Halloween swap - what i sent

so here is what i sent to MeridianAriel

Determined to squeeze everything into this box!!!

this is the first thing i made and to be honest i could've/wanted to do more to it but as usual i was working up to and ignoring my deadline!

portable spell set
"spells on the go - for today's busy witch"

i have to be honest here i wanted to keep this
so i'm on the look out for more of these
antique doll heads!
i needle-felted into her brain/neck cavity
>.<
to make a voodoo pin cushion!

: spell set contents :
voodoo headache inducer
6. captive snail on a bed of {needle-felted} moss for all your snail slime needs!

13. seeds of hate {or seeds of doubt}

3. captive spider in her web
{deadly keep secure in jar}

i borrowed a set of fantastic
metal/leather work stamps
to brand the leather labels and box
bang bang
Bang!!!

leather owl on a branch brooch

halloween haberdashery

~sweet treats~
coconut mushrooms
coffee fudge {Meri is a coffee ADDICT}
pontefract cakes
i loved doing this swap
:D

Meri is muttering about organising a Tim Burton/Neil Gaiman themed swap next i am soooooooo up for that!

keep your eyes peeled for more details on Meri's blog here

Halloween swap - received :D

I love Halloween
i especially love Halloween crafting
so me & my friend Meridian Ariel
decided to do a private craft swap
check out her blog here

http://www.meridianariel.blogspot.com/

she makes fantastic primitive monster dolls
i've blogged about how much i love them before here

http://maximumrabbitdesigns.blogspot.com/2010/07/meridian-ariels-primitive-dolls.html

so i was very cheeky and asked for an imp!

*excited*

*happy*

barnabus's story

omg i'm scared now!
he's a button stealing imp!

ooh another parcel
love the button bat card!

lovely halloweeny coloured supplies!

a lovely bracelet of fire opal and black onyx

Barnabus in all his glory!

thank-you so much Apryl
i love every single bit of this swap
xxx

a couple sneaky spoilers of what i made for Apryl :D

(: Super secret trip to Cardiff :)

leaving England

he still doesn't know why we are going to Wales!

Doctor Who exhibition Cardiff

a bit star struck!

clockwork droid

cyberman

"who turned out the lights"

Ood

Army Dalek & me and the boy!

Looking handsome :D

a shrine to Ianto Jones of Torchwood
which is a bit freaky
he didn't "really" die people!

i loved this gorgeous sculpture

Torchwood entrance/exit by night

My son is a complete Doctor Who nerd {which is good as i can pretend that's why i watch it all the time and know more Doctor Who facts than is really necessary} and i've wanted to take him up to see the Doctor Who exhibition in Cardiff for some time but when MeridianAriel and her family went recently i was really jealous which spurred me on!

We had a really great time :)
The boy was so happy when he realised why we had gone!
We stayed in a nice Hotel and really enjoyed the break,
it was also the first time i've left my daughter to fend for herself and the animals
so we were very relieved to return home
to the house just as we had left it!

I'm really enjoying my kids at these ages
my daughter just entering adulthood and deciding what she wants to do with her life
and my son really finding his feet at school and full of excitement about the world
happy days
:)

thrifty delights

my heart skipped a beat when i spied this box
in my favourite charity shop earlier this week!

ooh a little red riding hood option

yeah!

an absolutely perfect pedigree patch doll!

*******
next thrifty find was a
a truely fantastic coat

shame i'm too "rounded" for it!

i'm thinking this is rather steam-punky

and could be made more so with a change of buttons
and maybe some victorian black lace added

*******
last but not least
a very sweet vintage Sindy

she has seen better days to be honest
has been to a rather scissor happy hairdresser
and has nibbled feet and a snapped knee

but she's very pretty
and i'm guessing she was a ballerina Sindy
as she is elastic strung

*******

some excellent finds this week
what did you thrift this week?

fabric dyeing

Just thought i'd share my latest fabric dying adventure!
All these items were dyed with Dylon machine dye
i had bought a couple shirts because i loved the style
but they were white and i just can't do white!

i choose "burlesque red" which is more a purple/maroon colour than red really
if you've never tried them before machine dyes are really easy to use
but you do have to send your machine through several cycles
oh and don't forget the salt
:D

along with the shirts i threw in
a couple cotton tote bags
a selection of crocheted doilies
a pair of fingerless gloves of unknown yarn
and a handful of cotton buttons {i tied them up in a bag*}

i'd assumed all the doileys were cotton
but it looks like some of them were a cotton/synthetic mix
and the gloves must have had some natural fibres too :)
i love how they all came out
and i'll be adding those doilies to tote bags anyday now


* they escaped :(

you can buy dylon dyes

on Amazon

or even cheaper
at CoopersDirect.com

go to dylon's website
for more info on their products
and to find a local supplier

DYLON.co.uk

*******

gratuitous button shot!
:D

my baby girl grew up

she turned sixteen yesterday :)

we had a lovely day
i cooked a roast for ten
i've never cooked for so many people before and it went really well
which i was surprised and really happy about :)

the extremely delicious birthday cake was baked by her boyfriend


gorgeous pavlova made by my Aunty Jane

and this flaccid phallic carrot made me laugh
whilst i stood for an hour prepping the veggies!
Just because i'm forty and have a grown up daughter
doesn't mean i've gotten any more mature in the brain
ha ha ha ha ha
:D

a proud moment indeed :)

i am so (sew!) proud to have my "spool striptease"
chosen by kittykill to be
October's featured project in the needlework section
of Crafster Forum

http://www.craftster.org/

there is also an interview
you can read it here

http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=361032.0

i also realised i hadn't put this new design on the blog
please excuse the poor photo
and fabric in need of an iron!

