More crochet cuteness!

Hello all and I hope that your week has started well?  There has been awful wind and occasional downpours here - a very disturbed night as it seemed to be gusting round the house! But the one ray of sunshine (!) in all this, is that the clocks here in the UK moved forward an hour on Sunday to change us to British Summer Time - yippee! I just love having that extra daylight. When I was young I can remember my mother hating changing the clocks in winter and the dark evenings and it didn't really bother me then. But as I've got older I completely understand where she was coming from! Much as I enjoy the snuggled evenings, with fires and candles lit, in the winter, I much prefer the extra daylight - even if it's a bit cloudy!

It's also been so nice to start my week on a more relaxed note - as I'm off work for two weeks!  I still tend to get up early, but it's nice not to HAVE to get up - if that makes sense? And also to be able to potter around and enjoy my morning cup of tea without having to rush about!  I'm hoping I can use some of this time to catch up with all the little jobs that need sorting as well.

Anyway, I just wanted to share some crochet with you - I completed another bag made for an order! This was the third 'Attic 24' chunky bag I made (and I'm currently making number 4!).  The first one was mine - and then friends have spotted it and placed orders!  So it's definitely keeping me busy!  They're all made with Stylecraft Special chunky wool, which is lovely to work with and they're all slightly different colourways (with different cotton linings and handle lengths made to order!) but the link to the pattern for them is here.

Hope you like it! A bit of bright, stripy colour for the day! 

I hope your week goes well - and I'm hoping for some crafty time while I'm off work! 

Back soon,

Kim x 

A little whimsical card

Hello all, a quick scheduled post from me as I know that I've got a busy last day of term ahead! But oh I am so looking forward to our Easter break and some time to (hopefully) relax and do one of my favourite things - pottering! I love to spend time just pottering - no specific purpose or job to have to get done, no deadlines or timetables! This can be time spent pottering in the kitchen doing baking (one of my favourite stress-relief activities), pottering in the greenhouse or garden, pottering in amongst all my crafting stash. The list is endless!  Roll on pottering time!

As it's Friday we have a new challenge starting over at CraftyCatz and this week our lovely Naomi is hosting and the challenge is 'Whimsical Fantasy'.  So this can be fairies, elves, 'unusual' houses, etc.! Our sponsor is Make it Crafty but I've used an old stamp from my stash

I've coloured the image with copics

The backing papers are from LOTV. I've used Sue Wilson dies for the tags, with a sentiment stamp from LOTV. The buttons and toadstool charm are from stash. 

Quite a simple layout, but I think it's quite cute! 

So I hope you'll have a look at the fabulous DT inspiration over at CraftyCatz and then join us with your fantasy creation.

Back soon,

Kim x 

Just for you...

Hello all and I hope that your week has started well?  What a lovely weekend we enjoyed - didn't do a huge amount but enjoyed SO much spring sunshine!  I even uncovered the garden furniture (despite the dire warnings of "you'll make it rain"!) and managed to have a couple of cups of tea sat amongst the daffodils - albeit with a fleece on!  The frogs have been very busy in my little pond and it's now so full of frogspawn that it's resembling a half-set jelly!  The birds have been coming down and looking all bemused at the splashing and carrying-on in the pond - at one point, husband counted 14 frogs!  (And I won't mention on here what they were all up to but I'm sure you can imagine...!). So now I'm into my last week at work before we break up for the Easter holidays, and it's been pretty chaotic up to now and it's only Tuesday!  It's always the same at the end of term, with a kind of mad panic to get lots of little jobs cleared up and things sorted.  The exam season gets into full swing after the break, so youngest will be busy with revising (or at least looking as if he is!).  I'm just looking forward to that break from the alarm clock. I still tend to wake early, but it's so nice to sit with my morning brew and gradually let my brain get into gear and not have to charge about sorting packed lunches, making sure bags are packed, appropriate games kits are ready, etc.!

Anyway, enough of my usual waffle.  I just thought I'd share a little card with you made with an oh-so-cute digi stamp from Mo Manning

I've coloured this little cutie with copics and a touch of pencil.  The papers are from LOTV, as is the sentiment stamp.  The ribbon and button are from stash and I've used a Martha Stewart punch on the edge.

I hope you like him! I wasn't too sure about my colouring on this one - but he's got such a sweet expression, and makes a perfect image for all sorts of cards.

I hope that your week goes smoothly, and that you enjoy some spring sunshine. I've got a couple of friends coming tomorrow evening for tea and then some crochet time together (makes us sound like a branch of the WI!) but I think it sounds like a good combination - friends, food & crafting! 

Back soon,

Kim x 

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:-

Everybody art challenge - turquoise and brown

Papertake weekly - dies & punches

Craft your passion - anything goes

Just saying hi!

