The one where I've almost conquered sewing zips!!

I've been suffering from a lack of crafting mojo lately, it's not been fun & I've realised how much I enjoy creating & crafting, how much it keeps me sane. If I don't have time to spend crafting, it affects everything else, my general mood, my energy levels etc. in fact it makes me a right miserable cow!!

So I treated myself to a few pretty things to try & entice my crafting mojo out of hiding. All the fabric & the lace trim above comes from The Homemakery (cannot link when blogging via the iPad, please google, as its the most gorgeous site & you will receive amazing customer service from the lovely Kate). I decided to challenge myself & attempt to master sewing in zips. The previous times I have tried, it's been pretty disastrous!! But the crafting gods must have taken pity on me & shined down upon me on that day, because not only did I sew one almost perfect little pouch:

With an almost perfect zip,

I say almost perfect, as I did not balls it up, the lining didn't lie perfectly, but it does the trick!!

& I even managed a second pouch!!

The lining was even worse on this one, but I know what to do differently next time. 

& now I have two pretty little pouches to carry my lip balm, inhaler & glasses cleaning cloth around. I've bought more zips so I can attempt a make up bag & maybe an iPad case.

What can I say? Crafting makes me happy.

Xxx

Easter Cookies

Well I'm seemed to have failed miserably at my aim of blogging more this year. So as an apology to anyone who still reads my blog, have an Easter cookie!!

Actually, have the recipe for the Easter cookies, as my kids have eaten them all!! These cookies are very easy to make & are absolutely soft & yummy.

Easter Cookies.

125g Soft Butter

100g Light Brown Sugar

125g Caster Sugar

1 Egg, lightly beaten

1tsp Vanilla

225g Self Raising Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

200g Mini Eggs 

- Preheat oven to 180.

- Cream butter & sugars, then lightly beat egg & mix in.

- Add the vanilla

- Sift in the flour & the salt

- Mix into a dough,add the Mini Eggs & mix in,then tear off small lumps & place them on a baking sheet lined with grease proof paper. Gently flatten the lumps.

- Bake for 7 minutes.

- Leave to cool for 10 minutes, giving you plenty of time to make a cup of tea with which to enjoy your cookie when it has sufficiently cooled.

** The Mini Eggs can be substituted for choc chips or anything else that takes your fancy. I've used cooking chocolate before which melted amazingly!! **

Enjoy!!

Xxx

The one where I got a DSLR

A few months ago I finally got a DSLR, so exciting!!

But its been a definite learning experience. In fact I'm still shooting in Auto.

One of my goals for 2014** is to get it out of Auto & learn how to use it!

** You may or may not have noticed that I'm in the process of tidying up the blog & sprucing it up. Its still a work in progress, but I've started working on the Page tabs above. The 2014 Goals page has been completed if you fancy taking a look? **

For now though, here are some of my favourite photos so far:

 

I think the major obstacle I seem to be battling (apart from not having a clue about what my camera can do) is dealing with the light in my house. Its either way too dark or far too bright, almost harsh.

 

I absolutely LOVE these two photography blogs, the light, the subjects, how unposed the photos feel..........

 

Ashley Ann Photography & Karen Russell

 

 

& they both offer online photography courses, which I'm hoping to take at some point later this year.

 

So what resolutions or goals have you set for the year?

 

xxx

2013

Well I'd planned to do the obligatory 2013 Round Up Post, but after looking through my photos I realised I didn't achieve much in 2013. Don't get me wrong, it was a busy year, it's just that it seems like I spent most of it helping others achieve things. It was a year of change with my hubby's business becoming extremely busy, my eldest began high school, my youngest started full time school & my middle child had to deal with not only these changes but also the start of recognising that she is different to her friends (my daughter is autistic).

I started to feel quite sad that I hadn't achieved much for myself when I have friends that have started businesses, gone back to college, started new careers. But then I thought of the people that matter the most to me, my husband & my girls. I hope that if they look back on this year, of the ups & downs, of the challenges they overcame, I hope that they felt that I was there for them, that I hugged them when they were sad, picked them up when they fell, made them smile, encouraged them, celebrated their successes & loved them.

So 2013 was a year helping others achieve their goals.

2014 is going to be My Year. (Well, I will still be there 100% for my family, but I'm not going to feel guilty anymore for taking time to do stuff for me).

I'm now going to spend the last few hours of 2013, planning on what I want to do/achieve/experience in 2014.

I hope that wherever you are, you are having a fantastic time celebrating the New Year & that 2014 brings you everything you wish for.

Xxxxxxx

One month to go.....

......till Christmas!! 

So far, I've actually completed a fair bit of the shopping. This is a bit of a miracle as normally I'm completely unorganised. I haven't started the crafty bits I need to make, so will have to get a wriggle on.

I was inspired over the weekend to make some Christmas decorations, Kawaii style.

I've been telling my girls that before they start to make something that they need to draw it out & plan it. So I decided to take my own advice & draw my idea, before making it. I love how cute Kawaii is!!

My 1st attempt wasn't exactly how I wanted it to be, but I know what I need to change. Still pretty cute though <3 ( apologies for the poor lighting, this was taken last night)

But the decorations will have to wait for now, I have a new pot of Annie Sloan paint waiting for me......

Happy Monday!!

Xxx

Popping in to say Hi!!

Is it just me, or does it seem like this year is flying by? I cannot believe is halfway through November & Christmas will be here before we know it!

I have been busy, crafty wise.

I'm loving autumn as its the perfect time to stay indoors, with hot tea, candles lit, trashy TV & crafting time!!

Xxx

The one where it was very Cloudy

 Oops! I did it again & took a bit of a break from the old blog. Was totally unintentional but once again life is kicking my backside. But enough about that, lets talk about more interesting things.

For a while now I've had an idea about making a felt cloud mobile type of thingymabob. I've seen lots of cloud cushions, mobiles etc around Blogland, & wanted to make my own but just never seemed to get around to it. I've recently introduced my eldest daughter to the world of Kawaii (I'd add a link but am posting from my iPad & haven't figured out how to link from it, any tips or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!). One evening whilst pinning lots of Kawaii images to show my daughter, I had a lightbulb moment & decided to try a Kawaii style cloud. A few days later, I actually had some time to sit down & try it.

In progress.

Ta Dah!!!!!!!!!

One little felt cloud with crocheted rain drops.

& a happy Kawaii style face!!

I posted the above photos on IG & got some brilliant feedback, in fact a few people even requested to buy one.

These three Sweet Dreams Clouds sold straight away!!

& there's a few more waiting to be finished!! I've named them Sweet Dreams Clouds as I'd imagined them hanging above my daughters beds & I've lightly scented them with dried lavender. They measure 17cm x10 cm approx, & I'm selling them for £10.00 each & £3.70 p&p (uk 2nd class recorded), if anyone is interested, please drop me an email at mcevoy.lisa@yahoo.co.uk.

It's a great feeling knowing others like what you create so much so they want to buy it. I'm definitely one of those people that are super critical of themselves so this has been a massive boost to my confidence! (Don't worry about me getting big headed though, no chance of that!)

So once these clouds have been completed, I've got some more ideas I want to try, the main one being an autumn style garland (autumn is my favourite season), something along these lines:

But bigger, with leaves, acorns, maybe a squirrel or two.

What makes you think of autumn?

Well cloud stuffing (& maybe a bit of crochet) is the plan for today, along with making a big pot of stew. We are having a grey & rainy Sunday here, def a day for staying inside in the warm.

Have a good one.xxx