Pages

Monday 5 March 2012

Some Spring coloured creations!

Hello again! It's gone rather chilly today - very different from the lovely mild weather we've had in the last week or so. Still, at least the sun is shining and so I can try and warm up my frozen fingers by telling myself that yes, it really is spring!

It's been a colourful week - I bought some lovely Cascade wool a while back and have been busy making a few bunny nuggets. Remember them? They got a mention last year in a recent projects post! I would really love to make them all year round - maybe with seasonal add-ons like little sunglasses for summer, or Santa hats for Christmas. Maybe I'll get round to it soon....
By the way, I should mention that the pattern is not my own creation - it's from a very clever lady called Rebecca Danger and if you want to make your own, here is the Bunny Nugget free pattern that she kindly shares with everyone!

Here is the latest Bunny Nugget gang :)

Bunny Nuggets for 2012! 

The one at the front has been turned into a keyring - perfect for a little Mothers' Day gift. If you love it, you can buy it from me on my website.

Finally, at long last I finished my crochet baby blanket! I don't have any babies (and am definitely not expecting any more!!) but a baby blanket is just about the right size I think. A huge doube-bed sized blanket would take me far too long and boredom would soon set in!

I love the bright, spring-like colours.


Granny square baby blanket - finished!

This has been keeping me lovely and warm over winter - and I'm quite sad to finish it. I will miss it's cosy softness sitting on my lap in the evenings. My next one is going to be an organic cotton one I think - just need to find some lovely colours, and wait until my husband isn't around to catch me spending yet more money on yarn!!

Don't forget to pop in and see what the other Handmade Monday bloggers have been up to.

Off now to warm my hands up on the dog!!
Ooh! By the way, I've just discovered Instagram on my phone - it's brilliant, so expect some more of my attempts at photography soon.
I snapped this one of Bea, our beagle, and I just love it :-)

Bea - looking very pretty!

Monday 27 February 2012

Handmade Wedding Keepsakes

Recently I've been working on something a bit different! As you know (or might not) I run a baby hand/foot casting business when I'm not busy being buried under knitting and crochet.

This year I've decided it's time to move into Wedding Impressions - after all, the whole 'handprint' idea is that it's a keepsake of a special time, capturing a wonderful moment and reminding you of those precious memories whenever you look at it - and weddings most definitely fall into that category!

 I took some hand casts from my friends, then gathered together some lovely little wedding mementos and downloaded a royalty-free photo. They were all mounted together in a solid oak box frame, and I'm really pleased with the end result.


Wedding Impressions and keepsakes

Close-up view


I also did a bridesmaid one which you can see on my Little Impressions Stafford Facebook Page - you can't see it in the photos but I added some confetti before I framed it too. Both frames got some really good feedback from a local wedding fair that my husband went to, so I'm looking forward to doing some more soon :)

If you have friends in Staffordshire who are getting married soon, then you can buy Impressions Vouchers online from Little Impressions.

And finally, here are some other lovely handmade wedding keepsakes that I spotted whilst browsing.

Wedding guest fingerprint art
This is such a great idea - available from Personalized Prints on Etsy

I couldn't do a blog post without some crochet, so here we are:

A beautiful crochet covered stone
These would make beautiful table decorations or wedding favours - see them at Table Top Jewels on Etsy


Crochet necklace
Wish I could make these - see it on my Wedding Keepsakes Pinterest Board

Finally, don't forget to look at Handmade Monday to see what the other creative people have been up to!
See you next time :)

Monday 20 February 2012

Owls everywhere!

Here we are again - another Monday! As always, do visit Handmade Monday to see lots more lovely craft blogs. 


I'm not a having a very productive one here since the kids have a teacher training day, so one has gone out to work on homework with a friend, leaving the other one here all alone with no-one to play with! So I'd better get on with it...



As mentioned last time, I've been introduced to Pinterest (notice my new button up at the top left?? *hint hint*) and I pinned one of my knitted creations on there. It seemed to get quite a lot of 'repins' so I thought I'd share it with you all too! 
My Little Knitted Sock Owl
It's a prototype really - I think it needs a bit more 'cuteness' somehow. Maybe some more embroidery on it? Does anyone have any suggestions?
The owl was made from hand-dyed sock yarn, and is filled with plastic pellets and lavender so it smells gorgeous!


This then got me thinking about all the lovely handmade owls that there are around, so here are some of my favourites:



These are so sweet! I want them all dangling off my bag.


Here's another thing on my 'Projects to Make' list!



This is just too gorgeous and huggable! It's made from alpaca yarn, so I can only just imagine how soft it must be.


Lastly, a lovely big thank you to Jam Dalory for this lovely award - it's very kind, and it's always nice to have a pretty picture to add and brighten up my page! I am struggling to find 5 blogs to award, because all the ones I follow have too many followers to qualify - but I will work on it and pass on the award soon!




See you soon!

Monday 13 February 2012

Short & Sweet

Ok, I confess - I have rather neglected my blogging duties of late! I could blame all sorts of things - Christmas, New Year, laziness, the children, my very old/slow/unreliable computer etc. etc. All of those things do hinder my progress - so.... I am attempting a new tack. I will try to post more often, but in shorter bursts. Let's see if it works!!!

So, what have I been up to? The most exciting thing is that I'm currently doing a handmade marketing course - so I'm busy learning all about all sorts of cool stuff like branding, writing great product descriptions, the dos and don'ts of selling online... we've covered so much my poor brain can hardly take it all in! This week is our week off, so I'm supposed to be putting it all into action, so I'm gradually re-vamping my website, hopefully listing some things on Folksy and adding to my new Etsy shop - phew!

My new Etsy shop scheme


If you want to have a nosey at the course I'm on, there are some great freebies on their website so do feel free to have a look at Handmade Horizons, and watch this space for more news!

I've also discovered the black hole of gorgeousness that is Pinterest - those of you who are on there already, you will know what I mean!!! I could spend literally hours pinning away, so have had to be strict and set my timer when I'm on there. If you like, you can follow me here.

Finally, here's a couple of recent makes - a mini monster, who lives on my daughter's schoolbag!

Knitted Mini Monster bag charm


and since I'm thinking about Easter - the knitted chickens are back! I've done a variation on last year - this one has been knitted and then felted, and has crochet & embroidered features. She is filled with polypellets and lavender too, so she smells rather nice - unlike real chickens...!

A felted Spring Chicken!


Ok - that's it for now! I shall try to post again sooner rather than later.
Now don't forget to visit Handmade Monday and click on some of the other links!

See you soon ;-) xx