So, to celebrate the fact I am now the owner of my very own garden and in an attempt to get my crafting I signed up for a Gardening Swap but now really have no idea what I should craft. Any suggestions?

My partner is not in the UK so bang goes including any seeds or cuttings in my package due to their import restrictions, therefore I’m hoping my handmade items will make up for the lack of variety. Please send your gardening craft ideas my way as time is running out. Thanks folks!

(The pic is a honeymoon snap from a lovely garden in Tokyo)

Posted: May 7th, 2009 under Inspiration, My Projects, Swaps.
Comments: 3

I’m keen to try and keep all my house posts separate from my crafty ones but, until I get A Home For All Seasons up and running, She’s Crafty will have to do.

This is a picture of our front door!

We went out for our first full day of gutting and cleaning yesterday and, while the weather was unusually gorgeous for April in Glasgow, we didn’t spend much time in the garden and instead set about the house. I took a little time out to take some pictures of the front and hall to whet your appetite as well as some of the great patterns and packaging we unearthed – all of which are now up on Flickr.

Posted: April 26th, 2009 under Inspiration, Life stuff, My Projects.
Comments: 1

Being a proud member of the LWA (Letter Writers Alliance), I’m looking forward to finding some time to sit down and writing some letters (once I plough through the mountain of Thank You cards still to write!).

It’s a bit of effort that really pays off (I absolutely love getting mail!) and have stumbled across a couple of other great ways to bring some cheer into your mailbox.

First off is Igotanenvelope – “a continuous art project where people leave empty self-addressed stamped envelopes in public places to be picked up and filled by others, who then send them back”. If you receive something back you post it up to the site. It’s amazing to see what people have been sent.

The next is UK-based Post Letters – “a movement to encourage, promote and take delight in the activity of writing letters and sending post. Bringing people together to think about Post in the Twenty First Century, organise letter readings and writings, present you with new ideas for your post, commission artists and writers to produce new mail art, produce Post Events and much more”.

Posted: April 21st, 2009 under Inspiration, Swaps.
Comments: none

I didn’t hand make as much of the things for the wedding as I first had in mind as, quite frankly, I didn’t have the time. I had bought in various odds and ends to make a topper for the ckae but in the end we decided to commission one from Etsy seller goosegrease….

Everyone loved it (though there were a few ‘they have no faces’ comments) and, apart from an unexpected customs charge, they were the perfect choice.

We sent Michelle pictures of us along with pics of what we’d be wearing and how I’d have my hair etc and the whole process took about 5 weeks from start to finish. It’s great to have a little reminder of our big day and even I have to admit they look cute in their new home on our bookcase.

Posted: March 26th, 2009 under Inspiration, Life stuff.
Comments: none

Not enough hours in the day to even fold a towel let alone something as complicated as this but thankfully there are people in the world who have:

If you want to see more examples check out this post on the Design Llama.

Posted: January 20th, 2009 under Inspiration.
Comments: none

After a weekend of various arguements with family over my lack of traditional elements in my wedding I am sorely tempted to get a wedding cake like this from Brighton’s own Choccywoccydoodah. That’d show ‘em!

Be sure and check out their website for some more amazing chocolatey treats. Nom nom indeed.

Posted: January 19th, 2009 under Inspiration.
Comments: 1

hehehehe, I love it.

http://www.markushofer.at/html/arbeiten/markus-hofer-geeignetzurzucht.html

Unfortunately I doubt it’s for sale. The best things never are.

Posted: December 12th, 2008 under Inspiration.
Comments: none

There’s nothing like an overload of choices to help you work out your priorities. Take my Google Reader for example… It’d be fine if I had a spare evening to curl up on the couch and trawl through the mounting hundreds of posts in there but the chances of an evening like that in the near future are slim to none. My reader has been packed full since my recent (I say recent but it feels like a million years ago now) break down in London. So, since then, any time I’ve had a spare moment to read through blogs I’ve concentrated only on my favourites. You know what I mean. The ones that without fail say something that makes you smile, tells you about something you must check out or just posts an image that sparks an idea.  This filter has certainly helped me identify what are my favourite blogs and I thought I’d share some of them with you over the coming weeks (what with the lack of COTW posts these days!).