Hello all - and thank goodness it's Friday! It seems to have been a long and busy week this week - but thankfully (sshhh! keep your fingers crossed) there don't seem to have been any more major catastrophes (after the dying laptop and dying car battery!).  I'm just hoping for a quiet, sort of non-eventful weekend lol.

As it's Friday it's time for a new challenge over at Crafty Catz that we're hoping you will join us with - our lovely Nina has set the challenge of "No Design Papers".  This is always a difficult one for me as I love my pretty papers! In fact I probably find it easier to do without the image!  But I made a card using one of our sponsor images from Bugaboo (although I can't say I'm 100% happy with this one, there just seems to be something missing)

Well, it's definitely bright lol! I've coloured the image with graphit pens, added a few dew drops, some ribbon and then embossed the backing card with a Cuttlebug 'swiss dots' folder. Very CAS for me! 

I hope you'll have a look at the gorgeous inspiration from the DT at Crafty Catz and then join us with your 'no design paper' creation! 

Have a good weekend,

Back soon,

Kim x 

Pretty colour stripes!

Hello all and I hope that your week has been going well?  The usual busy one here, and a range of ups and downs! Such is life!  It looks as though my laptop has somewhat deceased - it was second-hand when I got it and has been much loved and used for 3 years, so I suppose I shouldn't complain too much (although I probably will lol!). But thankfully my IT Handyman (hubby!) has retrieved the hard drive and so rescued all the photos, etc., that were on there. Phew! But the downside is that I am now using the home computer - which seems to have a bit of a queueing system lol! (i.e. my husband on it - a lot! - or son wanting to use it to print stuff out, etc.). But at least I can make contact with Blogland a bit, and will try my best to keep up with everyone when I've booked my slot to get onto the computer. And to add to my general feeling of well-being, I got into my little car yesterday to go to work and instead of a perky, ready-to-go ignition, was greeted with a sad sort of sigh when I turned the key.  So had an unanticipated walk to work (amid some grumbling and muttering). Thankfully it's not too far (just under a mile and half) and it wasn't raining or there would have been another tantrum lol! Do you ever get the feeling that things are queueing up to go wrong...?  Hence, the resident Car Repair man (i.e. husband, again!) had to put the battery on charge overnight and thankfully it started ok this morning. As I've told him, if I didn't find all these little jobs for him to do, he might feel unloved and unnecessary.....

Anyway, apologies for yet another waffling blogpost!  Thank goodness that wool and a crochet hook is fairly reliable (except when the cat gets hold of the wool).  I decided to use up some of my dk wool and make a little pram/cot blanket, using a lovely pattern that the talented Lucy on the Attic24 blog has used for her "cosy blanket" (link HERE).

Some pretty spring colours, for a cute little blanket. It's not very big, but very soft and snuggly, and I've added a simple shell edging

Sorry for the overload of photos! But hope you like the splash of colour.

And I hope your week goes a little bit smoother than mine has up to now lol! 

Fingers crossed nothing else decides to give up on me.

And I realised (a bit late) that my little Blog is now 3 years old! Wow! And the only reason it has kept going so long is because of all my fabulous followers, leaving such lovely, supportive comments. Thank you so much.  So, when I get my act together, I will organise a little bit of Easter blog candy to celebrate - keep watching this space! 

Back soon,

Kim x

What to do with a poorly laptop...?

Firstly, I'll start with a big apology for being incredibly late posting my challenge blog post for CraftyCatz which should have gone onto the blog yesterday! But can only use the excuse of a poorly laptop.  It's been getting painfully slow over the last couple of weeks (I'm not going to suggest "like it's owner then"!) and seem to come to a grinding halt. So the resident IT repairman (i.e. husband) has been running scans on it and doing his best - as I stood on the sidelines verging on the edge of having a full-blown toddler tantrum (not a pretty sight on a middle-aged woman).  I must admit that technology does tend to bring out the worst in me, usually culminating in such things as me telling off the "bossy mare" (i.e. the sat-nav woman's voice dictating directions) or trying to change tv channels with my mobile phone and struggling to take photos with said mobile phone (which often ends in me taking a blurred photo of my feet).  But the real technological nightmare are computers. Don't get me wrong, I love all the things it can do, would struggle to do my job without one, and use one at home all the time. But it's definitely one of those things that's great when it's working - and a mega-pain when it's not! So as my little laptop undergoes the equivalent of a full service and MOT, my husband managed to get the hard drive out so that I could transfer photos to our home computer which was very kind and heroic of him (personally I just don't think he wanted to see a grown woman cry).

So - better late than never!  Yesterday saw the start of a new challenge over at CraftyCatz hosted by our lovely Jac and the challenge is 'buttons and bows'. Our sponsor this week is Stamping Boutique and I've used one of their images for my card

Coloured with Graphit pens with some added pearls, the papers are from LOTV (as is the sentiment stamp) and the buttons, bow and pins are from stash.

