Embroidered.

Remember me showing you the little owl I drew?  And then saying how I wanted to embroider it onto the front of a notebook?

I used a larger needle to prick the holes for the outline before I started sewing.  Though note to self - Next time, sew the details -before- the outline; the number of times my needle got caught in the thread of the outline while I was sewing the eyes and beak!  Grr!

It took a couple of sessions to get it finished, two afternoons away from work that were interspersed with lunches, cups of coffee and many, many kitcat snuggles.

I added the pupils using a black fine point pen and I've left his tummy bare...Though I might go back and add a chevron pattern in the same bright green thread ^_^

I'm really pleased with how it turned out!  I like that he's a little bit wonky and eternally surprised and just a little bit colourful ^_^  I've got a couple of other designs in mind that I'd like to have a go at embroidering onto card or paper.  I'd love to know what you think ^_^ Thank you for stopping by!

xoxo

My Blanket - The Beginning!

So I started crocheting my blanket!  Woo!  I was going to attempt one huge, continuous granny square but the thought of it was kind of daunting.  Instead, I'm crocheting lots of little granny squares with the intention of sewing them all together at the end!  At the moment, I'm guesstimating I'll be making a blanket that's 15 by 15 squares (which equals 225 of the little blighters - meep!) so I hope it'll be nice and big and super snuggly!  Here is a little look at how things are going so far!

I love how the wool is flecked with all different colours, it makes each of the squares interesting and completely unique!  I've got a ton of this wool (over 1kg in total!) so I know I'll have more than enough to finish my blanket!  I've made 25 squares so far and I'm really pleased; it's exciting to see how far I've come in my crocheting, how I'm able to make all of my squares pretty much uniform and consistent so I know my blanket won't be (*too*) wonky (^_^)

I hope you all have a great weekend planned!  Mine is mostly working *BOO*, lots of crocheting *YAY* and taking it easy before killer overtime next week at work *BOO AGAIN* Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

♥Ắçĕ♥

The Doodle Bug

I absolutely had it today.  I was itching to do something creative, be it crochet, draw or bake!  I decided to have a little play around with my graphics tablet, since I've been so busy I've neglected the poor thing (sorry S!  Promise I'll use it more!)

I play DDO (that's Dungeons and Dragons Online) and I have a buddy on there who I met recently, we'll call him C (I'll have a whole alphabet of chums soon!) Anyway, when I mentioned to him that I loved being creative and drawing, he asked me if I'd draw him and I said yes!  Here is what I came up with for my mmorpg/guitar playing friend!

I'm really thrilled with how this came out!  I've never drawn a guitar before so it was a little tricky but fun to figure out!  I got to try a lot of different techniques too, like smudging chalk for shading.  After my little play today, I've fallen in love with my graphics tablet and drawing all over again (^_^) I'm definitely going to practice more and hone my doodling, it's so relaxing and so much fun to do (^_^) I haven't shown this to him yet but I hope he likes it!

I hope you guys are having a great Saturday and have lots of lovely things planned for the rest of your weekend!

xoxo

♥Ắçĕ♥

Crocheted Giftage!

I've been really excited to share with you the things I made for people at Christmas and the wait has been *agonizing*!  I've had to wait until after the big day as I didn't want anyone to find out about their gifts early!

I'm so lucky to have a wonderful friend who has a *massive* collection of wool, some of which she kindly gave to me as I started out on my crocheting journey.  Do you remember this scarf?  It was the very first scarf I made and it was a gift for her, partly for her birthday and partly to thank her for all the supplies she gave me.  Well, I figured she could do with a matching hat for a little Christmas gift!

The next hat I gave as a gift was originally commissioned by my colleague at work after she saw me wearing it!  Since it was so close to Christmas, I decided to give it to her as a present rather than charging her for it (^_^) This one took me longer to do as I decided to try out a pattern to give it a different look - what do you think?

