It has been a long time.........

But I have been working!!!

And doesn't it take up a lot of your time!

It was REALLY boring at first as all I was doing was reading policies. But then I ventured out of the staff room and started to get to know some of the residents.

Much more fun!

I can't actually start properly until the lady I am taking over from comes back off holiday and shows me the ropes, but at least I am getting to know people.

I have made some more ATCs. I finished off the ones from before and plan, when I have time, to make some more. I was showing them to some people in the Gables and hope to persuade them to have a go. However, before I can do that, I need some trades so that I have a wide variety of styles to show them. They have only seen mine.

Here are some I traded for the other day. Both of the dragonfly ones are gone but all the others are up for grabs so please contact me if you would like to trade.

Sue, it is all your fault!

Up to now I have pretty much resisted the urge to make some ATCs. This was mainly through lack of funds. I mean, I need some felt and patterned fabric first.

Which means I need some money. And I don't have any spare until I get paid.

I think I have spent my first months wages 10 times over so far and I haven't even earned it yet!

So, as I start my new job on Monday, I thought I had better get the house clean and shiny as I am not going to have as time for stuff like that.

First, however, I had to get the sewing machine out to fix something for Mark.

Fatal Mistake!

There was this bag of scraps sitting on top of the sewing machine. It is cut offs from when I frame the silks. Normally I would sort through this lot, save the scraps of wadding for stuffing other things and throw away the scraps of silk and fabric. But now I have discovered a use for them.

Yes, ATCs! So guess what I was doing instead of housework?????? I started off quite neat and pretty much following the style of the first one. But that was done with felt and patterned fabric. I couldn't leave a raw edge with silk because it would fray. I stitched the silk on and folded it over for a neat edge.

The problem was that most of the prettiest scraps were far too small for this so I started being a bit more adventurous. I used smaller scraps and some embroidery stitches on the machine to cover the edge and do the quilting.

As I am not selling any crochet bits at the moment, I have a huge stash of them. So I figured I may as well use them rather than make some. I can always make some more if I ever do get any orders for them!

And, of course, it wouldn't be one of my silks if it didn't have beads on! On some, I have used brads instead of beads.

Finally, I glued them to the printed backing cards, trimmed them to size and did buttonhole stitch around the edge.

I have to admit the the original with the stitching matching the leaf looked nicer but I gave away all my old thread which these embellishments are made from when I stocked up with the new thread.

I used the sewing thread I quilted it with instead.

So what do you think?

And now that I have made some, does anybody want to trade?????

Like you Sue, as it is all your fault!!!!!!

D is for Dragons!

I did want "Damsels and Dragons" but I didn't see any Damselflies! As Chatteris is in the middle of the Fens, it is surrounded by waterways so there are always plenty of Dragonflies around. Last week I went to Welches Dam. It is a local RSPB bird reserve not far from Chatteris. The Ouse Washes cut across the Fens with a long, straight stretch of wetland between artificial channels. Tens of thousands of ducks are attracted to this remote location in winter, as well as the largest concentration of Bewick's and whooper swans anywhere in the UK.

I knew this would be my best chance of getting photos of them. Did you know that the species is over 300 million years old? That is twice as old as birds. There are approximately 3,600 known species of dragonfly in the world. In the British Isles there are 27 species of dragonfly and 16 species of damselfly.

Dragonflies can reach 30mph in full flight. They are a voracious hunter from the time it first hatches as aquatic larvae to its peak as a flying adult.

The adult dragonfly has the biggest eyes in the insect world and they are capable of detecting movement up to 15m away! Male dragonflies have their own territory; they guard their particular stretch of water seeking prey, females and chasing off rivals.

Of course, there are loads of other things to see there and its well worth a visit if you have the chance.

Ooooh! I am all excited!

I went out to Tesco this morning and when I got back there was a message from Sam asking me to give him a ring. So I did and he wanted me to go and fill some forms in. Of course, there is no time like the present so I have spent all afternoon there filling in banking details, going over various aspects that I need to officially know, choosing my uniform (as I am the only Activites Organiser, I get to choose the colour) and sorting out a start date.

