I am in the Paper!

This is from my book signing on Saturday.

I may not have sold many books but at least I got in the local rag! I had to use the one with Julie in it as she nagged me to send it to them. The other people are a lovely couple who spent ages chatting to me and looking at the scrapbook, then kindly agreed to pose for the photo

Rainbows and Stars

I bet you are shocked. This is the third day in a row I am posting.

Don't expect it to carry on!!!!

I really wanted to share what I have been working on - Shooting Stars. You may recognise one of them from this Layout. These are going to be part of my new scrapping pattern. The Stars and their Tails are made separately so that you can add them to your layout in which ever way you want to.

And here are some more Stars. These are a version of the stars I used on this Silk Painting. They are beaded in both the silk and the layout. I also used a finer thread to crochet them with. The ones in this picture are unbeaded and with the size thread I normally use for all my scrapping bits.

I will be adding them all to Rainbow Valley for sale as soon as I sort out some prices and find some time to do it.

And finally, as requested, pics of my new stamps. They are stamped (badly) on to an A5 sheet, just for you!

Stamp, Stamp, Stamp!

As if spending all that cash on eBay wasn't enough, I bought more in Tesco this morning!

The thing is, I really NEEDED them!

We are doing a mini competition in our UKS team for an avatar. Rather than one of us just come up with something, I thought it would be an idea for all of us to create a LO or two then we can all vote for our favourite. I am half way through a proper 8" LO and needed some small letters for it.

So, I was looking in Tesco this morning, having just filled up the trolley with food, and I saw a pack of stickers which would work.

However, then I saw a set of alpha stamps complete with acylic block. My son is no help at all, you know. He promptly took the stickers out of the trolly and told me the stamps would be much better as I could use them over and over again. And that the birthday set that was in the same box would be perfect to go with them.

So I came out of Tesco having spent nealy £40 on food and another £10 on stamps.

At least they are giving me some peace as he is now sitting at the table playing with them.

Anyway, here is the jpeg of the personalised stamps I ordered from eBay yesterday. The seller is ever so helpful and will send you a jpeg so that you can see what it looks like before you order.

All the other stamps I ordered from this seller, also very helpful.

I promise pics when they arrive.

This week has been just as hectic!

And I have been buying stash again - but more of that later.

I got fed up waiting for the tape to come so I improvised. I cut strips of the same fabric I used for the front and staples it on the back as I was going to with the tape. Then I used the designer labels I made and stapled those on as well. It doesn't look quite as professional as the tape would but it does the job nicely. I now have 7 finished and two of them up for sale in the Florists. I am thinking about putting them on Etsy as well.

Here is the finished Leaves frame. And some close ups. All of the frames are 20cm x 20cm and made to fit a 9cm x 13 cm photo.

And finally that stash! First of all, I have to say that the lady was wonderful. I realised that I had ordered two different sized padded stars and emailed her to ask if she could send them the same size and add the difference to the postage.

Then I emailed her about some punches and couldn't make up my mind about them so decided not to get one as it was getting time to go to work.

I asked her for the total, which she sent and I paid. However, she hadn't adjusted it for the stars and, as I had turned the puter off and would be late for work if I turned it back on, didn't do anything about it.

The stash arrived the next morning, complete with the alternative stars. How is that for service? I emailed her to ask about the aditional cost and she came back to me to tell me that she hadn't altered it on purpose.

So, if you want great service and quick delivery, I suggest you pay her a visit.

Her shop is Pink Marshmallow on eBay.

Doesn't Time Fly.....

.....When you are working?

20 hours doesn't sound like much, especially when there are 168 in a week. In fact, when you think about it, it is actually less than one whole day. But 20 hours spread over 4 days, plus the time to get there and back, creates a HUGE hole in your time. And things just keep falling through it!!!!! Basically, I have lost the best part of four days and have to fit everything I normally do in seven days into the remaining three. I am not doing so well.

I know other people do this all the time. But they are used to doing it. Hopefully I will get organised at some point and get into a routine where I can fit everything in. However, the good part is that I finally have some money to spend! I have to be relatively good as I have things to pay out and sort out first but I have treated myself.

I bought a staple gun so that I can finish off my pictures myself without hassling Mark to sort out the big compressor one down the shed and some tape to cover the raw edges on the back. I also got some of those nine pocket pages to keep my ATCs in.

Marks Mum picked up twelve 8in frames for me last week so now I am all set to finish off the quilted photo frames, or I will be when the tape arrives. As you can see from the photos, I have already mounted theones I have finished and just need to finish the backs off.

