New beginnings

Hi all,

  It’s been far too long since I last blogged. Far too much has happened to even begin to explain. But I’m making a fresh start in life. It’s been quite some time since I’ve crafted and now is as good a time to restart and blog about it.
  Yesterday I went to my cousin’s Breast Cancer Care afternoon tea. I think it was a fantastic success and I’m so proud of her as it’s the first time she’s done something like that. She raised over £300.00 which I think is amazing considering she’s never done this before. So many fantastic prizes were donated from her community. Below you will see one of the wonderful cakes that was donated.

  Thank you for stopping by.
  Crafty hugs 🤗

Lyse

Too long

 It's been far too long since my last blog post. In my defence I've not been well. I'd really hoped to be blogging at least once a week and sharing projects. I'm barely crafting these days which is not good. Things have not been good since last September when I got back from Wales. I'm taking things one day at a time and hope to pick myself back up and get back into a much needed routine again.
 Last month my mum took me to the stitch and craft show at the NEC. We haven't done that show before. I picked up some lovely lilac material to make a kitty bed for KeishaBelle. Whilst wandering around there was a lady on one of the stalls who like myself still uses her beloved Frister and Rossman Cub. With all the new machines on the market it was wonderful to see that somebody else was still using a classic.

 

  I've had mine since I was about 9 years old and made many of my own clothes with it at that age. It also came in very handy when I went on to do GCSE Fashion and Textiles and also GCSE Child Development. I actually found the Child Development project the other day. I made a mini curtain, quilt cover and applique bunny to decorate a child's bedroom. I also still have a mini straw hat that I decorated foe a project in Fashion and Textiles. I wish I'd had more confidence back then to have taken my creativity further. It's great seeing that one of our small band has gone onto great things though, (Check out Jayne Emerson) we were a class of about 7 or 8 students. Our teacher was Mrs Carole Shackleton whose daughter Alison went on to big things and was someone I wanted to be like back then.

                   Happy crafting

Spring clean

 It's that time of year again. Christmas is over and the decorations are down. Now I turn my attention to sprucing things up. I wrote myself some lists so I know what I want to get done. One of my big tasks is clearing out and tidying my craft space. I only have a small space and it's surprising just how quickly things get out of control. Not helped by my little girl who thinks she's helping me.
 One of my other tasks is getting my Harry Potter cupboard sorted and tidied. Then I can do all my filing of last year's paperwork. This year will also be the year to decorate the house. I've been here a year now so it would be nice to put my creative touch on things. Even the garden might get a revamp this year 😆.
 I was very lucky to get a few crafty presents so I want to get those done quite quickly. One of the items is a mini grandfather clock. It will sit perfectly on the mantle between Spirit's photos. I also had a paint it yourself Grommit to do, I'm very excited to get these done.
 I also have another smashbook to fill. I just need to get my crafty mojo on. For the 1st time in a very long time I almost went out and bought cards instead of making them!!! I cannot remember the last time I sent a bought card.
 My new year's resolution is to keep on top of theses things and set myself daily tasks including blogging.

NEC

 Saturday I attended the NEC craft show with my mum. We had a great time although it was incredibly packed. We had our usual frustration of people with trolley's. We are no different to anyone else when it comes to grabbing a bargain but you can put things outside for just a £1. My mum is disabled and uses a stick and these trolleys are an absolute menace. To be honest I feel like they ought to be banned for health and safety. As I say it only costs a £1 to go outside to the cloakroom and put shopping to the side. Something we will be taking full advantage of next year.
 I managed to pick up several great bargains and get almost everything on my wish list for this year. I bought 2 Prima doll stamps, 2 sets of Spellbinder's dies, 3 embossing folders, 4 sets of Xcut dies. I also bought myself a new purse, a Navajo wolf bracelet and my usual mini haul from Linden Lady chocolates. As soon as I got home I ordered my Xcut Xpress from Craftsuperstore as I couldn't find a better deal at the show. It arrived yesterday so I was really chuffed and got it straight out to play. I will put my little bug away in the cupboard for the time being.
 I have just over a week until my local RBL Women's Section County Conference, so I need to get a wriggle on with what I want to make to sell. I also can't believe I've been here over a year now, Keish and I are so at home here. I hope to start decorating in the new year and finally put my own stamp on the place. The biggest thing but also the one thing that will take time is the garden but it will all come together in the end.

