WOYWW...

 Sorry I didn't join in the fun last week.  We had been contacted by a paramedic on the morning of Thursday 11th to say my hubby's brother had suddenly died and could we attend his 83 year wife.  My hubby is the executor for him and as he was a Civil Engineer and had been working the day before he died [Aged 76!] we now have to sort out his funeral/business etc....so there's lots to do and it doesn't leave a lot of time for creativity.

I have done my best to keep all my customers happy and have managed to do all their sewing and had an hour or so in my sewing room making these...

I had painted all the toppers a while ago and they had just sat on the shelf waiting to be finished so I used it as a bit of distraction therapy and am rather pleased with the results.

That's all from me for today.  I will do my best to call in on you asap but please forgive me if I fail this week.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW...

 The week's are flying by and it will soon be our 12th Anniversary....12 wonderful years of fun and friendship and the time has simply flown by.  I've made about 20 ATCs to swap with anyone wanting and Jo and I will be posting ours together so you will get two for one to save on posting.  We would very much like it if you will do the same in return....it really doesn't matter which of us you post to as we never fight and promise to share nicely 😄😄😄

On my desk today is....

A few more cards I've made with the latest watercolour painting I've done....I rather like these and each time I play I can see a little improvement now 😄

Since last week I've made this green Memory Monkey using a favourite dress.

This little Memory Elephant was made using a Grandma's fleecy tops and he's turned out rather cuddly.

This Memory Cushion cover was made using a much loved wife's favourite jumpers and the last scarf she wore with her favourite brooch pinned in the front.

I really enjoy the challenges I'm given to make exactly what my customers are wanting and seeing the joy on their faces when they come to collect them/

That's all from me for today.  If you're wanting to swap ATC's on the 19th please let either Jo or I know and make sure we have your details for posting please.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

Hello all.  Here we are at another Wednesday catch up with our creative friends around the world and what they are exposing this week.....on their desks of course!

Mine has been a hive of industry again this week....I've been dumfing [check out the link in the side bar if you want to know more]. 

I coloured a strip of white felt with dye sticks and wool rovings then dumfed yarns and fabrics in to make a batch of embellished card toppers.

I then machine embroidered details on each and mounted them onto cards.....each one is different and I love all the bright cheerful colours amongst them.

I have made 4 little Tic tac toe travel games using up some of my big buttons.....thought they might sell on the craft table but if not I know some little people who would enjoy playing with them.

The other thing I'm sharing today is something that made me smile.  It might not be so exciting to everyone but when you have to change an open ended zip in a quilted man's coat it's always exciting to me when it goes in without a hitch and all the seams line up to perfection.....I'm easily pleased 😀

So there you go, that's what's on my desk today.  How about yours?  If you leave me a little comment to let me know you've dropped in I will do my best to pay you a return visit.  I always read the blogs but there are a few I am unable to comment on [usually google+ blogs] so I'm sorry about that.  Hope you have a great week.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW.....

Hi all.  I hope it's rather warmer and drier where you are today......brrrrrr and they call this summer!!

I think most of my customers have gone on holiday at the mo so my desk today is a quiet one and not worth sharing but I do have a few snaps of what I've been doing on it this week...

Last week I was in the process of planning / making a tissue box cover for my new sewing room so I've snapped a couple of pics of it now it's finished....

Every side has a handy pocket on it for all the bits and bobs I use in my sewing room and the one side even has a pin cushion.....hope you like it as much as me :-)

The other finished item I'm sharing with you today is a card I made using one of the little dumflings I've made.  I've mounted it on a toning pretty piece of fabric and edged it with machine embroidery....rather pretty isn't it? :-)

That's all I've got to share with you today.  I hope you've enjoyed your visit and will leave me a little message to let me know you've called by so I can pay you a return visit.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW......ATCs galore

Wow wow wow what an amazing day last Wednesday was.  There was soooooo much love flying around the world in the form of ATCs between many folk that have never even met and I'm sure you are like me and consider each and every one of them a friend.  I had so many really special envelopes through the post box and will quickly do a show and tell to thank each and every one of you who took the time to swap with me.....

