A 20 minuter update...

For those of you who are following my blog to see how my 20 minuters are going and as a preview to any who follow our shop for latest goodies available to buy this is just a quick blog to show and tell. This is my latest dumfed picture that I have made during my 20 minutes a day of creative crafting and have just finished and will be uploading it in the shop soon. Hope you like it :-)

Thank you thank you thank you.....

I would like to say a huge thank you to two lovely ladies who have passed on this award to me. this week. Kerry from Creations by Kerry and Tracey from Hand made with love who both write lovely blogs and we have all met thanks to the lovely Julia of the WOYWW fame.

To receive this blog I have to write the 10 things which make me happy. I have had to do this before on a couple of occasions but as my list changes from day to day never mind week to week I will list the things that have made me happy this week...

1. Hubby is a birthday boy this week and today we have been shopping together. We laugh and enjoy doing anything together always so he has to come top of my list.

2. I had a really lovely evening Thursday with all my family here. Our youngest daughter came for the evening with our beautiful little Granddaughter P so, as she works like a magnet, our eldest daughter and her partner and our son were also here to be entertained by little P. Think we have all learnt some new dance moves now :-)

3. I have had some really special times here 'playing' with Twiglet this week so she must come close to the top of the list. Our times together are always special.

4. My blogging friends are very special to me and several of them have made me happy this week for all sorts of reasons.

5. Spring is just round the corner now and this week I have really enjoyed watching my Daffodils open up on my sewing room windowsill.

6. I am still managing my 20 minutes of creativity each day and my dumfing [embellishing] always makes me happy. My embellisher was one of my best purchases ever.

7. I am blessed to have very many really good friends. One comes on a Monday to join in our fun day Monday, another calls for coffee every Tuesday, another calls in with her little girl ....my list goes on and they all make me happy. I'm blessed.

8. Our blog shop is the cause for a lot of happiness in my life at the mo. We have had some really lovely comments from all that have bought goodies from us. It's very special to me to have people say how lovely our items are. I think we tend to take our skills all for granted and it makes you grow a little when your told how clever you are so special thanks go to all that have left comments.

9. My job has to be one of my 10. I never have 2 days the same and I love the fact that I spend my days doing something I enjoy doing and meet such lovely people while doing it. I now have 932 customers!!

10. I have so many things in my life that make me happy I always struggle to decide what should be number 10 so here I will just say...my dogs, my home, my life and everything in it :-)

I am not going to choose anyone special to hand this blog award on to because if you are taking time to read my blog you all deserve it. Feel free to accept this blog award and let me know what has made you happy this week....it's a really good exercise to spend a little time every week thinking about the good things in life. :-)

WOYWW...

Good morning all my fellow WOYWWers. What a brilliant week it's been so far.

Monday started off with the excitement of the Gift draw over in the shop and I have to say the goodies couldn't have gone to a nicer or more deserving person. Gez has emailed me this morning to say the parcel has arrived safely and she is really enjoying opening all her parcels.

Tuesday started with the arrival of a very special parcel for little old me from Paula. She is such a special blogging friend and is going through a rough time so I feel really blessed to have been given such beautifully made goodies. Each part of my parcel was so specifically made with me and my job/life in mind. She is so thoughtful.

Now today is another special day...it's Wednesday. Every Wednesday is a special day thanks to Julia encouraging us all to go snooping round all the other crafting spaces. She appears to have introduced so many of us now and must be thanked for all the new made friendships. Why not pop over to her blog to check out all the other work spaces.



This is my desk today :-( More B******* curtains. [I don't like doing curtains much] I finished one pair of curtains yesterday afternoon and would have finished this pair too but I was disturbed by my friend who calls most Tues afternoons for a coffee.....the decision was Curtains or coffee with a friend....as you can see there was no competition there and the curtains will be done this morning.