I had to change the photos in the Baby Girl ones due to MAJOR complaints from my son. I had used photos of him as I didn't have any of baby girls. Then my Mam pointed out that I had some of me. So they have been duly scanned and printed to use.

I only have time to edit a few of the pics to use, so will show you the others another day. The other thing I really wanted to show you was this lovely lot of stash I got from Linda E. Thank you so much! I love it!!!!!

And finally, I took this from the back door this morning. The sun was coming up in the front and the moon was still really bright out the back.

Quilted Layouts

I have finished the two girl ones!

Well, almost. I wrapped these around an 8x8 pad of cardstock to display them as I don't yet have the proper frames. But I couldn't wait to share them! The other thing I need are some decent tags to tie on. These are for the babys details.

They are based on a scrapbooking style. I have used painted silk instead of patterned paper and (mostly) crocheted embellishments. They is finished off with some baby buttons and seed beads. They are 8 inches square and made to fit 5x3½ inch photos.

Now I have to get the frames to finish them properly and decided on a price to sell them at.

The Lady in the flower shop said to keep them under £20 which is why I have done them small. The thing is, how much under?

I have enjoyed making these. I just hope I enjoy making the others I have planned as much!

I think I am going to do the poppy ones next!

More ATCs

Have to say, I have been having a great time making these!

This is my latest lot of ATCs. And there are a whole load more in the process. Yes, they take a lot of work but I really like the original idea of them being miniatures of your art work. As my artwork is crochet and silk painting, that is what I do.

I could probably make 10 times as many if I did them with paper and glue - but that just isn't me. Anyway, as I was doing these I came up with another idea. What about bigger versions that I could maybe sell?

After thinking about this some more and then chatting to the lady in the flower shop who displays some of my work, I came up with this. It is 8x8 quilted scrapbooking layout and made to fit a 5x3½ photo. It isn't finished yet, I need some pink baby buttons and I haven't beaded it yet. Yes, its pink! Its very pink!!!!!!

But I didn't have any pale blue fabric to make a boy one and I had a whole pile of pink stuff made for the "Scrapping for Babies".

Besides, I am not planning on keeping it and there are plenty of baby girls around.

However, I am quite pleased with the result so far.

And I have another pile in all different colours to get done yet!

I knew this would be a mistake!

I have managed to stay away from ATCs for quite a while but after making that one last week I have been bitten by the bug!

Yesterday I spent ages designing this and printing it out on to cardstock ready to make some more. Luckily, I have an A3 printer I bought with another purpose in mind and its perfect for printing on to 12 inch card! And, although I have managed to stay away from organised swaps for the moment, have agreed to a private one. What am I getting myself into??????

That lovely lady in the new florists got me some green handmade papers on the weekend so, to celebrate going into work, I splashed out on them and finished off the Snowdrops LO yesterday. I crocheted a Snowdrop by adapting the pattern I have on my site slightly. I didn't use wire in the stem which is the basic difference.

Yesterday evening there were loads of kids outside the window. When I looked out, they were all standing in the next door garden looking at the old cistern (they are in the process of having their bathroom redone).

However, when I looked a bit closer, they were actually watching a baby hedgehog eating catfood from a bowl.

Of course, I had to rush out and take pics!

"Real" Scrapping!

I managed to get those photos sorted!

This is the layout for the Shooting Star, the first in the set of 3 along the Stars and Rainbows theme. Those handmade silk papers I bought are gorgeous! They are made from recycled garments so are perfect for the layouts.

I crocheted a shooting star to match the one in the silk painting and stitched the beads on to some handmade paper. This is the second one I did. When the lady picked up the first one she decided she wanted 3 different ones instead of 3 the same. This gave me a bit of a dilemma - but also a chance to experiment.

I had never tried crochet on any of my silks before but it worked really well. I re-created one of the stars for the layout. I also stitched some of the beads on to the paper again and used more of the silk papers. I wasn't so happy with the third silk - but she likes it.

I was trying to re-create the effect at the bottom of a waterfall in stars. I made loads of crocheted ones in rainbow colours for the silk, which I also used on the layout.

I stitched a rainbow on to the silk paper in the beads I used on the silk. The Snowdrops are still a W.I.P. I have made the embellishments but need to wait until I get some green handmade paper for them.

My CRB check for the new job STILL has not been received by the CRB and the cheque I wrote has STILL not cleared. I am beginning to think that somebody doesn't want me there!