It's got a ribbed pattern to it which, if you're not keen, you can reverse it and the inside is unpatterned!  Pretty nifty *winks* I was so psyched when my friend gave me this wool, it's so jazzy just in the ball and it crochets really well!

The final hat I gave this year was for my brother, who is a *massive* gamer!  He loves all kinds of games on all kinds of consoles and, at the moment, he's a little bit obsessed with Minecraft (I have linked you to the Wiki page if you want to check it out!) Anyway, there are these monsters in the game called Creepers, and basically they take all your hard work and blow it sky-high!  The make up of a Creeper is pretty simple so I thought it would be awesome if I could put one on a hat for him, and here is how it turned out!

I made this one a little bigger than the others (since my brother has a big head - full of brains, of course!) and crocheted the black parts independently, sewing them on when the main hat was finished.  I'm *so* pleased with the way it turned out and he's thrilled with it too; he's barely taken it off since Christmas day, I had to wrestle it from him earlier just to take this quick picture!

I'm really proud to be able to share my creations with you (^_^) I know lots of you are crafters too and love getting stuck in to projects like this; we all love a homemade gift, whether we make it for someone else or receive it from someone special.

I hope you're all still buzzing from a wonderful weekend and that this week is treating you awesomely, just like you deserve!  Thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

♥Ắçĕ♥

Doll Post...FINALLY!

What's up, guys!

So, I finally got some time to sit down and write this doll post, which is just a little run-down of how I made this doll for my boy's sister (she went to an animé convention and wanted me to make her prop!)

I showed you this picture before, but here it is again - 

I used an old bed sheet for material.  I was going to go out and buy fabric in all the different colours I'd need but my awesome Mum found some dye we'd had in a cupboard for years and, as luck would have it, it was in the colours I needed!  So I got all my bits cut out and next, I needed to dye them!

I did exactly what it told me to do on the packet and it came out great (^_^) I used a cold water dye, for which I also needed a 'fixer' (to get the dye to stay on the fabric) and a whole heap of table salt!  I let the dye work it's magic for about an hour, moving the fabric around in the dye every fifteen minutes or so.

Here they are, drying on the line after being thoroughly rinsed in cold water!  As you can see, especially on the blue part, there was a little patchiness in the colouring.  I'm not sure why that happened, since I kept moving the fabric around in the dye but hey, it wasn't a massive disaster!  I can't believe that gorgeous, sunny, *warm* day was only a couple of weeks ago - it feels like an age!  Missing you, warm weather!

After my pieces were all dry, it was time to sew them together.  Now, I'm not a very proficient seamstress and what resulted was a lot of huffing, puffing, getting annoyed at my sewing machine, running out of thread and a couple of jams!  Finally, after about two hours of slow, steady stitching, this appeared - 

Using a piece of folded paper tucked in between the fabric (see top right!) I drew on all the features using a Sharpie marker.  Since I was shipping it to America I didn't want to stuff it here, so instead of stitching it closed I sewed velcro along the bottom of the doll, between it's teeny little legs - this meant it could be folded up nice and small for mailing and then stuffed when it got there, plus they didn't have to worry about sewing the doll together afterwards!

S *does* have a picture of his sister and the finished doll (which he has yet to send me) but when I get it, I'd like to post it up here so you can really see how big he is.  I'm *so* pleased with how he turned out, I never thought I'd be able to make something like this so I kinda surprised myself!  Yay for making dolls and trying new things!

So, in other news, I've had a hugely busy and pretty miserable week at work; instead of my regular hours, I ended up working two 12-hour shifts back to back (that's 6am-6pm two days in a row) and have spent most of my free time sleeping/dozing/napping and generally being a bit of a grump!  Hopefully now my manager is back from her holiday, things will start getting back to normal and I can take some time off!  S is still trying to figure things out on his end so we can push forward in our journey to be together.  It's really frustrating that I can't do anything here but I know he's doing his best and we'll make it work somehow (^_^) I hope you guys are all having an awesome weekend and you've got lots of amazing things planned for Halloween tomorrow!  Thanks for reading!

xoxo

♥Ắçĕ♥

Things I Have On Monday!

