Making it on my own

One good thing about saving money is that you end up finding better ways to spend your time, that don't involve much money at all; I'm always making myself such time-consuming to-do lists, and in an effort to keep myself away from the shops last week, I did actually tick off all the lovely "chores" I'd set myself:

Lucy's Toasty mitts are finished, slightly felted and drying on the Aga.

I have a stash of button hair clips & earrings ready to sell

The oyster shells are scrubbed and awaiting their new lives as candle holders (the wicks haven't arrived, but the seller promises me that they're on their way!):

Little red bows of felt are lined up on the side to be stitched onto everything:

The craftiness did take a little longer than expected, but all in all I spent no money, had less "bored" time, and now have pretty things cluttering up my house ready to be sold, once I work out whether I'm going down the Etsy, Folksy or Misi route. I must say that even as a *huge* Etsy fan, I am veering more towards Misi, simply because it's UK based and has a smaller pool of sellers on there at the moment, but do let me know if you'd recommend anywhere else!

This week the boyfriend is away on business (well I call it business, he's entertaining customers on a corporate yachting week, so no chore there!), and so I'm on my lonesome as far as feeding and amusing myself is concerned. So this week I'm going to:

• Have a go at cooking baked onions. We have a glut of onions in the vegetable garden, and Sophie Dahl's recipe looks delish.
• Ditto cook myself some potato gratin. But more because it's comfort food, and it'll be perfect to nibble on whilst watching all my programmes while he's away...an entire evening of Project Runway, ANTM then BNTM anyone??
• Peruse Shazronnie's lovely blog Making Stuff. And then make some Belgian Buns from her recipe for my round of Cake Club for work on Friday... this isn't turning into a "to-cook" list, promise!
• Make a start on some crochet garlands, using my huge stash of vintage crochet cottons left to me by my great-aunt...perfect wedding decorations!
• Cast on a Slip Stitch Stash Hat (try saying that a few times!) for my middle sister Isabelle, in her favourite colours.

Have a great week everyone!

A Xxx

This week I'm going to: 8th August

(image via Flickr)

• Make a start on my very own paper bag waist skirt, using Suzannah's tute here.
• Receive the candle wicks I ordered this morning, and make candles from the gorgeous oyster shells I collected on the beach last week.
• Stitch a load of felt bows for hairclips, to eventually sell on Misi/Etsy/Folksy (tbc!).
• Cast on a pair of Toasty mitts for my little sister Lucy, using the gorgeous yarn I picked up from Kingcraig - Lambswool & Silk and only £2 a ball? Yes please!
• Get down to the local plant nursery and buy a couple of Samphire plants. Jenya has one in her office and it's inspired me to start a little houseplant collection of my own! At least I think it's Samphire - my MIL seems to think so and google agrees - any other takers? I want one!

Have a great week!

A Xxx

A belated birthday message

Sorry this greeting is late...I didn't think you'd mind, as you don't observe dates...

Happy 2nd birthday to Olive,

the cat who likes eating Turkey Dinosaurs, walks with the dogs & scritches...

A Xxx

Love is in the air!

Hullo, hullo, hullo!

Hope everyone's enjoying the fab weather and having a wonderful summer so far...it's certainly been a lovely one in this household!

The last few weeks have been manic; a frenzy of making & doing, plus a sad farewell... my best friend has just moved from England to Ohio, and gets married tomorrow!!

So just for her (and for you my dear readers!), as I can't keep anything secret and it would be out of fashion for me to do so, I've got to share with you all the crafty things made for Georgie's upcoming nuptials!

The Hen Do:

Georgie was given a lovely send-off at the gorgeous London Beach Hotel, where 6 of us enjoyed spa treatments, dinner & itty-bitty silk lined party bags, filled with tiaras and bubbles:

The Wedding Gift:

A little something for the happy couple to mark the special date - please bear with me, this is my first attempt at embroidery, I hope she likes it!

The Housewarming Gift:

Two Union Jack cushion covers (to be finished obviously!): lacy for the bride, ribbony for the groom, to adorn their new home and remind my friend to call home once in a while:

Good Luck tomorrow Georgie & Curtis!

A Xxx