Counting down to Christmas

I'm feeling pretty pleased with myself this evening as, for once, we seem to be pretty organised for Christmas. I even managed to make some of my cards this year (some sneak peeks in the photo). I think the reindeer stamp on the right card has to be one of my favourites! They are all written and ready to go in the post tomorrow. Let's hope that's enough time to get them where they are going!

I'm really looking forward to Christmas now. There truly is something magical about this time of year! I'm also looking forward to the Winter Solstice/Yule on the 21st, and the new light that it brings. I find these last few weeks where the day grows ever shorter so difficult, as I rely on my bodyclock to wake me in the morning (I have never been able to do alarm clocks). I tend to waken at the right time - it's just a real fight to get my brain going when it's still dark. It's so much easier in the summer!

Advent Sunday Mark 2

Graeme and I have a little tradition of marking each Sunday in Advent with some festive tea and cake (any excuse really). After missing last Sunday due to our whistle-stop trip to Edinburgh, we made up for it this weekend!

Last night was my bellydance class student hafla, which was good fun. I only danced in my classes group dance but that was nerve-wracking enough! Our music jumped twice during our performance giving us all a shock but like true professionals we got to the end (eventually).

Today I've made a start on my Christmas cards. I'm still waiting on my card blanks but hopefully they will arrive soon. I'm off work from Tuesday as I'm having all my wisdom teeth removed, so I need something to do while I recover!

OK, time to rescue the roast from the oven!

More creations!

It's been a lovely, busy weekend. I really feel I've got a lot done.

Yesterday, I had another lovely afternoon with Jaihn. After soaking up some of the Sun's rays over a cup of tea and some crispie cakes, we had a good few hours craftiness. I made these earrings and made a start on a few other pairs. It feels good to be creating again. I think working with something other than paper is what I need at the moment.

Today, Graeme and I went shopping in the morning. I got some nice new flip-flops and saw a lovely hat that I may have to buy as well! Then we came home, had lunch and played badminton outside in the garden.

This weekend has been the first time I have actually been in our garden. I've only ever peered at it out of our bedroom window before. It's quite a lovely space. There's a huge willow tree at the back of the garden, which has created it's own little world under it's branches. That end of the garden is really wild - there's loads of ground ivy and bluebells. Then in front of it, there's a nice flat area that is perfect for badminton/picnics/barbeques. It's a space that I think I want to get to know better over the summer!

This evening has been a flurry of cleaning, cooking and holiday preparations. I really will sleep tonight!

I made this!

Yesterday morning I was seized by a serious bout of creativity. I had seen this pendant in Bead magazine and I fell completely in love with it. I loved that the knot is a prosperity knot as that’s something I’d like to draw into my life at the moment (not really money prosperity, but real life prosperity). Putting the knot together was a really amazing experience. My first attempt was terrible as I approached it with a “this looks easy” mentality. Que: one very big, messy knot. The second attempt was a real willing into existence. It was slow, careful process that lead to a lot of energy going into the piece. Perfect.

I had a lovely weekend on the whole. Yesterday afternoon, Jaihn and I took a little trip to Regents Park. We saw the giraffes at London Zoo (through the fence, admittedly)! They are such beauties. Then we sat until the sun went down at the little cafe beside the boating lake. It was really divine.

Saturday was domestic day. Graeme and I had a little trip to Homebase and we got some bits & bobs. I've got all sorts of plans for the garden when I come back from my holidays. I want to make up another two windowboxes and plant some veggies. Might be a tad ambitious but I need a project for the summer months!

Inchies and holibags!

I made my first set of "inchies" yesterday and here they are! I was inspired by one of my deepest loves - chocolate. I get catalogues through from Hotel Chocolat all the time and their choccies really are works of art in their own right.

I was a little surprised by how easy it was to work on such small pieces. They really do look stunning once finished. I feel I may have to experiment some more with these!

My other really fabby piece of news is that Graeme and I have booked our flights to go to Crete! YAY! This will be my first proper holiday in almost 5 years. I am so looking forward to having proper relaxation time with Graeme and seeing some more of the world. Thankfully, work have consented to give me time off, which is awfully nice of them I think. I just know they won't be able to cope without me - lol!

So, yeah, Crete. Now all we have to do is figure out where we want to stay. We've found a nice hotel in Chania on the west of the island. Trouble is, all the archaeological sites are on the east of the island. However, the east of the island is also hideously touristy. Decisions, decisions...

Weekend of wonders!