Okay, so I will definitely get back to the ole Monday Must Haves next week - today is all about sharing my good news with you guys and showing you the bits and pieces I've been up to over the last week (^_^)

♥ I got some *great* news from the tax office last week - a couple of years ago, I worked for an opticians who didn't get my tax sorted out properly and I paid emergency tax for six months.  Last week, a letter turns up telling me I'm entitled to a tax rebate - £936 worth of rebate!  I couldn't believe it!  I'm so thrilled; this means I have more money saved for S's eventual move over here, for our house and for bills and all that junk (^_^) One of the most exciting letters I've ever received!

♥ I *finally* stopped procrastinating, making excuses and got off my butt, bought some proper running shoes and went for a run!  

{Spangly New Running Shoes!}

Even though I had problems when I attempted this the first time around, I'm so glad I gave it another go; I love how exhilarated it makes me feel when I've completed a run (albeit a short one!) and I'm really pleased that I'm getting some good exercise too!  Here's to a healthier Autumn!

♥ I crossed off one thing from my '10 Things' list - check out these bad boys!

{Oh Brown Boots, I ♥ You}

I found these on Ebay in instantly fell in love; they're perfect winter boots for me, with a good thick sole, waterproofed suede and a little heel for that touch of extra height (not that I need it, being 5'7!) I really am now all set for Winter and can't wait to pair these with pretty skirts and colourful tights (^_^)

♥ I kept putting off making this doll because I've never made a doll before and this one looked pretty challenging!  Last week, I knuckled down and sketched a template for myself and today I put pencil to fabric and cut out the pieces I need to make S's sister the perfect addition to her CosPlay outfit!

{It's Gonna Be A Biggun!}

I now have to dye the individual pieces (the head is yellow and the arms are blue and red) and get them all sewn together with the aid of my Mum's sewing machine!  I'm excited about completing this project; it's been a new venture for me and I know S's sister will be thrilled when it gets to her!

♥ Last but not least, I did some more work on my art journal this week and created a page for song number 2;

'The Broken' - Year Of The Black Rainbow

{Obscurity Has No Heroes}

This image was inspired by the following lyrics;

The world looks better when you're falling...

...Pray for The Broken, no-one can fix us,

We are, we'll always be The Wronged.

I'm super pleased with how this turned out (^_^) I love using red and black together, it always looks so striking and bold!  I might tweak the quote I've put in the top right corner; I'd like to write it in type-font and perhaps colour the background a similar red to the praying hands...We'll see!  It's a work in progress!

Well, I get the feeling my week is going to deteriorate pretty quickly since I'm now looking forward to two 10-hour days at work (boo!) but I'll keep smiling after having a great week last week!  S and I are *still* waiting for the paperwork to get there but the good news we've got the necessary funds to make the application so as soon as it gets there, all systems go!

I hope you're all having a great week and thanks for stopping by!

xoxo

♥Ắçĕ♥

Art Journalling

I took a week off from Monday Must Haves this week because I had a bit of a realisation; it's one thing to look at all these lovely things I wish I had and what I'd do or create if I had them, but I'm not *actually* doing anything creative!  I tend to get waylaid with work and family time and chatting with my boy and any creative endeavours get pushed to one side because I'm too busy/tired/lazy/all of the above.  So I figured this week I'd kick my butt into gear and start my very first art journal!

I've read a lot about art journals and methods of journalling over the last few weeks and have seen some incredible creative works that have truly inspired me to have a go on my own.

I had a blank Moleskine journal (a birthday gift from a colleague!) which I thought would be perfect for my project and got as far as opening the first page when I got stuck; I couldn't get inspired just sitting there, looking at that blank page.  So I looked for some journal prompts online and just couldn't get excited about them.  Feeling a little frustrated, I did what I always do in times of creative need - put on my headphones, turned on my favourite songs and relaxed!

