Wednesday 14 December 2011

Wedding Invites

As you may know C and i are getting married next year in Cyprus. We are having a fairly small wedding as we don't have a lot of money to spend. I decided to make our wedding invitations as we only had around 30 to send out, and I don't see the point in paying someone to do something that i could do myself. Also i do enjoy being crafty and was looking forward to it.

I copied a template that my friend had for her wedding which holds the invite, the rsvp and other details. I can't say the idea was my own but i did design the layout and found a template for the airmail border. I printed the information onto coloured card using a laser printer. After cutting out the invites with a craft knife I stuck them down with double sided glue - so much better than using pritt! I tied the other two pieces of paper with some silver ribbon so they wouldn't fall out of the pouch. I found a punch at a craft shop and punched the heart design on the invite so when it is folded up the heart is on the top. On the reverse I used some silver stickers which say 'invitation.' I have had a few positive comments from our guests so far, one even thought i had taken them to get professionally printed!


Monday 10 October 2011

Dairy Free diet

We recently came back from a holiday to Canada, the weather wasn't great but we did have a few good days. We were mainly based in Toronto which is a huge city, there are so many great shops. I was impressed at how tidy the city was, they have huge bins everywhere for rubbish and recycling. I try to recycle as much as possible so it was great to see these bins as standard. Another thing that I've taken from our holiday is that I'm trying not to drink cow's milk. I've been told, and know from personal experience, that it is a mucous forming food -I recal constantly clearing my thoat in the mornings at work after a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee. Apparently cow's milk can also be attributed to snoring - now if only I could get CJ to stop drinking milk!

After scanning the shelves at our local grocery store for Almond milk, I was unable to find any, so Ii resorted to Oat milk and Rice milk. Oat milk has quite an oaty flavour - probably best used in porridge or cereal, it's a little strong for coffee, but not undrinkable. I find coffee with rice milk tastes a lot better and it slighlty creamier.
I found a recipe for making my own almond milk, it's a lot simpler than i thought. Here is a recipe although not the one I used, i didn't add any syrup or flavouring though.
I have cut out as much dairy as possible, although I do have margarine on occasion. I haven't had an cheese, chocolate or yoghurt since we arrived back- it's only been 5 days and I am recovering from a cold but I do feel I can breathe better. The day we flew back we had a big iced cappucino and I was really struggling to breathe and swallow on the plane. I feel a bit healthier I must admit and have no cravings for chocolate what so ever. I even tried a soya yoghurt today and it was actually quite nice! I'm not going to be one of those people who can't eat this and that when I'm out for dinner or at a friend's house - I will limit my intake of dairy if it's not possible to have an alternative instead.

Monday 19 September 2011

Home-made gifts

It's my sister's birthday in a few days so i thought i would make her a few little gifts. We have so many bottle caps at home i don't know what to do with them but i am hesitant to throw them out. I found this blog for a pin cushion ring using bottle caps which i thought was really sweet.

The only problem is my sister's not that into her sewing so i don't think she would use it. So instead of a ring i attached a magnet - something i'm sure she will make better use of.
Hopefully she will use them for her notice board for uni.


Since i usually have loads of magazines at home i decided to put them to good use and made a trivet. I ripped out colourful pages and folded and glued them into circles - it's almost finished i just need to add one more row but i was too impatient to finish it before posting it!
I will give it a gloss coating when it's all dry.

Monday 5 September 2011

Wedding date decided!

Third time lucky.... CJ and I had orginally chosen the perfect wedding date, but unfortunately it fell on a Saturday and they don't do weddings at our chosen venue during the weekend. Our second date has already been booked out. Apparently our third choice of date is available so lets hope it will be 3rd time lucky - since 3 is both mine and CJ's lucky number! I'm a little superstitious at times and i wanted our wedding day figures to add up to three.
Our wedding date is: 29-05-2012 (2+9+5+2+1+2)=21 (2+1=3) And because we got together on the 29th day of a month I think it is quite good! Fingers crossed all is well, I'm just waiting on a reply from Cyprus....

i can't wait to send out my 'save the date' cards. CJ and I had a photo shoot yesterday and i wanted to use one of those photos for the cards. I am going to get them printed on business cards and then attach them to magnets so people can put them on the fridge. I still need to design them but i'm going for an air-mail type theme.  (Since it is a destination wedding) I've seen a few blogs online with this idea so i want to work around that.


Here are a few examples




And for after the wedding thank-you notes


I can't wait to start designing and printing my invitations as well, we have not yet finalised our guest list but we're nearly there!

Tuesday 23 August 2011

Holiday in France


I've just come back from a relaxing holiday in France with my family.The above picture is of Marciac in the Gers region where we stayed. I will upload some more pictures soon. We had such lovely weather, it was as hot as 40degrees some days. Our last night there was still around 34 degrees at 9pm! We had a week of sun, walks, relaxing and eating! Of yes, and we did a bit of wine drinking too! Our hosts introduced us to a sweet wine called Floc which is produced in the region. It has quite a high alcohol content, 17% I think.Unfortunately it's back to work with a bang and back to dreary wet weather......

