Goodbye

After so badly neglecting this blog I have started afresh at LucindaBee. I have set myself a challenge to blog every week and I am determined to do so.  Please come and visit me at my new address - there isn't a lot there yet but there soon will be.

Thanks for stopping by.

Putting Pinterest into Action

I spend A LOT of time on Pinterest If you are a fan then you know how it goes, you repin one 'must do' pin then that leads to another and then another.  Before you know it the cat has gone and fed itself and tea is a burnt cinder in the oven.  I made a promise to myself that I would start putting the inspiration I find on Pinterest to good use this year and try to complete at least one project a week.

Project number one for Pinterest (number 3 for 2012)   I saw this adorable little mouse on The Long Thread. a few weeks ago and I pinned it to my Gift Ideas  board.

Source The Long thread

Isn't he adorable - I love the natural linen with the floral.  This is from a book that Ellen who is the blog owner has recently published.  There is a great Etsy video on the blog which shows the making of the pincushion.  I was rummaging around tidying up today and I found some calico and some pretty floral I bought recently which got me thinking....

I needed a doorstop in my craft room - I had been using a heater but knew I could do better than that so I got out some paper and made a pattern and eventually ended up with a super-sized mouse as a door stop.

Hello cutey!

 

Not his best side

He is slightly too big so next time I make him I'll make him a bit smaller.  I think he is lovely although I have to refine my embroidery skills.  I'm eager to make him pincushion size too. Now what else can I find to make .....I'm in a Pinteresting mood.

Hello 2012

I thought I had better acknowledge the arrival of 2012 while there were still a few days of January left....I don't know where this month has gone.  I have a week off work so I am looking forward to catching up on my blogging as well as finding some creative time. 

My oldest son recent left home so I moved all my crafting equipment into his old room - I can't believe I have so much 'stuff', or that I had it all in a wardrobe.  When I finally have the room sorted I'll post some pictures.
While I was moving everything and put it away, I am ashamed to say I found a lot of projects I had bought several years ago and never gotten round to completing them.  Well this is going to be the year of getting things done,and of using what is already in my stash so let me introduce to project number one for 2012.......

Please excuse the nakedness of this little lovely.  She has been waiting patiently for me to 'clothe' her.

Here she is with her finery  on - I used a paper napkin for the decoupage, I have no idea what the paint I used was.  In an endeavour to 'make do' I used what paint I had and mixed different colours together until I had what I wanted..

I don't have a before picture of my next project - but it was basic brown as the pig above was to start with.
This is the finished article - I still want to put some inserts in it but will use it for a while so I can decide what I need.  I'm planning on using it as a sewing case.

I'm not sure what came over me when it came to choosing the colours - although they are in the patterned paper on the top.  I just mixed paint I already had until I got the shade I wanted. I love the way it has come out.  For me it has the old world charm I was looking for

A great place for Christmas resources

Christmas is a time to get crafty.  Lisa Vollrath at GoMakeSomething offers some amazing downloads every December.  This is the link to her 6th Annual Original Printable countdown.  Go and take a look for some holiday inspiration

An example of what goodies Lisa has for you

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas....

I thought I would share some of my favourite Christmas songs, books and traditions over the next few weeks...First up, this is one of my favourite Christmas songs - I never tire of hearing it.

Button Floozie Christmas Ornament swap

I received my ornaments for the Button Floozies Christmas swap today - yay!    My partner was Jo in Tasmania, Australia.  Jo's blog is here.  I stupidly forgot to take photos of the ornaments I sent to Jo so hopefully she'll put them up when she receives them.  Here are some photos of the ornaments Jo sent.

Excitement - love the thrill a parcel brings....

The lovely card Jo sent

The two ornaments

Not a great photo but this is a lovely little button snowman

A beautifully stitched ornament that has the tiniest buttons on it.

A close up of the snowman - he is gorgeous

Birthdays

Today it is my birthday.  I am  *breathe* 50........and I am actually pleased to be here, at this milestone.  I remember when my mother turned 50 ....she seemed so old.  I feel like a much younger 50 than she was (mind you I think my mother might have been born old).  I am looking forward and setting some goals which will make my 50s happy, healthy and purposeful.