"rapid weightloss"

more to follow . . . . . soon . . . . ish!

childminding and my poor neglected blog

blogger is being silly and i can't put these photo's how i want them . . . . . grrr
but how cool is this vintage camera i picked up on wednesday? answer very very cool!

i'm sorry i am guilty of neglecting my blog at the moment - i am a childminder for my day job and have taken on some new kiddos - so i've been busy busy busy all day then sooo tired by nightime i just turn into a zombie!

the first day of my working week goes like this :
first two kids arrive at 7.45am
get my own boy ready for school
next two kids come at 8.30am
leave house with me pushing baby in buggy, the 3 walking kids plus my own boy start off for school at 8.35am
get to school at 8.50 drop my boy plus the first two kids off{all diferent classes}
walk to different school to drop off 3yr old.
Breathe a sigh of relief
take baby to music/dance group
walk back to first school to collect 4 yr old.
home for dinner.
rescue dog from baby.
put baby down for sleep.
wake baby up to walk to school and collect my boy and 4yr olds sibling.
go to park.
deal with mindees grazed knees. ouch.
bump into first set of kid's Mum on way to pre-school to collect 3 yr old.
go home - get all mindee 1 & 2's stuff together
chat about change of hours with their Mum.
they leave at 4.40pm
then me and remaining kids and an excited dog go off for a walk.
get home in time for my boy to be taken to swimming lesson.
mayhem of nappy changing - sorting school bags, packed lunch boxes - nappy bags and teddy bears and dummies - kids are collected at 5.30pm.

breathe another sigh of relief

make dinner, watch the simpsons, wonder where my daughter is, persuade boy it's bed time, remember the guinea piggies are out in the run in the dark - go and get them in hoping i don't stand in any dog sh#t.
tell boy to GO TO SLEEP {lots}

open a bottle of pear cider - drink it too fast - almost fall asleep at computor but still fail to go to bed 'till midnight.

*******

next day is a little easier.
start work at 7.45am as day before but only have two mindees plus my own boy to walk to school
we collect huge ammount of fallen leaves/conkers/acorns for fridays craft club.
drop kids and return home as next child starts at 9.15am
take 2yr old to playgroup deal with potty training, terrible two's tantrums etc
collect 4yr old from school
home for lunch
put 2yr old up for sleep.
wake 2yr old {who has a tantrum} for school run.
collect my boy and 4yr olds sibling from school.
go home - get snack - get dog - jump in puddles.
rush home for first two kids to be collected.
get 2yr olds stuff together.
2yr old collected at 4.45pm.

and breathe.
cook tea - watch tv with the boy - get boy to bed.
wait for daughter to get home.
check out the craft forum i have taken over and moderate.
have shower - drink pear cider - watch True Blood.
intend to go to bed at midnight but start needlefelting - broken needle stops play.
bed at 1am.

*******

wake up at 6.30am which is very annoying :(
it is POURING with rain.
just my own boy to take to school this morning.
deliver my avon catalogues {oh yes ding dong i'm an avon lady!}
stop for a cuppa at my aunt and uncles
friend across the road asks if i want to go kayaking. erm no thanks - it's wet enough on dry ground today! {plus i'm a wussy and i couldn't do that}
go food shopping - i'm cooking a roast dinner on sunday for 10 people as it's my
daughters 16th birthday
feel old.
and worried about cooking for 10 and wondering how i can be 40yrs old and not know what is a good joint of pork.

today i start work at 12pm
Just the two mindees and my boy.
get a lift to collect 4yr old from school at 12pm.
home for lunch.
then me and 4yr old walk to the local museum/gallery where i do my voluntary job
from 1 - 3pm
voluntary job is helping run an art and craft pre-schoolers club
glitter glue paint dough mess fun!
we make leaf prints-leaf crowns and leaf collages!
3pm go collect kids from school - my partner meets us so we can walk the dog in
the park.
supposed to finish work at 5.30pm but the mindees Mum has finished college early and arrives just before 4pm - takes twenty minutes to get them out the door as they are so happy playing!
wonder where my daughter is.
partner goes to work - he'll get home around 4am.
daughter texts to say she's been doing extra french at school.
make tea.
watch crap tv with the boy.
get him to bed at 9pm.

BLOG about how busy i've been
and hope my readers forgive me for my lack of blogging!



tired.

yawn.

where's my chocolate?

feel glad i only work three days a week!