Two Bunnies - double the joy!

Well, I shouldn't have said anything about hot weather. Today has been a complete wash-out, with very heavy showers, constant drizzle and very gusty winds. My little garden has been taking a battering and is looking a bit bruised! Ah well, I suppose at least it saves me a watering job later.

But it's been a good excuse to take a mug of tea up to my crafty space and settle down with some music on in the background, and a selection of stamps, pretty papers and lots of copics, pens and pencils.  I've even had the 'proper' rubber stamps and ink pads out! haha!

Today's gatefold card is using a cute pair of bunny digi stamps from LOTV.

I've coloured the stamps with copics and pencils, and a touch of Prism ink pads around the edge

The papers are from LOTV and my stash, with some die cut flowers (Moonstone dies from Hunkydory) and leaves (Joanna Sheen) and a stamped sentiment (LOTV)

The inside sentiment is a stamp from Hunkydory, with a heart die and some added lace.

I added a ribbon tie - and I'm quite pleased with the finished result. I wanted a fairly "flat" card as it needs to be posted and I didn't want any squashed incidents! 

Hope you like it! 

Back soon,

Kim 

Sunshine summertime!

Phew, it's definitely been warm and sunny weather the last couple of days! I don't mind the heat, but the humidity is a bit much - and my hayfever has been horrible. It doesn't usually get too bad these days (even though I was plagued with it when I was younger), but I think the pollen count is soaring at the moment. It doesn't put me off gardening and growing things though!

Just sharing another birthday card today

I used one of my old Cuttlebug embossing folders for this one. The pretty, flowery paper is from 'Window to the Heart' paper pad from Hunkydory and it has a lovely shimmer to the paper (which sadly doesn't show up on the pics!)

The sentiment die is from the fabulous 'on the edge' set of Moonstone dies from Hunkydory - and I've used these so much! I've added some pearl drops to the flower centres and a ribbon & bow.  Simple but quite pretty.

I'm hoping it's a bit cooler tomorrow and then I can get back in the crafty space - it's been a bit too warm in there over the last few days! 

Back soon,

Kim 

Lots of birthdays arriving...!

It's strange how we seem to have certain months of the year when there are a lot of birthdays - and other months are a lot quieter. I'm not quite sure why, but I do know that July is quite a busy Birthday month for us, with family, friends and colleagues at work.

I decided that my little craft space needed a tidy up and a sort out, and then of course, I had to stop and do a bit of crafting!  

This pad of 12x12 paper has been sat for a while, with only one or two sheets used. I'm not sure why, as it has lovely patterns and colours - quite muted shades, but very pretty. It's by The Paper Boutique, with a coordinating pack of plain colours, that I bought a while ago from Hunkydory Crafts. 

I decided on a gatefold style card, with the fabulous 'birthday' word die from Moonstone dies at Hunkydory.  I was lucky enough to work with these dies as part of a new launch of stamps and dies quite a few months ago, and these sets are just fabulous and I've used them so much!  

Inside the card is also decorated with the same paper, with a plain panel for the greeting.

Quite a simple card design, but I think the papers and word die work pretty well. So another card completed for the box - ready for all the upcoming birthdays! 

Hope you like it,

Back soon,

Kim 

The 'Isolation/Lockdown Blanket'

The "Isolation/Lockdown Blanket" is finished - Ta-Dah!

I ordered the yarn for this when the lockdown started from Wool Warehouse, and I've really enjoyed doing it (not that we actually NEEDED another crochet blanket!). It's crocheted in Stylecraft dk yarn, so it's very soft and snuggly (and easily washable). It's a single bed sized blanket, so plenty big enough to cuddle into when the weather is a bit on the chilly side!

In between the other crafty projects (cards, learning to needlefelt, etc.) and the ongoing 'try to control the garden' campaign, it's kept me busy. I've decided that I'm incapable of sitting in the evening, watching TV, without something to do!

I love the soft vintage-style colours, and the blanket pattern (from Attic24) is reversible.

Right - what's the next project...?

Thanks for looking,

back soon,

Kim x

Busy sewing - let's make pretty face masks!

