technical capability, so will endeavor to get it sorted today. xx

It's all me, me, me!

Both Deanne at Quirky Boots, and Julia at Stamping Ground have posted this fun list today, so we can all get to know them just a little bit better, take a look.

Thought it would be fun to have a go too:

A. Age: 37 (but next birthday at the end of the month).  I had planned to be a millionaire by the time I turned 40, better get my finger out I suppose
B. Bed size: double
C. Chore that you hate: ironing and I never do it coz let's face it, life is just too short.
D. Dogs: A very handsome Beagle named Frank (Mr A's choice of name).
E. Essential start to your day: a hot, strong cup of tea - I can't even speak until I've had at least 3 cups
F. Favorite color: purple (lilac, mauve, lavender, violet - I love them all)
G. Gold or Silver: platinum (ideally from Tiffany's darling)
H. Height: 5'10"
I. Instruments you play: None, but learning to play the piano is on my things to do before list
J. Job title: Crafty-mama
K. Kids: two - 6 year old Superhero and 4 year old Princess
L. Live: Market Haborough, UK
M. Mother's name: Sue
N. Nicknames: Dancing Queen

O. Overnight hospital stays: thankfully only when my babies were born

P. Pet peeve: being spoken over

Q. Quote from a movie: You're terrible Muriel

R. Right or left handed: Right

S. Siblings: one cool brother and one beautiful sister

T. Time you wake up: on a school day, around 5:30am - I like the calm before the storm

U. Underwear: these days more Bridget Jones giant pants

V. Vegetable you hate: haven't found one I dislike yet

W. What makes you run late: I'm always late for everything, there always seems to be just one more thing to do before I can leave the house

X. X-Rays you've had: only at the Dentist (eek!)

Y. Yummy food that you make: I make a mean Keema Lamb

Z. Zoo animal: technically not a zoo animal, but I think the Octopus is awesome - beautifully balletic and weirdly alien-like all at the same time.  

What's on your list?

Mollie Makes

I bought issue 1 of Mollie Makes yesterday, the new magazine for people who love the crafty life.

Have you had a chance to take a look yet? 

I really like it and spent a happy evening reading it from cover to cover.  For someone who is relatively new to crafting, I really like the mix of articles about established makers and designers, examples of cute handcrafted products and where to find them and inspirational projects.  I particularly like the Peter Pan Collars project, which will defo be added to my to do list.

Looking forward to issue 2.  

I Love..... notebooks

I love, love, love notebooks. I have hundreds of them.  Pretty little pads of paper perfect for slipping into my handbag or pocket ready for jotting down the next brilliant idea (lol), making a new list, or using as a mini scrapbook for stuff I like torn from this months magazine.  These are three of my current stash - aren't they cute?