The Owl House

Beautiful weather

2011-03-16T14:10:00.000-07:00

Gorgeous day today, it was so warm at lunch time that a few of us in work sat outside among the daffs and ate our lunch....doesn't it just make you feel happy, everyone smiles and talks to each other...started to tidy up the herb garden today, the sage, mint , rosemary and lemon thyme have all survived nicely, I need to plant some parsley and chives and a few others but not quite sure yet what to plant, any suggestions would be great..
We took the dog out for a lovely walk after work, gorgeous views of the beach but forgot the camera, must remember to take it next time..
Busy sewing and watching The Good Life this evening, will post some pics tomorow..
Almost forgot, got five bags of horse manure today, my rhubarb is going to love it..

Take Care ..x

2011-03-15T08:40:00.000-07:00

Busy in the garden at the moment, potatos are chitting on the windowsill waiting to be planted, I have planted the garlic already and dug up the last of the parsnips. I am hoping the coldframes are warming up so I can plant some lettuce seeds and start some peas off..
Its mostly tidying up at the moment, fixing fences, painting the shed and willing the spring to really start. The daffs are out and the bluebells are flowering.
The chickens have been laying reguarly for a few weeks now and we have moved their house to greener pastures so we can reseed the grass where they have been.
Bought most of my seeds on the weekend but will need to get some courgette plants, I can't seem to grow them from seed but last year I bought some small plants and they were fab, i put them in the ground and by the end of the summer they were like trees, had loads of courgettes..

Had a baking frenzy last weekend, baked bread and cakes and lots of them, had to bake more today though, I think a plague of locusts ran through the house and demolished the lot...or it could have just been Kim and the girls..

Well I must be off now, into the garden before it gets dark,see what else I can do today..
As its nearly St Patricks day, I will be posting a list of all the places you can find me passed out...heeehee!!

2011-01-04T10:57:00.000-08:00

A Happy New Year to you all...xx
Right, I am definitely back this time, I have been busy with this and that but made plenty for Christmas presents, just didn't take any pics..duh!!!
Have been sewing a lot, felting and making brooches and pendants out of felt and friendly plastic..will take some pics and put them on here..
Going to have a look about now to see whats happening...love to all..xx

A party image for the new year, all I can say is that I never look like that when I go out..

An oriental Tilda,loving this image , can't seem to get enough of her..

Better late than never, a Halloween Tilda..

Loving orange and lime green mixed together and of course an oriental Tilda..

2010-03-30T12:18:00.000-07:00

I am back and up and running, hopefully...will be posting new makes and whatnots shortly...I haven't made anything realy since before Christmas, my mum and dad moved to Aberaeron to retire and build a bungalow....so I have been back and fore with them ,sorting things out, but the bungalow is nearly finished and my mojo has come back...so watch this space....thankyou for wondering where and how I am...
I am running with scissors again so I must be fine...xxx

cheers...xx

Its Up and Running....

2009-11-01T13:39:00.000-08:00

The Magical Crafts Challenge Blog is up and running....the challenges are set fortnightly and the first one starts today....so click on the logo opposite and get creating....

An Award...

2009-10-29T08:16:00.000-07:00

What a surprise when I logged on this morning to see I had recieved this lovely award from Cindybee. The 'rules' are that I have to post five things about myself and then pass on to five people.
Five things about myself:

1. I am amazingly lax at doing my housework and feeding my family...who needs this when you could be crafting...

2. I collect fabric, all sorts, I love all the old patterns , vintage stuff and everything else...I trawl charity shops for curtains and sheets..whatever...I have 4 unfinished quilts...one day!!

3. I have an unhealthy obsession with "whodunnits"...really good ones like Daziel and Pascoe or the not so good like Diagnosis murder or Murder she wrote...the kids call it my Naff tv...

4. I still think I am 18 years old and am going to be a rock star when I grow up....unfortunately I am days away from being 40 and I can't sing...but who knows!!!

5. I try very hard to treat people how I would like to be treated but my major flaw is I am very unforgiving and can hold a grudge for years...not my best characteristic....

I will now pass this award onto Jackie, Tiggertastic, Angel , Max and Kirsty...

hugs

Rachelxxx

A Blue and Purple evening..

2009-10-22T03:03:00.001-07:00

Some fantastic news, I have been chosen to join the Design Team for a new challenge blog - Magical Crafts Fortnightly Challenge Blog...really pleased, very excited and slighlty nervous... if you would like to join in, please click on the logo opposite....come and join in the fun..

Spent the evening shut in my own little world last night and this is what I came up with....a decidedly blue and purple evening ....the stamped images were sent to me from some lovely people on the cb forum, some of the papers used are from the very talented Kirsty Wiseman and the others are from Mily designs ....I think..lol.... I hope you like them and thankyou for looking..xx

Thanks for looking..xxx

Crispy October Air....beautiful...

2009-10-17T09:23:00.000-07:00

I have had a busy crafting week, as I explained before, number two daughter has a halloween disco to got and decided to go as "A Corpse bride"..Tim Burton of course....so a wedding outfit and veil is required...I just need to sew on the arms and glue some flowers to the veil and it will all be done..not bad on short notice I think...
A couple of Christmas cards to start with, I am having a good run at these at the moment, I may be finished in time for Easter..lol..

My October fat pages, I have made one as Halloween and one as Autumn....I love the colours at this time of year..

My entry into the October cb bookmark swap, as you can probably guess the theme this month was Halloween..

This is my Halloween wallhanging, I made this for a very good friend of mine and it is winging its way to her now...if the postal strike allows of course...I do love these decoupage fairys but they can be quite fiddly to cut out...

Christmas cards at last!!!!

