My Blog is Moving

As most of you are probably aware, my blog is moving home. I have moved to my own website and can now be found here.

I have been posting on both blogs for the past month so there's plenty to look at, including a few new posts :) I hope you all call round and visit. You can also follow using either your rss reader or through networked blogs. I also have my shop over on my new site so why not come over for a browse.

More Makery :)

I've been slowly working through my stash of broken jewellery and disassembling them. I've also been having a brutal look at some of my older jewellery that I made. I've had a bit of a cull and taken those pieces apart too. I'm quite chuffed with the amount of jump rings I've salvaged. It may sound a bit odd but I find the whole process of taking dead jewellery to pieces and sorting the parts really relaxing. Also by sorting them by colour I've got inspired by some nice colour combinations. I made these earrings last night and I'm so happy with how they look.







All the earrings have also been added to my shop so if you fancy snapping any of them up, just pop on over to here.

Finally for those of you who are reading this from my blogspot account, don't forget I'll be moving over to my new site permanently from the 1st December 2011. My new site address is here.

Busy, busy, busy!

I've been busy beavering away on my new website and listing stock. I have also made the decision to close my shop on Folksy as my heart just hasn't been in it since they made all the changes to their definition of handmade. Also, the thought of making a sale and giving even a tiny part to them as commission was also leaving a nasty taste in my mouth.

I'm loving the freedom of having my own site. It took me a few days to get my head around the fact I could list whatever I liked :) I'm also considering moving my blog over to the site. What you you folks think? I hope you would all come and visit and follow me in my new home :) If I know you're coming I'll bung the kettle on and even rustle up some cyber-biscuits ;)

I've also been enjoying getting to know the other ladies (and gentleman) from Shhim. Mrs Diddybears has done an absolutely fab job on the site and is currently working on a Christmas showcase! I can't wait. I do owe her a huge debt of gratitude. Not just for all the hard work she has done with the Shhim site (which is currently doing in her own time and for no fees!) but also for being the catalysis in getting my arse in gear with the website. I think its one of the best things I've done and its really inspired me to get creating. Thank you Mrs D and also the other Shhim ladies :)

If you need a little bit of cuteness you should pop on over to her shop and check out her Diddybears. They are utterly adorable. Everyone is different and they come with their own birth certificate. My favourite bit is the description on the about page :)

Preparing for my First Proper Craft Fair

I've been creating more stock for my stall and now have 9 little cat brooches. I'm really chuffed with them and hope people like them. Here's them all together :)



I've also been shopping for cheap picture frames today and picked up a couple from my local Pound shop. The plan is to remove the glass and cover the backing in black fabric and then use them to display me earrings. I'm planning on getting some bowls to put my brooches and bracelets in and then hanging my necklaces up somehow. I also need to pick up a cheap mirror as I've learnt from past experience that people like to see what items will look like on.

I'm so looking forward to doing the fair and it would be even better if I sold enough to cover the stall cost. I figure either way it will still be great experience and a great opportunity to give out some business cards and SHHIM flyers :)

Latest Makings

The weathers been really sunny and warm so I've been down the plot quite a bit. I also have been continuing on the decluttering/reorganising spree and have reorganised my beads so that they are now sorted by colour, not type. I saw the tip on another blog I follow (sorry can't remember which one) and thought it was a cool idea.

It took a little while to do but it was well worth it. Its a really good way of seeing what works well together and it has also help get me inspired.

Here are my latest creations (also in my Folksy shop :) ) All the items are made from recycled beads.

Icicle Necklace


Lavender Necklace



Buddleja Bracelet & Earrings


Rock Pool Necklace


Also, don't forget to enter my giveaway. You have until midnight Sunday 29th May (1 week) to enter :)

Spring has Sprung :)

The weather has been absolutely glorious just recently. Its been lovely. I've been down the plot loads and that's coming along well. We have onions, courgettes and potatoes already in and tomatoes, lettuce and sweetcorn started on the window sill. We also have chilli peppers and hopefully some more catnip for the allotment cats :)

I've also been reading The New Messies Manual by Sandra Felton and thats been getting me really inspired to get things organised and decluttered.