So, step up to the plate, Edward & Lilly! I have no idea what/who the Edward & Lilly in the blog name refer to but this great little blog from Brisbane, Australia, never fails to cheer me up. I’m fascinated by Australia (and used to be heavily into the music scene over there) so love seeing what the crafting world has to offer from that side of the world. The great little projects on the site aren’t overly fussy and complicated but are instead executed with such an eye for detail and colour you can’t help but want them for yourself.  (I’ve never been that into softies but Edward & Lilly’s bears and cats are absolutely adorable). However, it’s her latest project that has really grabbed my attention. The grogeous bird decorations are not only perfect for the festive season but, thanks to the floral embroidery, could brighten any room all year round (perfect for any of you too lazy to take down your Christmas decorations!). What’s even more exciting is that Edward & Lilly are offering blog readers the chance to win one in a giveaway to mark the 150th post on the blog.

Posted: December 1st, 2008 under Competitions, Crafter of the Week, Inspiration.
Comments: none

I must admit that when it comes to saving money I can take things to extremes but I’ve very much a believer in the old saying that if you keep an eye on the pennies the pounds will look after themselves. One of my habits is holding out until February (sometimes even March) to buy my calendars/diaries but this year there seems to be so many great free calendars available I may not have to wait until then.

First is a nice little printable desk calendar from Amanda at Vintage Glam. Each page is designed to fit into any CD jewel case and you can customise it with your choice of backing paper (you all know my need for colour co-ordination).

The next was brought to my attention by Holly at the always inspiring Decor8. You have to join the 2Jane mailing list to be able to download the free calendar but the bold graphics mean that, once used, each month can also be cropped and used as print or whatever else you crafty kids can think of. The fact the images involve birds also gives it an extra star from me.

These are just a couple of the free options out there but the sheer volume of gorgeous calendars available for 2009  has even me getting out the cheque book with a smile on my face.

Check out the great round ups on these sites:

Decor8

Paper Crave

All Things Lovely

PoppyTalk

Or you could go for something totally unique and special and get some quirky portraits of you and your loved ones in a calendar over at Kiki & Polly.

So many choices I think my poor wee head’s going to burst!

Posted: November 25th, 2008 under Art/Illustration, Freebies, Inspiration.
Comments: none

Sometimes it’s a question of nobody knowing what’s best for you better than yourself and no better reason for a self-indulgent purchase than a birthday. So, with some birthday money and the dinstinct need for a pick-me-up I set about treating myself.

The first thing I bought was the most recent issue of The Pleiades (#17) zine. I already had an older issue in my favourite zines box but when I heard Miranda had resurrected the zine to write an issue about her feelings surrounding turning the big 3-0 I knew I had to get my hands on it. It arrived the other day and I have to admit that Miranda really knows how to do a per-zine well. Hopefully she’ll continue with The Pleiades now it’s back.

The next Etsy purchase was this adorable acorn necklace by SStargell. I was desperately looking for some acorn jewellery as my intended conker present from Him Indoors had to be shelved due to it unexpectedly incorporating a human nipple! (I kid ye not!) So, finding this lovely silver piece, wonderfully free from erogenous body parts, made my day and I was well chuffed when it arrived (beautifully boxed) last week too. It’s sure to be a staple in my autumn wardrobe as I have worn it ever day since I got it.

My BIG birthday gift (not from myself!) is a painting/portrait by amazing artist (and I’m sure he’ll be equally amazing as my bridesmaid) Adam Kerr. Unfortunately it’s not yet finished but I am very excited and will definitely post pics when I get it.

Posted: October 7th, 2008 under Inspiration, Jewellery, Life stuff.
Comments: none