Goals for the Week

A Button Bracelet I Made

1. Put a new clasp on the fluorite bracelet
2. Dye my roots!
3. Bake oatmeal
4. Finish an item from the UFO box
5. Declutter an item a day
6. List a new item on etsy
7. Get up to date with swapbot swaps

Over half finished this week.

I've also posted out quite a few books via bookmooch which is good, been on a day trip to Oxford, and G had fixed my computer so I can browse so much quicker.

Goals for next week

1. List a new item on Etsy
2. Find a geocache
3. Dye mt roots (Third time on the list!)
4. Put new clasp on Fluorite bracelet (Third time on list!)
5. Make Amethyst bracelet and necklace
6. Get up to date with swapbot swaps
7. Make some brooches

Goals for the Week

Wall art by jnjmetalworks

Lasts weeks goals were:

1.  Photo finished gloves
2. Add something to my new etsy shop
3. Make the baked oatmeal!
4. Finish an item from the UFO box.
5. Put a new clasp on the fluorite bracelet
6. Dye my roots.
7. Finish and photo 3 of my new brooches or necklaces. 

Well that was a bit of fail wasn't it *laughs*

Life took me in a different direction this week.

I did manage to "Photo the finished gloves". It all started so well! but then I got distracted at number 2 and did a listing in my "normal" shop instead of my new shop.

I managed to make the oatmeal and very nommy it was too. I should really make some more this week as it's a great portable breakfast. (Recipe here)

And I finished an item out of my UFO box. Woohoo! I had to buy supplies to finish it off, but it's done. Woohoo! (Picture coming upa t a later date. I only finished it yesterday. A button bracelet.

My roots didn't get dyed, but I did get a hair cut so i do look a load better. However the hairdresser straighetened my hair when she cut it and I didn't want to ruin the straightness by immediately dyeing it when I got home.

And the photos didn't really happen too. Where has all the light gone? I guess autumn is here once again.

But it's been interesting to see how last week went. So I'm going to see how it goes again this week.

1. Put a new clasp on the fluorite bracelet
2. Dye my roots!
3. Bake oatmeal
4. Finish an item from the UFO box
5. Declutter an item a day
6. List a new item on etsy
7. Get up to date with swap-bot swaps.

So lets see how that works out :)

Needle Felting Fun

So I decided to go to a needle felting course. It started with just me going but there was no-one else inspired enough to sign up so I asked my Mum if she wanted to come with me. And she did (Despite not really knowing what she was signing up for) Since my Dad was giving my Mum a lift there and back, it meant he would be hanging around for 2 hours whist we were there. So he came along too! Louise was lovely. It was her first time running the evening session but you couldn't tell. She showed us how to needle felt with a cookie cutter as a stencil, then how to work freeform needle felting, and then showed us a few different pieces that she had made herself. Totally inspired, I've been playing with the medium ever since and making it work for me in the way I wanted it to.

Hand dyed Rylands fleece

Needle felting supplies. (And empty wine glass. Hic!)

Circles felted using a cookie cutter as a pattern

Brooch

Headband

Knitted Mittens

I bought some lovely hand dyed yarn from Forest Crafters which I just couldn't resist.but to encourage me not to just buy pretty things I decided that I couldn't let myself buy it unless I already had a project for it.

So I decided some lovely fingerless mitts would be the way to go!

Mitts before sewing

Basically I knit a rectangle of the right size and then sew up the seam leaving a gap for my thumb to pop though.

This is nice chunky wool so I decided to go with a K1P1 rib throughout.

Finished!

Work Desk

Does anyone else have a workdesk like this?

Although to be honest, my work desk hardly ever gets used. It's upstairs in the spare room but it's too lonely up there. I prefer to make stuff sitting next to G in the living room and this is actually the coffee table!

Goals for the Week

Do you always set unreasonable goals for yourself? I know I do. And when I fail, I don't set any goals and toddle along and don't really achieve much.

So here are my goals for his week. (Bearing in mind I have a full time job too)

1. Photo finished gloves
2. Add something to my new etsy shop
3. Make the baked oatmeal!
4. Finish an item from the UFO box.
5. Put a new clasp on the fluorite bracelet
6. Dye my roots.
7. Finish and photo 3 of my new brooches or necklaces.

What do you think? Too much? Not enough?

Crochet skull

Despite really not liking using patterns, I decided to have a go at making an amiguri skull for the Day of the Dead swap on Swapbot.

Print the pattern and choose some yarn

Follow the pattern

Done!

Sunday Swap - Shared Journal Experiment

I've been taking part in the UK Shared Journal Experiment on Swapbot.

Basically there are a series of journals going around the UK and every month you get a journal to fill in and then psot it to the next person.

This month I received an Art Journal.

The journal when it arrived with me

Another page from the Journal

And My Page

I hope I did it justice!Have you taken part in one of these?

The Book Boy by Joanna Trollope

The Book Boy by Joanna Trollope
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thought it was a great read. Nice and short but interesting.

I've never read any Joanna Trollope before so wonder if this is a good representation of her books.

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Saturday Sales - Wholesale Bangles

I've been pushing to make more bangles recently. I love making them and think they are a great personalised gift.

 They are also on trend with the stackable bracelet fashion at the moment.

I've got  wholesale listing up on Etsy, and Folksy  but am trying to figure out how to push them more. How do you increase your wholesale sales?

More Beach Photos

For fun I like wandering round beaches to see what I can find.

Footprints

Seagulls

Pebbly beach

More Pebbles

Beach Photos

Searching for Sea glass

Guess who found some first!

And found a coupe of nice bits too!

Swap Shop Blog Hop - Sign Ups

I've got a  few readers now, but not that many, and I have a house that is overflowing with stuff I've made. So wondered if anyone fancied a trade?

I figure other people are in exactly the same position as me so am seeing if this idea works as a blog hop!

 

•  Let me know you are in so I can make the blog hop list :)
• Write a blog entry with 5 items you would like to swap. This is a specific handmade swap shop blog hop. You can include things you have made that you would like to swap, or supplies to make handmade items.
• Include where your shipping preferences are. Are you willing to ship international? Or prefer to your country only?
• Include photos of your items in your post so people can see what you want to swap
• Give some idea of what you are looking to trade for.
• Post your Swap Shop Blog hop on October 28th November 3rd (including the blog hop list) 
• Start hopping! You might find some present for people for Christmas from other talented Artists or Craft workers.
• If you see something you like the look of, comment in the blog entry you saw it in.

The Hobbit!

I'm doing my best to work through the mountain of books I have to read. I'd never read the Bobbit so it was about time I did.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Got quite confused with one page in particular and had to read it a good few time to understand what the heck was happening, but enjoyed it (Apart rm that page)

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