I've also been whizzing through Joanne Harris novels - I've read Chocolat, Lollipop Shoes, Blackberry Wine, Five Quarters of the Orange and Gentlemen and Players. I'm currently reading Coastliners and I'm about half way through. I'm really enjoying her style of writing so I'm looking forward to tracking down some more. I've already spotted another in the library :)

I've also finally been feeling a bit more creative \o/ I've been making jewellery like there's no tomorrow and painting. I picked up some cheap canvases from one of the pound shops in Hemel last week and have already used one. I've put some of the new jewellery up in my folksy shop and have some new stuff on the way :) Heres some pics of what I've been working on recently.

Stuff!

I've got the chestiest cough at the moment and its driving me absolutely potty! To try and distract myself I've been having a bit of a sort out of the stray junk that just accumulates on the shelve, drawers, pots and corners of the flat. Its odd stuff like paperclips, rolls of tape (so far 14 rolls of tape!), note pads, postits, scraps of paper, bits of string, shoe laces, envelopes, old jiffy bags, you name it!
I've cleared one box out which I'm going to use for 'stuff to donate to the scrap bank'. I've put a ton of paper in the recycling bin. I've also collected the useful leaflets, timetables, menus, etc. together and put them in a little A5 folder of plastic pockets. All the pads are now in one central place too along with the safety pins, treasury tags and paperclips. The Borrowers would have a field day if they visited our flat.
In celebration of my tidying I thought I'd share with you some words of wisdom from the late George Carlin. Such a funny man and he hits the nail on the head when he talks about stuff. Enjoy :)

Latest Makery

After having a bit of a shift around of furniture and bits I've made myself a new making area in the living room. The shelf next to it now has all my craft books and I have my own little desk. I also picked myself up a cheap lamp for a tenner so I have some decent light to work by. Its great and has got me inspired to finish up some of my half finished bits and bobs.
The bits I've finished include my cowel scarf (which I started over a year ago!), my little crocheted purse, a crocheted coaster and a few bats pendants for my shop :)

Makings & Tidying

I've been having a bit of a creative spurt recently and have been working on some more jewellery ideas for the shop. I've been using some stamps I picked up last year and using them with fimo to make some new pendants. I've used pearl effect fimo and then coated the cooked pendants with a smear of water colour paint, a coat of glitter glue and a coat of varnish. I'm pretty pleased with how they are looking so far. I plan to hang them on ribbon and managed to pick up a mix of colours today from TKMax.
I've also been doing a second round of clearing the wardrobe and ironing pile. So far I've gathered a binbag full of stuff. I want to get my wardrobe back to a basic level so I've got space to pick up the odd nice thing if I see it. I've also been trying to simplify things. I've been partly inspired by the Uniform Project where one dress was worn everyday for a year. The clever bit was how the dress looked different every day. Sheena, the original blog author, uses all manner of accessories to create a different look. This is a bit too fashiony and girly for me but it did get me thinking. I don't need thousands of clothes, just a few basic bits. I've got a ton of jewellery and other bits and bobs. It would also save me a whole ton of ironing, which I hate with a passion. This can only be good :)
In other news, I've finally got round to finishing 'Two Caravans' - that was such a brilliant read. Every bit as good as 'A History of Tractors in Ukrainian'. I've now started my new Sean Stewart book. He's probably my favourite author and I'd been putting off getting Cathy's book for ages as it was a change of direction for him and I wasn't sure if I'd like it. Its written for teens and so far I'm really enjoying it. I decided not to write it off just because it was written for a different age group, Before I Die was too and that was amazing. Exceptionally moving but brilliant.