Pattern Finished!

And I am sooooo pleased!!!!!

I am pleased that it is finished.

And pleased with the way it turned out.

And especially pleased at the time it took. That had to be the quickest ever pattern I have done from start to finish!!!!!

So here it is!

I have added it to Rainbow Valley.

This week has been an odd one. Benjamin is staying with my parents in Penarth and it is sooooooooooo quiet around here!!!!!

Mark is off work but has spent a lot of time down the shed so we haven't been out much. Apart from yesterday when we were out all day. We went to visit a friend, then did some shopping. We now have a new patio set and I have some trainer socks in colours to clash wonderfully with my red trainers!

I am hoping it is going to brighten up a little soon. I am thinking about going to the garden centre to see if they have any of those little lanterns for tea lights left. They would look lovely with the new patio table.

If not, I will go next week. Mark will be back in work and Benjamin won't be home for another 2 weeks.

What am I going to do with myself?????

Horses and Ducks

Yes, you guessed it, more Baby Scrapping stuff.

But first, an important announcement.

My pipex site is continually getting hacked and I have no idea how. I think it is down to the server as I know the files on my computer are clean.

So, I have deleted everything on it. Now all the pages do it give you a link to the new site.

Hopefully, this will stop all the problems.

If you have a link to my site anywhere on your site or blog, please click on it and go to the new site to update your links.

Here are the Rocking Horses I have been working on. I wasn't sure how to do them but am really pleased with the way they turned out. They only have two legs, not four, as this would have made them a bit bulky for the page. But they do have two ears so you can face them either way.

And somebody suggested Ducks! No prizes for who!!!! I hope to have all of these up on my site for sale very soon. The mittens and booties set are already there, along with the Teddies.

I am also considering adding the words "baby boy" and "baby girl" to the page.

But all of that is going to have to wait a few days. Tonight we are off to Cardiff to take Benjamin to stay with my parents. I have no idea how long he is going for! We will be back tomorrow but them Mark has the week off so I won't be around much.

I just hope I have time to get to the beach in the morning!

Naff Idea????

I thought it was a great one!!!! Thanks Annette! So here are some nappies, along with a Moses basket - a suggestion from somebody else. Any more?

More Baby Stuff

I have been working on more baby scrapping stuff. Here is the complete Boy set. It is all made in the new thread I have been slowly stocking up on. I will still be selling the stuff made with the old thread for now as I still have a huge stash of it. The problem is that I can't replace it when I have used it

I have been slowly stocking up on a range of DMC Petra. Unfotunately, I don't have the range of colours in it yet. I need to sell more of the older stuff to afford the new ones!

These are some accessories I have been working on. I could really do with some inspiration here as I can't think what else to make!!! Any Suggestions?

And here are some cards we made on the weekend. We used wallpaper I bought in a clearance sale for 50p. I did the top 2 and Benjamin did the bottom 2. We were quite pleased with the results, having never done decoupage before!

The problem with computers....

....is that they go wrong!!!!

Yes, mine isn't working - again!!!!

Mark will tell me that it is because I expect too much from it and make it work too hard.

But all I was doing this time is a virus scan. Honest! I left it running while I went out and when I came back, it had rebooted. Very strange, as normally Norton leaves a report of the scan and doesn't reboot.

Since then, Norton hasn't worked and I keep getting the "Blue screen of death" every five minutes. It has taken me all week to back up my files when this keeps happening. At least I have been able to sew beads on while doing this and one of my new silks is finished.

So now I am on Marks. Fortunately, I can still blog and blop but I can't share any pics. So those waiting for the Baby Girl set are going to have to wait a little long. I have used the boy set I made on a LO of Benjamin. I promise to share loads of pics when I am able.

Its typical really, Mark is back in work and enjoying his new job so I have more time to do what I want to do again. Then the puter breaks so I don't have time to do any of it. And I have soooooooo much to do!

Also, I am really excited because I am going to be in Scrapbook Inspirations next month. I am not entirely sure what they are doing but it will be a news story with links to the free Rainbow pattern and to my site. Maybe, I can start earning some cash at last!

Catching Up!

It has been a busy couple of days. On Friday we went out with a friend and her daughter to HGL for brekkie. They had a BOGOF on so we decided to take advantage of it. It was scrummy! And I was stuffed!!!! Afterwards the children played for a bit then we had a look around. I very nearly bought some "Chocolate Mint". It was only £1.59 and smelled just like "After Eights"!