Craft time

 It's been lovely weather again and like most of us I have been outside enjoying the sunshine. I've been outside crafting over the weekend catching up on all the birthday's that I've got coming up. It's also given me the opportunity to work out what I need to do for my craft stall next month. I've been going through Pintrest and YouTube gathering some great ideas. I want to say a big thank you to Sam Donald from Pootles for some amazing ideas and tutorials. A number of which I have made myself either directly or by changing slightly to suit the project I'm working on. Two of which you can see below borrowed from her YouTube channel.

 Sam's tutorials are so easy to follow. There is no messing around and all the measurements she gives are in both imperial and metric for those who use 'new money'. Plus all the measurements can be found on her website. I highly recommend checking out her channel.
 I've fallen in love to with DOcraft's latest ranges at the moment. I went along with my sister to a demonstration at my local Range store. We met a lovely demonstrator called Diane. She showed us one of the new ranges called Heritage which is especially for those difficult to do male cards. I picked up a previous goody bag with the Sew Lovely range in it as I missed it when it came out but had really wanted it. I can't wait to play with the 12"x12" 's and scrapbook several mini cross stitch kits I've made over the years not to mention scrapping several photo's of cross stitch projects that were completed. I haven't scrapbooked for a good year or more so with such lovely papers I have no excuses, just the time.
 My Miss Keish is thoroughly enjoying herself going out and barely leaves the garden these days. I guess that shows just how settled she's feeling. She's up to all sorts of mischief as usual but is still terribly funny though. She has me up early most mornings just so she can go and play. Comes back in to make sure I'm ok and then goes back outside again bless her.


Happy crafting

Pop up box

 Like most crafter's I'm always on the look out for something new to try. One of the latest new ideas is the pop up box. I did one and that was it I was hooked lol. Ive now made several and even taught a friend how to make them.

The top one I did as part of a card swap on Facebook. The lower one was made for my Auntie to give to her great niece this Easter. The top one was made using papers and embellishments from Craftwork cards. The Easter one was made using paper from K&Co, a Marci stamp from La La Land stamps. The easter bunny and greeting were both a freebie from a craft magazine. (Unfortunately I don't remember which one as it's been in my stash for a few years now. The card is from DCWV in various colours. Martha Stewarts monarch butterfly punch and one of her floral punches. The other flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts. I'm a very big fan of Wild Orchid Crafts.


Happy Crafting

Mother's Day

 It's been awhile again since my last post. This is a little late but I wanted to share with you one of the projects I made for mt mum for Mother's day. I'd seen a video on DOcrafts YouTube channel for a window recessed card. I have altered it as Jo's was a small recess where as I needed something much bigger so I created my own template. I also made a lid for the box insert in acetate so the frame could be hung up without the picture getting dusty. I also made a back for the frame rather than putting it onto the front of the card. I was really pleased with the end result as was my mum when I gave it to her.

I used Bazzil Basics card stock for the frame itself. I then used products from Stampin Up! to decorate the box and paper piece my stamped image. The image itself is Steampunk Marci and the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts.


Happy crafting

Card Swap

  It's been a very long time since my last blog and much has happened. I move home in a lovely area. It's taken a while to get sorted out and my health hasn't been good. My new neighbour's have made me feel very welcome here. It's a new year and a fresh start which I've really needed.
  The weather has been really awful and my heart goes out to all those who have been severely affected by the extreme weather. Finger's crossed things will begin to improve slowly now and this government pull their finger's out to resolve an issue that has been ongoing for a very long time now.
 I'm beginning to craft again now which is slowly helping my mental health. I still haven't found my mojo as yet but I have been looking through Pinterest and adding pins to my own boards for sources of inspiration. I have also been watching a lot of crafty YouTube videos for inspiration and ideas. I joined a Facebook page just after christmas that does card swaps to help me with my mental health problems. Here is a card I did for a cascade card swap. I've never made one before so I did a little research into how to make one. I rather enjoyed it and will certainly be making another one.

