baking and making

at last.... the time has come, when I can say - I HAVE A KITCHEN!! :D

Of course it still needs tiling and flooring, but after weeks of having no hob, and months of having no worktops, you can imagine my delight when it all got installed last week! :)

I LOVE IT!


First meal HAD to be pasta - i'd really missed cooking basic tomato sauces and boiling pasta (i know i could have probably done it all in the microwave, but to be honest i still dont trust them that much!)

Don't worry, we celebrated properly at the weekend by cooking steak, and then a roast dinner :)
Although we were a bit out of practice and ended up with soggy roast potatoes :(
Must try harder!
But to be honest, with the weather the way it is, I want a bbq!

You may notice from the cooling rack in the first photo, I am now baking my first cake in our new house!

Partly to celebrate winning the bonus ball lottery at work (i've been promising to bake for the girls at work since i moved), partly because i keep finding black bananas in the reduced aisle,
and mostly because I LOVE CAKE!

This is the recipe I'm trying - http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/black_banana_cake_52982

Yum Yum Yum xxx

webcam discovery!

i was sitting at my desk, after making a new hair corsage, 

thinking, i need to take a photo of this..... 

ah well i'll just put it in my hair for now (just to make sure it works properly ;) !!) 

and think about taking studio shots tomorrow.....

i havent got a studio set up permanently since moving house :(

(i miss our garage!)

i have to set it up on our dining room table, so i try and group several new makes together....

sometimes the excitement from new inventions fades a bit by the time i get round to it :(

but then... i suddenly realised i have a webcam! 

so here's a shot of me showing off my new creation!

i just had to share it with you, i really think you girls will love them :)

i've spent most of my saturday cleaning and tidying the house

working up to sorting my craft room!

it has been half sorted & in a mess for ages, 

and now i've just ordered some yummy turquoise tissue paper and jiffy bags in bulk,

i thought i'd better make some room for it all!

as you can see there still isn't very much room for anything extra!!

but it feels a lot more organised and i have a board & wall space for some inspiring imagery

i'll be printing some bits out that ive spied on some blogs i've found :)

http://racheldenbow.blogspot.com/search/label/inspiration

http://www.gussysews.com/2011/01/quit-your-day-job-featuring-kyla-roma/

flower power

i was approached at a craft fair last october by a shop in Oakham, Leics called Baubles & Bangles

they loved my chunky flower brooches and asked if they could order a load at trade prices!!
i was made up! but then realised it would take me ages to make them all!
and when you're making the same thing over and over again, it stops being so much fun!



well i managed to make 2 of each colour before Christmas, and now i've just finished another 3 of each ... :)
they look so fab, i want to make some more right now for my craft fair stock, but might give my crocheting hand a break for a while!!

i only just remembered before posting them, to take some photos, to use on my website, and my not on the high street shop.

i am about to make these same flowers into hair slides, and stretchy hairbands, ready for everyone to get a bit of flower power this spring! :)

trade show inspiration....

my new crafty friend Sally Leach and I spent a lovely day out in London on Sunday & went to Top Drawer (the trade show at Earls Court)....

we thought we'd go to have a cheeky little nosey at some nice things!
we also needed a boost of inspiration, and motivation to start our 2011 off with a bang... and boy did we get it!

so many bright colours, and images filled our heads for the afternoon,

and loads of really great info from Wayne Knight at the seminar we went to about Social Shopping and e-commerce...
(loads better than the Mary Portas one - that wasn't actually her, and was just an advert for her course - by a woman who didn't seem to know what she was talking about!! grr!)

listening to the seminar (and nearly falling asleep - it was warm & i was tired ok, i was not bored!) made me realise i so need to blog more, to keep all of my customers and fans in the loop a lot more :) and in turn it will motivate me to keep going, and not lose confidence in what i love to do!

i have been dreaming up some lovely new products and colour ranges, but its actually getting around to making them a reality that i'm struggling with at the moment!

one thing i have managed to do though, is take some new photos of my handmade button jewellery, on a purple hand that i bought from a local shop for my craft fair display.... i'd love to know what you think :)