Rose coasters

Last year I really wanted to have a street party for the Jubilee and so discovered the Eden Project's Big Lunch (http://www.thebiglunch.com/).  I didn't make it as far as actually organising anything though - and have failed again this year too!
However in the free pack they will send you came a stack of 50 cardboard coasters which I thought I could use. 

 I used spray mount to stick two together so they weren't quite so flimsy.

 Then selected pictures from an old David Austin rose catalogue and again used spray mount to attach them to one side of the coasters.  I used a craft knife to cut away any excess and may have shaved off tiny amounts of cardboard / slightly torn a few edges.

I don't think they look too bad, especially not when you realise it's an entirely free project!!  They still need some sort of protective coating and I will probably buy a spray on acrylic or varnish for that.  I have already tried watered down PVA but I can't get a thick enough coat as the paper/cardboard absorbs it.  The reverse side of the coasters will also need a backing.  I ran out of suitable rose pictures so have stopped for the minute but there are still some coasters left for me to play with in the future.  And these to finish as well!

Craft storage

I thought I would show you my lovely organised craft supplies.  The boxes are in the bottom of my ardrobe and the one on the right hand side is not quite as accessible as it could be but I'm working on it.  I need to sort out my clothes really...

 I really like having everything standing up as it makes it so much easier to flick through and find what you're looking for.

It's Mum's birthday today and I offered to make something in the way of a cake.  Yesterday I went on the BBC food and goodfood websites and came up with a variety of different options.  My sister narrowed it down to two and I decided to go for this cheesecake.
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3842/baked-raspberry-cheesecake

The recipe said it should be set but slightly wobbly in the centre after 40min however I found it to be really runny still and so left it longer, repeatedly checking it.  Given that a crack has developed in the top I think we can assume that I should have followed the recipe instead as I'm pretty sure the crack means that it is overbaked.  I'll make the sauce later and we'll (hopefully) enjoy it tonight.

Card making

I've been sorting out my craft boxes as well.  Some stuff has been thrown away and everything is now very organised and much more accessible.  As I'd found lots of bits I thought I'd better make some cards with them and will make more in the next few weeks.

 This is a beautiful paper cutting which I couldn't bear to cut to pieces.  I used Mum's spray mount to stick it to the card.  It does need trimming marginally down the left hand side as the card was ever so slightly wider.

 A repeat of an earlier card from the same forever friends pack.  Mum has had a fair few of the duplicates out of it but I like this one so much I kept both to myself.

 Years ago I had a page-a-day calendar with winnie-the-pooh pictures on every day.  I kept it (of course) and have trimmed quite a few over the years to make instant cards.  This one was even pre-mounted so it only needed sticking on the card.  I will probably put a peel-off greeting on it but I will wait for the occasion to use it and then pick an appropriate one.

 A craft magazine came with a free Margaret Sherry calendar that had some decoupage sheets in the back.  Again this was many years ago and I still have some of the pieces.  The cat and mouse go together and I thought it would be quite cute to have a little surprise on the inside.  The cat is lifted slightly on sticky foam pads.  I'm sorry that the photo isn't really in focus tho.

 The flower motif is from Calvin Klein 'Euphoria' perfume campaign and is quite pretty.  The purple bits are raised and slightely fuzzy.  I stuck it to silver paper and cut round it, imperfectly and then stuck it to the card.  I used my corner-rounder as I thought square corners were a bit too harsh.  It needed something extra and I finally decided on the corner motifs - Mum really likes them!

This is a pre-cut butterfly card and I've stuck the patterned paper to the inside of the card because it gives it a bit of extra dimension when it's standing up.

A lot of these will have extra finishing touches added before being sent.  The following one has already been posted and the occasion was a birthday as you can see.  Again this is from the Margaret Sherry calendar but the mouse inside was a random little sticker that I thought was fun :)

Bits and pieces

I know it's been a while... I'm getting there.... I have been doing stuff but haven't got photos of everything so will try and do a bit more in the next few days.  In the meantime here is a selection of things to enjoy.