Of course, it just so happens that the lady I am taking over fron is on Holiday and won't be able to do my induction until October 9th. However, Sam suggested that I would need to go in to read all the paperwork etc and get to know the residents.

So I start Monday!!!!!!!!!!!

Best thing is, I still get to go to C&C Monday morning first and until Tina gets back, I can go in as I please. I am hoping to do as much as possible during school hours to save on the child care costs as I have missed the cut off date for this month so won't be paid until the end of October.

Obviously, after then, I will have to fit in with Tina for the induction and work the longer hours when I am doing it properly. But the After School Club is great and only £2 an hour.

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!

My first ATC!

Last night was Craft Club, normally an opportunity to try out something new.

And last night was no exception, I made my first ever ATC. Sue Cheffins is a local lady who dabbles with dying threads, quilting and a whole host of other things. She brought along kits for us to make Fabric Trading Cards. The kits were all for an Autumn theme and had all those lovely rich autumn colours in them. Most people had great fun doing it, including me and they only cost £1 as well so it was a cheap night!!!

It just so happened that I had a crochet hook in my bag - I guess you are all really surprised at that!

So I got some of the lovely hand dyed thread she creates and crocheted a leaf. Then I stitched it on the the background, added some leaf sequins, stuck the background on to the card and did button hole stitch all around the outside with what was left of the thread.

I have to say I was quite pleased with the result and can see this becoming habit forming!

Another thing I am quite pleased with is this 12 inch LO I did for the UKS weekly challenge. As I am working on Halloween embellies just now, I thought I would make it Halloween themed. This is Benjamin, age nearly 3, in a Pumpkin outfit I made for him. Unfortunately its the only photo I have of him in it and isn't very good but it will have to do. But the bit I am really pleased about is that I used chipboard!

I covered it with PP - and should really have waited for it to dry propery before trimming.

One of the tags made a perfect leaf for the pumkin!

The Good, the Bad and the Scary!!!

Thank you for all the comments about the chipboard, both on here and the UKS thread.

Unfortunately, I can't do most of it because I don't have a clue what half the stuff you are using is and I certainly don't have any of it in my stash.

However, that WILL change when I get my first wages from my new job!!!!!

When that will actually be is a totally different matter. Yesterday my CRB form was STILL sitting on somebodys desk. This time it is because the cheque is made out to the wrong people so they can't cash it. And, instead of getting back to the nursing home about it, they just left it. They don't seem to realise that they are playing with peoples lives when that do things like that!

Ok, in my case, it may not be a matter of life and death but, it is a matter of stash or no stash!

Anyway, on to better things!

Look at what I am working on now!!!! These are the prototypes. I am not sure whether to embroider eyes etc on them. I think it might be better leave them so that people can add their own. I am currently working on a ghost and, as always, open to suggestions for this collection.

Chipboard

I have never tried chipboard before but I had this lovely lot ages ago in my crochet embellishment swap from Donna.

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The thing is, I don't have a clue how to use it!!!!!

Any suggestions?

Unfortunately, I can't find out how you leave clickable links in your comments but, if you can leave a link to something you have done, I can copy and paste it.

"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!

I have been scrapping!

"Real" Scrapping as well!

Unfortunately, they are not quite finished so you are going to have to wait to see them!

But you can see the digi ones I was sorting out my photos to send off for printing for my A-Z album, when I decided to digi scrap A. Part of the reason is to use the digi versions to "plan" the real versions. And part of it is because I want a digi album to share as well. I can put it on to a cd or online and it will look so much nicer than photos of the real one.

I have also used the journalling blocks from this and added them to the photos to be printed so that I can use them in the real one. This is A for Abbey. There were loads of photos and info for it that I ended up with a double one. The "Real" scrapping is for my Silk Album. I was going to wait until I sent off the other photo to do it but changed my mind.

Sorting out the photos gave me the urge to scrap so I printed them off myself. Besides, I wanted some of them bigger than 6x4 so I couldn't use the free ones anyway.