2009-10-13T07:51:00.000-07:00

I know I am late starting, these are the first 4 cards I have made for christmas...I really have to crack on and make some more....I have spent the day sorting through all of my stuff, hoping to get some sort of order and make a start.....and then of course, my little darling Becky wanders in and tells me that next thursday is the school halloween disco and can she please have a costume by then, she wants to go as The Corpse Bride...Tim Burton.... out comes the sewing machine then and here I go....will post a picture as soon as its done...

This is a christmas decoration, its made with thick card and stencil, the images are pin pricked and then stitched and layered...it is double sided with a tassel and a hanging loop in the middle..

only 8 more to go...help!!

I'm Back and ready to Go...

2009-09-01T08:48:00.000-07:00

I haven't been around at all over the summer, mostly due to work commitments and school holidays...children are back in school tomorrow and work has evened out for a while....so I am sorry if I haven't visited your blog for a while but I will make an extra huge effort from now on...
My mojo has risen back up to 100% and I will be posting some new makes very shortly...

take care...Rachel.x

Wire flower and Butterfly

2009-06-29T06:40:00.001-07:00

This is a hairslide I made for the Highfliers challenge over on the cb forum...I made the body out of a single piece of wire bound together at the top with thinner wire...then I wove seed beads around the bottom to form the body....the wings are made out of a single piece of wire,shaped and then attatched to the body...The wings are made with beads and thin wire woven between them...

This is the underneath of the slide....the attatchment part..

The front of the hairslide ...

This is what I ended up with after I sat down for the afternoon to play with my beads....I made the flower by threading on a single bead and then twisting the wire around it to form the flower..The flower was then attatched to the chain with thinner wire, all the beads around the flower are made with head pins and then attatched to the chain...

It hangs nicely when wearing....

This is a necklace and earrings I made for a swap over on the cb forum, I used two strands of tiger tail for the bracelet, seed beads and the larger beads are shells. The seed beads are threaded onto each wire and then joined together by one bead...The earrings are shell beads on head pins joined onto a silver plate ....

Thanks for looking.....Rachel x

June Swaps for CB..

2009-06-22T07:48:00.001-07:00

Today I have been catching up on all the swaps for this month on the cb forum, jewellery next...well I have to do something while watching the tennis...
The theme for the June Tag swap was "thinking of you, visions in blue"...and this is what I came up with....hopefully whoever gets them will like them..

This is my fat page for the June swap on the cb forum, the theme was summer and I thought the Sugar Nellie Daisy stamp covered this in one...she is a gorgeous stamp to work with...

The theme for this months card swap was "Summer Holiday", I know at a glance this doesn't look anything to do with holidays but my thinking on this was country walks , cows in the field, picnics , all equal holidays...I thought so anyway..

These are my oriental atcs for the atc swap on the cb forum, I love oriental images and I haven't used them enough recently, will have to remedy that....

Two Challenge Cards

2009-06-15T03:01:00.001-07:00

Haven't done a lot of crafting this week, mainly due to the suffering of hayfever...I hate it, makes me want to rip my head off in frustration...I can't see due to runny eyes ,I can't breathe due to snotty nose and then to top it all everyone decides to mow their lawns..inconsiderate so and so's...thats my winge over for today...I need to find stronger drugs I think, to banish this hayfever forever..
This is my entry for the picnic challenge over on the cb forum, this is my picnic in Mr McGregor's garden....it is a cross between a card and wall hanging, Rebecca made me add ribbon to hang it up when finished with...I think it was a hint to pinch it for her room..

This is my entry for the male card with a twist challenge over on the cb forum, the twist was to put a flower on there somewhere...and I added some pink just incase...

All Jewellery Today...

2009-06-07T12:33:00.000-07:00

Today I had a jewellery day, I managed to enter a few challenges on the CB forum ,I made a ring for Rebecca and the rest I made to sell.....
This necklace is made with wooden and glass beads , added in a cluster at the bottom of a chain...I made this for Tiggertastics Jewellery challenge blog, I used the colours from the butterfly...

I made this necklace for a challenge on the cb forum, I made the heart pendant out of a thicker wire and then wound a thinner wire around the heart shape and added beads....

I used some thin wire on these hoops and I think they look like spider webs....really pleased with the way they turned out...

I received these beads from a rak from a friend on the cb forum, I added some green beads I had and used some tigertail wire...

A silver and black cluster ring...I made this for a challenge on the cb forum...I used a pewter ring base and added beads and headpins....

A couple of handbag charms, made with beads I had from a rak over on the cb forum...

This is a ring I made for Rebecca, she chose the bead and told me what she wanted...and this is what I came up with...she was very pleased with it...

Challenge cards..

2009-05-27T14:08:00.001-07:00

This is the first time I hav entered challenge blogs so I am a bit nervous and I hope I have done alright.
This is my entry for the Just Magnolia challenge blog, I have used butterfly Tilda....

This is my entry for the Basic Grey challenge blog..this weeks challenge was to doodle on your card..I have used the basic grey sugared collection and the basic grey butterfly stamp...my doodle is on the side..

Meet George.....also tags and bookmarks...

2009-05-26T08:27:00.000-07:00

This is George, he is a baby Tawny Owl....he is one of two and his brother is called Fred....(children are big fans of Harry Potter hence Fred and George)...unfortunately they were found in a barn and their mother was dead...so we were called and went to pick them up....they are living in the kitchen at the moment but will move outside when they are bigger....Tawny owls are nocturnal so when I am off to bed,they are up , wanting to be fed....needless to say not a lot of sleep is happening for me at the moment...but they are so gorgeous!!!

These are my entries for the bookmark swap...the theme was fashion so this is what I came up with...the winter design is my new Sugar Nellie stamp, its probably best used for christmas but I couldn't resist giving it an airing..

