It's British

Whilst I'm in a very British mood, I thought I'd share a pic of my new cupcake case and topper set bought from Lakeland.



The small print on the back made me smile - Designed in England. Handcrafted & made in China. It's British?

~A

Union Jack Bunting

Inspired by a recent visit to a craft exhibition and some new purchases, I've been busy making some bunting in preparation for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations in June. (I can't believe I'm so organised!!)



I used a Bunting Pack of ready cut cardboard triangles



Cut strips of paper and laid them on the triangles



Then whilst holding down the strips I carefully inked over them, covering the whole triangle. A low tack adhesive tape would probably have been easier than the strips as I had to do gymnastics with my fingers to hold them all in place while inking!



I stamped randomly with my new Portobello Road stamps (Docrafts).




I ♥ these stamps! (Seen here with some of my new buttons!)



I removed the strips



Added ribbons



And even some of my new washi tape (from here)



Finally I stitched (with invisible thread - my latest discovery!) all the triangles onto ribbon



And strung them up



In the conservatory! I need to get some lovely red cushions to put on the sofa but for now I will use the cushion that my son made in school a few years ago.



Are you going to be making any bunting?

~A

Sunny Saturday Stroll

We made the most of the lovely sunshine yesterday with a walk along the Thames (near Tilehurst). The view up river



down river



and opposite bank (complete with 3 geese/ducks).



We saw this Red Kite and I was delighted with my pic as it is always so hard to photograph birds in flight.



I'd love to own one of these huts/sheds/boathouse? Not sure what you call them.



This one had a family sitting outside enjoying the sunshine



Here's a few more random pics from the day









~A

All Finished!

And this is what I made - crochet ribbon for my friend's birthday presents!



Considering it's my first crochet project I'm pleased with it. It certainly brightens up the brown paper!

~A

Learning to Crochet

For years now I have wanted to learn to crochet but could never get my head around it. Until now! I recently discovered this lovely blog which has helped me immensely. Thank you Lucy!

This is what I am working on



Come back soon to see what I am going to do with it.

~A

Happy Christmas

This is a quick post to show you my treasured nativity scene which this year has a new stable, made for me at a pottery class by my 83 year old neighbour/friend.



Wishing you all a Happy Christmas!

~A

A Surprise Gift

This week a very special friend gave me a lovely surprise gift



Beautifully packaged in this lovely tin with a cute label



Home made mince pies that taste as good as they look!



The lighting wasn't the best for the photos but I had take pics quickly - before there was nothing left in the tin!!

~A

Make Fill Your Own Christmas Crackers

This year I have decided to fill my own Christmas crackers because I hate the cheap and nasty contents of ready filled Christmas crackers. I bought a make your own kit and have filled the crackers with chocolates.



Each cracker contains either two mini slabs or two mini bears depending on the recipient.



All done!




See my Christmas 2013 crackers here!

~A

Note for Crafty Girls:
Yes they pop like normal store bought crackers! This is what the back of the pre made up cracker looks like

Birthday Time

November and December is a busy time for birthdays in our house with all four of us having birthdays in these two months. As a result it is also a busy time for making cards. Here are my latest creations, firstly my daughter's card



Inside her card was a little surprise...



She had wanted a hoodie from a certain shop and I had given her the money to buy it before her birthday. On her birthday I wanted her to have a little reminder of what her gift was so I wrote inside the card 'Open to see your present'...





She was very impressed with it which made me happy because she doesn't share my passion for crafts.

Next, my son's card



The green frame around the teddy was cut from tissue paper and then crumpled. Aren't the little metal spanners and hammer cute? (Woodware brads). The tyre print background was made by rolling tyres (old toy cars) over an inkpad and then rolling over card.



I also made my first Christmas card



All pictures are coloured with koh-i-noor pencils blended with solvent. I'm still not very good at getting the shadow/light correct but I do enjoy all the practise!

~A

Birthday Wishes

Oops! I promised to show this card yesterday but forgot! I made it for a trendy friend who enjoys going to rock concerts - I think the background paper is very fitting.



The gold leaf on the tag is from some cheap jewellery. The image is coloured with Koh-i-noor pencils, I really battle to get the shading right, what should be shadow and what should be light. Does anybody else battle with this?

~A