My Month in Numbers ~ February 2014

February was a short month (as always!) and when I came to write this post, I couldn’t think of much that had happened. I turned to my IG feed to help me out.

I posted 29 photos on Instagram, among them 10 shots for Hilary Rushford’s #StyleMeFeb challenge.

I started the month well, but fell by the wayside once half term was upon us. 10 whole days with the company of my lovely children.

Inches of rainfall recorded for February: A lot! You may remember the first picture from January, when the water rose right up to the railings, around the library car park. I took a similar shot last month, to show the full extent of the flooding. Now you can see where the water should have been. It’s been back up since I took that.

Number of blue skies spotted: Not nearly enough. I find it funny that my neighbours have a palm tree in their garden. It makes it look like I live by the seaside. On a day when the sky looked like that, I had a huge sort out of all my UFOs* and the projects that I have the wherewithal for, but so far only exist inside my head.

I now have a large box containing the fabric I already have for 7 (eek!) different things and a list of bits and bobs that I need to complete them. I also have one finished clutch. Go me! It makes all the difference to have everything you need in one place.

Nine lovely readers have joined in (so far) with the first month of my new SIPIDI! meme, including Sheena with her wonderful Cookie Monster cup cakes.** That makes me so happy. It’s giving me a push to use more of my Pins too. Win, win!

On the food front, I baked 32 Cornish Fairings, cooked 56 breakfast pancakes, ate 4 roast dinners and tried 2 new recipes this month.

Looks like more went on during February than I imagined. If you want to see what everyone else has been counting up this month, then head on over to Julie’s place.

*UFOs = Unfinished Objects. We all have those, right?

**I wanted to make a collage of all the Pinterest inspired projects, but couldn’t figure out how and as the afternoon is slipping away from me I’ve given up…..this time.

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday? # 247

No, your eyes are not deceiving you, that really is sunshine falling across my desk.

That hint of brighter light was enough to prompt me into having a bit of a sort out. As far as my work space goes, it just made it all that much untidier. It’s got to get worse before it gets better though, hasn’t it? I shoved all the paper crafting stuff up to one end to make room for some sewing bits and pieces.

I have so many projects that I want to have a go at and more than enough fabric in my stash, yet whenever I decide to begin something, there always seems to be a vital ingredient missing! My mission this week is to pair fabric with patterns/ideas and see what else is needed to complete these projects.

The next step will be to buy zips, interfacing, matching thread etc. so that I have everything on hand when the mood takes me and I have a bit of a time to sew. I did manage to finish one thing last week, which has been hanging around half made for ages. Mainly through fear of messing it up with the glue and getting it everywhere.

The sewing part was easy and came together very quickly. I think I shared that before, but couldn’t find the post, which shows how long ago it must have been. I distinctly remember having a discussion with Lisa-Jane about kiss clasps. Well, finally the fabric and the clasp came together and I’m pretty happy with the result.

Now onto a bit of shameless self promotion. That’s if you’ve got this far, I seem to have waffled on more than is usual for a Wednesday! If you’re visiting from WOYWW, then I already know you love to see what other people have been making and like to join in with a meme. Perhaps you would consider mine?

It involves taking some of those ideas, you’ve carefully filed away on Pinterest and bringing them to life. Whether that be a crafty project, organisation strategy or simply something good to eat. All the details can be found here.

Even if you don’t fancy joining in, it’s worth checking out this month’s post to see what everyone else has had a go at. As my friend Rosey said, it’s nice to see things made by real people, rather than Martha Stewart!

See it, Pin it, Do it!

Only a week to go until the end of the month and Half Term is almost over. Already?! Welcome to the very first edition of See it, Pin, Do it!

One day last week I was making the dinner, which only involved cooking some rice and heating up the batch cooked chilli I’d defrosted. I had some leftover cream in the fridge and time on my hands. A dangerous combination it seems. I wanted something quick that I could make with what I had in the cupboard.

I had a vague memory of once seeing a TV chef make a chocolate pudding mixture and then pour boiling water over it, before putting in the oven. I turned to Google and came up with this recipe. It took about 10 minutes to throw together and the only thing I did differently was to put it in one large dish and bake for a bit longer.

It was delicious with cream poured over and would be even nicer with some vanilla ice cream. It’s best eaten straight from the oven, slightly cooled. I think it might have been a bit stodgy once it had gone cold. I didn’t have the chance to find out!

My Mum went gluten free a little while ago and has felt all the better for it, so I pinned another version to try next time. There will definitely be a next time.

Over to you now. Have you made something, from an idea you’ve pinned, this month? Just comment here to let me know and if you’ve blogged it (and the post includes an image) I’ll pin you to the SIPIDI board.* It could be something you pinned ages ago or just yesterday and you can join in any time.

I’ve seen one post already, thank you Gemma, and I’m hoping there will be more to come, over the next couple of weeks.  Looking forward to seeing what you’ve created this month.

*That sounds like some form of cruel and unusual punishment.

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday? #246

It was back to the kitchen table for me this week.

My usual Tuesday afternoon pastime of kitting, ready for class today. Kraft cardstock, doilies and twine, with a bit of peach thrown in for good measure. We’ll be using my current favourite wood grain background and some banners to make a card like this one and a couple of other projects.

The gift bag can just be seen in the middle at the top and we finish with a quickie card like the flower one in my last post. It’s fun to make cards using lots of different techniques and products, but I also like to show that simple can be effective too. Especially if you are new to this hobby and don’t have many supplies of you own.

That’s it from me. I have boxes to pack and a car to load. See you later, somewhere among the desks.

Hearts and Flowers

Happy Valentine’s Day! Today seemed like a good day to share the next few cards made for the 52 Card Challenge. There has been absolutely no let up from the rain since I got up this morning. A day for baking biscuits and snuggling up in the warm.

Week 3 was a sketch challenge. I tinkered with it a bit, but kept it simple.

I cut the mat to fit the card front, rather than leaving a space at the bottom for the sentiment. I stuck with a flower motif for my first card, but I didn’t want it floating in that large white space so I put a square of paper underneath and added the sentiment there as well. The design was easily adapted for a quick Valentine.

Week 4 was a photo prompt and there was plenty of inspiration here.

I went for a kraft and white base with a pop of bright colour. Also taking inspiration from the wooden table and doily underneath those beautifully iced biscuits.

I made a second “Just because” card in peachy tones. I think there will be a few more of these, in other colours, coming soon!

Week 5 was a selection of words picked from Nat’s prompt jar.

I went back to an old favourite for the scripty background. Chose pale pink and ivory as my colour scheme and framed the letters with some champagne glitter card. I also made a simple box to match and these were our projects in class last week.

I’ve set up a Pinterest board with all the prompts and my own takes on each…..so far. It’s a great way to build up a little stock of cards for whenever you might need one. There is a second part to the challenge, which encourages everyone to make a Christmas card for each prompt, but it’s far too early for me to be starting that. I will refer back to the board when the time comes though and I’m sure it will be helpful.

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday? #245

Planning for future classes, making cards for February birthdays and leftovers from keeping up with the 52 Card Challenge.

These are from the week 3 sketch challenge. I’ll do a round up of the rest on Friday.

Short and sweet. Head on over to Julia’s place for more crafty goings on.

One Photo in Twenty Words ~ Good Advice

It’s the 9th of the month (seriously?) so I’m joining in with Abi again.

Advice, to my Mum, from a neighbour. “Don’t ever leave her alone in the car, somebody will surely steal her.”