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Friday 24 August 2012

One Lovely Blog Award



I've had a busy few weeks but am finally getting to post about the One Lovely Blog Award.

Thank you to madeformollyrose for nominating me. Have a look at her blog, she posts about her crafts and family life and needs a reminder to finish her cowboy cross stitch and log cabin quilt before the end of the year!!

The Rules are:-
The Rules for accepting this Award is as follows:
1. Add the award to your blog.
2. Thank the blogger(s) who gave it to you.
3. Mention 7 random things about yourself.
4. List the rules.
5. Award up to 15 bloggers.
6. Inform each of those 15 by leaving a comment on their blog.

7 random things about me:

1. I am left handed. Although I am a rubbish leftie! I use cutlery and scissors right handed, I knit right handed, I pretty much only write left handed. It does mean I can sew with either hand and I never have to use back hand in badminton or tennis as I just swap the hand my racket is in- useful!!

2. I am terrified of wasps! I think it is because I have never been stung so don't know how much it is going to hurt. I have been trying to remain calm recently as this is probably more efficient way getting rid of them but it is so hard not to run in the other direction!

3. I play the flute. I used to play the flute much better (grade 8 to be precise!!) but since finishing school and n1ot having lessons I am pretty rubbish! I play in a local concert band just to make sure I can still play!

4. I am a member of St John Ambulance. I have dreams of becoming a nurse but don't want to jump into another degree without making sure it is definitely what I want to do.

5. I can't swim. Well I can keep myself afloat but I've never had swimming lessons so I have my own style when I swim, it is a mix between doggy paddle and breast stroke whilst kicking my legs! Sometimes I get bored and do a few length with just arms or just legs! Although if I am made to laugh whilst awimming it becomes very difficult to remain above water!!

6. I have a law degree. I never really wanted to do anything with law but when I had a connexions meeting at school (how useless were they?!) I said I was interested in law and she told me I should look at something else as I wasn't clever enough to get into a law course. So I proved her wrong!! Law is a really interesting subject, I nearly did my masters in it as well!

7. I LOVE Gilmore Girls!!! I first watched it when I was jobless after finishing my degree. At first I thought it was weird and couldn't understand what they were saying but I was soon hooked and had to watch it everyday. When I got a job and could no longer watch it I brought the first 3 series on dvd and have been watching them ever since! I wish I was a gilmore girl!

And now for my nominations!!

Drum roll please.....

SoStacySews 

The 39 Stitches

Tales From Homemade House

Shabbily Ever After

I really enjoy reading all of them!

Vikki
Xxx

Monday 6 August 2012

Polka Dot Craft Swap

I've become quite obsessed with craft swaps recently. I like thinking of something my swap partner will like that will make me use new techiques and materials to make. I like the suspense and nervouseness after you've sent it, whether they'll like what you've made. And I LOVE post so I love getting my parcel in the post and excitedly unwrapping it to see what is inside.

I have signed up to the Popular Crafts swap twice now. The first time the theme was 'spring' and I cross stitched a little picture which can be seen here and brought a gift and sent it on its way but didn't receive anything in return which was a little dissapointing. This put me off craft swaps for a couple of months but I have taken the plunge again and so glad I did as I received a lovely present from @sarahwalters99 and really enjoyed making her a present.

The theme for this swap was 'polka dot's. Who doesn't love polka dots right? You make your partner an item related to the theme and buy a little gift to the value of £3. This is what I received from Sarah:

A polka dot strawberry pin cushion which is living in my sewing box:


A wooden heart memo clip:


A Cath Kidston brooch, the second layer is polka dotty!


And these are my gifts: An embroidery hoop (perfect for on the go stitching), Cath Kidston buttons and cupcake ribbon. And yes Sarah I also LOVE buttons and ribbons!!!


And this is what I sent Sarah. Her email stated that she loved pink and Hello Kitty so I thought it safe to encorporate these into her present!



I'm quite pleased with how the cushion turned out and wanted to keep it for myself! I am planning to make more to sell at a craft stall in September they may even make it into my Etsy shop when I get round to stocking it up! I do love cushions!

Thursday 2 August 2012

Handmade Heart Swap

You may remember me mentioning a while ago about a heart swap I signed up to on Mary Poppins blog? I was partnered with the lovely Jayne and we exchanged a few emails about likes and dislikes and what we do etc etc. It turned out we like similar things and what we were struggling with was making 5 things with the theme of hearts! We both got crafting and last week sent our items to each other.

Here is what I received from Jayne:

Some crochet bunting which I have put up on my mirror. The wool is multicoloured!!


Some lovely handmade earings which will definitely be going in my suitcase on holiday.


Some knitted wrist warmers which will come in very handy when playing my flute outside near christmas.


A matching tissue box cover and padded coat hanger which have both been put to good use.



Two christmas decorations. They have a cross stitch design stitched onto them, I can't wait until christmas so I can put them up now!



There was also a Tilda card which I have put into a frame but I forgot to take a picture of it but trust me it was lovely!

This is what I sent Jayne:


There is a cushion with applique hearts going round to (hopefully) look like a flower. A tiny knitted heart bunting (I love that we both sent mini bunting!!!), a book mark with cross stitch and embroidery, a heart-shaped ceramic dish that I included a recipe with called 'impossible pudding' and a lavender hear sachet with felt hearts decreasing in size stitched to the top.

I have really enjoyed this swap so thank you to Mary Poppins for organising it. Swaps challenge you to make different things and try out new ideas and 'meet' like minded people along the way, me and Jayne are already planning a Christmas themed swap between ourselves!