I have crocheted the bits I need for the embellies and am in the process of making the beaded embellies. I decided to stitch them on to the paper, rather than making wired ones for the rainbows.

I think I will be making a wired Snowdrop one though.

If all goes to plan I will have the Rainbow ones finished very soon and get the photos taken.

Unfortunately, I couldn't do the Snowdrops as I don't have any green handmade paper.

Also, until I start this job, I don't have any money to get some.

They are going to have to wait!

Spam, Spam, Spam

You know, I get so fed up of turning my emails on to find about 50 emails (or more) and only one of them is actually for me.

I really don't want a bigger penis so that I can thrill the girls all night!!!!!

I tried setting up loads of filters to get the spam deleted but then I started missing other emails that I needed. So now I have to go through it all and delete it manually.

I am in the process of changing my email over so a lot of it will hopefully stop when I delete the old addy.

I thought there was laws against this happening. If there are, they are not working!

I am not sure how they get my email all the time but I know part of it is down to mass mailing.

Basically, if you forward an email on to somebody and leave everybodies email addies on it, some where along the line it will get picked up and all the addies will be harvested for spam.

If you must mass email, please go and read this on my msn group so that you can do it more safely.

And the other thing..........

I get really fed up of mail through the letter box trying to get me to spend money I don't have or offering me money I can't afford to pay back.

It is no wonder so many people are in debt!

I am a bit naughty with this. Just my little "Stuff it where the sun don't shine" to these people.

If the things come with a prepaid envelope, I take out the bit that has my address on and shred it, them stuff all the rest in the envelope and post it back to them.

Its even better when you get two lots on one day, you can swap the contents over!

It doesn't cost them much for all this mass mailing that they do but it does cost them more for all the returns that they get. They don't actually have to pay for those until they are used.

OK, it may not make much difference in the grand scheme of things but it gives me a certain satisfaction!

I am pleased to announce........

That I have finally finished my Puppets pattern!

You have already met the individual puppets so I won't bore you with that. I am off to add the pattern to Rainbow Valley When all that is done, I can carry on with my A-Z. I am sorting out the photos I want printed so that I can send them off. I need to decide how big I want them all first and any smaller than 6x4 can be added to one print.

I would nornally print them myself but I had an offer of free prints through from Snap fish and the postage is only 99p for up ro 50 and £1.49 for up to 500. Also, if I refer people and they sign up (don't need to actually buy and no card details needed) we both get an additional 20 prints free.

If anybody is interested, use the "Ask me, I might" button on the left to email me.

Are you sitting down?

I have done some scrapping!!!!!!!

I took it into my head yesterday to have a go at the weekly on UKS And this is the result. Its a digi LO from some of the pics I took when we spent the afternoon at a friends farm. The pics are for my A-Z Photo journal of Chatteris and I do plan on a scrapbook for the complete collection. So I will be re-doing this one "properly"!

I used a photo of the corn in the field for the background and slightly lightened and desaturated the centre. Then I used different photos of the combine with a black and while border in the middle.

The Corn is from my "Flowers and Friends" Scrapbooking pattern and the Bow is a free pattern on my msn group. If you can't crochet, I can supply the "real" versions.

Have you burnt any yet Mum?

My son has such faith in my cooking!!!!!!!

As it happened, I hadn't. But I still told him they taste better burnt! We were making Welsh Cakes. They are a sort of scone but cooked on a griddle. And, seriously, when cooked on a cast iron griddle they do taste better with a tinge of black on them. Cooking is not my favourite pastime. Especially baking.

I hate the feel of the mixture under my nails and spend more time washing my hands than anything else. So it helps to have a willing helper who loves getting his hands in to this sort of thing. Unfortunately, there is no way I can let him near an extremely hot cast iron griddle so I have to do that bit. Better I get burned than him! Fancy making some? You will need - 1lb SR flour ½lb fat 6oz sugar mixed spice currants milk

Mix the flour and sugar together. Add some spice to taste. Then mix in the fat. When you have a nice even mixture, add some currants to taste then just enough milk to bind it all together. Roll the dough out to about ¼ inch thick and cut into circles. You then need to cook them on the griddle. This takes some practise. Too hot and you burn them before the middle is cooked, too cool and you dry them out. I just keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best.