I also have to put a new zip in this fleece jacket [postman will bring the new one this morning]. This is also not one of my fav jobs because the fleece stretches as soon as the old zip is removed and I will then have to ease it back into shape to make the new one fit....I can do it :-)







Rather nicer is the WOYT [whats on your table]. These are my latest set of dumfed cards. You can see the inspiration sat in my window in the photo above [next to that gorgeous card Paula made me :-) ]. I just love having the first daffodils open up in the house so thought my cards needed to echo the bright cheery faces.....Spring is on it's way wahooooooooo


Out of interest can you give me your opinion as to which set of cards you prefer...The 4 on the right are mounted on yellow felt and the 4 on the left are mounted on green felt. I'm interested to know which are the most popular so that would be really helpful.

I'm totally blown away....

My postman has just been and handed me a parcel that has left me speechless. It included a very special card, letter and a wonderful selection of hand made goodies from Paula. If you pop over to her blog you will see photos of a beautiful little bag she has made for me. Yes, she actually made that gorgeous bag for little old me!!!! Inside it was a full kit of things to make her beautiful paper flowers with. She also had written me out full instructions of how to make them. How well she knows me [although, as yet, we haven't actually met ]. She knows just how busy I get and has made it really easy for me to try something I would really like to try with no effort on my behalf to set it all up. She is so very thoughtful. I feel very blessed to have met such a lovely lady through blogging and I'm certain we both feel we have a lot to thank Julia for for setting up the WOYWW because I know we have both made some very special friends because of her.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
What a really lovely way to start my day :-) :-) :-)

Shop Gift Draw anouncement.....

Taa ta ta ta ta ta taaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! [Fanfare]
Today is THE DAY. We have just carefully folded up all the draw tickets, put them in a box, shook them up well and Twiglet has just pulled out a ticket. It is ticket number 41 as you can see in the photo.
We have then checked, checked and double checked to see who's name is against ticket number 41 and ..............

The lucky winner is............

Wait for it............

Gez from http://gezzybscraftybits.blogspot.com/

I have emailed her to let her know she is the lucky winner and as soon as I receive her address, her parcel of goodies will be winging it's way to her. Congratulations Gez.

The morning after...

"Come on Girls. You've got to help me out with this one!"


So far so good as they say....but alas no Lottery cheque as yet.

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

A problem solving 20 minuter...

As some of you will know we have 3 little cairn terriers...one boy called Rocky and 2 girls called Skye and Wispa. I have to say none of them really like the postman but Rocky is my protector and he waits the other side of the door every morning until the post has been. We only live a few houses down from the post office and I'm certain he hears when the post vans start up their engines. I have always had to get to the mail as soon as possible because all 3 will, if left unattended, open the mail for me....and not always by just opening the tops!
A few years ago we invested in a cage to go on the back of the door and for a while this was sufficient to protect it's contents but just lately Rocky has learned that, if he's clever and can get hold of a corner of a letter that has poked through the cage, he can pull it through....a bit like a cheese grater at times though!
Of course one day soon the big Lottery win cheque will be coming through my letterbox so I decided I needed to do something about it so I can be sure to get to it first. I spent a little time debating what was best to do and remembered I still had some of the plastic covered table clothing left from covering the kitchen chairs and table. I measured carefully [As Nan always said..."measure twice cut once"] and made a lining for the cage. I cut a shape out of the back so the letters could get in and punched holes in the top to lace a ribbon through the top to hold it in place. Hey presto.....

I remain ever hopeful now that I will now get to my Lottery cheque before Rocky :-)
Bless him you wouldn't think butter would melt in his mouth would you?

Don't forget folks....ITS THE LAST DAY IN THE GIFT DRAW OVER IN THE SHOP.

My 20 Minuters for this week...

It's been another really busy week for me with all the sewing I do for my business but I am still really enjoying my 20 minuters [I must admit I have just sat down with crafting in mind but fell asleep ....hehe I guess my body was telling me something so my 20 minutes wasn't wasted]. I have made 3 more packs of dumfed cards this week and will pop them over in the shop on Monday when Twiglet comes down. It will be an exciting Monday for us cos it's the shop draw day so there will be one lucky winner finding out they have won. If your name isn't already in the draw then you have just a couple of days to join in.
These are the 3 sets of cards I have made in my 20 minutes each day. I'm sorry to say the lighting is very poor today so I will set up our backdrop and lighting to snap them for the shop but I thought you might like a sneak preview. Each card is different in some way to the next. I rarely make two the same unless I have to.