These are my tags for the tag swap over on the cb forum....I have used basic grey papers and sugar nellie stamps, the one on the left is a new stamp for me....it is gorgeous I think...

Fat pages and atc...

2009-05-20T12:18:00.000-07:00

This is my entry for the fat page swap on the cb forum,the theme this month is Love,Romance and Hearts.....I used basic grey papers , tilda and edwin stamps and the wall stamp...

A flower atc, I made this for a friend over on the cb forum...I used basic grey papers and basic grey butterfly stamp with a stamped image from a swap ....

And lastly, this is a covered notebook , I made this for a challenge over on the cb forum...I used basic grey papers , and my favourite stamp this week ,Daisy from Sugar Nellie...and a mixture of ribbon offcuts..

Wedding Anniversary Weekend...

2009-05-18T14:14:00.001-07:00

My mum and dad, married for 40 years on the 16th of May...I did tell her that she could have shot him and been out by now...lol..we had a lovely bbq in the kitchen as the weather was dreadful,good fun was had by all,lots to eat and drink...and they liked the scrapbooking album , have to do another one now about the party...

My brother nathan and his wife Catrin,laughing at something obscure...

My brother and hubby waiting for the food to arrive...lol..

Beth doing what she does best,smiling at the camera...

This is Rebecca our youngest daughter doing her I am the bride of chucky look across the table at me...angellic isn't she?..lol...

This is what happens when you get older, can't stick the pace after drinking and eating all afternoon....notice there are no women asleep here..

My dear hubby taking a nap after a hard days eating and drinking...

more scrapbooking pages...

2009-05-11T13:43:00.000-07:00

A few more pages today for mums book, will be giving this to them on Sat at their bbq hopefully, I still have a few more to do....

Scrapbooking today..

2009-05-01T15:06:00.001-07:00

I have been busy today, my parents have been married 40 years this year and I have finally started a wedding scrapbook for them...its all done in black and white with an occasional splash of ruby because thats 40 years apparently.....These are my parents 40 years ago,they haven't changed much at all, just older obviously and greyer....

This is my hubby, cute isn't he ....its his birthday this month and I decided to make him a scrapbook as well as my parents, I really hope I can finish them both by the 16th...lol...heres hoping...the other page is Kim with his father, these are rare pictures as his father died when he was four years old......I also have pictures of his sister to add, she sadly passed away last year..

Lastly I made a 50th birthday card for a friend , I used Paddington as he was free with cb this month and he is 50 this year as well...

Jewellery today....for a change...

2009-04-28T10:48:00.000-07:00

I made this bracelet last night, amixture of coloured glass beads , brass findings and some hoping it will turn out okay in the end.....(I think it did).....

This is my entry for the jewellery swap on the cb forum,a brooch in spring colours and below it a mobile phone charm for the lovely Phillipa for hosting this month...

I know I said it was jewellery today, I just couldn't resist showing you this card and the atcs I made today at mums....I love the colours in the basic grey marrakech papers....

New stamps to play with!!!

2009-04-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

I have been fancying this "Daisy" stamp from Sugar Nellie for quite a while and this week I treated myself and bought it , among other things...I have also used basic grey papers and basic grey butterfly stamp in the blue card...in the green card I have used papermania papers....I adore the image in this stamp, very versatile and so cute....

This is my entry for the april card swap on the cb forum, sparkly and magical was this months theme...I think I got it right...

I made this for a friends birthday, a bit on the late side again!!!... I hope she forgives me...

I treated myself this week to some Basic Grey papers - Marrakech and Basic Grey Butterfly stamps...the colours on these papers are just gorgeous and the stamps are very clear and pretty..

Some of my Easter Atc's to send to some friends on the cb forum, I used paper from Papermania and my favourite Sarah kay stamp..

Busy,busy!!!

2009-04-18T10:25:00.000-07:00

I haven't been on the computor for at least a week, firstly we had a wedding to go to which lasted two days,and of course the kids are on holiday so we have been out and about, I eventually managed to get some crafting done and hopefully will get some more done later....but I must get my peas in and the rest of my potatos....
Screech the new barn owl is settling in rather well and if the weather is nice tomorrow I will get the camera out so you can see him...Today I just happened to be passing hobbycraft and of course I thought it would be rude not to go in...lol...just bought a few bits and pieces which I will have a play with later..
Thanks for listening to my inane drivel, now on with the makes..
This is my entry for the bookmark swap on the cb forum, I think the theme was flowers, I hope it was because that is what I did..lol...I used a Whiff of Joy stamp and the papers are blue papermania...

This is my second fat page effort, the first one is below....the theme for this months was clothing/dressmaking.....I used papermania pink paper, Waiting Tilda,her handbag and various stickers....i am quite pleased with it...

This is a birthday card I made for a friend....actually its more of an apology card as I forgot her birthday...hope she likes it and forgives me for forgetting.....I used the sugared basice grey papers and some Tilda stamps...

A couple of Tilda atcs, these I made for some friends on the cb forum....I hope they will like them..

This is my entry for the fat page swap over on crafts beautiful...I have never made one before but it is like making an atc but bigger, 4" by 4"....a small gap must be left on the left hand side to make holes in....when you have swapped a few,you can make a fat book...I have used the basic grey sugared papers and my new sarah Kay stamp which I love....

My Jewellery Challenge entry...

2009-04-08T14:37:00.000-07:00

This is my entry in the jewellery challenge this week at Tiggertastics jewellery blog..I love the colour of these beads , they remind of the Autumn..

New barn Owl!!!!