From my earlier clear out/organise the miniatures here are Christmas things that you wont have seen before.  The holly strand is hand-cut foam threaded with beads.  The paper chains were made of teeny bits of paint charts.  Each link had to be bulldog clipped together while it dried so it took a very long time to make.  The cake is a bottle lid with ribbon round it.  On the top are pipe cleaner clippings that have been trimmed into trees.  At the time I was away from home and had limited craft stuff available.

Flowers for my Grandma's birthday :D I love doing things that make her happy and she enjoys flowers.  Two different colours of stocks and some white roses.  As a colour collection it is more reflective of me - subtle and pretty, whereas Grandma does tend to go for brighter/louder colour combinations.  However I bought the flowers so I bought something I was happy with and she will appreciate it because it is from me :D

Fabric shop

This post is actually a return to miniatures!!  I'm in the process of sorting through my room and condensing my stuff and making it tidy and now all my miniature making stuff is tidily packed into a pretty box. 

I came across an old bookshelf that I had been making out of the ends of tablet boxes.  I had covered it with brown wallpaper that had a slight texture to it to look like wood.  I also came across the miniature bolts of fabric that I had started making as a project for a friend.  Once they were put into a section you could still see some of the white at the back of the shelves so I did a quick painting job as well.

I have a lot of fabric bits and pieces - and a fair few of them came from this friend! I simply cut pieces of brown scrap card, in about the right depth and, because I was only doing things roughly, they all turned out slightly different heights.  They were then wrapped up in a hastily chopped strip of fabric - some had more, some less, some were a bit too wide, others not quite wide enough.  I didnt use any glue, relying on the compression of all the fabric bolts in their slot to keep it all together.

 Aaaaaand we have a full bookcase of fabric bolts.  In my storage the scraps are arranged by approximate colour as I find that useful but that wasn't the look I was going for here.  I thought I would jazz it up slightly and personalise it by adding some bunting (from one of my first forays into mini making) with my friend's name on it.

 Two views here as I thought I'd better show it standing up.  Hopefully in the future I'll make other things for her too, so that she ends up with a complete fabric/craft shop/workarea.  That is the plan anyway.

I'm sorry for not going into too much detail or instruction here but feel free to ask questions if you want details.  I know I haven't been blogging conscientiously either - lots of craft related things all happened at once and I was feeling pressure to blog it all but made myself take a step back, a step away.  At the end of the day there are more important things to worry about in life than whether I have blogged every single craft related thing! And this was, and is, for fun.

Now that I've relaxed about it again I will try and gradually share my bits and pieces as usual.

Easter cards

Go on then, just quickly before I go to bed...
A new shop opened in Kingston just before Christmas http://www.tigerstores.co.uk/ and my boyfriend's Mum really loves it.  When I was staying there just before Easter she bought a pack of self adhesive foam things for me to play with.  Using a few extra bits and pieces I created a bunch of quick and easy cards (some of which I have already sent, and forgot to take pictures beforehand).

This is my favourite - with a surprise bunny in the middle!!

They are all shown with their matching envelopes behind which is why they don't look quite straight.

So much going on

I've come back from the boyfriend's and my little sister is back from France.  She has herself and Mum embroiled in lots of different sewing projects so I'm trying to stay out of the way in that respect.  There has been lots of crafting going on - more cardmaking, preparing for my next patchwork positivity block and even this afternoon some miniatures!!

I'm gradually picking up the pace of my life and doing more and more every day; it's pushing my body to the limit and I'm really quite tired but amazingly the headaches are still remaining manageable!! I am due my next bad one soon but am just taking it one day at a time.

Yesterday I walked into town with my little sister and whilst it was too much for me and I wasn't entirely well for the rest of the day I took some pretty photos of the earthworks close to where we live.  I think they are English bluebells rather than Spanish but it's a little hard to tell in the photos.

 

First an 'arty' shot

 

 

And then a close-up.

Even though it wasn't hugely warm the sun was shining and it was a very pretty day.