The sewing machine has been out today, and some of my stash of fabric. I've got a couple of appointments coming up very shortly where I'm required to wear a face mask, so I thought that if I've got to wear one, it might as well be made of pretty fabric! I suspect that face masks will be compulsory in many situations for a while to come, so it was about time I started sewing.

 I'm quite pleased with my design! Fine cotton, fully lined with a thin coated "wire" stitched into the top seam so that it can be shaped around the bridge of the nose. I'm now making a couple for family - but need to wait for delivery of more elastic!
If you'd like one making, just let me know - donations to our local animal & wildlife rescue!

Back soon,

Kim x

A bit of LOTV cardmaking

Well, a very warm start to the week - although it definitely feels as though a thunderstorm is brewing! We heard some thunder earlier but it seems to have moved off. The garden would quite like a downpour though (and it would save me some watering jobs!).

I thought I'd share a card that I made a little while ago (but didn't put on my blog) using one of my old LOTV digi stamps

She's such a sweet little fairy! I've coloured the image with copics and some add glittery Stickles on the wings 

The backing papers are from Hunkydory and the die cut flower are using Hunkydory Moonstone dies. I've added a Tonic punched edge and a DooHickey fence die

Hope you like it! 

And I thought I'd share a couple of pics of the rather green visitors that were sat in and around our little pond this afternoon - obviously keeping cool! I know not everyone likes frogs, but we love them!  (And the pond gets full of tadpoles every year!)

Hope your week goes well

Stay safe,

Kim x 

Keep learning and trying...meet Rupert!

I can't believe it's Friday again. This strange sort of suspended animation that we seem to be in, alongside working from home, means that the days often seem to blur a bit! I'm not sure when I'll be back fully working in school - and I'm hugely grateful for the fact that I've got lots of hobbies and a garden. I can't say that I've ever felt bored or at a loss for what to do during the lockdown and with extra time at home - thank goodness.  It's more a case of deciding what to do next. 

I'm still on the quest of 'teach yourself needle felting' and decided to have a go at making another little 3D animal - and I'm hoping that you can identify what it is haha! 

Rupert the Rabbit has been made with brown Shetland wool, with some cream Merino and a tiny bit of black Corriedale for the face details

I made up my own 'pattern' shapes, just playing and learning really. As I said, if I can make them recognisable, then I'm not doing too badly!

He's quite cute really - although I think he actually looks better in real life than on the pics! 

I'm not sure what's next on the list of animals to try and make, but I'll keep you updated.

Thanks for looking,

back soon,

Kim 

Busy Cardmaking - A special anniversary and a new arrival!

Alongside all the crocheting, learning felting, gardening and other activities, there has still been some cardmaking going on!  A little while ago, I made a cute baby card using one of the delightful digi stamps from LOTV 

I've coloured the image with copics. The sentiment stamp is also from LOTV. I've used a card shape die (which I think is from Tattered Lace!), together with some of my remaining stash of LOTV papers.

Baby cards are always really sweet to make.

And last week, it was the Silver Wedding Anniversary of two of our good friends & very special people - and I was asked by Mrs T if I would make a card for her husband! She sent me a couple of photos from their wedding and so I made a large card (A4 size), with a sort of 'scrapbook page' layout, adding various sentiments and flowers (to reflect the bouquet). 

The cute sentiment ticket stamps and dies are from Whimsy and a couple of LOTV stamps added in.  The dies for the leaves and photo 'frames' are from Hunkydory, as is the card background.

I think they liked it! 

Anyway, I'm heading back to the craft room soon to try a bit more felting.... I'm determined to get the hang of it! 

Back soon,

Kim x 

 

Meet Hetty the Herdwick!

Well, as promised, a post with pics of my finished 1st attempt at a 3D felted animal! Please meet Hetty the Herdwick Sheep!

It's been a very enjoyable learning curve, making a needle-felted animal, and I must admit that I'm quite smitten with her. I know her face isn't perfect (don't examine it too closely!), and that she is in need of a short back and sides haircut (a sheep version of lockdown hair?), but she is very cute! I got a bit carried away adding the curly locks (so she looks a bit chunky), and she stands about 7 or 8cm tall. 