1.  Sandra de
2. Annette
3. Sam
4. Jill
5. Margaret
6. Big Sister Jo

1. Chris Porter
2. Sylvia
3. Chris Bedford....really love the dumfing extras xxxx
4. Nan
5. Laura...big thank you hugs from Lexi and Sam too xxxx
6. Janet
7. Eliza and Yoda
8. Chris Porter...not sure why this one is on twice :-)

1. LL Jan
2. Caro
3. Kyla
4. Minxy
5. Shazsilverwolf
6. Helen
7. Maggie C
8. Alison Haselgrove
9. Bluebeard and Elizabeth

1. Robyn Oliver
2. Neet
3. Julia

Aren't they all simply wonderful? Thank you all soooooooo much.  I love each and every one...all so different but each one made with love.  I have sent ATCs to you all..

that is except from.......

• Shazsilverwolf
• Ali H and 
• Robyn Oliver

I have left message for you each on your blogs but have had no reply as yet....I need your addresses to post your ATCs to you please.  Can you email me to wipso@toucansurf.com with your details.

And...what is on my desk today?

I have been really enjoying some quality creative time dumfing.

The poppies in the front have now had details machine embroidered in and I have sewn black seed beads to the centres of each flower....they are now ready to be mounted onto cards.

The 4 strips at the back I managed to dumf on Monday during an afternoon of fun and creativity with that big sister of mine...thanks for the distraction Jo.

That's about all from me for now.  Thanks for calling by. Please leave me a message so I know you've called by and I will do my best to pay you a return visit ASAP. 

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW.....

Monday morning Twiglet came down and we started off our day cutting out 2 skirts using an existing skirt for the pattern. Yes they are cut out but no I haven't had time to make them yet :-)
Monday afternoons we are joined by another friend for our fun day Monday so skirts were shelved til Tuesday.....except that Tuesday was a manic day and they are still on the shelf awaiting making. I had a steady flow of customers yesterday and they all seemed to want more than just one job doing....in fact one came with a bag full of trousers [7 in total!] all needing patching, shortening or other little jobs needed.

I hope you will all pop over to Julia's to join in the fun of showing and telling all what is happening in your space today.

So.....today's work surfaces started off like this



7 pair working trousers still needing sewing!














The cards I made on Monday still needing finishing! I loved the daisy picture I made so much that I was inspired to make a set of cards to match.








2 skirts cut out ...still needing making!








Linby's parcel getting ready for the post.....now posted and winging it's way to her :-) Watch out for that postman Linby.



My day today actually started at 7.15 when my neighbour rang for advise because her baby was poorly. I quickly finished dressing and popped round to help. I spent 45 minutes with the baby who had a very high temp and was lethargic and floppy while mum waited for the Dr to be available. Every minute seems like an hour when you're a young mum and your hubby is away in the army doesn't it?....she has just popped round to let me know the Dr says she has a nasty ear infection. Bless her.
As I got back home at 8 15 this morning my neighbour from the other side shouted me to see if I was free. She then popped round needing moisturising cream put on a eczema type rash on her back. It's not the easiest area to reach when you're in your 80s is it?
As you can see it's rather more than a sewing business I have here and maybe I should add nursing duties to my banner at my gate :-) :-)

I have already had 3 customers this morning too so if it's a bit of a disjointed and rushed blog please forgive me. I will catch up with all my fellow WOYWWers at some point...I promise :-)

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.

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.

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.

Its my show and tell Friday...

As promised I am still managing my 20 minuters every day. It's been a little more difficult this week because I have had lot of customers and sewn most of every day and have even worked 2 evenings doing fittings [one was a wedding dress fitting :-) ] .
I have dumfed all week to stock the shelves of our new blog shop and am really loving the results. They will be hopefully be put in the shop today so watch this space :-)





This is a blue themed picture in a light wood frame.













This is one for the poppy lovers amongst you. The black frame really sets them off well.










I then moved on to card making and these are my latest batches of cards. Thought you might like to see them before they are packed up ready for the shop.







This was a set I made using orange/peach colours. They look much better in real life. The light here is really dull this morning so they have not snapped well.





This is a more abstract purple set. We intend setting up a small photo studio later with better lighting so hopefully these will look better once in the shop. The colours are really warm and rich and the effect is really lovely.