Decluttering

I've been a bit of a lazy blogger of late so I'm long overdue a post :/ I've been attempted to have a good clear out of some of the crap I've accumulated over the years and have been starting on the wardrobe and ironing basket as I have more clothes than I was ever going to wear, and more importantly iron! I managed to bag up 3 big carrier bags for my favourite charity shops and have another bag that I'm attempting to ebay. My ironing basket is now visible again and I've even inspired my boyfriend to think about doing the same.
Next job is to get back to selling my old CDs. Most of the older stuff I don't listen to and haven't for years. And then the vinyl. I've got an enormous box of vinyl records which really needs to go. I haven't owned a record player in years but I've been hoarding them all the same.
I've also been reading quite a bit lately and have about 3 on the go at the moment. I'm reading Janet Street Porters - Lifes to f**king short. This has been surprising good for my head and has really got me inspired. She covers everything from beauty products to cooking and looking after your home and relationships. You can probably guess by the cover that theres no beating round the bush, she gets straight to the point but its a really good read. I'm also reading Two Caravans by Marina Lewycka, who wrote A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian. I'm really enjoying this too and also have an Edgar Allan Poe book on the go via my DS. I think that will keep me busy for a while :)
I'm heading off down the plot for a bit of planting and cat stroking :)

All Organised :)

Spring is obviously in the air as I have been tidying and sorting the last couple of days. My task of the today has been to sort out all my art and craft stuff. My boyfriend picked up some nice shelves from our local Emmaus to store it all on so I'm pretty pleased with how its all looking.
Before I used to have all my art stuff in a big box under the bed and my beads where in a box beside the sofa and my sewing stuff was near where I sit and the wool was stacked up by the back wall along with my bag of fabric. The fabric still needs a home but everything else has fitted really well.
Over the last couple of weeks I've also been trying to be a little healthier and have been trying out Graze. They are a UK based, online company from which you can order healthy munch. You select all the stuff you like the look off from their enormous range and they will send it out to you on the day you choose. It gets sent through the post and fits through the letter box and costs just £2.99. So far I've been really impressed and I've tried a few bits and bobs that I wouldn't have tried before.
I got an email today from the chairperson of our allotment committee telling us that the plot has been flooded. Usually it floods down by the river when we've had a lot of rain but this time the entire plot is effected. My bf went down to investigate and our plot is under a couple of inches of water. The shed looks fine though and we're sure it will drain away. We've looked on the bright side and have taken the view that at least its better than the other year when we had no rain and we lost tons of veg as we just couldn't water everything as much as they needed.
We probably need to be starting a few things off indoors about nowish so I'm hoping to pick up some onion seeds to get them going. We've also been given some seed potatoes too.
Last night I also went out to my first Meditation group in over 2 years. It usually clashes with work but I've got a week off this week so I thought I'd give it a go. The group was small but I really liked it. It was nice to try out some new techniques and do it with others. Also I'd forgotten how nice the environment was and how comfy the big cushions were. With a bit of luck my hours will change a bit in the next couple of months so I'm hoping to make this a more regular thing.

Living inside a Snowglobe

Yesterday evening and all of today has been very snowy with lots of people getting snowdays. Unfortunately I have a day off anyway and you can't claim back snowdays :( It would be cool if you could.
Been spending today having a little move around of our living room. Even though it was workable before it was never quite the way we wanted it and the sofa was barely being used. In fact the room wasn't getting much use generally. I use if for crafting in, massaging and doing yoga but the kitchen and bedroom have taken over in terms of sitting spaces so we wanted to reclaim the living room again for that. Especially as all our music and our best seating is in that room.
I've been checking storage spaces and trying to make better use of them. The biggest problem seems to be my craft stuff and our camping gear. I've managed to find new homes for our tent, ground sheets and sleeping mats and sleeping bags but there is still a whole load of assorted stuff about that is hard to define or rehouse. I'll have a look on the unclutterer website later for some ideas. It wasn't playing ball earlier and kept crashing but I think that might have been my computer.