Showing posts with label love. Show all posts
Showing posts with label love. Show all posts

A very crafty birthday

I was super blessed this year with a wonderful birthday surrounded by all my fabulous friends who have made moving to London the best decision I've ever made. Not only that but everyone absolutely blew me away with all their thoughtful presents and not only that but I hit the craft girl jackpot!


I got the cutest new knitting bag which is exactly what I needed as my other one was bursting it's so full! 




I also got this great little kit for building your own bird feeder which is super handy considering I've and two bags of bird seed in my press for the last two years and should really get it out to the birds....


As readers of this blog will know, I love colouring in and I equally (okay, maybe a little bit more..) love Harry Potter and some genius has combined this two into the Harry Potter colouring book, of which I got not one but two!! I was also given lots of colouring pencils and pens which means I can start colouring straight away! HAPPINESS overload.  


Unfortunately, the lovely woman my mother did home help for passed away earlier this year but she left a legacy of a life of crafting behind her. So much wool, crochet patterns, material that she probably could have had her own shop. One beautiful thing she left behind was this unfinished embroidery project which my mother sent to me. It's such a beautiful pattern and I can't wait to finish it and turn it into a beautiful cushion which will always be a reminder of this awesome woman. 

 

My family and friends also did something wonderful with their present buying - they supported independent artists. The awesome print is from Emily Mc Dowells studio. I love the sentiment of it and it's a mantra I'm going to try and take into my life going forward. I hate getting things wrong though so it may take a while.... 

The calendar below is from the awesome The Native State which not only is one of my favourite instagram accounts to follow but also makes awesome inspirational arts and stationery. Be sure to check them out. If nothing else happens at least I'm going to be inspired next year! :) 


Not only did my friends support independent artists but they became artists and got very creative with their envelopes and cards. This card is probably the greatest card I've ever received. Handmade is the best way. 


And finally the pièce de résistance.....


Meet Phoebe! Although I love my old singer sewing machine, it's impractical if I want to attend workshops or bring it to another workspace as it's so heavy so my wonderful mammy and daddy gifted me with this shiny, new, lovely beast of awesome! I am so excited to get started and finally get making some actual clothes... well trying to, at least. 

As you can tell I am super set up for a crafty year so expect a lot more making and blogging in the New Year. 

Thank you to all my friends who gave me such thoughtful presents, craft related and non-craft related. You are all wonderful people who made me feel so special and loved. xxxx

If I only had a heart...

Valentines Day is just a round the corner Tiddlybobbers and it's a bit like marmite - people either love it or hate it! I, for one, love it! I think it's great to have a day to celebrate love and happiness but I do wish there was more of a focus on all kinds of love and not just the romantic kind. So, this year, try and tell your friends, family members and pets how much you love them too and let's celebrate love in all it's forms!! In fact I'm so excited I want to make everything heart shaped!! Below are a few ideas if you want to too!


How about letting nature know how much you love her by making these awesome heart-shaped bird feeders created by Alison at No Time For Flashcards? Birds will appreciate it and you'll get to wile away the Valentines day hours bird-watching - sounds like bliss!


But if looking at nature is not your thing, what about looking at some photographs? You could create a photo collage in a heart shape of all the people you love. I particularly love the overlapping design above from Hadley at Huffington Post as part of another inspirational list blog


Or why not invite all those people you love over for some cake and surprise them with a secret hidden heart! A brilliant creative bake recipe from I am Baker and one that definitely must be tried out!


And what is cake without a cup of tea? Try making these genius heart-shaped teabags courtesy of Her Imajination. It's a great tutorial - very easy to follow and beautiful pictures. 


And if there's something I love more than tea then it's books! This heart shaped bookmark is perfect  for those gorgeous times when you get to curl up with a great book and travel to your favourite far off world. This video tutorial below is from Lindsay at Craft Foxes and shows you how to make them. 



I hope you have a wonderful Valentines Day celebrating love in all it's forms even your love of crafting! 

For the wonderful Annabel

My amazing friend Annabel is currently going through a course of chemotherapy treatment which she is being super brave and open about. She is blogging about her experience and you can read about  it here. She has also asked her friends to complete a serious of challenges to keep her uplifted during the course of this treatment which will last until Christmas. It's such a wonderful idea and I hope it really does help her through this difficult time.

This time the challenge was to create a Christmas themed pom pom so I have created this Christmas tree and I decided to blog about it in true Annabel style.



I followed this tutorial from One Sheepish Girl but as I didn't have pom pom makers I used this hand technique for the bark of the tree and then I used a tin can for the Christmas tree, to get a bigger pom pom. I then cut out gold ribbon to make a star and sewed all the bits together.

Annabel you are an incredible woman and I am with you all the way as you go through this difficult time. Huge love! xxxx