2009-04-07T12:30:00.000-07:00

No Crafting today....I must do some tomorrow, I have a wedding on Thursday and still haven't made the card....lol...Instead of crafting today, the sun was out and it was so nice out,mum,Becky and I went for a walk around Bryngarw Park....its a beautiful place, lovely gardens and a grande old house, but my favourite is the Japanese garden with the bridge over the pond, the little houses and all the gorgeous plants...really fab day...
But the big news is we have a new member of the family....he arrived yesterday,he is a bit shy but give him a couple of days and he will be settled in...he is a gorgeous barn owl, very white with a touch of tan around his head and on his wings....Rebecca has named him Screech because he makes a noise like escaping gas....a sort of prolonged hisss....anyway as soon as he is settled in I will take some photos of him so you can all see....

Rachelxx

Crafting Session at Mums house....

2009-03-31T08:39:00.000-07:00

On a Tuesday, I go to my mums house,she lives a few miles away in the next village....we have a tea and craft session, mostly tea and chat with a bit of cardmaking thrown in ....anyway I made three cards today,not loads I admit but we did a lot of chatting today...lol.. I also did some planning this morning ,wrote all the things I have to do down in a book...probably lose the book now and be just as unorganised as I usually am....
This is my entry into an Easter challenge over on the cb forum, the deadline was today so I made it by the skin of my teeth again...

This is the second card for my friend Jayne,the other one is below...Jayne's neice has had a baby girl.....fantastic news...I like this one pink and patchwork go well together I think..

This is a wedding card for my friend Jayne, her daughter is getting married Easter weekend....this card is for Jayne to give to her daughter, I still have to make my own one to send...mine is going to be slightly different , she is having a fraggle wedding...."down at fraggle Rock"....I love the little hearts on this one but it is slightly too girly flowery pinky for me....but I know Jayne will like it...so thats what matters..

Finally, some time to craft.....

2009-03-20T10:48:00.000-07:00

Finally had some time to craft this week, we have been very busy in the garden, building new veg beds , fencing off the garden and generally trying to tidy up.....the weather has been so beautiful I couldn't stay in and craft I had to be outside......anyway, I managed to get a bit done ,must get my seeds sorted out now.....chickens next.....

I don't quite know what to call this, its like a card but its not and its like an exploding box but its not....anyway whatever you want to call it, I like the way it turned out and I would make another one......

I borrowed mums Whiff of Joy stamp again to do this card, I am loving their stamps , must buy some of my own I think....but I am sure mum doesn't mind...at the bottom of this card I used some shrink plastic to make a smaller image...worked quite well I think..

Another Sarah Kay image, as you can see I am loving this stamp at the moment , I must treat myself to another one....

A sarah Kay bookmark for the swap on the cb forum....I love the colours in this one....and I am loving the huge flower at the moment....

mmmm.....black and white atcs, makes your eyes go funny....

I love the colour of the green on these oriental papers....

These are my tags for the March swap on the CB forum, very sickly pink and green but easterish I think..

Cards, ATCs and Scrapbooking,wow all at once....

2009-03-06T14:30:00.000-08:00

Before I get onto my crafting today I just thought I'd share a little story with you , my youngest daughter came into the house and said her sister had gone over the road to see our neighbour , he wanted her to sit on his children , and she was quite indignant at this point....he is going to pay her!!....out of the mouths of babes eh....
She is looking forward to Easter holidays at the moment, anything that takes her away from school and home all day.....
I had great fun making these cards today, I used my new basic grey papers, Sarah Kay stamp and my mothers Whiff of Joy stamps......I have been inspired by Jules (Devonbunny) creations for a while now...so I adapted some of her ideas to fit my own style, I hope I have made a good enough job of them.....

Just a few atcs today, I love making atcs to send to people but if I spent all my time doing these I wouldn't do anything else.....

This is my Mothers Day Present, a little scrapbook album, no pictures just stamps and quotes...I can't show too much incase she comes on here and has a look.....don't want to spoil it do we...

Jewellery Swap

2009-03-02T15:02:00.001-08:00

I have been busy making my Mothers Day present and card today, I haven't quite finished yet, but as soon as I have I will post a pic.....its just taking me a little longer than I thought it would, also its my dads birthday this month so any ideas for handmade gifts would be appreciated.....???????
Just thought I'd share with you all the lovely goodies that the lovely ladies over on the cb forum sent me.....I hosted the February swap and this is what I had....beads, papers,atcs,cards...lots of gorgeous goodies to play with....

Painting...

2009-02-23T12:35:00.000-08:00

I have no pics to post today, I have been busy water colour painting this week....I stamped a load of images and just sat and painted, ready for cards, atcs whatever takes my fancy...
Also I have been running riot on ebay this weekend, I bought basic grey papers, pens, more papers and I treated myself to a Sarah Kay stamp from the Glitter Pot.....can't wait for the post now......I'll have to get the kids to sit on me now to stop me getting up to look out the door every 5mins until everything comes.......
Might treat myself to some h20s this weekend.....anyone tried them ?
hugs
Rachelxx

A Tag Book....

2009-02-19T11:51:00.000-08:00

I have been quite busy today, I made a tag book, like a scrapbook on tags....I made the tags out of a cardboard box and covered them with some paper and then treated them like a scrapbook page....I added some stamped images that have been coloured, some flowers, beads and butterflies and then joined them altogether with some ribbon.....
I enjoyed this bit of crafting and I am going to make another one with different pictures.....

Just a couple of notebooks that I have covered with some nice paper and decorated, i don't know what to use them for yet but I am sure something will come to mind.

A very good friend of mine Sarah (Tiggertastic) made this gorgeous wall hanging for me...isn't it gorgeous, it is honour of my girls who are very much into drama and dance...it has pride of place on my wall above my desk so I can see it when I am working....thank you Sarah, you are a gem..xx

Rugby is taking over my life....