For years, Coheed and Cambria have been my favourite band (and they always, *always* will be - check them out here) and one of the reasons for this is because their music is so creative; their five concept albums span four volumes of a story called The Amory Wars, each individual song painting detailed pictures of characters, events and a plot so intricate and interesting they also released a series of comics and a novel to explain it all!  Whenever I listen to Coheed and Cambria, it's like I'm watching a movie through music, each song sets a scene, gives characters life and moves the story along.

Coheed's music will always inspire me; I listen to it while I draw, write, make cards, crochet, whenever I'm being creative.  It picks me up and keeps me going when I'm feeling down and never fails to make me even happier when I'm in a good mood!  With that in mind, I've given myself a creative challenge with an inspiration that will never fail me; I'm going to create one journal page for each of Coheed and Cambria's songs in chronological order!  Excited!

I've already started my project (being fortunate to have *THREE* days off in a row this week!!!) by completing my first page;

'One' from Year Of The Black Rainbow

{Excuse the crappy webcam picture and the not-yet-dry glue!}

I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out!  I wanted something very simplistic, with bright, bold colours that were shrouded and misty and a proud black rainbow shape to signify the title of the album.  It was great fun to sit and do and it really got me back into a creative mood - I've got so many ideas buzzing around for the next song!

I hope your week has started off well and you've got some lovely things planned!  I'm looking forward to tomorrow off, talking to my boy, working more on my art journal and *hopefully* getting S's application started for his move to England!  It's been a long time coming (after waiting for a bank statement that just.didn't.want.to.arrive) so we're both very excited - after all, he could be here by the end of November!  YAY!

xoxo

♥Ắçĕ♥

Monday Must Haves #15

I've been thinking a lot about art journalling recently (I say thinking about, since I've not had a moment to myself lately!) It's something I've been interested in doing and I've read a lot about it on various websites and blogs!  I'd love to really explore that creative side of me which I've never had the chance to before and see what comes from it.

This week, Monday Must Haves is focussing on art journalling and all the incredible supplies I've been drooling over the last few days!  A girl can dream, right?

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♥  I am both terrified and fascinated by zombies, it's a real love-hate relationship!  This blank journal would be ideal for starting an art journal and it would make me smile every time I looked at it!

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♥ These are the cutest tapes I have ever seen.  Washi tape is so versatile and would completely liven up a journal, cards and scrapbooking, I'd use it all the time!  I've wanted to experiment with washi tape for a long long time but I'm finding it quite tough to find locally.  I think I'm going to have to look abroad to get some (I can always sneakily get it delivered to S in America and get him to send it to me!)

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♥ Being a girl who goes nuts over anything stationary related, I would *love* to add these gorgeous embroidered papers to my stack.  These would come in so handy for art journalling, since they add colour and texture to the pages, which is something I would want from my art journal.

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♥ Speaking of texture, wouldn't these brightly coloured threads be awesome to include in a journal?  One thing I really love about art journalling is how mixed-media it is.  I tend to stick to pen & pencil on paper when I'm creating but this would open up a whole other world for me!

Ooh, I'm all excited now!  I think I'm going to have to spend my day away from work tomorrow just relaxing with a journal and my creative imagination (^_^) I hope you guys are having a wonderful Monday and have a great week ahead!  Mine is full of work (which makes a change *chuckles*) so I'm anticipating being very tired and desperately looking forward to my Saturday off - yay weekend!

xoxo

♥Ắçĕ♥

I Took A Trip To My Nan's House...

...and came back laden with craft stuff!

WOO!

My Nan has been crafting for years, anything from knitting jumpers and cardigans to card making to baking; she's always been hands-on, homemade, totally awesome.

In the last few years, it's become increasingly difficult for her to continue with her creativity; she's in her 80s now and finds it a bit too fiddly to do.  It really saddens me, as we used to spend time together crafting and it's something we can't do together any more.

