Rule Britannia

what a lovely day we had
watching the wedding on tv
admiring the lovely choice of wedding dress
checking out the days fashion statements
wondering what the hell Princess Beatrice had on her head
and how Victioria Beckham can walk in those shoes :O
i thought it was a great show
especially loved all the military uniforms
and the carriages
and the day off
:)

did you watch it?
what did you think?

Easter fun!!!

sorry i've not been blogging lately
we've been too busy having fun in the easter holiday sunshine!!!
It has been so beautiful here in Devon
sun, sun and more sun!

we watched James May's second attempt to run his train from Barnstaple to Bideford
we went to the paddling pool at the park
we went for nature hunts
had icecream on the beach
we walked the coastal path
we hunted pond creatures and found them :)

we watched the long awaited Doctor Who
oh my god
we loved it - did you?

but my brain hurts now trying to work it all out!!!
so i may just have to watch it again
care to join me?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b010tb7q

and then there was Easter!!!
lots of chocolate, a birthday party and lots of cups of tea with my cousins :)

a less chocolatey option!

my daughter bought me the sweetest little marzipan bunny
it seemed a shame to eat it
but
i did!!!

hope you all had a wonderful break too xxx

dark days

credits

http://pinterest.com/pin/10718293/

http://pinterest.com/pin/10927523/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ymonster/4496252754/in/photostream/

http://pinterest.com/pin/11667505/

it's official - i'm a mad doll lady!

the dolls in dolly corner are looking nervous eh?
or perhaps expectant . . . . .


Do you remember this perfect Patch doll
that i picked up in the charity shop back in October?
Well i sold her on Ebay
for a HUGE profit

anyway i've being looking at Blythe dolls for ages and AGES
and
now i own one of my very own!

i was expecting her to arrived nekkid
but she came with a selection of super cute dresses a stand and a hat
{thanks Katy}

she also came with a cheerleaders outfit
which my son {who was off school poorly} stole
and dressed up his boy Brat doll Dylan
:) :D :)

isn't she pretty?

here she is with Sindy and Pippa
yeah yeah i am a mad doll lady
:D

time flew by . . . . . .

well i didn't mean to take a blogging break
but it appears i haven't posted for a month

hmmmm . . . . . .
i have been suffering with crafty paralysis
i've been making bits here and there
but nothing is gelling together
it's driving me quite a lot crazy

i've been trying to get my latest swap finished
i've had all the stuff made for awhile
once i'd decided what i was going to do
and that took a stupidly long time
but just can't get it how i want it
i think i have crafting OCD
i sure as hell don't have it in the housework department
only the very bare minimum day to day chores have been getting done

but the sun has been shining here now for days and days
it is still very cold and Jack Frost is still about
but the Guinea piggles have been mowing the lawn again
and washing has been drying on the line

i think it's really happening
i think Spring has sprung . . . . . .

a little lucky and a lot happy :)

Normally February is a boring and depressing month for me,
bored of the grey skies and the cold and rain,
just getting desperate for spring to come
but
i got a lovely little boost to start the month :)

my cotton reel button stamp was featured
in this beautiful French magazine

there are loads of lovely things in it
{i'm on page 90}

http://www.mespetitesmainsmagazine.net/

*******

i also got lucky when i entered a few of my cross stitch designs
in a competition over at Cut Out + Keep
{if you don't know this site do check it out - it has hundreds of crafty tutorials}

http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/

my "how to frame an embroidery in the hoop" tutorial
won me two Cath Kidston craft books
how exciting eh?
i'm looking forward to them arriving
and having a good read!

*******

now i just need to crack on with my Tim Burton Swap
someone give me a kick up the butt!

t-shirt hacking

take an old t-shirt
this is one of Molly's
it's a size 8

cut straight across under the arms

put top to one side for later

cut of bottom hem
you don't have to do this
but i like the way t-shirt fabric rolls up

ta-da
easy scarf/tube/snood
{feel free to ignore my miserable face}
you can put a couple stitches on the cut hems
i'm not gonna bother

now cut the arms off!

try it on and mark your thumbhole
cut small slit

ta-da!

very long fingerless mittens

or long'n'slouchy fingerless mittens

a matching set
to keep you warm
fast and for free

time to pick the carcass
i've already made one set of these
and i made yo-yo's with the scraps
maybe to decorate the set
or maybe as hair things
or a corsage?
hmmmm. . . . .

i've also made this kind of tube scarf with an oversized mans t-shirt
i wear it wrapped around double - it's lovely and warm.