2009-02-16T03:47:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged for a week or so because as some of you may know, the six nations rugby is on......and being Welsh....this is a huge highlight of the year.....I don't like to rub it in but we have won the first two matches against Scotland and .....ahem....England....
Of course, these matches are watched in the pub where vast amounts of alcohol is consumed.....lots of singing and perhaps a few sheep thrown in for good luck....lol......I have been crafting inbetween matches and working but I will post some pics when the rugby fever has calmed down.....wish us luck girls and now.....1.2.3.......bread of heaven,bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more.........I can't hear you...sing up....

2009-02-05T10:22:00.000-08:00

This is my entry for Sarah's Jewellery Challenge no.3......red or hearts so I used both, its made with 7 strand tigertail, crimp beads and silver findings.....I have used two wires, threaded beads on both wires and then 1 bead onto both wires to bring them together....

This my entry for the CB February Jewellery swap, a red mobile phone charm....made with silver chain and beads on jump rings and head pins.....the beads at the end are red and white hearts..

This bracelet and matchng earrings I made for myself, I love the shell beads and I love black and cream together. this is made with silver chain, and beads on jump rings......

Two leather thong necklaces, just knotted leather and a ceramic bead on one and a silver symbol on the other ....

This bracelet is made out of memory wire and black and silver beads...the oval beads are handmade out of fimo, they were made by Aims over on http://teenyaims.blogspot.com/

and sent to me....so very kind of her and the beads are gorgeous...

Wedding invites

2009-02-03T08:07:00.000-08:00

I have spent the past few days making wedding invites for a friend, she loves the fraggles and her husband to be looks like one. The Fraggles were a Jim Henson creation, bouncy colourful characters who lived in a rock. Anyway, these are the invites, very plain and simple, just using cream card, some stickers, images of fraggles and a stamp..

Sprockett the dog on the back of the invites.

The evening invites, with doozers along the bottom.

It Snowed!!!!

2009-02-03T07:57:00.000-08:00

Last night , we had some snow , it wasn't loads but it was enough to close the schools and cause some disruption.....it didn't last long but we managed to go out in it this morning and play for a while and build a snowman..
Becky and her snowman, he didn't last very long...

Basil, waiting for Becky to throw a snowball.

Becky making snowballs ready to throw at me...lol....

Wol in the snow, she loves to sit out in all weather....the evening before, she had snow on her head.

I have been tagged...

2009-02-02T08:03:00.001-08:00

I have been tagged in a post on Cindybee's blog, I think the challenge is, to pick the 6th picture in your 6th folder in your pictures, post it here and tag six more people.....anyway, here goes, this is Mort, he is a goshawk, he is a gorgeous looking bird of prey but goshawks by nature are very moody and he only likes my husband.....and thats on a good day..lol...he is named after a character in Terry Pratchetts discworld series.

I will tag....
Tiggertastic
Aims
Lollies
Karen
Liz
Carolyn.

Jewellery Challenge.....

2009-01-30T02:27:00.000-08:00

Here is one of my more is more pieces, lots of colour and not really a pattern just lots of beads to make a rather bold statement......this is my entry for Sarahs Jewellery challenge no.2.

Awards

2009-01-27T08:58:00.001-08:00

A huge thankyou to Maggie over at http://www.craftynana-maggie.blogspot.com/ for this lovely award...... I will pass it to...

Louise - http://www.pinkpuppysblog.blogspot.com/

Aimee - http://www.teenyaims.blogspot.com/

Sarah - http://www.jewellerychallenge.blogspot.com/

Natalie - http://www.nataliewallacecards.blogspot.com/

Lauren - http://www.cardsandothercraftystuff.blogspot.com/

A big thankyou to Jackie over at http://www.jackiescrafts/ for this lovely award.....I will pass it over to...

Maddy - http://madimaginations.blogspot.com/

Lisa - http://www.glitterbugwishes.blogspot.com/

Chris - http://www.cambiel.blogspot.com/

Jules - http://www.creativemakes.blogspot.com/

Ickle - http://www.icklepicklepumpkinpie.blogspot/

cheers Ladies....

Busy Tuesday..

2009-01-21T03:49:00.000-08:00

I follow , with total amazement and awe Maddy's blog....Mad Imaginations.....some of her creations on there are fantastic and make me lost for words which doesn't happen often,I can tell you......anyway after being inspired by Maddy, I decided to have a go.....I found an old shower gel box, took it apart, cut the top off, covered it and put the box back together.....I then added some bits and pieces and made myself a stamped images box.....to keep all my images together...then I covered some more things......
Thankyou Maddy for the inspiration...

I got this old tube from work, it had a poster in it.....a bit of fancy paper and some stickers and I have a paintbrush holder....

This used to be a coaster box but has now been turned into an atc box, just the right size to keep atcs in......I covered the box with paper, lid and bottom, added a ribbon to the lid, some flowers, a butterfly and a tag.....very handy...

Lastly, I covered a little pot with some sticky ribbon and put a sticky flower on the top, I filled it with some diecut flowers....very dinky..

I was on a bit of a roll yesterday, I made a batch of atcs ready to send out to friends, you never know when you are going to need one...so I decided to make some for the occasion..

The first two are Jemima Puddleduck and I think its a red admiral butterfly but I could be wrong...

These are a couple of images that were sent to me, just begging to be used...

A couple of Tildas, I can't get enough of these stamps, they are brilliant...so easy to use...

Finally, I also made some toppers for cards or scrapbooking, whichever takes my fancy.....I took a coloured stamped image, wrapped thread around it , placed on another piece of card and added a button..

ATC Book...