Went to Kew Gardens today and we had such a good time. The weather was beautiful and all the spring bulbs were out in force! As soon as we entered the gardens, we were greeted with a beautiful carpet of white and purple crocuses. We were snapping some lovely close-up piccies when a huge bumble bee landed on the flower we were photographing. It was so close to us and we got some lovely photos of a happy pollen-covered bumble bee sitting in the crocus. That was the start to what became a day filled with nature's blessings.

Graeme and I love leaving the garden paths behind and rambling through the trees. It seems to be where the real magic happens. As we were wandering through some Beech trees, we were aware of some rather large birds foraging through the undergrowth. They were Guinea Fowl! I managed to get pretty close to them and there was a lovely moment where it was just me and these four birds feeding. It felt really nice that they didn't seem to view me as a threat.

Our next wonderful encounter with wildlife was this gorgeously coloured beast here! There were several of these ornamental pheasants foraging through the trees too. They were so placid as well and came quite close to us as we stood still.

Our final encounter was with a Red Admiral Butterfly that landed close to us to bask in the sunlight on the pavement. It just sat there and posed for the camera :o)

It really was a fantastic day. I had never seen so many daffodils in the one place before. Down both sides of one of the main walkways was a sea of yellow happiness. I just love spring and the feeling of the earth starting to come alive again after the cold of winter.

Yesterday was a packed day as well. I had a craft class in the morning. It was focusing on soldered charms, which I had wanted to try for ages. I really enjoyed the class - the teacher was fab. The only problem was there was only one soldering iron for the whole class, so it took ages to get through everyone's work. The class over-ran by about 40 minutes! Soldering is really quite therapeutic in a way though. I think I might have to invest in a soldering iron of my own.

After that, Graeme and I went shopping. I say Graeme and I, but really I shopped and Graeme carried the bags. Perfect arrangement I think ;o) I managed to get a lovely dress for Dad's retirement and a Momiji Doll. For the first time in ages, I actually seemed to be spoiled for choice when it came to clothes. I went into the changing rooms and thought everything looked fab. Usually, I don't like anything when I try it on!

So that was the weekend of wonders! I feel that I got a lot done this weekend, which makes a change. Doesn't stop me wishing tomorrow wasn't Monday though ;o)

Busy times!

Lots of stuff to tell you :o)

The Tuesday before last, I went to see Madam Butterfly at the Albert Hall. The Albert Hall really is an amazing venue and I spent ages just looking around. The performance itself was very good. The set was fantastic – a Japanese water garden which becomes a Zen garden in the second half. I did thoroughly enjoy it but my attention began to wander towards the end. I’ve been so tired recently and trying to concentrate on opera definitely wasn’t helping.

Wednesday before last, I started a new bellydance class. I’m now back to intermediate level, which is where I was when I moved down here. The teacher is really friendly and the class is quite small and seem friendly too. We’re doing stick dancing for the rest of this term, so it should be good fun too. It’s taken me ages to find a class I really feel at ease with and I think this might be it!

On Friday, I bought the new Sims 2 expansion pack, only to find it still had the security lock on it when I got it home. Graeme suggested he could take a hacksaw to it but I declined that offer. Instead, I sent him to the HMV in Putney to get it removed while I was waiting in the Post Office on the Saturday morning.

Saturday saw the departure of my latest CJ on its travels around the UK. It’s one with my team from UKS and I am really looking forward to working on everyone’s CJs. I feel I have a real bond with my team and it will be lovely to have something of their work to keep!


On Sunday, I met up with the wonderful Jaihn for the first time. We chatted for ages and the time just disappeared. I left there feeling more postive about things than I had for a long time. It was just wonderful to chat to someone who's been there and understands :o) We're going to meet again soon for some crafty fun - yay!

This week has just disappeared really. I would say nothing of note has happened but I'm not sure if that's true. I've rediscovered and started to acknowledge parts of my life that I have been denying since moving here. I have embraced my spirituality again and it has never felt so right. I'm trying to dedicate time everyday for me and the things I need to help me in life. I meditated on Wednesday for the first time in ages. I didn't think I would be able to do it anymore. However, I amazed myself at how quickly I was gone. Apart from one interuption where I became super aware of my hands (most odd), I managed 30 minutes solid. I think I must have needed it!

I'm also really enjoying the spring days. It has been sunny most days when I was walking to work, which has been most welcome. I walk through Victoria Embankment Gardens and just drink in the green, the flowers and the sun. We've also got the most beautiful mini daffodils in our window-box along with some feathered friends looking for food (I can't take credit for the photo. It was Graeme who got it. Goodness knows how!).