Warning for those buying Wedding or Bridesmaid's dresses...

I have had a lot of experience over the past few months of ladies ordering dresses over the Internet for Weddings......be it Wedding dresses or Bridesmaid's dresses.

There are many companies out there that appear to be offering made to measure dresses in that they ask you to fill in forms with all the body measurements on for the person involved. When the dresses arrive they rarely fit as expected. What a lot of the online companies usually do is look at the measurements and for example if the bridesmaid is a size 10 bust and a size 12 hips then they send you a size 12 dress [obviously you wouldn't get a size 12 hips in a size 10 dress]. This usually means the dress is too big over the bust and then needs altering. This is what I do and I don't have a problem with it but I have had so many young brides here lately really disappointed that their "made to measure" dresses don't fit.
The pretty little dresses I showed you the photo of on Wednesday are a prime example because these are for 4 girls between the ages of approx 8 and 12. Their body measurements obviously come into the adult bust sizes so the dresses have added shaping to accommodate a bust and are also too long in the bodice for children. This, of course, means they need an awful lot of alterations to make then fit so the girls look like the little princesses they were hoping for and of course all the disappointment that comes with the extra expense involved.
Please take my advise and check that the company you are ordering from really do make your dresses to order taking all the measurements and actually making your dresses as you hope.

Remember if the price of the dresses seems too good to be true is probably because they are. I hope this saves you a lot of disappointment.

WOYWW and WDYHYS :-)

Yes it's a WOYWW when an ever-growing group show and tell what's on your workdesk thanks to the chief snoop Julia :-) Feel free to pop over to her blog to have a nosey and don't be afraid to join in the madness.
I have snapped a couple of pics to show what I have on my 'desks' today but as it's pretty much trousers, trousers and yet more trousers today...and we all know what they look like :-) I am also doing a WDYHYS [where do you hide your stash... of course] too. As most of you will know I run a sewing business from home using what used to be my Mum's bed sitting room[when she was alive] as my sewing/crafting room. A lot of you comment that I keep it all very tidy and organised....I guess I have to because I am limited for space when in the middle of a crafting session someone comes in [like they did yesterday!] 3 adults with 4 bridesmaids and all 4 bridesmaids needed fittings and miracles working on their dresses to make them fit.


These are the 4 dresses that need major changes making to them :-)










I have to have places for everything I use and put it all back where they live or I wouldn't be able to find it next time I needed it :-) I thought I might show you some of my stash today... and yes I have lots [this is far from all of it].


Ribbons and trimmings in sweetie jars [no I didn't eat the sweets first I promise]
and my craft books. I have a love for nice books and what better than to have craft ones to browse through...if only I had the time :-)











In the little kitchenette I have this wonderful run-about my hubby made from putting Ikea cupboards back to back [there is another set of drawers around the other side] and mounting them on runners. In here are my paint pots, magnets. silk paints, glass paints, fabric dyes etc etc.








The full length of my sewing room wall has wall cupboards for me to hide yet more stash. In this one you can see more storage drawers with punches, inks, embossing powders etc etc and my beads and other embellishments.
As I said I have a place for everything and everything will be in it's place. I'm a bit OCD about it but with the busy life I lead I just don't have spare time to go looking for anything.



My eldest daughter has just text to say she is coming out to do her school work now [she is a school teacher on half term hols] so what little floor space I have will now be filled with books for marking and all her class room planning for next term so you will understand why I need my hidey holes for my stash. What a really fab day I will now have ...me sewing and her ticking boxes in children's books :-) I will be catching up on all my WOYWW friends later. Hope you all have a really great day.
Oh and don't forget if you haven't already put your name down for the Gift draw in our shop this is the last week so don't miss out on the chance to win the ever growing prize. Good Luck.

Another Blog award to be thankful for...

I have just received this award from Paige at http://ladybird-ladybird-paige.blogspot.com/. I'd really like to thank her so much for thinking of me.

To accept it you need to take part in a little information sharing
Instructions:
1. Give a top 10 list of the things that makes you happy.
2. Give a top 5 list of trivia about yourself.
3. Share the award with only 5 persons and ask them to do the same thing. :)
4. Link the blogs you choose and link the blog of the person awarded you.

so here goes with that Info.

top 10 list of the things that makes you happy. [This week :-) ]

• My hubby...for whom my world wouldn't be the same.
  