2009-01-09T14:25:00.001-08:00

This is what I have been doing all day today..I made a book to display all the gorgeous atcs I have been sent.....I covered a childs scrapbook with wrapping paper and decorated it with all my bits and pieces....I made all the little envelopes to hold the atcs and decorated the pages....and I still have plenty of room more...hint hint!!!
Now all I have to do is make some more for all the cards and tags I have got......phew!!!

This is a bag charm I made for a challenge on the cb forum, two colour combination....greens and oranges..

Crafty Makes: Blog Candy

2009-01-08T12:23:00.000-08:00

Crafty Makes: Blog Candy
Kim has some blog candy up for grabs over on her blog...pop over and take a look..

Jewellery Today!!!

2009-01-08T09:15:00.000-08:00

Today I made this bracelet for Tiggertastics new jewellery challenge blog, I have used silver chain with a lobster clasp, the beads are threaded onto headpins and attached to the chain....I have used blues, whites and greens in the beads, there are a few green leaves in there somewhere but you can't really see them that well in the photo...

A pair of purple earrings I made today for the cb swap, I think the colour was purple I might have to check...lol..

New year mojo is off and running...

2009-01-06T14:16:00.000-08:00

Now the new year is well and truly underway, my crafting mojo has returned with a vengence....I have so many ideas and themes running through my head at the moment I have taken to carrying my book around with me to jot them all down....now just to find the time to fit it all in...lol..
This is my entry for the exotic challenge on the cb forum, as usual I have gone for the exotic oriental theme...I love anything oriental...the papers and images you can get now are amazing and I can't get enough of them..

My entry for the new year challenge on the cb forum, quite pink for me....

This is my entry for the cb card swap, this month the theme is pinks, purples and silver......more butterflies, I'm afraid....feeling very girly at the moment...

These are my atcs for the cb swap, this month the theme is fantasy, so I decided to do flower fairies...

The theme for the bookmark swap on the cb forum this month is monochrome and this is my effort...not really happy with these so I might have to redo them..

These are my tag swaps for the cb forum, the theme this month is butterflies which I have made out of vellum, embossed and pricked...

Happy New Year!!!

2008-12-29T08:18:00.000-08:00

I hope you all have had a brilliant christmas and I wish you all a Happy New Year.....I think 2009 is going to be a great one for us crafters even with the credit crunch.....obviously us crafters have been recycling and making our own cards and presents for years so it won't make any difference , we have a head start on this front....
Happy New Year and I look forward to seeing all your crafty goodies for 2009!!!

See You In the New Year

2008-12-13T13:38:00.001-08:00

I won't be posting on here until the new year, I have been ill and still am so I am taking it easy for the moment..
I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year...

Rachelxx

Snow White and Betty Boop!!!

2008-11-27T05:22:00.001-08:00

I have been playing about with these this morning, a change from christmas cards, and a welcome change if you ask me...lol...they are for 2 birthdays coming up, one 50th and one 60th...I got the images off the internet and used them as decoupage... the little parcel on the snow white card opens up to reveal a birthday cake....someone sent it to me and I am very greatful for itas I think it finishes off this card nicely...
The Betty Boop card is for someone who is young at heart, and lets face it who wouldn't want to be betty boop at 50...

I thought I'd have a change of shape when I made these, they open in the middle....the fronts are layered to make them stand out...something different for me to try...I need to do a couple more now....and I decorated the insides...but I still have to find the right verse to put in them..

This is my snowflake card, inside and out...lol...

My modern take on the traditional Nativity Cards...

Apologies to Jackie from Jackie's Crafts..

2008-11-27T05:20:00.000-08:00

Jackie so very kindly sent me the award below as well and I forgot to put her name on the thankyou...I'm really sorry Jackie and thankyou ever so much for the award...it was so kind of you..xxx

Blog Award

2008-11-26T15:20:00.000-08:00

Thank you ever so much to Max who so kindly gave me this award for my blog.

"This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships!
These blogs are exceedingly charming.
These kind blogger's aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated.

Please give more attention to these writers! "

The following people are all more than worthy of my nomination and I hope they will accept this award in return for the friendship and kindness they have shown to me combined with the inspiration they offer to others by sharing their wonderful creativity.

Glitterbug
Sequin
PinkPuppy
Torpenhow
Tiggertastic
Devonbunny

Yippee!! some good news at last..

2008-11-24T14:02:00.000-08:00

My daughter Bethan passed her driving test this morning, after the awful few weeks we have had this is boost that we needed...I am so very proud of her and love her to pieces....she didn't tell anyone she was going this morning, she just went and told me she had passed when she came back..
Well done bethanxxxxxx

My latest cards and some snowflakes

2008-11-15T10:26:00.000-08:00

I lost my mojo for a short while due to some very sad news in the family and all the trials and tribulations that come with it and are still on going....but it is slowly starting to come back and here are some of my makes , the cards aren't what I'd usually do but I thought I'd have a change...the snowflakes or stars , it depends on how you want to look at them are made from beads and wire, very simple really.......and I think they will look nice hanging from a tree or perhaps in a window on some ribbon....must remember to attatch some ribbon...
I'm really looking foward to the Crafts Beautiful Christmas online party now at the end of the month....and i hope to see you all there...

Latest News..

2008-11-07T02:43:00.001-08:00

Last night I did my first christmas craft evening of the year, it went quite well, not as many people came as I had hoped but I sold quite a lot of stuff.....but how many of you find that people expect things for nothing....they don't seem to appreciate how much time and hard work goes into your creations.....

I had an order this week for 60 birthday invites, they had to be done quickly ,so this is what I made, very sparkly with fairys and stars....the lady I made them for was very pleased with them..

Busy,busy,busy!!!!