She has a room in her house specially dedicated to all her craft supplies and it's like a magical treasure trove; I could sit in there all day looking through all the card stock, stickers, rub-ons, ribbons, tools, stamps...It's so easy for me to spend hours in there and wonder where all the time went!

I've talked to my Nan about my hopes for the future, about wanting to use my crafting as more than just a hobby and she's happily let me use her supplies through the years.  Now she's decided to make some room in there for things like her mobility aids and here I come to the rescue by happily relieving her of a few things she doesn't use any more.  I know, I'm an angel, right?

{Guillotine & Light Box}

I've wanted a light box for *yonks* but every time I go to buy one I could never find one that wasn't obscenely expensive!  I plan to use this for lots of embossing work (which I've never done before but really like the idea of) As for the guillotine - I am a girl who finds cutting straight lines very, very hard.  I think I'm a bit wonky since I always look at the wrong side of the line so this will help gazillions!

{Glitter & Sewing Kit}

Let's face it, who doesn't love Martha Stewart craft supplies?  They always come in pretty packaging and lovely colours so I simply couldn't resist these gorgeous, iridescent stars and hearts.  And hello, 100 spools of thread in 50 different colours!  Colours make me happy (^_^) 

{Skeleton Leaves, Handmade Paper & Acetate}

Skeleton leaves are quite possibly the prettiest things in the world.

I love the texture of this handmade paper, it's all crumply and gorgeous.  The acetate got me inspired to try out shaker cards, which I think will be especially awesome with the lovely glitter above!

So, as you've probably guessed, I'm having a great day (^_^) Hope you're all having a smashing day too!

xoxo

♥Ắçĕ♥

ReeeeeeeeeeVamp!

I thought it was time for a bit of a change!

I read so many other blogs and they all look amazing and professional, I hope one day mine will be just as polished and perfect for me!  But since I'm not quite at that stage yet, I figured I'd have a go myself at making my blog more "me".  And by "me", I mean promoting the kinds of things I talk about, the kind of things I hope to show more of and generally being more crafty and creative. 

I had a bash at making a header myself and I'm quite proud of it (even though it looks a bit squished...I'll figure that out later) and I think it gives a better impression of my blog rather than the *very pretty* rainbow colours I had before.  Now when I click on 'View Blog' I see my blog name, my crafty bits and an attractive splash of colour on either side!

I've been reading back through Indie Business lately and, what with some changes of plan that are going on at the moment, I'm really wanting to concentrate more on developing and creating my own products.  So tell me what you think of my new blog; do you think it gives an impression of crafting and what my blog is about?  I'd love to hear your ideas and input, it's so invaluable when it comes from fellow bloggers and crafters!

xoxo

♥Ắçĕ♥

It's Been Forevers!

Dudes!

It's been ages.

*apologies*

It's been hella busy here lately, what with working some crazy awkward hours and generally having no time to myself/with my family/my boy/my cats/my besties...It's sucked big time.

There have been a lot of ups and downs too; the boy and I had been planning for him to come here sometime early September and we'd even found a place for us to live but things (inevitably, grrr!) got in the way and now that's all been put on hold; I applied for a new job working at my old school and was told I was the only applicant (the job sounded perfect - office hours, no weekends/early mornings/late nights, loads of holiday time) but was rejected for another *mystery* applicant.

There's more to come too; troubles with visas and all that junk, not knowing when or how my boy and I are going to be together again, working like a madwoman over the next three weeks (my manager is taking a holiday and arranged NO cover for herself - nice one, love!) and just being exhausted and grumpy.  *Not* looking forward to it one jot!

HOWEVER!

Rant out of the way!

I had two lovely days off before the onslaught so I've had lots of chatting time with family, friends and my loveliest love, lots of cuddles with kit-cats and also a chance to get my creativity going by making my Nan a parchment craft card for her birthday.