Keep turning them over until they are a nice colour on both sides and put them on a cooling rack when they are done. As you can see - none burnt. At least, not on that side!!!!!! They are also really nice with apple instead of currants. Just grate up a large cooking apple and leave out the milk. Enjoy!

Puppets and Zion

I was going to be ever so good and try to blog at least every other day. Look how long that lasted!!!!!

Still, I have been busy with other things.

First of all, I listed my Halloween Baskets pattern on Etsy. This isn't a new pattern, I wrote it some years ago but I still love it. I was debating about putting it on eBay as well but with the new rules about ebooks (and the new listing prices) I decided not to. Etsy is so much cheaper to sell from when you are dealing with handicrafts.

Here are some of the puppets I have been working on. Meet Petula Parrot,

Sidney Snake,

and Arnold Aligator. These are the "Jungle Puppets". As always, made from 100% machine washable acrylic so you don't have to worry about them getting dirty. I have listed them all for sale on Etsy. The pattern will be on there just as soon as it is finished.

During the crash a whole pile of my photos got corrupted. Fortunately, some of them were from my A-Z photo journal of Chatteris which means they are relatively easy to replace. I decided to go out to the bank and Co-op yesterday and replace some of the photos. I went to the bank first then started taking some pics.

Wouldn't you know it - it started to rain! So I went to the Co-op to get what I needed only to find I hadn't put my purse in!!!! At least by the time I got back to the town centre it wasn't raining any more and I managed to replace some of the pics from Jubilee Gardens. I actually think they are a little better than before. The dark sky wasn't such a contrast against the black clock. But yesterday wasn't a complete disaster! In the evening I left the boys playing on the Wii and went out - complete with purse!

And I managed a new letter - Z This is the Zion Hall. I haven't been able to find out much info about it apart from this little bit I found online. Another such church (non-conformist) in Park Street was founded in 1819. In 1851 the congregation numbered 485.

However, the sign says 1839. I think a trip to the local museum is in order. And I still need to finish sorting out those Harvest ones.

September Calendar

I have been a bad blogger! Nothing in over 2 weeks!!!!! I hope these pics make up for it.

I thought I would brighten up your desktop this month! This is a photo I took yesterday at the local garden centre. I just can't resist those bright blooms. As usual, click on the pic over in the left column to download.

I just can't resist dandelion clocks! The macro lens allows me to get really close and see all the fine detail. I like the way the narrow depth of field softens it and make it look fluffy. I did get some of a bee on the dandelions but he is blurred in all the photos because he just wouldn't keep still! Better luck next time?????

And, yes its pink, but it was the only rose bush there!

I really don't know where the time has gone. Since Benjamin has come home it has been all go. We went to Cambridge on Friday to do all the Museums. Of course, I didn't realise just how many there were! There are 8 free ones in walking distance of the bus stop and 15 in total. We managed 4!!!!!

But we had a great time. The down side was the 1½ hours on the bus each way, which was actually more than that because of the traffic. But the fare was only £5.50 for both of us so that made up for it a bit.

This is a definate repeat for half term, however, as he also has 2 teacher training days added on to the end of half term, we might do it then when there won't be so many people around.

And I must remember to take the camera next time!!!!!!!!!!!!

Something else I have been doing is working on some puppet patterns. I "lost" the Jungle Puppets in my recent puter crash and didn't realise until I was putting them all back on the puter from the discs. I hadn't saved that one to disc - Silly me!

Anyway, I was sent a US copy of one I had sold and have been using that one the create the UK copy and remake them to take pics. While I was at it, I have altered one or two things to make them easier to do.

When finished, I will be putting both the pattern and the puppets on Etsy and send out the re-vamped copies to the two nice ladies who sent me theirs!