2008-10-30T12:56:00.000-07:00

Its full speed ahead at my house this week , halloween,birthday and christmas sale...so very excited...oh and bonfire night which is my favourite...I love the smell,the heat from the fire and all the noise and the sparklers.....
This is a wall hanging made using pieces that Sequin sent me, very much appreciated...she very kindly sent me the stockings, some paint and some glitter and this is what I made....a decorated fireplace complete with stockings and a letter to santa..

A few more cards for my sale...I love this christmas tree stamp as it is so versatile, you can take different bits out of it....but this time I used the whole thing and used it for decoupage..

2008-10-27T15:58:00.000-07:00

Getting busier and busier now, so much that I want to do and so little time....I have my first christmas craft fair of the year on November 6th...hopefully I will be redy and it will go okay..

Here are some tree decorations, I have to put the ribbon on the stockings , I keep forgetting..

These are some more of my cards, they are only a small selection as I can't put them all on here..

These are my christmas wall hangings, they are made with the poem "Twas the Night before Christmas" in mind...

Porcelain Button necklaces..

2008-10-18T15:47:00.001-07:00

I saw these buttons being made by a young girl in Aberaeron, they are made of porcelain and I just had to buy them....I made them into chokers using tigertail and blue ceramic and lampwork beads...as they are quite heavy they sit nicely around the neck..

wall hangings..

2008-10-18T15:41:00.001-07:00

I made these wall hangings for some challenges on the cb forum, I quite like making these, something different other than cards and atcs...this top one is based on the Thumbelina fairytale which both of my girls love.....the middle one is for a young girl featuring Tilda and the bottom one is for halloween of course...

Hang your stockings up....

2008-10-09T02:41:00.000-07:00

Now that the christmas preparations for us crafters are well and truly under way, there doesn't seem to be enough hours in the day at the moment.....I really have to get a move on and make loads of things...the trouble is I want to do everything but I suppose you have to draw the line somewhere....
These are what I was making last night, while watching Heroes on the telly....they aren't very big, they will look nice hung on the tree with sweets or a small gift in..

Another card made with the stencil paste and glitter...

These are a few atcs I have made, ready to send to some of my favourite people...

My Christmas Makes so far!!!

2008-10-04T15:30:00.001-07:00

Some of my christmas makes so far....I still have a lot more to go, jewellery, cards and stockings and wreaths....perhaps I will be ready by 2009..

My Holiday 2008..

2008-09-21T04:53:00.001-07:00

Just a few photos of our week in Newquay, we had a great time, the weather was great, we picniced on the beach and went paddling!!! Just relaxed, ate some good food and drank some wine, well quite a bit of wine (thanks dad) and found a lovely little craft shop in Aberystwyth.(thanks mum)!!!

We spent a lot of time with my brother and his wife and their two dogs, Molly and Lola..they live in Aberaeron not far from newquay..

Cenarth falls, you can tell how much rain we have had over the summer by the depth of the water and all the trees washed down by the river..

The dolphins at Newquay Harbour, they are gorgeous, this is a mum with her calf, we saw them a few times over the week..

Sitting on the harbour...

Newquay from the harbour wall...

Mum and Dad enjoying the sun..

Rebecca on the beach, digging to China!!!

Off on my hols...

2008-09-10T14:55:00.000-07:00

I am off to Newquay, West Wales for a week in the sun...lol...well whatever the weather I will have a good time, I'm sure...
I will post some pics when I get back...

My latest Makes...

2008-09-08T14:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some of my makes for the weekend, as you can see, not much housework was done over the weekend..lol..

These are made with 3strand tigertail wire, I have used three strands of wire, four beads on each wire and then one bead on the three wires, it gives it a twisted look...

These are sets are made with 7strand tigertail wire, I have made double stranded necklaces and bracelets and used beads and crimps...

More bracelets, mobile phone charms and earrings.

2008-09-05T15:14:00.000-07:00

Had a busy day today, I was rescued by the firebrigade from a flooded garage while at work, and came home and made these to pass the time away while it rained and rained....I am really enjoying making the mobile phone charms at the moment, a bit sparkly and quite easy to make..and I love making these bracelets ,very bling I think...

Todays Jewellery Makes...

2008-09-04T09:39:00.000-07:00

These are my jewellery makes for today, I really enjoyed making them...I like to make things that are bright and sometimes bold.....maybe a bit different to what everyone else is making....

These are two mobile phone charms I made for my two girls, they picked their own beads.....the one on the left is for Rebecca who is nine, she has a mad sense of colour and sometimes dresses in colours that you wouldn't put together but she seems to pull it off.....the one on the right is for Bethan who is nineteen, she is more conservative with her colour choice but gorgeous none the less....

This is a handbag charm I made for a jewellery swap on the CB forum, the challenge was to use autumn colours, I think I got it right...it is made with headpins and beads attatched to a chain..

This is a beaded charm bracelet, I made this for myself, I love the colours and thought I'd spoil myself...Its is made with beads and headpins and attatched to a chain at intervals....

This is a necklace I made for my sister in laws birthday, it is a silver torque with twisted wire and beads, the large bead came from portugal...

Butterfly ATcs...

2008-09-02T10:30:00.000-07:00

These are some atcs I made for a swap on the Busymitts forum, I made the butterflys from parchment, they are embossed, pricked and lightly coloured with pencils...I am very pleased with these, the butterflys look so delicate...

Christmas cards at last!!!

2008-09-02T10:15:00.000-07:00

I have started my christmas cards at last, these are made using the iris folding technique, I have not done a lot of iris folding and to be honest it has never really appealed to me...so I decided to give it another bash and I am still of the same opinion....
I have also used some of the cutouts as toppers for the cards, I prefer those cards out of all of them...

Busy Busy!!!