While there, I also got a couple of pictures for the UKS Photo competition. Joanne suggested this one when I explained what I was doing.

The brekkie offer runs for another 2 weeks and I have a spare token so we are going again - when the kids are in school! I think I am going to get that mint as well.

That afternoon we went to Skylark Garden Centre. Joanne didn't realise there was one there. She hasn't lived in the area long and has only just passed her driving test, so I was telling her about some of the local stuff. The kids had a great time playing outside, even though the bouncy castle wasn't up!

I also managed to get the picture I needed to finish off another letter in my A-Z photo journal of Chatteris.

I just need to sort out the pics before I post them.

After seeing all the excitment about a LO in Scrapbook Inspirations which used one of my crocheted Rainbows, I thought I would do one myself. I checked out this weeks challenge for inspiration and this is what I came up with. And, while on the subject, keep an eye on SI because I might be in it soon! I emailed them concerning my Rainbow and got a lovely email back.

I am really excited about this! It might be just what I need to get people to my site. If I can sell a decent amount of crochet each week, I wouldn't need a job!

And if that does happen, best you get your orders in before the rush!

Stash!

I have been getting loads of lovely stash in the post.

No, I haven't been on a spending spree!

Would I?

This is from my crochet embellishment swap.

Mandi sure knows the way to my heart. Loads of lovely beads and buttons for me to play with. I am seriously tempted to take up this Fimo thing to make my own, they are so much more fun to crochet with than the stuff you can buy. I would also be able to make the holes a bit bigger to make them easier to crochet with.

And look at all this stash Tinkerbelle sent me. Far too much but I am not complaining. I love the hand made cards but I doubt very much that they will end up being used for cards as they are perfect for my Silk Album. I have another swap to get done and in the post for next week. I did tell her Monday but, of course, its a Bank Holiday so it will have to be Tuesday.

I have finished the lower case letters. And what is more, they are all added to mys site, including the doodling! The page still needs a bit more work as I need to add the numbers to it and the link for the free pattern. I also plan to convert this lot to digi and add the downloads to the page.

I redid the "Exhibition" for my Silk Album. I had to squash it in a bit because the new letters are bigger than the old ones. I am still pleased with it though.

And I need to add a "?" to this page so that I have all the punctuation on one page. Just like British Rail, I am getting there!

Free Crochet Pattern

Remember the Crocheted Doodling? Well, I have finally written the pattern and it is on Rainbow Valley! It is really simple to do so there is no excuse for not trying!

I have finally finished the upper case letters. I am now working on the lower case set. I am up to "u" so, with a bit of luck, I can get them finished today and blocked over night ready to photograph on the weekend. I am hoping to get all of these, along with the punctuation and numbers, on to my site for sale this weekends. I can sell the finished items before the pattern is ready as I can use my notes to make them.

Then I have to remake everything to check that I have written the pattern properly.

I do this in a different thread which I use for the photos for the pattern.

Unfortunately, the thread I started using is only available in the UK as it is manufactured by a UK company.

Also, they have changed a few of their lines and I can't get it as easily as I used to.

This means that I have to write the patterns using a different thread that is available in the US as well.

I am slowly building up a stash of this in different colours and, as soon as I have a decent colour range, I will swap everything on the site over to the same thread as the patterns. It will save taking twice as many photos!

Please note that the letters are not a free pattern, just the doodling.

Spoons and Dragons

Last night was Craft Club. This is the one that meets once a month and we get to try out new stuff. I always look forward to it.

Sometimes is is just a talk but the best ones are where you get to have a go.

Last night we made beaded spoons. They were fun to make and not too difficult. However, the smell on the glue was something else!!!!!

And now the moment you have all been waiting for! The Dragonfly page for my Silk Album. I used the thread I used to stitch it to crochet two of the Dragonflies and the beads I used on it to make the other one.

And, on the Silk subject, I had a good afternoon yesterday! The lovely man in the gift shop took all my posters advertising my patterns for both the Chatteris shop and the one in March. He also took a pile of business cards.

I was careful to put on the posters only the stuff that uses DK as that is what he sells. I figured if he was good enough to promote my patterns for free the least I could do would be to promote the ones that use his yarn. He also knows somebody who may be able to help sell my silks.

Next I went to visit the flower shops.

Both of them took a silk to display and business cards. And the best bit is that neither have asked for commission!!!!! One did say that if she sells loads for me I could make her one. I have to go in and swap them over every 3-4 weeks so that they have a change.