 

  I used a LaLaLand stamp (Steam Punk Marci), a sizzix die to create the rosette, a Martha Stewart butterfly punch, Marianne Creatables dies and X-cut dies and Cuttlebug's swiss dot embossing folder. The papers are from K&Co. I coloured the stamp using Promarker's to co-ordinate with my chosen designer papers.


   Thank you for visiting

What happened to the weather?

 I've been a very good girl and done some more tidying and organising of my stash today. I've finally managed to empty a wooden storage unit and put everything from there away. Unfortunately it had started to warp and it was becoming very difficult to pull the mini drawers in and out. But for a rescue it didn't do badly. I'm still going to invest in another baby unit and 2 more boxes later this year. I should then be well and truly on top of things. The NEC excluded!!!! Mum and I are going again this November, the tickets and coach are booked. Just need to save some money to take along with me. I downloaded the Tim Holtz app the other day and have made full use of the wishlist section of it!!!
  I actually had a quiet day yesterday which was hard as I find I have to be doing something. Tho I admit I did run the hoover over. I'm such a fidget bum lol. Even on days when my hands are really bad I feel like I should be doing something.
 We've been getting a lot of rain again over the past couple of days but it's just not cooling things down. I'd still love to see a good old thunderstorm here. Hopefully then it would clear the air along with being very beautiful to watch.


Happy crafting

     

Princess wall hanging

 Hi all this is just a quick post for now. I've been playing with another image from Glamoureyes called Princess. She's devine and I hope you like what I came up with. The papers I used are from D.A.I.S.I.E company called Lucy's Climbimg Peach Roses. The ribbon and gems was from my stash. The crown and the flowers are from Craftwork cards the leafy swirl was made using a Marianne creatables die (LR0120). I coloured Princess using promarkers, Satin Y129, Dusky Pink O518, Blush O729, Vanilla O929, Tulip Yellow Y337, Sunflower Y156, Caramel O727, Coral R937, Antique Pink R346, Rose Pink, M727 and Pink Carnation M328 along with white and silver gel pens.

Princess wall hanging

Happy crafting

Wet and grey

 Good afternoon all. It's a bit wet and grey today but it is cooler which is a definite plus. I keep hoping for a lovely thunderstorm but no joy as yet :-(.  Well my storage unit arrived last monday. It took me all of 10 minutes to make up and then a further 3 days to put things away!!! What can I say lol. It was hard work especially in the soaring temperatures we've been happy but I'm really pleased with the end result. But have come to the conclusion I need at least one more small unit to put things away!.

 It still needs some work but I can get to things now and craft more freely. In fact it has given me the impetus to do some crafting at long last.

 I came across a new digistamp company on facebook called glamoureyes. I made this card using one of their stamps called large flower shoe. I used some papers from DOcrafts born to shop range and my promarkers to colour the image. Them gems are from kaisercraft.

 Unfortunately I can't remember where I bought this gorgeous image. But I teamed her up with some papers from the Trimcraft smirk range. I coloured her in with watercolours.


Happy crafting

Lazy sunday

 Hi all it's a lazy Sunday today. I've been painting the covers of my art journal/smash book along with a wooden spoon. I was on Pinterest last night and saw some amazing ideas. One of which was for an altered art wooden spoon. So this morning I went through my kitchen drawer as I knew I had an unused wooden spoon. I Gesso'd it and then painted it in a layer of DecoArt in flesh colour. I'm just waiting for it to dry. I also did the same thing to the art journal which is also drying.
 Tomorrow my storage unit arrives from storage4crafts, I'm so excited. Maybe now I'll finally be organised but I'm not holding my breath!! In anything else I'm very tidy and organised but when it comes to crafting I'm dreadful. But then I don't know many crafter's who are tidy and organised.
 Here are a couple of scrapbook pages I did for hobbycraft:-

KeishaBelle in what was my box of jewellery supplies. I used DCWV papers and to make the flowers I used a Marianne creatables die.

Me n Grandad.

 Here is another page I did for an album I'm doing of all my handmade cards. It's also a useful way to get inspiration. I always feel it's awful that we get these lovely cards from fellow crafter's and then they end up in boxes rarely seeing the light of day again. I still have 2 more years of birthday cards to scrap and then start again on the Christmas cards. After that I hope to keep on top of them so that they don't pile up again........mmmm famous last words.
 Lastly I'd like to share with you a new home card I did for my best friend Gill which unfortunately disappeared in transit via Royal Mail. What more can I say!!!