So, this post has turned into a bit of a ramble really. Nevermind. To sum it all up - good things are happening :o)

Crafty Weekends

This weekend was a bit craft-centric on the whole.

On Saturday, Rhian and I went to the Stitch and Craft Show at Excel. Getting there turned out to be an adventure in itself. We got on the wrong DLR train and ended up at “West Silvertown”, along with many other confused looking crafters. I’m sure it is somewhere but it looked like an industrial wasteland to us. It was easily remedied though and we got to Excel eventually. It was my first time on the DLR and I’m still a bit dubious about the whole driverless train thing. It felt like being on a model railway!

Anyway, the show was a bit disappointing in terms of papercrafting goodies. Not a bit of Basic Grey in sight :o( I did, however, invest in a new corner rounder (I’ve worn the other one out – ahem) and some double sided sticky tape. I still enjoyed myself and it was lovely to see Rhian. She kept trying to get a picture of me with Dawn Bibby in it. I have to say though, as much as I am not a fan of Dawn’s work, she is gorgeous. The TV does her no favours.

As I got back to the flat reasonably early in the afternoon, Graeme and I then went to an architecture exhibition at the V&A. It was called “Over the threshold” and was looking at housing design, particularly the exterior and how the building promoted interaction with the community and environment. It was quite interesting actually and it was nice and short, so my attention didn’t wane.

Saturday night was a Battlestar Galactica fest. It was a struggle to pull ourselves away and go to bed (which really is saying something).

Sunday was dedicated to working on my team CJ for UKS. I’m really pleased with how it’s all turned out. Now, all I have to do is work on my own entry and it’s ready for posting!

Especially for Kat!

An ATC made with Stewart Gill paints! It was made for a challenge on an altered arts forum. The challenge was to use only paints on white card to make an ATC. I used paints mixed with loo roll to give the textured effect. I also used the two colours I hadn't used before to see how they looked out of the pot. I think they look fab, however I expect the orange/red will look much better on dark card. Might have to go another ATC to compare :o)

We were allowed one word on the ATC too. I picked "soar". Why? Well, it's all I long to do at the moment. That and the backgound, although simple, evokes a number of feelings in me. It makes me think of sunsets/sunrises, new beginnings and all sorts of other things.

I am in love...

…with Stewart Gill paints. I went to my first class at Blade Rubber Stamps on Saturday and I really enjoyed it. We were playing around with the lovely Alchemy and Byzantia ranges. Strangely enough, I thought I’d like the Byzantia more but actually, the Alchemy are just utterly divine. I bought three of them to have a play with at home. I love that they are fabric paints as well. If I ever get the sewing machine up and running, I’ll be able to decorate what I make!

It was really lovely to be back at craft classes. I've booked another one for the start of March called "Soldered Charms". It's all about making jewellery and embellishments from microscope slides and various other things. I can't wait! I've been wanting to try it out for ages but I don't have a soldering iron. The lady teaching the class is going to demonstrate using things other than solder to hold the pieces together. I can see me getting hooked on these things :o)

Crafty afternoons and quiet houses...

Hmmm, am writing this post for the second time after Blogger decided to log me out and lose my first post. Grrrrr! Did I mention I was thinking of moving to Typepad - lol!

Anyhoo, I've had a rather productive day today. I finally managed to set aside some time for crafty pursuits. Firstly, I made some ATCs for the AlterNative monthly swap. The first set are to celebrate Imbolc, which was yesterday. The snowdrops are embossed in Blonde Moments embossing powder, which has a lovely green-yellow sheen to it. They are then coloured in using Twinkling H2Os. Unfortunately, the lovely shimmer from them never seems to come out well in a photo. The second set were just me playing about with some stamps and an Indian theme. I'll get them posted out to their new homes next week.

My second project was playing with my new See-D morsels. I now have four sets as they are just so cute and great value for money. I made some cards with them and I'm really pleased with how they turned out. It's amazing how effective they are once they are layered up.

I'm at a bit of a loose end now. Graeme is off to see his family in Bedfordshire and I decided to stay here. It's £50 return for us to get there, which is far too expensive to make it a regular thing. I really enjoyed having the time to craft earlier on but now the flat just seems too quiet.

What I really want to do is watch more Battlestar Galactica. I bought Graeme the DVDs for Chrimbo and we started watching them again last night. Sooooo good! I suppose I'll have to wait until Graeme comes back really.

Maybe I'll play some Sims instead. I've just seen the video for the new expansion pack and it looks fab :o)