Bunny Bonanza

I hope you all had a great Easter. We really enjoyed the good weather and were able to spend some time with family and friends over  the holiday.

I made myself a bunny brooch for Easter and  no sooner had Nancy and Florence seen  them than they had  to have one  , then Olivia ( my step daughter) 

 then I made one for a Swap-Bot partner 

and a friend wanted one so I have completed his  this week.

It really has been a bunny bonanza. I prefer the darker ones as I think the wool takes it's own personality better. The lighter fibres show up my (many many) mistakes and I find them harder to get to do  what you want.

I made a couple  of cross stitch bookmarks too last month, for my sister and  for someone who does a lot of  work in our  community. I was quite pleased with the way they turned out. I got the flowers from an old Jo Verso cross-stitch book that I bought in a second hand book store and  the letters I got from a HUGE free online resource here.

 I just backed them with some scrap fabric and added a ribbon as the book mark. 

I am toying with putting a few bits and bobs online , probably Folksy as I had a look and there are a lot of brooches, but none like mine. I think I will need to hone my technique somewhat. I love  the bunnies and wear mine  with pride, but as my  Swap bot recipient said " thanks for  the bunny, my sister is wearing it, she has a quirky style" ha ha ha ha ha!!!

Some new hobbies

Anyone who has read this recently will know  that I am working on a secret-squirrel project for a friend. I am getting very close to completion and hope to post next week when I have given it  to my friend.

I set myself a a target this year to make a new brooch for each month of  the year. I'm afraid what with my new hobby, and preparing  to go into hospital at the end of March I didn't get a new brooch made. I think I will start on one this week tho, any ideas??

So on to my new hobby. I came across Postcrossing by accident. It is a free website, you register, make a simple profile and request a few addresses to get you started. You then send them a postcard, a few days after your postcard is received and registered you will get a postcard from someone else. I LOVE snail mail. It is  so good to get colourful interesting mail from across the world. Everything else is just bills, so few of us send letters anymore.

I got this lovely card from a 9 yo girl in Russia, she asked me  to send her one specifically and I was happy to oblige.

I have sent and received cards from Russia ( including a really cool Sochi stamp), USA, Canada, Netherlands, Norway, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Germany and others.

This is one of  my favourite cards from Latvia, dig those shamazing weather vanes, and the stone sheep!

From a postcard I received from Canada I was tipped,  off to try Swap-Bot. This is another free to register site. This time you send through the post little gifts, things you have made, sweets, stationery etc.

 For a stationery addict like me this is highly compelling. There are many online free swaps you can sign up to, posting things on Pinterest, or visiting another's website or blog and commenting. I have learned that international postage is EXTORTIONATE, and have vowed to be  a little more selective in my swaps from now on.

It is fun though and who doesn't love to receive surprises in the mail? I love to see all the colourful stamps and the creative way people use the space on the envelopes. The last one I sent was to 3 partners, France, Canada and Brazil and the swap was to make your envelopes look pretty. These are the ones I sent ( before addresses and stamps)

And these are two that I received

 

Aren't they lovely? I was delighted.They were sent with a few small bits of stationery inside too- LOVE LOVE.

My current swap is to write a letter to your partner and tell them about 5 separate years in your life. This was quite fun I have to say. I chose 1976 (the hottest British summer on record), 1985 ( when I left boarding school to return to school in N. Ireland ) 1996 ( when I met the father of my first daughter and her birth in 1997) 2007 ( the year my dear mum passed away) and I am unsure about the last year, either 2009 when I met my lovely partner and turned 40, or last year, which was difficult. I will write the last bit tonight .

It has been interesting to revisit  those years, as they were all important to me, but  thankfully are all past. It has made me have a renewed gratitude for  the interesting life I have led, so far.....

Overdoing it

I got out of hospital yesterday after a middling serious operation. My home care instructions are quite clear, plenty of rest, don't lift anything heavier than 2L of milk, don't stand for more than 10/15 mins at a time. What better day then to go and witness the opening of a new landmark bridge in East Belfast.

 The "Sam Thompson Bridge"  is  named after an East Belfast Shipyard worker and Playright and links Victoria Park in Sydenham to the industrial heart of East Belfast at Queen's Island. The slogan for today was "get over it" and  the organisers wanted 2014 people to walk over  the bridge today to commemorate it's opening.

It was a beautiful spring day, the daffodils blowing in the wind and  the ducks splashing about on the river, a perfect day to make history.

When I worked in Titanic Belfast as a guide I met so many fascinating ordinary people with amazing personal stories to tell. People who when they were very small were taken to see the launch of or building of Titanic. I met the man who's first job in  the shipyard as a sheet metal worker was to make the iconic H&W for the first giant yellow crane , Goliath, that stands over Belfast's Titanic Quarter today, over 40 years later.

I met an American man on his first visit to Belfast who's uncle is in this famous photograph of Titanic's enormous propellers.

I think he is 2nd left. You can see a digitally remastered version of  this photo in Titanic Belfast.

It was for me the most interesting part of  the job. So I wanted to "Get-over" the Sam Thompson Bridge so I can tell my grandchildren that we were there making our own little piece of history. I'm shattered , sore and a bit emotional, but I am very happy we went.

