Playing shops and making pretty things

Well hello to you all.  I thought it was a long time since last I wrote but it isn't as bad as I thought.  The days just blur in to each other at the moment and I am feeling slightly jaded.
The shop however is feeling like a proper shop at last. It looks quite trendy and my landlord says he has seen one on the television quite similar but that one was in London.

As you can see I couldn't resist playing around.  There are still things laid around like the great sheet of slat board on the floor but it is definitely looking very nice.  The walls are a very pale shade of grey and not beige and blue as in the picture.  That must have been a trick of the light.

I can't wait until all the wool is in and the heads are swathed in warm snoods and headbands.  I think it will look really smart and just like I hoped it would when I started dreaming about it many moons ago.  There is still lots to do and plenty of things to think about.  I keep waking up in the night and then can't get back to sleep.  I'm hoping that this is a temporary thing but I'm not counting on it.

I did manage to make a pretty little brooch amidst all the madness. This was an idea I came across whilst out at the weekend.  I saw something similar in a shop in Edwinstowe which I intended buying but unfortunately the shop didn't take debit cards and I didn't have any cash on me.  When I got home I had a look in my button stash and came up with this. It needs quite a substantial brooch pin on the back as it is surprisingly heavy.

This is a plant pot cover I have just finished knitting from a lovely book called Vintage Knit Knacks.  I have made several things from it as the projects are just so different.  I couldn't find any leaf buttons so I had a brain wave and made some using a cake decorating leaf shaped cutter and some coloured clay similar to Fimo. I think they did the job just right. All I need now is a plant pot to fit it which is proving more difficult than you would think.
I should have a few more makes to show you soon as I am frantically trying to do things to make the shop look a bit more crafty.
As ever thank you for taking the time to join me and please feel free to drop me a line or two.
Regards Paula x

Horncastle, Lincolnshire Festival

I'm a bit late sharing this with you but with one thing or another time has just slipped by.
Last week after doing my stall we set off for Horncastle to see the Light Festival which was being held as part of the Lincolnshire Festival.

The Admiral Rodney Hotel

We booked in at a Best Western hotel in Horncastle which as you can see was very impressive, and had a few drinks whilst we waited for it to go dark.
Outside village was illuminated and looked enchanted. Every building was lit with colourful lights.

All the shops were lit up from within.  This was an antique shop which stayed open until very late.

The main attraction was a depiction of the voyage of the Endeavour with the famous botanist George Banks who lived at Horncastle.  This was projected on the side wall of one of the buildings in the village.
The film had been made by the same people who did the projections on Buckingham Palace during in the Jubilee celebrations and at the Olympics.

I took a video of the film and will pop this on when I work out how to do it.

As you can see, the evening was really magical and well worth a visit.

Craft Catch Up

Phew it seems like ages since I last chatted.  The reason for this is Pinterest.  I stumbled upon this site by chance but recently registered and my photographs can now be shared and pinned on other people's boards through Pinterest.
The down side to all this is that I get drawn in and by the time I've had a quick trawl around the site, it is time to go to work or go home and I run out of time to blog. The pictures and craft ideas are fantastic and I would recommend you have a browse when you have a spare hour or so.
Anyway excuses out of the way, I thought I'd bring you up to date with a couple of crafty projects I've been doing over the past few days, these are ideas I have found on Pinterest of course so here goes.

 I've been wanting to make some button jewellry for absolutely ages but didn't have any buttons I would choose to wear.  However on a recent visit to Horncastle I discovered a little fabric shop and was able to buy a couple of mixed button bags.  They are lovely and lend themselves to this kind of thing very nicely.

I've also started making clay handles for my crochet hooks.  This was also an idea I found on the Internet by accident and thought, what a good idea.

The clay is rolled in to a sausage and the hook then gets pushed inside and moulded to a pleasing shape.  It is then baked on a low heat for about 20 minutes.  I then made canes of different coloured clay which I cut in to slices and pressed on to the sides of the handle, like this.

Once all the handle is covered in little circles all you do is roll it to join the bits together.  Make sure you don't work it too much or you end up with a saggy bag rather than a smooth covering which stays stuck to the main section.  Once you have it as you want it, finish off with a little collar and bake again for another 15 - 20 minutes.

Be careful if using Fimo as the colours change if the heat is too intense. This one started as a lovely pastel yellow.

The handles feel warm to the touch and make crocheting much more comfortable, particularly if like me you suffer with neck trouble.