• My family..2 daughter and a son and the partners they have chosen to share their lives with...I'm one very proud Mum.
• My gorgeous little Granddaughter and the exciting time waiting for her little sister to arrive in April.
• My big sister Twiglet and all we do together
  
• Dumfing [embellishing for those who don't know :-) ]
  
• My blogging friends
  
• Buttons, beads and ribbons
  
• Sari silk waste and the gorgeous rainbow of colours it comes in
  
• Robins...other birds too but robins are my fav
  
• A warm bath and then into a freshly made bed.
  

top 5 list of trivia about yourself.

• My fav colours are blue, pink & purple
  
• I have a replacement left knee so I guess I'm partly bionic :-)
  
• My middle name is Elizabeth
• I passed my 11+ at 10yrs [Oct birthday]
  
• I dislike doing the ironing so am happy when other do it for me :-)

the Five friends and their blogs I would like to share this with are

1. Twiglet of course
2.Paula who has become a good friend
3.Fi as a thank you for all the encouragement
4. Julia also someone who I have a lot to thank her for.
5. Chrissie for all the beautiful cards she makes.

20 Minuters for this week

As promised I am still maintaining my 20 Minutes of crafting each day and thought I'd just do a quick show and tell before this one goes into the shop.

This is the work in progress. I have managed to find some really lovely textured yarns to use for my foliage and am really pleased with the results. Combining many different greens and different textures brings the picture to life. Hope you agree.









I decided to do this one with poppies and cornflowers on and I have to admit this is my favourite to date. I will be uploading it into the shop probably on Monday so if you are interested in buying it then keep your eyes on the picture shelf over here at http://sisterscraftycreations.blogspot.com/. There is a Gift draw still going on over there but it will be drawn a week on Monday on 22nd Feb so time is running out to get in there with a chance to win. Every 20 names that go into the draw we are adding something extra to the prize so let all your friends know :-)

WOYWW and dare I say it? another award :-)

My desks are really now very interesting to look at today. There are no exciting crafty bits going on and it will be a head down get on with my sewing sort of day for me. I thought you might like to see the gorgeous blue evening dress I have to shorten the hems on by this Friday [it only arrived late yesterday afternoon and I normally allow 2 weeks for wedding/evening dresses so hence the head down sewing day :-) ].

On my other rail is 2 gents tailored jackets I need to shorten the sleeves on [ also by Friday!], a dress to shorten and a coat to shorten the sleeves on....hmm yes also all to be done by Friday!....you get the gist?
Now pop over to Julia's to see many more exciting workspaces.

The other half of my blog today is to say a big thank you to Sam of Yet another card blog for giving me an award. This gives me all sorts of challenges after comments I got from the last award I was given :-) Oh well here goes.... I accept this gratefully and as long as I can stop giggling long enough I will accept the challenge to list 10 things that make me happy.

1. My hubby and family have to come top of the list. I am one very proud Mum and never a day goes by when they don't make me happy.

2. Twiglet....Yes I know she's family but I also choose to have her as my best friend in life and she always makes me happy....we have never [and I mean NEVER] argued.
3. My dogs...yes I know there are times when they bark too much but they have helped me through some difficult times and I wouldn't be without them.
4. My birds....no I don't have them caged. They choose to come and feed on my window just feet from me when I sew and I get lots of pleasure out of watching them.
5. My garden....I struggle to do the work in it now but I love the quiet space it provides.
6. My job....I am one of the very few that really loves her job. I love every challenge it brings and buzz from just how successful my business now is.
7. My friends....far too many to mention. I'm blessed.
8. My crafting hobbies....these sort of blurr into my job at times but there are few crafts I haven't had a go at and some I feel I have actually mastered :-)
9. Sudoku...not many days go by without at least one being done.
10. This one is hard cos there are lots more I could choose. Chocolate, a good film, a cup of coffee, a glass of something stronger, a log fire, a warm bath, a newly changed bed.......my list could go on for ever. You see... my cup is always half full. I aim to make someone smile every day....and I never fail. I would never aim to hurt anyone by negative comments and enjoy making other feel good about themselves. If me receiving this award upsets anyone then I'm sorry but please don't leave negative comments. Life should be fun and isn't that what blogging is all about? Well, it is for me :-)

Now I have to pass this on to 5 other bloggers. Oh decisions decisions [can you tell I am an indecisive Libran?]
1. Twiglet... of course.
2. Paula always has happy positive attitude.
3. Julia never fails to make me smile.
4. Kaz another who looks for positive in life.
5. Helen also has happy outlook on life.