I would really like to thank MarmaladeRose for the encouragement to keep up with the 20 Minuters because it really has kept my creativity flowing.

Happy Friday and my 20 Minuters...

Happy Friday to one and all. The snow here is slowly going. There is water dripping everywhere you look so I guess it will be floods next in the weather warnings. I have been good this week and have done my 20 minutes of crafting every day so thought I would share the results with you. I am aiming to show and tell my 20 Minuters every Friday because I am guessing once the snow goes I will be busy with customers and blogging every day wont be possible for me.

I started off with a strip of white felt and dumfed wool rovings and threads across it's full width then cut each one into 4 and embellished each one differently...I aim never to make 2 cards exactly the same.
Each card was finished off with hand embroidery, beads or buttons. I'm really pleased with the results. 20 minutes every day [and more] has been very productive this week. Do leave me a comments to tell me what you think.



For anyone who's interested I give lots of my cards as gifts but also sell some to my customers who call in for other sewing jobs. If anyone is wanting to buy some I am more than happy to sell via my blog too and have a paypal account I use to make purchases easy. Just let me know if you're insterested.

Dumfing ? ......

Yes, dumfing. This is what Twiglet and I call our embellishing :-) The machine dumfs the fabrics together. It sort of goes dumf dumf dumf when the needles push the fabrics together. So we have invented a new word for it :-) verb....to dumf.

Well, now you know that, I can tell you I was dumfing most of yesterday. I 'painted' with threads and fabrics and then added beads to design a few new cards and thought I would share them with you.
I would have blogged them yesterday but the one had to be given to it's new owner before I put them on here. [I gave her the yellow one and she really loved it :-) ]. The lighting was really poor and I'm sorry to say it's not a brilliant photo but I think you can get the idea.

Twiglet also spent her day dumfing, alas not with me because the snow is making travelling difficult, and if you would like to see what she has been busy with then pop over here. I'm really impressed with what she's made and I'm sure you will be too.

For those wanting to know what my embellisher looks like there is a photo of it here.

Embellishing...first real attempt

Having had an afternoon of 'playing' yesterday I was determined to make a card with my new 'toy' today and thought you might like to see my first efforts. It is all done on my new machine and has just a few seeding beads in the middle of each flower. I just love the effects you can get using different materials/threads and am certain I will have many many happy hours exploring the possibilities.
I always send a thank you card to the shop where I buy my machines from because I have been using their services for years and they always go that extra inch to make sure what I buy is right for me. It is a small sewing machine shop that still has the personal touch and wont set up with an on line shop for that very reason. If you live within driving distance and need help/advise about sewing machines or just need your machine serviced they are the place to contact.............. The Sewing Machine Centre, 58 Wyle Cop, Shrewsbury. Tel; 01743 343902.

F is the word...

Wahoo the Football season has started. This means more quality crafting time with big sister Twiglet. Last night was a Felting night. Much Fun was had and lots of giggling went on....then we opened the bottle! A small glass of wine topped up with lemonade helped the evening along. We did some wet felting first so it was bubble wrap, rolling pins, soap, water and felt of every colour.

3 pieces of flat felt each later and arms aching we moved on to needle felting onto a piece of nuno felt. We felted threads and silks in all sorts of shapes and patterns with plans to work on them further with beads, buttons and stitches before mounting them onto cards.

Me being me had to have something to show for our efforts as soon as possible so first thing this morning I've set to to make a few cards using our now dry felt. I'm rather pleased with them but am afraid the photos don't really do them justice. Maybe they will just give you an insight into what life should be full of......quality days with lots of fun and laughter.

My latest creations

After a really intense week with my sewing I needed a little 'me time' and was feeling creative so thought I'd share the results with you. These are cards I've made from printing off photos of flowers and each one has a 3D effect [not sure the photos really do them justice]. A yellow set...

a pink set......


and a purple set....
I sell greetings cards of all sorts and usually make them to order with photos, names, dates, events etc on but also have a few customers who just call in for one so like to keep a few 'open' ones made ready and as my display was looking rather depleted I felt in need of refreshing them. I think these will brighten up my display nicely.