 Once my unit arrives and I've managed to put it together and filled it I will post a picture. I feel like a kid at Christmas, I'm so excited. I've also very naughtily bought some washi tape from fantastic ribbons which I'm looking forward to receiving.


 Happy crafting

Sunshine at last

 What a beautiful day. Without tempting fate it looks like summer at long last lol. I've finally found my mojo at long last. I've also put photo's in picture frames of Miss Spirit which I'm really happy about.
 I've been working through my scrapbooking and created several pages. All were using cards from my birthday in 2011. I still have cards from last year and this to scrapbook along with Christmas cards from the past 4 years.......ooops.
 I have a craft unit on order from Storage 4 Crafts which will help me get organised properly as well as making better use of the space here in my living room. I'm hoping to that it will help me feel more crafty and finish off all my unfinished projects. Though to be fair this lovely weather is helping there. Nice weather is definitely far more inspiring. I'm just not enjoying the hay fever lol. For the first time in years I'm suffering with it.

Spirit and KeishaBelle in their usual mirroring position. This beautiful frame was made by my mum for my birthday especially to put a picture of Spirit in :-)

This frame was also made for me by my mum. She also played around with this picture of Spirit for me to go in this frame.

I picked up this beautiful frame in our local poundland and just had to use this picture of Spirit sitting properly lol.

 The middle frame was from Calico crafts and decorated with tissue paper from Tim Holtz I believe. It was finished off with a very beautiful cross.

 Both these pages are half complete as they still need a bit of journalling as well as a few finishing touches but I'm rather pleased with how they look so far. I've been spending a lot of time on you tube watching tutorials for some inspiration. There are some great videos on there for ideas and inspiration along with looking through other peoples blogs.
 Just as soon as my craft unit arrives and I've put it together I will post some pictures of my craft space and inspiration.

 Happy Crafting

Quiet life

 Yet another long gap since my last post. I've just not been up to it. I've barely done any crafting as to be honest my heart just hasn't been in it.
 Keish is doing well though and has been up to all sorts of mischief. Cheeky monkey brought in a fully grown starling the other weekend!!!! The amazing thing was not only did she manage to bring it through the small window in my kitchen but the bird was still alive!!! Did she ever get a yelling at, I managed to part her with the terrified bird but still had to 'run' around trying to get the bird in one room and Keish in another. This I eventually achieved and was able to let the bird out of the window. I'm still shocked that she hadn't harmed it and that it was able to fly out of the window as happy as larry.
 I had a very nasty tummy bug last weekend and she was so good. Didn't bug me once for treats or her wet food of an evening. Although she went out she would still come back and curl up with me for an hour or so before venturing back out again.

Keish using me as a pillow.

 This weekend I'm going to try and get my craft things out and have a play. I also need to print a couple of photo's off of Spirit to put into frames that my mum made for me. I'm ashamed to say that I don't have any pictures around of her although all her things are still as they were when she died. But it would be even nicer still to see her face around.

   Happy crafting

  It's been a very long time since I last posted. Much has happened and times have been very trying. Both Spirit and Mark are very greatly missed. I'm still attempting to get back to some kind of normality but it's very hard as much of my life was definitely governed by Spirit. I've barely done any crafting since before christmas though I have tried several times to get some scrapbooking done. I'm trying at the moment to get some stitching done but my attention span is not large. It's strange as normally when times are very difficult craft is the thing I turn to, to get through.

RIP Spirit

Well just when I thought things couldn't get any worse my beloved dog Spirit passed away in the very early hours of the 9th of January. She was not ill and it cam right out of the blue. It's taken me time to get over this along with loosing my brother. I'm so grateful to amazing friends and family for helping me through, most especially one of my best friends Emma. She was my rock that day, thank you baby. My wee Keishy has also been a blessing at this time. It's awfully quiet here without Spirit but I'm slowly getting used to it. All her things are still where she left them which makes things feel just that bit better. She was only 9 but we had nine amazing years together and I have many very special memories with her.

I've now started scrapping Spirit's pictures in earnest and have asked friends to add memories of her. She touched so many lives.

