The Craft Garden - February

It's the 1st of the month so that means a new challenge over on The Craft Garden

Here is my take on the challenge:

badly photographed as the light was rubbish.  The shaped paper is Crate Paper, the blue paper is Prima Reflections and the stickers are Pink Paislee. I used Cosmic Shimmer mists in Midnight Blue and Aqua Lagoon.

Cushion Love

This month on The Craft Garden blog I have set a recipe challenge.  Full details can be found here

My layout is about a cushion my youngest son claimed as his own the second it entered the house.  He can often be found hugging it.

I used some sewn cardstock by We Are Memory Keepers, a piece of fur, various flowers, ribbons, buttons, flower centres and I also made some flowers using twine.  I entered this layout into the design team call for The Twinery. I don't hold out much hope of being successful but I enjoyed making the flowers so I thought why not try?

July Challenge

This month the challenge in my shop blog is to use a BIRD

I used this tutorial from Attic 24 to make a bird rather than doing a layout.

and if you want to win this little lot of Prima goodies hop on over to the shop blog for full details of how to enter.

Clouds WIPS and A June Photo Challenge

I've started a new blog for anybody who is interested in clouds and skies etc.  I will be posting skywatch skies over there in future and probably use this blog for my personal and craft stuff.

The Craft Garden June challenge is up.  I made this flower but forgot that hubby is away camping with the boys until later today and he has the camera so had to use my phone which is why it is a crappity crap piccie.

The challenge is from the traditional wedding rhyme - something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.  I left out the something borrowed bit as I thought that once you have something on a layout or card etc then you ain't going to want to give it back.

My old is the fabric, new is the blue lace and blue is obviously the lace but also the navy blue button.

At the weekend I had a really good think about my knitting and where I was going with all the works in progress I had.  It was getting out of hand. I admitted to myself that I am a serial starter of projects.  There was only one thing for it. I needed a fresh start so I frogged the bloody lot of them.  There were about a dozen things - socks, shawls, scarves all of which would never have been finished.  My head is a lot clearer and I really wanted to get started on a granny stripe blanket as a throw for the living room.  We all know that the little voices will say "start me" over and over whenever I see a new project and yes I probably will start them and rebuild a new pile of WIPs but for now I am focusing on this

For more WIPs please see TamisAmis

I found this via a friend yesterday.  I am going to try and take part as the list looks quite do-able.

Craft Garden May Challenge

This month the challenge is to take inspiration from this picture

Despite setting the challenge myself I ended up with a serious mojo loss when it came to actually doing the challenge.  I had intended to set myself doing something with knitting or crochet but when my son came back from Paris with a similar angled shot of the Eiffel Tower then I knew I just had to use that photograph.

Craft Garden April Challenge

Today sees the restarting of my monthly challenges over on my shop blog.

Also sometime today (fingers crossed) I will have some stock in the shop.

The first challenge is to be inspired by the number 4 and this is what I did

Blogging For Scrapbookers

I did the Blogging For Scrapbookers course by Shimelle the first time around and today it is having a rerun with a few tweeks.

I don't know what I want to achieve this time around other than hoping to learn new things and meet new people.  I made some lovely friends last time around who I am in touch with on facebook.

Anyway we will see what it brings.

Officially yesterday was the first day of spring here in the northern hemisphere.  It is a bone of contention with a lot of people when the equinoxes are but in reality they change every year.  This site show them all for years and years and years.

For me spring is here when the blossom starts appearing on the trees.  This morning this was the sight that greeted us on our walk to school.  I swear there was no blossom on friday afternoon on the way home. It is amazing how it always appears as soon as spring springs.

I discovered Meet Me On Monday where we answer questions about ourselves and here they are


1. What jewelry do you wear 24/7? - I only really have my wedding and engagement rings plus another one my husband bought me for my 21st so those.  My watch is never too far from my wrist but not 24/7.

2. Do you twirl your spaghetti or cut it? - cut it

3. How many siblings do you have? - 2 a sister and brother both younger

4. Were you named after anyone? - I think County Kerry in Ireland. I have been told it was that name regardless of whether I was a girl or boy.

5. Coke or Pepsi? - Definitely Coke.


Oh and one more thing.  Remember my shop The Craft Garden - well I'm working on a new venture which will mean I should be able to reopen later this week.  Not the same products and with a much smaller stockbase but with a floral emphasis.