I hope you will all enjoy spending time just thinking about the wonderful things in life that make you happy and, like me, have far too many to just write a list of 10. :-)

A successful Funday Monday...

My face is aching with all the laughter that has gone on here today. We have had a really good day with lots of fun and enjoyment. Life should be full of days like these. We have spent the morning uploading all our recent makes on to the blog shop so please pop over and have a look. There are gorgeous new dumflings, pictures, bears and cards.

Mother's Day is up and coming and I'm sure some of our new bits and bobs would make perfect pressies including the little Mother's Day bears. I hope you like what we have added to the shop. Don't be afraid to leave us suggestions if there is something special you would like making or if there is something you like but maybe you would like it in a different colour. We enjoy a challenge and if possible will do our best to have a go.

An industrious weekend....

I was on a roll, my creative juices were flowing and I have had a really industrious weekend. 20 Minuters became hours. We, of course, had to supermarket shop, eat and clean the house as we do any weekend but in between, whilst hubby watched rugby and football on the telly, I dumfed, dyed, beaded and finished off several of the projects I had been working on. I thought I'd share the results with you to brighten this grey gloomy morning. The lighting is really poor and I will have to take much better photos of them all before putting them in the shop later but I think you will get the idea.



This is the latest dumfed picture I have made. The pinks and really delicate and with the little bit of red in their centres they really come to life. I'm really pleased with this one.











This is another batch of cards to replace some that were sold last week. These cards are proving very popular so I'm really glad I love making them.....there will be more made later today because Twiglet is coming down to join me for our Funday Monday. :-)










These are some really lovely magnetic clips I bought. I have really enjoyed dumfing the flowers to pretty these up and I'm sure any Mum would find this a really lovely gift on Mother's day. The colours of the flowers are vibrant so I really do hope for some bright daylight later to take better photos of these for the shop.

Another blog award...

I have now receiver my second Kreative Blogger award in one week. I shall not be following all the rules like last time but as it was given to me by Paula who is a special, new made, friend how can I not say a huge Thank You to her for thinking of me. I'm not sure quite how deserved this award is....I am just little old me....take me as I am.....love me or hate me....at 52 I'm not gonna change over night.... and I am happy being me.

I actually think this is just her way of getting to make me disclose 7 more interesting facts about me....are there another 7? I doubt it but I did say I would try so here goes.....

1. I met my now husband on a blind date when I was 24, we got engaged after just 8 weeks and married after 8 1/2 months [and no there wasn't a maternity dress in sight!].

2. I, like Paula, also passed my driving test first time and had only had 10 driving lessons.

3. I had 3 children in under 4 years and loved every minute. [I would have had 4 if Dad hadn't died when he did leaving me Mum to care for]

4. I looked after 35 other little darlings as a childminder while my family were growing up. One of which was 18years old on 4th Feb and we joined her at her party on Fri night. Oh how lovely it was to see the 6 week old baby I'd cared for grow up into such a beautiful young woman and for her to want to share it with me.

5. I learnt to do bobbin lace making while our eldest 2 were just babies [where did I find the time and energy I ask myself?]

6. I can say the alphabet backwards

7. I'm just 5 foot tall....all good things come in small packages but so does poison so I will leave you to decide which I am :-)

There you go. Not so very interesting but at least I tried. Now I'm not gonna name 7 others but if you read my blog please join in and let me find out a little more about you.