It's rather sad in some respects as today there's thick snow everywhere and she just loved the snow. You could never get the little monkey in!!! You'd have to leave her out until she decided it was no fun being on her own. Keish was trying to catch the snow through the window this morning, how she thought she'd achieve that I have no idea!!

RIP Markie

On Saturday the 29/12/2012 I lost my younger brother Mark who got nicknamed Markie Mouse when we were small children. He was only 38 years old when he passed and will be greatly missed by us all.

It's been almost a month since my last post, where does the time keep going. Things haven't been good so I've not really been able to keep on top of things recently. I would like to say Happy Birthday to a good friend of mine though as it's his birthday tomorrow. Happy Birthday Gambie have a wonderful day and I wish I was able to spend the day with you.

It's Breast Cancer Awareness month so I've done my bit by making a small donation to a very worthy cause. Hougie have launched a special Hougie Board in pink which I would dearly love and hope to be able to afford by the time I go to the NEC next month. The end of the month sees the launch of the RBL's Poppy Appeal, another very worthy cause and one I have taken part in since I was about 2 years old with my beloved grandad. Unfortunately due to health problems this year I won't be taking part which saddens me greatly. But I will be proud as always to be wearing my poppy along with my enamel poppy, wrist bands and Kleshna bracelet. All of these (other than the paper poppy) I wear throughout the year regardless as the appeal actually runs all year long but the main 'push' is always the two weeks leading up to Armistice Day on or around the 11th of November. Do please support these causes as they do magnificent jobs. Don't forget that the Legion carries on the jobs that Help for Heroes start. The Battleback centers being a prime example of this. Help the Heroes raised the money to build these buildings but it's the Legion using some of the money from the Appeal that actually runs the centers and it's your donations that help acheive this.

All the best

Lunch box

Afternoon all,

 Well I finally completed that lunch box. I'm really pleased with it and can't wait to make another. This time I'll try it with much paler papers. Although it was done as a money box I think it would look great as a letter keep. I remember my Grandparents putting important mail behind a clock on the mantle piece in the living room. I tend to pile them on the coffee table and then work through them. But it does show how times have changed as most of my mail is paperless these days as it's far more eco friendly. So I tend not to receive much in the way of snail mail. Though I do have a pen friend and we write to other and send handmade cards which I must say I really look forward to. The art of letter writing the 'old' way appears to be a dying art form as most people use email or type letters on their computer's and print them off to send.

Lunch Box

  I used some papers from a friend of mine, I think she picked them up from TK max. The stickers are Royal and Langnikel. The other papers are a mix of Heidi Grace(?) and Dessert Blooms from the First Edition range. I used a Tim Holtz die to create the rosette and a Marianne Creatable die for the roses and leaves.
  I've just caught a snippet of create and craft and the Kanban POTD. It was so nice to see that somebody has finally taken on board that some of us are not girly girls. I just wish now I could afford the multibuy as the toppers were gorgeous especially the tomboy style one's :-D. I love sport, football, rugby, hockey, formula 1 among others. I also love my cars, bikes and steam engines!! I don't even own a dress or skirt let alone a pair of girly shoes lol. Wow, whilst typing this my email was picked out of the cup again and I've won a Glitter Girl's card. I'm still waiting for my 'card' from Leonie's Grand Caliber show 2 weeks ago :-(, i do hope it didn't get lost in the post.


Happy crafting

Monday morning

Good morning all
Unfortunately I had a bad night last night with my joints so I'm running rather behind myself today. I stripped the bed last night and somehow managed to turn the mattress so all the bed linen is now being washed. I do love a fresh bed and hopefully I should sleep better now, hopefully.
Today's plan was to attempt to clean up before amercing myself in some crafting. I desperately need some therapy to get me through today. One of the tasks is to do that lunch box that I posted about on Saturday. I have cut out the chipboard but not chosen my papers that I want to use to decorate it. So watch this space!
The weather is beautiful today so KeishaBelle has gone out to play bless her. I've opened the windows up wide to make the most of the lovely breeze. It also makes it easier for Keish as she uses the small window to get in and out. When I open the big windows it means she doesn't have to jump quite so far. Being in a flat it's the only way she can go out. Spirit is sound asleep leaning against me for a pillow whilst I'm typing this! I love them both to bits as the really do keep me amused. I'm sure they don't realise they're animals.

Happy crafting