Zentangle

I was sent an email recently inviting me to a Zentangle workshop and I was intrigued to know what this was.
To my amazement it is a kind of doodle art and although I didn't go to the workshop I have done a little research via You Tube (of course) and gave it a go.

To start with you need some white card and a fine line drawing pen.  I bought a full pack for £9.99 as I was unsure which thickness would be best.  So far I think the 02 is about right.

Here is one of my first attempts.
Basically you draw a frame with a pencil, then add a squiggly line inside the frame, which is called a string, and then you fill in the spaces with fancy patterns.  It's very quick to do and the affect is amazing.  It has a 3D look about it.  I got really wrapped up in it which I assume is why it is called Zen. It's so relaxing and very addictive.

Essie nail varnish in On the Button

Napkin Decoupage - Heart & Clock

As you know we have been decorating the bedroom.  This is finished now thankfully although we have got three months to wait before the shutters can be fitted. I don't want to put anything else up at the windows at the moment so you can imagine, there's a lot of bobbing up and down so that no one can see me in my various stages of undress!
I am now putting together the finishing touchs,  my Kirstie Allsop bedding, putting up mirrors and making a few homely bits and bobs.

I bought a packet of tissues when I went over to the Meadowhall Cath Kidston shop recently and decided to do a little decoupage.  The heart is just a polystyrene blank that I picked up at the range but the overall effect is very pretty.

I then got a bit carried away and covered my bedside clock.  It looked so out of place being silver and plastic but I think this looks a lot better.

Of all the crafts I have learnt I think napkin decoupage has to be one of my favourites.  It is so versatile.









Now, changing the subject.
Just before Christmas I had my nails done for a party I was going to.  They were gel which I have never had before.  I am a qualified nail technician but I only learnt normal manicures and acrylic so I was very interested in this new method.
Anyhow I decided to buy all the equipment including the lamp and yesterday as we were yet again snowed in I decided to have a go.

For a first attempt I don't think I did too badly. The colour is a bit wishy washy but I loved doing them and can't wait to have another go. 

Acres of Diamonds

Your diamonds are not in far distant mountains or in yonder seas; they are in your own backyard, if you but dig for them.
                   - Russell H Conwell

Often we go out in search of fortune and happiness only to return later and discover that everything we had ever wanted was under our noses all along.

Today will be my fourth day at home having taken today off work to go to the doctors.
Due to the snow however I have cancelled my appointment and will re-schedule it sometime in the future.
Here I sit in bed, thinking and meditating on what these few days of rest and relaxation have meant to me.
Very deep you might say, but don't you sometimes wish you could slow down your life and give yourself a break? 

Banana Bread

The snow has meant that I have been forced to stay in doors.  As a result I have managed to finish decorating our bedroom, have completed my tax return and paid the tax bill (on line from my bed), made wonderful wholesome meals, baked, started a new sweater for hubby, read and pondered on what life is really all about.
All the worry and stress I have put myself through lately by procrastinating is behind me as the bad weather has forced me to take stock and do things that I wouldn't usually have time to do.

Napkin Decoupage

And now I can use today to sit and craft, tidy and sort old papers and bags of accumulated rubbish and tomorrow when I go back to work I can look back on this time and be grateful for the snow.

The Ashby Canal - Act 2

Snarestone Tunnel

A Family of Geese

I thought I'd show you a few more photographs taken whilst we were on the Ashby Canal.
The Snarestone Tunnel is almost at the end of the Ashby and does take a bit of nerve when you enter it for the first time.  You have to check that there isn't anyone coming in the opposite direction before you begin the long journey as only one boat can go through at any time.  I have taken the boat through myself just the once and it takes a while to get used to it but it was fine.  Steve on the other hand has done it loads of times.
There's a little hut just before the brand new bit of the canal where a man and his four dogs man a tiny shop.  The proceeds go towards the Ashby Canal Restoration Fund and so far they have been able to continue the canal by about another one hundred yards.  It looks great and once it grows into it's surroundings it will be even better.
Whilst on the boat I had lots of time to reflect and do lots of the things I like doing the most.  In particular knitting, sewing and things that I don't always have the time to do when I'm at home like trying brand new crafts.  Here are a couple things I did whilst away:

Napkin Decoupage Box

Napkin decoupage is one of my favourite pastimes but it is a bit fiddly and time consuming but really worth while as it produces such pretty results and no one would guess that the effect comes from a paper serviette.  Kirstie Allsop did something similar on her latest series but she made a paper seagull which she covered with Decopatch.  I use their glue sometimes or actual napkin glue which is better but not as glossy.  I will need to varnish the box to seal it and make it waterproof.
Bye Paula x