This week's 20 minuters

I am still managing my 20 minutes every day doing something creative. The new shop is having a lot of interest and I now need to restock where items have sold. I have spent my 20 minutes every day dumfing and then finishing off my sunflower picture so thought I'd show and tell. It will be put in the shop soon so keep a look out if you're interested in buying it.
Photos don't really do it justice. The day light is poor today but I will do my best to take a better picture of it for the shop. Hope all you other 20 minuters are still enjoying your creative times as much as I am.
Don't forget to pop over to the shop and get your name down in the Gift Draw. We will be drawing a name out on Monday 22nd Feb so not much time left now :-) Good luck.

Kreativ Blogger award...

I'm feeling really excited because I have been given an award from Sara at http://sarastexturecrafts.blogspot.com/ Thank you Sara... I am sat here grinning from ear to ear. This really means a lot to me especially coming from you. :-)

For this award Sara says I must list 7 interesting things about myself and then pass on this award to 7 other deserved bloggers. So if you've been nominated in this post and want to play, here are the guidelines:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award
2. Place the logo on your blog
3. Link to the person who nominated you
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting
5. Nominate 7 bloggers for this award and post links to their blogs
6. Send a message to let them know they've been nominated

Well, here goes...

1. I was a midwife in a former life and delivered 150 babies.
2. I used to design magician's waistcoats with all their special secrets.
3. I design and make puppets having first been commissioned to make a set for use in puppet theatres by a company in London.
4. I am living in the same house that my family have lived in for over 60 years
5. For the first 150 years in the life of our local school there was at least one member of my family in it continuously. My Grandmother and Aunt even taught there.
6. I run my own sewing business and now have over 920 customers.
7. With all the wonderful encouragement and support from all our fellow bloggers Twiglet [the best sister in the world] and I have opened up our own blog shop to sell our crafts and I am really buzzing because of it. Please pop over there to join in the Gift Draw for a chance to win some of our goodies.

7 bloggers who inspire me right now are...
Twiglet.....how could I not put her top of the list? :-)
Julia....it's thanks to her wonderful encouragement the shop was started
MarmaladeRose......I have her to thank for encouraging me to do at least 20 minutes crafting every day
Felicity......I'm hoping she writes a book cos I really love reading her blogs
Paula....She bought my Poppy picture and made me feel 10ft tall with her comments
Paige....Every time she shows a picture of her work desk there are 2 of my little bears looking back at me
Helen....for her real enthusiasm about my crafts

A plate spinning WOYWW

I seem to be juggling my day to day sewing with restocking the shop this week. As I'm putting new things in the shop they are flying off the shelves :-) Twiglet and I are really excited and maybe just a little amazed at the response we are getting [I guess none of us really see ourselves and what we make as others see them]. We have had lots of really lovely comments and oodles of encouragement.
I seem to spend each day extending my table to do my dumfing then folding it down to be able to accommodate customers needing fittings. I'm not complaining....I really love being kept busy and buzz with every new challenge.


What you see is just how it is this week....No tidying or organising done to do my show and tell and yes, the mess really is mine....that's how I work.



My floor gets covered in threads and snippets of materials and ribbons etc. I will hoover this up as soon as I go from here because I am expecting more customers this morning.



On my table you will see several things I am working on at the mo. Julia [she of the WOYWW fame] ordered a couple of packs of my dumfed cards so I am trying to restock the card shelf by making a few more toppers for cards. Along side those on the front of the table are some really super magnetic clips that I am embellishing [these will be appearing in the shop soon :-)].



Also this is the latest picture I am working on. It is one to be mounted on an artists canvas and I am now beading the middle of the sunflowers.









I have a pile of curtains here...some are done and some are waiting for Twiglet to come and do the grovelling on the floor for me to cut them. [My replacement knee doesn't allow me to kneel so I need big sister's help to do curtains as the floor is the best place for doing the measuring and cutting.] Under my curtain pile is the Really Useful set of boxes that I keep all my card making supplies in.








This is a really lovely floaty evening dress I will be altering today. It is beaded so it's yet another dress that I have to remove the beads to alter and then will have to re bead it after. A tricky job but I will do this first as soon as day light improves sufficiently. :-)

Well, that's what my day will be full of. How about you? Go over to Julia's blog and join in the show and tell fun for our 'What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday'

Don't forget the Gift Draw is still open in the shop so pop over to be in with a chance to win the goodies.