In Like a Lion

I have been busy busy. I am making a gift for a friend who has achieved something pretty special. I am keeping it under wraps until it has been given to them, as I don't want to spoil the surprise, but I am quite excited as it is starting to come together. I hope to have it ready within the next week or two.

I have been making some lovely coffee coconut scrub bars for use in the shower.  The recipe is taken from Henry Happened Blog, here They are the simplest things to make and fill the shower with the scent of fresh coffee, what could be better? They need to be used pretty fast as the oil melts under hot water. They will keep for a week or so in a cold place, the coffee will go off if kept  too long. I haven't  tried it on my face but it works well for a bit of puffiness apparently.

Unfortunately I don't have any photos of them completed, it's a shame as I did them in a heart mold and the coffee sunk to the bottom and I thought looked really pretty.

I have completed my March brooch as I have been trying to make myself a brooch for every month in the hope  that by the time October, November and December come around my skills will have improved.

I try to represent  the weather, holidays or cultural events of  the month to make the brooches representative. For January I cross stitched a little robin on a snowy branch,

 for February I stitched some wintry trees with a little valentine heart

For this month I thought I would try needle felting instead of cross stitch. There is a saying about  the weather in March that it 'comes in like a lion and out like a lamb' so I felted a friendly Lion with a little shamrock in his hat for St Patrick's Day ( March 17th ).

My sister seems to think we should get a stall at a craft market, but I'm not convinced anyone  would want to buy these, they're just for fun. I don't know, what do you think?

I am putting my thinking cap on now as the valentine's hearts will have to come down , what shall I do for March to brighten our home ?

Love is all around

Valentine's day is a tricky one. it's difficult to not get all into the hearts and flowers and yet it is always good to appreciate and be appreciated by those we love. I am a lucky girl indeed as my darling shows his appreciation for me throughout  the year with small treats and kindness as well as all the household duties he does on a daily basis.
 By the time James and I were celebrating our first valentine's day together I was 4 months pregnant with our first daughter ( I know, fast movers), so we chose to stay home and had a lovely M&S dine in meal , this has been our tradition ever since.

I thought I would do a little decorating around the house this year to brighten up after all the Christmas glitter and lights are taken down the house can look a bit gloomy. I searched Pinterest ( just any old excuse) and came up with very little as it was all a little American. So I took a little bit from here and there and came up with the idea of a few twigs pained with glitter paint and dangling hearts.

I cut the hearts from some card stock and just hung them up with thread, so they move quite a lot.

I bought a couple of cheap lanterns at B&M and put love hearts and glass beads into the bottom of them to add to the display. 

For my eldest daughter I did another love heart tree for her room and bought a frame and put a photo of us into it. I think she liked it. 

 For James I made an old fashioned mix tape, well a playlist for his ipod. I love a mix tape, a little musical surprise every other song. It amuses me to think of a loved one listening to music you have chosen because you love it and you hope they will too. I also needle felted a little love frog for his car. I don't think he has noticed it yet so shhhh.

For my little valentines I got two cute little ducks for their bath, I have them on the table ready for everyone coming home.

I hope you all enjoy your Valentine feast and are surrounded with those you want  to be with. X

A Brooch a Month

I like brooches, I like all kinds of brooches and they really dress up a coat. I have several made from different materials , and two enamel ones that I wear at Christmas time. If you have read any of my blogs you will know that I also like needle point and felt. With this in mind I set myself a little challenge . I decided to make myself a new brooch for each month of this year.

In January I made this one , a happy little robin on a snowy branch.

I had originally given him a black bead for his eye, but it was too big I felt, so I settled on a stitch instead.

I cut  the fabric too close to the design and manged to get some frayed stitches. I am hoping by December I will have learned a lot more and My brooches will look a lot better, but for a first attempt I was happy with his little face.

This is my February brooch, some bare winter trees and a little Valentine's heart. I am going to back it  tomorrow and sew the pin onto the back ready for it's place on my coat this February.

I am already thinking of shamrocks and rainbows or a cold north wind for March, but of course I am open to your suggestions.

Needle Felting Mania

I love needle felting, its great fun and therapeutic. I am still learning as you can see from my pictures but my beginners enthusiasm is still keeping me going.
I have learned something about myself over the last few months; I like to be good at things. If I work hard to create something and it is not great I feel very deflated and annoyed with myself. This goes for bath and beauty products, cooking and baking , and all my needle work. It also applies to my writing. I hate to rewrite. It is good that I have discovered this I think as at least I can understand the feelings I get when something is not brilliant first time.

If you look at Pinterest or Martha Stewart you imagine that everyone else in the universe lives a perfectly clean and organised existence. Their buns always rise , their children are clean and scrubbed at all times and they spend every weekend making non messy and elegant crafts to dazzle the online world with.

The truth is most people are like you and me. Sometimes our buns are flat and hard, our icing won't set and if we do have the time, energy and supplies to do craft with our kids, they will more than likely have a tantrum, pour red paint on the sofa or not want  to do what we have chosen.

I want to be good at craft, at writing, and at parenting, so I will keep going. Practice makes perfect!


These are needle felted mittens I made from a thrift store wool jacket.