2008-08-27T03:28:00.000-07:00

I am very busy making christmas cards, I seem to make hundreds each year so I have to start now or I'll never get anything ready... I will post pictures on here as soon as i have finished them...

Pink and Black

2008-08-19T12:21:00.000-07:00

I made this for a challenge on the cb forum but I have also entered it into another challenge, Lollies new challenge blog......look at my links and go and have a look...
The small flowers are cut with a punch but the big central flower was drawn and cut by me...

2008-08-19T12:20:00.000-07:00

Red and sparkly earrings

2008-08-18T15:34:00.000-07:00

I made these for a swap on the cb forum, they are stitched with red beading thread, a bit fiddly but worth it in the end I think...

2008-08-18T15:33:00.001-07:00

Autumn Card

2008-08-18T15:31:00.000-07:00

I made this card for a challenge on the cb forum...I shaded the trees with pastel chalks and triple embossed the tree at the bottom...

2008-08-18T15:30:00.000-07:00

Last Nights Makes

2008-08-07T04:20:00.000-07:00

These are what I made last night, a birthday card and some atcs.....the Tildas are painted with ink pens and water and the butterflys are in parchment...

2008-08-07T04:17:00.000-07:00

Goodies galore!!

2008-08-06T06:51:00.000-07:00

I spent the day at my mothers yesterday, I very nicely raided her craft stash for her and brought home some lovely goodies to play with.....she didn't mind, he said she had too much stuff...I don't think you can ever have too much craft stuff.....but it worked well for me....so watch this space for more creations, when I have five minutes to myself....

Oriental Atcs

2008-08-03T11:14:00.000-07:00

These are some oriental atcs I made yesterday, I love making oriental designs and I have to be very careful I don't spend all my time making them...

2008-08-03T11:12:00.001-07:00

My Butterfly Atcs..

2008-08-03T11:10:00.000-07:00

Here are my butterfly atcs, the butterflys are stamped and embossed on parchment..I also used some lovely papers that a friend sent me...

2008-08-03T11:08:00.000-07:00

Help

2008-08-03T11:03:00.000-07:00

For some reason, it won't let me download the image....I will try again now...

2008-08-03T11:02:00.001-07:00

I have been given this lovely award by my fantastic blogging friends

http://tiggertastic.blogspot.com/
http://buttonsforbrains.blogspot.com/

The rules of this award:
1. Only 5 people allowed
2. 4 have to be dedicated followers of your blog.
3. One has to be someone new or recently new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
4. You must link back to whoever gave you the award, quite simple really it is a way of saying thank you to those who take time out for wonderful comments to boost your day.
This award goes to :
http://cardsandothercraftystuff.blogspot.com/
http://pinkpuppysblog.blogspot.com/
http://teenyaims.blogspot.com/
http://jackiescrafts-torpenhow.blogspot.com/
http://girlscanblogtoo.blogspot.com/

August already!!

2008-08-01T02:06:00.000-07:00

OMG its August already, I have so many birthday the start of August, my mum, my brother, my sister in law, my nephew, cousins and uncles......I think I'd better get cracking and make some cards.....these are my fimo snails....

Ordered Necklaces!!

2008-08-01T02:02:00.000-07:00

These are a couple of necklaces that people have ordered, not my cup of tea really but if people want them then I will make them....they are made from 3 strand tiger tail and I have usd 3 wires.....put a small bead on each wire and then a larger bead on all three wires, it then starts to twist.....

2008-08-01T02:00:00.000-07:00

Some Jewellery makes...

2008-07-31T15:39:00.000-07:00

I had a really busy day today, I made quite a bit of jewellery, here are some rings and earrings...I really enjoy making jewellery, I could quite happily make it all day..

2008-07-31T15:37:00.001-07:00

August Recycling Challenge

2008-07-31T15:32:00.000-07:00

This is a bracelet I made for the August recycling challenge on the cb forum...it is called "summer suprises"...all the components are recycled...

Fairy Challenge..

2008-07-30T14:51:00.000-07:00

I made this fairy card for Maggie50 for the suprise swap on the cb forum but I have decided to enter it into the Pollycrafts challenge, as well...

Wild West Challenge

2008-07-29T14:55:00.000-07:00

Pictured below is the prize I won for the wild west challenge on the cb forum and below that is the indian headress I made out of a leather belt , some beads and some of our birds feathers...
No birds were harmed in the making of this..lol....they all now have woolly jumpers!!

2008-07-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

Sunny Sunday!!

2008-07-27T12:41:00.000-07:00

Today was absolutely gorgeous, boiling hot, as you can see we packed a picnic and spent the day at the beach.....we had lollies and ended the day with fish and chips....fantastic!!
Also a couple of pictures of Wol my owl, too hot for her so I hosed her down......

2008-07-27T12:30:00.000-07:00

2008-07-26T15:31:00.000-07:00

I made this out of flat strips of wax, you cut them out in the shape you require and then mold it to the candle...the heat from your hands melts the wax slightly so it sticks to the candle..

I like this one, it feels sort of christmassy...

2008-07-26T15:30:00.000-07:00

2008-07-26T15:27:00.000-07:00

These are a couple of atcs I made, I am getting quite addicted to these, they are so easy to get carried away with and I love sending them to people.

I like the heart and bits of leather on the first one and the tiny envelope on the second one....

2008-07-26T15:21:00.000-07:00

2008-07-26T15:16:00.000-07:00

Most of you will have seen this already, I entered it into the Royalty Challenge on the CB Forum, my youngest daughter called it the football tiara, the blue beads on the stems have flowers on them, but Rebecca said they looked like footballs...

2008-07-26T15:13:00.000-07:00

2008-07-25T08:54:00.000-07:00

I added beads and thread to this one to make it a bit different...