Pretty!  The parchment I'm working on is actually a pretty minty green colour (note to self - figure out how to get camera to take accurate colour pictures!) The close-up on the right was to show you some of the embossing I did on the outline of the daffodils and the centres of the forget-me-nots.  I'm planning on cutting the centre out and either putting a picture in there or a big Happy Birthday, I'm not sure yet.  Decisions, decisions!


I hope you guys have all been well and are having a swell week so far!


xoxo
♥Ắçĕ♥

I Found It!

What, what did you find?  I hear you asking (^_^)

I found *my* creative niche.

I ♥ crocheting!

I *fiiiiiinally* picked up some yarn in a dashing blue-green colour, got on the web and did some learning.  And now I'm totally hooked!  Pun intended!

All I've done the last few days is crochet; it's mostly been practice and that practice has mostly been granny squares, some with an edging and some without.  I also managed a very wonky heart (^_^)

Yay for crochet!  Ooh, that rhymes!

My pièce de résistance, however, is my awesome new crocheted HAT!  That's right, I somehow managed to crochet a freakin' hat!  Sure, it's not perfect, it has a wonky edge and not all the stitches are the same distance apart but I actually made a hat, something useful I can wear!  The mind boggles!

Now my ears will be snuggly in winter!  For the record, I don't wear this jumper every day (^_^)

For some reason, my webcam is closer to the true colour of my yarn rather than my actual camera (O_o) Nonetheless, I have officially caught the crochet bug and I can't wait to learn 
more and make so many things!  I'm working on learning how to make some flowery embellishments for hats and headbands and I'm planning on making my best friend B an 80s inspired crocheted tie for his birthday in August!  S'gonna be awesome!


In other, incredibly exciting news, I've *pretty much* managed to complete my goals for June (exercise, crafting and reading - done, done and 2 and a half books!) and I'm going to complete another of my 10 Things tomorrow by donating blood!  Psyched and nervous all at the same time!


Hope you're having an awesome Thursday and have a great weekend planned!


xoxo
♥Ắçĕ♥

Monday Must Haves #8

This week's Monday Must Haves are a little bit eclectic and not all one theme, since this week I'm feeling a little all over the place!  I've been spending a lot of time at work, putting in extra hours since one of my bosses is ill, which has jumbled up my time off and made me feel a little out of joint.  So I'm glad I can get back to normal today with a day off for myself and a post on my blog!

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♥ This pretty, hand-spun yarn would be *perfect* for my June crocheting goal (I've yet to find any nice yarn to attempt a granny square with) I love the colours *yay purple!* and I like how it's all different widths and tones.  I'm not sure if it would be ideal for crochet but I think it's a beaut!

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♥ If I had a gorgeous gym bag like this, I might be tempted to go to the gym!  It would certainly make me more motivated to get out and exercise, since it's too pretty to keep indoors!  I like how it has space for everything you need, including a yoga mat.  Multi-functional FTW!

{Source}

♥ I love pretty bookmarks (as you know, I've tried to make a couple of cute ones myself!) and this one not only ties in nicely with my June goal of reading three books but it reminds me of my boy too *in case you can't read it, it says 'You say to-may-to, I say to-mah-to', which is completely true!*

{Source}

♥ These lovely little thumbtacks used to be scrabble tiles (yay for recycling!) Since I've been looking at places to rent with my boy, I've been planning my craft room *Sorry S, I mean 'our office'* and all the pretty things I'm going to put in there!  I'd love to have some of these on my inspiration board (when I get around to constructing it!)

As you can see, it's a bit of an odd mix this week, but I'm feeling kind of like that so it fits!  I hope this week sees things getting back to normal so I feel less everywhere and more centred.  I'm hoping to update you on both my June goals and my year goals soon, plus the lovely Angie from Lariats and Lavender has tagged me for a special blog post that I'll be doing soon (thank you, Angie!) I hope you all have a productive and exciting week ahead!


xoxo
♥Ắçĕ♥

Monday Must Haves #6

Ahh, it's been forever!