I have also been re-working some of the older pupper patterns. The original ones were made in a totally different way to the newer ones as they have "evolved" somewhat over the years. I have been working on the Pond set. This will also be on Etsy when finished.

Now, I have a jam packed day ahead of me so I had best get off here and get on with it!

Dilemma!

As you may have read, I have to have a major sort out of my crochet stash as it is taking over the house!

I have more yarn here than I can ever hope to use, even if I live to be 150!!! Hence the "Funky Fibre Giveaway" below.

Today, I have started sorting out my thread. I have finally collected enough colours of the DMC Petra to convert all the Scrapping Items I sell on my site from the thread I have been using. The DMC looks and feels nicer, although it doesn't cost more and, in theory, is the same quality.

Now the dilemma. I haven't sold any of the actual items since last summer. Is it really worth the effort of making everything in the new thread to add to the site for sale? Or should I just delete the pages and create a "Sale" page for the stuff I already have here that I made when designing the patterns?

What do you think?

Of course, I could just add a load of pics on here of the stuff I need to clear out and do another stash exchange????????

Whatever I do, I still have a carrier bag of the Twilleys thread to dispose of!!!!!

My patterns have been doing quite well on Etsy. I have also added a few more to Craftjuice - including Christmas ones.

This may seem a bit early but it is nearly September and people who will want to be making these will want the patterns in plenty of time.

When it gets a bit closer to the time, I will add some actual items. I have loads of them in the wardrobe as well! However, as listing stay on Etsy for 4 months, I won't be leaving it for too long.

In the money!

Well, this combination of Etsy and CraftJuice seems to be working very well for me!

I have sold 12 patterns over the last 3 days. Just wish I could do it all the time then I wouldn't have to worry about jobs and CRB checks!!!!!

This is the latest one I have listed on Craftjuice. It is actually the first pattern I ever wrote for sale. It remains my best selling pattern.

I have also made loads of them for sale and they have gone all over the world. It looks great in blues for a baby boy.

I have started sorting out those cupboards! Honest!!!

I found I bag of thread left over from making the wall hangings. I didn't realise there was so much. I can make another 2 tops from it - at least!

I also found the bag with the new denim skirt in. I stopped making this when I started losing weight. Although the doc wants me to lose another 4 stone, I can't see this happening. So I might just get on and finish that. I could do with some new clothes!

Doesn't leave a lot of time for Scrapping though! And I have a pile of new stash to use that I got through the Crochet Embellishment Swap! I also bought some on the weekend. Not much, just some handmade papers so I can scrap the last 4 silk paintings I made.

So much to do and so little time!

First Day of Peace.

It doesn't really seem all that strange. I am used to Benjamin being in school while Mark is in work.

But the thought of 2 whole weeks of being on my own from 7.30am to 5.30pm is a little daunting.

I am, by nature, more of a loner. I enjoy my own company and generally find that I don't have enough of it when it is the school holidays.

But, somehow, I get the feeling that I am going to get too much of it over the next 2 weeks.

It isn't as if I don't have plenty to do. Mark has been nagging me to sort out my cupboards. I am a dreadful hoarder and people keep giving me stuff which I can't possibly throw away as I am sure I will use it at some point.

However, this rather large bag of oddments of chunky yarn and heavy weight upholstery fabric, what on earth am I going to use those for????? It just has to go!

Anybody want it?

Thanks to everybody who voted on Craft juice. I really need to explain how it works.

When you submit an item, it goes on the "Upcoming" page. When you have 5 votes it get promoted to the "Popular Crafts" page, which is the main Craftjuice page. You can still get votes when it is on there.

I submitted my Snakes and Ladders today. It has 4 votes already so hopefully will be promoted soon.

It is a great place to showcase your crafts, whether you are selling them or not. Unfortunately, the pictures need to be online already. I was hoping to link to them from my site but for some reason it didn't work.

That is why the one of the Scrapping Babies didn't have a picture. I ended up adding it to Etsy and using the pics from there. Unfortunately, this meant entering it twice and I have no idea how to delete the one that didn't work. The one that did work is now on the front page and has 9 votes!

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!