The felting wool and pattern were from Lincolnshire Fenn Crafts and were lovely to work with - and there are also some great instructional videos on YouTube.  Although obviously (like all crafts), it's something that requires practice, it definitely got a bit easier and made more sense as I went along, getting a feel for the wool, how to use the needle, etc. It's been really nice to try a new crafty hobby (not that I really need any more crafting hobbies!), and I'm just debating what felted animal to try next.

Hope you quite like Hetty too! 

Thanks for looking,

Back soon,

Kim x 

Learning something new!

Despite all my good intentions at the start of the lockdown to spend my spare time productively (when I'm not working at home!), I must admit that I don't seem to have progressed much! I'm not sure about everyone else, but my concentration level for crafting isn't as good as it usually is, and the mojo is definitely a bit hit and miss! My go-to activities are card-making, crocheting and baking - but due to lockdown restrictions (and only husband and I at home - no offspring or visitors), I've tried to limit the baking otherwise we'll be like barrels!

However, one thing I have started to teach myself is felting.  I bought a little kit (quite a long time ago - embarrassingly) and it's been sat waiting for me to (a) have time to do it, and (b) be brave enough to make a start and learn something new!  So, I decided to be brave and have a go - and, do you know what, I've really enjoyed it! The kit was for a felt picture (to be made into an ipad case if wanted), so I made a start.  It's all very much a learning curve at the  moment - but like all good crafts, we should keep learning and practising!

These were the first few attempts! I've got to admit that it's very therapeutic stabbing something with a very sharp needle haha!  Anyway, I think I've now found yet another craft that I'm really enjoying doing. So I treated myself to a little kit from the lovely Lincolnshire Fenn Crafts, to make a 3D figure of a sheep. It's been a challenge to learn to felt 3D shapes - to get both the right shape and firmness - but it's great to do. This is the progress bits so far - a body, head and legs

I'm not sure what the finished sheep will look like - if it's vaguely recognisable, I'll share pics on here!

But it's been good to branch out and try something different - although I'm not quite sure where I'm going to store all the new stash....

Thanks for looking,

Back soon,

Kim 

A new 'normal'...

Well, it's been a strange few months since my last post - which I can't quite believe was FOUR months ago!  From the beginning of March, things started to get very hectic at work with the encroaching pandemic, and then our school - along with all others in the UK - closed for most pupils (apart from key workers' children). Setting up and then working from home has been quite a surreal experience in many ways, but not quite as strange as the world at large has seemed at times.  And with the start of the lockdown, I (probably like many others) had some vague ideas about using extra time to start new hobbies/clear out/read more/etc..... *sigh*  haha! But, the main thing is that we have stayed well, abided by the lockdown and carried on as best we could.

Part of the 'vague ideas' was that I would be more proactive with my little corner of Blogland and use some extra time to visit many blogs, keeping in touch with the crafting world. That doesn't seem to have happened quite as I thought! But I have tried to keep busy with the crafting - although with the wonderful spring weather we've had, the garden has featured heavily in most of our spare time, taking the opportunity to get some long-standing jobs done (paint walls, powerwash patios, etc.). The garden has definitely had a concentrated dose of TLC - but it's been a blessing to have an outside space to enjoy and we've been so thankful for it.

Anyway, less of the wordy waffle and I thought I'd share a couple of my Design Team makes for Hunkydory when they launched their new range of Prism brush marker colours back in March. The pens were so lovely to work with (along with the fabulous flower/blossom images). The papers, dies and stamps are also from Hunkydory

Until the lockdown eases and we return to some sense of 'normal', the design team have been 'on leave' from Hunkydory - but I can't wait to start using their products again as soon as we can get back up and running! 

Well, I will try to make sure that my little blog keeps a bit more up to date (and not leave it so long!), and also that I visit some of your lovely blogs to catch up with everyone's crafting. My Instagram page keeps pretty well updated (as it's easier to do a quick post!) so you can always find me on there if you use it. 

And a quick pic of our little garden, during the 'tidying up' process! 

Back soon,

Kim xx