I have been a busy little bee this last week, getting back into the swing of work (and, subsequently, learning how to cope with all the aches and pain that come with it again) and visiting family while trying to find time to get some crafting in as well as talking to my boy!  I've crammed a lot in this week and am absolutely thrilled to have today and the next two days off of work to recover!

This week's Monday Must Haves are all about crafting and, in particular, one special type kind that I've practised for years and never grow tired of - Parchment Craft.

I was originally taught it by my Nan who generously gave me her time and a lot of supplies so I could really grow and explore my creative side.  Every Christmas and birthday I crack out my parchment and tools and make up a card for her, which she always absolutely loves.  I'm in the middle of a piece now, working on it for S's parents (for being completely awesome while I was in NJ with him) and lusting after a lot of lovely tools and parchments that I've seen online!

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♥ I am *always* on the look out for gorgeous vellum (or parchment) and these sheets are beautiful!  I love the variety you're given here, there are so many colour and style combinations I can think of to use these to their full potential.

{Source}

♥ These are *so* cute and the bright colours would provide an excellent backing to a simple design created with white vellum - I'd use these as tags for gifts or perhaps as some snazzy packaging embellishments.

{Source}

♥ Backing vellum onto card can be a total nightmare as it's so sheer; most adhesives show through the parchment and ruin the effect you're trying to create.  I *always* use Wacky Tac if I ever need to back my vellum onto card, it doesn't show through and it doesn't dry instantly so you have time to re-position!  Awesome!

This is a little sneak peek of what I've been working on (when I've managed to find the time!) On the left there are some of the tools I use when I'm working with parchment and on the right is the design I've been working on!  I think it's going to turn out really well so I'm excited to finish it and send it to S's parents!  Hope they like it! 

I think I'll spend the next couple of days finishing my parchment card, looking at places to rent online (Yes, the boy is moving over later in the year - will tell you more about it soon!) and taking it super easy with my kit-cats (^_^) What have you all got planned the rest of the week?  Hope it's good!

Ta-Da!

I decided a change of layout would be a nice idea today (^_^) I've been thinking about it for a while - I wanted something that would give me some more space for pictures and words as well as injecting a little more colour.  I think this is just right for now (^_^) I see other blogs all the time and am just a tad envious of how pretty and awesome they look.  I know I'll figure my blog out one day and get it just right and how I want it but of course that takes time (and potentially some money too!) so for now I'm content to go with the flow and just jazz up my blog a little bit at a time!

It's been a busy week for me, what with working and going to the dentist.  I've been given antibiotics and am heading back on May 24th to have my tooth pulled *sad face* I'll miss it but I'll be glad to be free of the pain of it!  I was lucky to have today off from work, so I headed into town and picked up a few bits and pieces - some dry shampoo (whoever invented this needs a medal, it has been my saviour on *so* many occasions), a bright pink nail polish (to match the gorgeous dress I bought during the week), some awesome raspberry-coloured tights that were in the sale and called my name as I walked past and a cute little lip-tint pen in a blushy-rose colour.  Awesome haul (^_^)

I'm really excited to be getting a haircut on Wednesday!  I haven't had my hair cut properly in *years*, due to general poorness/laziness/my Mum being quite good at trimming.  But, since I'm going away on holiday soon I thought I'd get it cut nicely and booked my appointment for 10am on Wednesday, yay!  Will post some before and afters so you can tell me what you think (^_^)

I've been working on a couple of creative projects recently - they're mostly in the sketching/planning stages at the moment but I'm slowly working forward when I get the time to (my time management is still sucking since I've got really weird hours at work) and I'm really excited to show them to you - I've got a lot of pictures to take and post, haven't I!

I'll leave it there for now - this post was just a little update to say I haven't disappeared completely and to ask what you think of the new layout!  Hope you're all having an awesome-sauce weekend!