Never one to follow the norm I decided against a party and spent the money, it would have cost me, instead on a long weekend away.  I had a fabulous time with my family including siblings and their children and in one case, grand child. We stayed at Punakaiki on the West Coast (my most favourite of all places in New Zealand) in a wonderful house right on the beach.  It was a wonderful way to recharge the batteries and get ready for the Christmas season.

View from beach - house we stayed in is the two storied house at rear

View north from beach

View south from beach

View from the beach

Another view of the fabulous house we stayed in

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After my rejuvenating weekend, I'm looking forward positively to a year ahead where anything is possible.........

Short vacation

Due to an impending birthday.....I am taking a wee blogging break, while I reconcile myself to a new decade....


I'll leave you with one of my favourite sayings on my Pinterest board

Very Pinteresting

I have said it before and I'll say it again - I love Pinterest.  I have found some really fantastic blogs lately through Pinterest.  Today I've been drooling over the beautiful blog Hometown Girl - I entered a giveaway she is running too.  Here is one of the many beautiful pictures from her blog

Some of the other blogs I've discovered recently are......

That's My Letter

Far Far Hill

Rhonna Designs

 These are just a few of the amazing blogs I've discovered through Pinterest

Button Floozie swap

So excited - I received my swap from Lorrie today.  It is a lovely altered tin in autumn colours and full of yummy buttons.  The swap was organised by Laurie at Button Floozies - thanks Lorrie.

There was also a lovely card but I've lost the light now so will add a photo tomorrow.
  The pictures below are of the tin I altered and sent to Lorrie - we don't have Altoids in NZ so I had to improvise!

This was a really fun swap to be involved in and I've 'met' a lovely fellow blogger in Lorrie. 
Laurie at Button Floozies is running a Christmas Ornament swap - there is still time to sign up.  I have!  Really looking forward to it.

Flowers

I've been making flowers lately - there are tutorials all over the web on how to make them.  I like the instructions from here.

I have an idea for how I want to use them and will hopefully have time to complete the project this week

Happy crafting!

Recent makes

I've been dabbling with some canvases lately.  One came together the way I imagined it would but the other one has taken a bit longer to be happier with
.

I was trying to challenge myself to be less conventional in my colours but haven't been happy with the end result so this canvas has been sitting around taunting me for a couple of weeks.  Last night I had the house to myself so I poured myself some wine and had another look at it.

I decided to add some white to the canvas so used a gel pen to highlight some areas which seems to have livened it up a bit.  I'm much happier with the finished picture now.

 

 This canvas below is quite big - I had planned to use it to make a pair of canvases but decided to do this instead.  The heart is pieced together from paper pieces. I've inked and stamped a flower and sewn that on with a button.  

The verse is from my favourite ee cummings poem which is below:

i carry your heart with me by e e cummings

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in
my heart) i am never without it (anywhere
i go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)

                                  i fear
no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) i want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

Seven on Sunday November 6th

I've been watching a bit too much TV lately.....there are some really watchable programmes on our TV right now, not helped by the fact that Sky TV has launched it's new channel Soho.


These are some of the programmes I have been watching recently

Downton Abbey - first class British drama. I can't believe that I didn't see the first series - now rectified of course.  Thank goodness for DVDs.

Game of Thrones - fascinating!  I find that I have to concentrate very hard as there is a LOT going on :)

Peta Mathias in the South of France - fantastic programme.  If I ever win Lotto I am going on one of Peta's cooking school jaunts.  She is fabulous!

Rick Stein in Spain - always like Rick Stein and his tour round Spain is fantastic
(At least if I'm watching people cook I'm not eating....usually)

 The Borgias - wonderfully decadent.  Beautiful costuming and scenery

 Harry's Law - quite quirky, really enjoyable

The X-factor USA - my guilty pleasure!

I do multi-task when watching TV though - folding laundrey, painting, sewing, so I don't feel I'm totally wasting time......
What's your favourite TV show?

Seven on Sunday 29th October

I've had a weekend of eating this weekend - and very little of it was healthy.....it got me thinking about some of my favourite foods like

Chocolate

Cheese

Avocados

Nectarines

Coffee

Roast chick

Strawberries

The only trouble with writing about food is that
a)  it makes you hungry!
b) If you limit the number then you have to leave out food such as rice, pasta, curries, etc etc

Better for my ever expanding waist line that I am only writing about these things though!