I hope you'll have a look at the great inspiration from our DT and then join us at CraftyCatz with your buttons and bows creation.

Apologies for all the waffle - and wish me luck on the laptop! 

Back soon (hopefully, lol!)

Kim x 

A time for mums!

Hello all and I hope that you are all well - and enjoyed some lovely Spring sunshine yesterday? Sadly, it's just started raining here now today so that didn't last too long!  Apologies for being a bit AWOL - my daughter travelled back down south on Monday afternoon (sob!). We had a lovely week together, some relaxing family time, meals out, etc., and she and her brother were able to torment one another quite happily! It seems only yesterday when they were little tots running round the house and causing mischief (particularly youngest lol!) - it's amazing how fast the time flies and a lesson in making the most of it I think! But while she was here we continued with the crochet lessons - which cost me a bit in wool as she left with some lovely chunky wool to start a blanket! Hey ho. And she's been busy posting things on her blog she has just recently started (link HERE if you get chance to have a peek!).  But on Sunday we had our 'mothers day' a week early - I said that I would rather have it a week early with them both with me! And I received some beautiful lilies and chocolates and a sweet card! (I think youngest son was taken out shopping! I can't imagine he'd have thought of doing that on his own account!)

I was also asked by a friend if I could make a mothers' day card for her and thought I'd share that with you today

I've used a beautiful Sarah Kay stamp and coloured it with copics. The papers are from LOTV, as is the sentiment tag. The flowers are from WOC. 

Hope you like it - and I'm hoping my friend likes it too as it's for her mum! 

Thank you for all the lovely comments you leave - they really do mean so much. I hope you enjoy the rest of your week, whatever you have planned. And that the Spring sunshine arrives soon for you!

Back soon,

Kim x 

A Mystic's Dream

Hello all and a quick scheduled post from me today. I hope you've had a good week? It's been lovely for us as our daughter has been to stay with us this week - as she now lives in Sussex (a good 350 miles away or so!), we don't see one another quite as much as we'd like, so we make the most of the time that we do have together.  And it's been great to see how much fun she and her 'little' brother have together as well! Now they're both a bit older, they see the funny side of things together and have had quite a few laughs this week (mainly at mine or dad's expense!).

Anyway, as it's Friday it's time for a new challenge over at CraftyCatz.  There were some fabulous 'die cut' creations for last week's challenge - don't forget to pop over and see the winner and top 3. This week our sponsor is Aurora Wings and our challenge is from our lovely Christine and it's 'A Song Title to match the image'.

The song title I've chosen is 'The Mystic's Dream' by Loreena McKennitt.  Now (as my family can verify lol!) I listen to Loreena quite a lot, particularly when crafting! The music has Celtic roots (think 'Clannad' or 'Enya') and, for me, is so relaxing!  And for my card I've used an Aurora Wings digi stamp

I've coloured the image in 'cool' colours with Graphit pens and copics, with some added glamour dust and pearls.

The backing papers are from LOTV. I've added a Marianne die cut swirl and some punched flowers using a Tonic punch.  The sentiment tags are also from LOTV. 

Hope you like it. 

And I hope you'll join us with your 'music' themed creation!

Don't forget to have a look at the fantastic creations from the DT at CraftyCatz.

Enjoy your weekend,

Back soon,

Kim x 

Happy St David's Day!

I can't believe that it's the 1st March! That means that Spring is officially on the way - yippee! Although no-one seems to have informed the weathermen - and we had a decent covering of snow this afternoon!  But in the UK it also means that it's St David's Day, the patron saint of Wales, and so I couldn't resist sharing this card with you (as the beautiful daffodil is the national flower of Wales!)

The image is one of the LOTV b&w art pads (which they sadly aren't making any more). I decided to colour the image with Spectrum Noir pencils, with just a little promarker pen for the shadowing around the outer edge of the image. It was nice to work with pencils for a change and I quite liked the effect! 

The sentiment is also from LOTV, the backing papers from First Edition and some sheer ribbon from Joanna Sheen. Quite a simple card - but definitely one with a Spring-like feel! 

And I'm looking forward to the week ahead - especially as tomorrow my girlie is coming home for a week! She's been keeping busy (apart from her studying) doing some cooking, experimenting with different recipes - and I've been teaching her to crochet too! So she decided that she would start a little blog of her own as a sort of online diary of her efforts! If you get a chance to have a look that would be great - I'm sure you can all remember what it was like starting out with a blog!  The link is HERE.  So we'll carry on with the crafting and cooking lessons while she's home for a week - in between enjoying some family time! I know my husband is looking forward to having her home and her little brother definitely is - even if it's just for someone else to torment apart from me lol! 

Back soon,

Kim x