Lifeschool

One of the many things I love about where we live is the 'small town' mindset - ok, that can have its negative aspects, but I love the community events, clubs, social gatherings and the way folks smile and say hello just passing on the street.  I love that most houses have a porch facing outwards to the road so you can sit and watch the world tick along and wave hello to passers by.  I love that there are very few fences and gates around people's homes, and I love the way that Pot Lucks are the norm for entertaining friends.  Sometimes there are frustrations - many websites and banking and insurance procedures feel like they haven't progressed in the last decade or several.  But then you happen upon some really great initiatives and talent, in all sorts of walks of life, one shining example being the LifeSchool House which has just relocated to a lovely old farmhouse not far from where we live. In addtion to all kinds of workshops, where the presenter is rewarded with donated goods instead of cash, every month there is a Makers' Swap, which I had the pleasure of attending this week.

What a great idea and what good fun!  Everyone takes a few home made things along: baked goods, home brew, plant seedlings, soaps, knitted and stitched crafts, postcards, and more. Everyone was friendly and welcoming, there's no pressure to take a lot or a little and everyone gets to pick something in turn from the table until everything is gone.  I took along some bunting and some greeting cards, and came home with several tomato and pepper seedlings, gorgeously scented home made gardeners' soap, a taster of Fire Cider, beautiful postcards from a local photographer, and a tiny bottle of something that I'm told will properly perk up whatever liquid beverage I care to mix it with and properly perk me up too!  What to make for next month's swap? Watch this space!

Gettin' Crafty at Christmas

What a gorgeously relaxed Christmas we had this year - one year on from our move to Nova Scotia, properly settled into our home and plenty of time to enjoy the build up to the festive season.  Missed our family madly, but the internet is a wonderful thing for keeping in touch with friends and family.  When I was in my early twenties I lived in California for a couple of years, and kept in touch with my darling Mum by airmail letter alone - not even a phone call as it was so expensive.  So although we would have loved to have everyone here, we counted our blessings as always for living this amazing life in the home of our dreams, and had a very jolly time of it.  Friends came over on Christmas Day, we ate, drank and played silly party games and just enjoyed every single minute!  I went to a Christmas Craft Fair at the local High School, which was super impressive for a small town, and I came away with not-so-secret ambitions to have a table there myself one day; I so enjoyed making all of these things, what a great excuse it would be to make lots more!  I planned to get stuck into it in January, but then remembered that I still need to finish recovering the seat cushions for our tiny caravan, a task that's been hanging over me for-evvvver.  So I bit the bullet and now I am 4 cushions down and 5 to go, very happy that I am making progress with that.  Pics to come soon!

Here comes 2015

At last I have succumbed to a rather clever phone, so here's my first attempt at blogging on the go! Christmas crafty activities were somewhat limited and those I did manage I forgot to photograph... But here's a card I made for our lovely neighbours, which I wanted to do to make up for forgetting to deliver their Christmas card :-/ 

Feeling feisty and full of resolve for a very crafty year ahead - bring it on!

Blue Peter stylie

With birthdays inconveniently placed in the post-Christmas-austerity period, I thought I'd try a bit of paper collage instead of the fabric I usually go for - I sort of like the result but as I'm not very neat it's a bit Blue Peter-ish I think.  I need to invest in some thicker card as a base as it goes a bit wonky when the glue hits it. But quite pretty nonetheless, so not a total disaster.  The enevelopes were another story: when will I learn that a little time spent measuring and planning  properly makes a world of difference?  I still kid myself I have an eye for a straight line - apparently not, but with a good slap of glue they made their way through the post safely enough.

Happy Birthday Flower!

Here's a little card I made last week (week before? time flies...) for my lovely friend Jo's birthday. I was a bit disappointed because the petals are a bit wishy-washy - I don't think my sense of colour is very good, I find it hard to visualise the end result before I get there. But I was dead chuffed with the actual result: Jo's delight in receiving it, which made me very happy.  

Meanwhile, back on the sofa - I've just been reunited with my laptop, fresh back from the laptop doctor's (and the ailing mouse-pad still not fixed) so have been indulging in a little pinterest.  Oh my word, its sooo addictive!!  There may be a lull in craft production while I explore...

I think they deserved these...

Two of my best friends moved house only days before Christmas (different friends, different houses, same challenges!) - and knowing them as I do, I'll bet they had everything unpacked and festived up in the nick of time; me, I'd be in bedlam for months.  So I made them a little card each and posted them off, one to the wilds of Devon and one to swanky Chislehurst, with lots of love and good wishes.  Not quite the same as being there to help of course, but I was with them in spirit.