Wednesday 3 August 2011

My Marley

Marley ( I called him that because of the movie with the naughty dog - and yes he lives up to the name!) has found himself a new resting place. CJ made a pot plant holder which contains some bulbs which come up at spring time. It is now 'summer' and they are no longer sprouting. Marley has decided it is the perfect place to sleep and play!
He fits perfectly but unfortunately for him, his brother has taken a liking to the spot as well.

Thursday 28 July 2011

Planning time

It's been a while since I last wrote a post. I guess the most exciting news is that CJ and I have decided to have our wedding in Cyprus next year! There are so many ideas online at the moment I just can't decide what to do! We want a simple wedding but i want a few special touches to make our guest feel welcome - since they are travelling a fair distance for us!

Here are a few of my favourites found on pinterest:



http://www.myweddingfavors.com/beach-favors.html




http://ohsobeautifulpaper.com/2011/06/wedding-details-escort-cards-and-place-cards/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wedding-details-escort-cards-and-place-cards

http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/inspiration/turn-thumb-print-leaves-into-family-heirloom-good-ideas-110337

This is what i really want to make - if i ever get it done in time!
http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/2010/02/wedding-ring-pillow/


I think this must be the most exciting part of plannig your wedding, I just can't wait to try loads of dresses on - the hard part would be finding a place to hide it until the big day!

Wednesday 29 June 2011

Cats - they are funny things

On Saturday after a long day at work I lay down on the couch watching telly. My cat decided to come and curl up behind my knees with his head resting on the side of my leg. It doesn't look the most comfortable position for him but he looks quite happy!

This morning as i was putting my swimming costume into my gym back, he started acting weird and was trying to get himself as close to my costume as possible, almost in my bag. I had to pick him up to get him to move as he would not budge. It's not the first time i've noticed him snuggling up to my costume. After a brief google i found that a lot of cats are attracted to chlorine or bleach in the same way they are to catnip. I also found this little website with loads of interesting cat facts. One of them being that when a cat puts his face up to yours it is a sign of affection. I always kiss my cats on their heads and Marley always nuzzles up to me when i do, it's so cute!
Another interesting fact I found from this site .'A white cat's hearing has a lot to do with its eye colour. While white cats with orange eyes are generally fine, a large majority of white cats with blue eyes are deaf. Cats with only one blue eye are deaf in the ear closest to it.'

'Only 40 per cent of cats are ambidextrous while the remaining 60 per cent favour either their left or right paws.' I would never have thought, I must pay more attention to my cats and see if they're lefties or righties!Hopefully lefties like their mum!

Tuesday 28 June 2011

Spinach and Bacon Quiche




Last night I made a spinach and bacon quiche with feta cheese. I cheated with the base and bought a ready-made mix to which I added water and then rolled out. I had bought some spinach which had been reduced at the shops and had to find something to make with it that CJ would eat as well, I thought quiche was a good option. I found a recipe on the internet but used it as a guideline rather than following it totally. I think it came out quite well, the base was a little soft because of the juice from the spinach, but i did bake it for a bit before I put the filling in just to make sure it was cooked. The test will be when CJ has a slice today - let's hope it gets a thumbs up!
 (not my picture sorry - I pinched it off the net from here but I've not used this recipe before)

Wednesday 15 June 2011

Feeling arty

Recently I went to a friend's art exhibition. It was something the local artists decided to put together and it seemed to go down quite well. Needless to say it inspired me to do a bit of painting as i've not done any in ages.
I asked CJ to cut me some boards and have done 3 paintings so far. Two are copies of work done by Riccardo Guasco. I posted a picture of the one but since I took it with my phone the quality was not good. The other I took a photo of before it was finished and i have not gotten around to taking a photo of the completed picture.



The third picture is my favourite and came out much better than i expected. I was asked how much i would sell it for but i'm not sure i could part with it!

Monday 6 June 2011

Weekend art






Here is a painting I did over the weekend using oil paints.(excuse the bad photography) Unfortunately I can't say it is my own design, I copied it from an artist called Riccardo Guasco. I can't tell you much about him I'm afraid as what I can find  written about him is not in English. I will have to Google him a bit more. I just love the bold colours he uses and the shapes in his designs. Here are a few more of his 'real' pictures.




Of course I would not even attempt to sell my copied picture,I did it for myself to hang up in my lounge

Wednesday 1 June 2011

Coincidence or am I just psychic!


Two slightly weird things have happened to me lately. Almost like i've predicted the future.


I used to work at a pub/restaurant and have not been back since I stopped working there. I was thinking about it a few days ago and how it would be nice to go and have a meal. A day later I saw one of the waiters who worked there, and then again yesterday evening when i went to the gym. When i got home last night CJ got a call from his step-nan inviting us to that very pub for a Sunday meal - how strange!

I don't normally remember my dreams but last night I remember dreaming about going into a jewellery-type store and going straight to some watches on display. This morning when i picked up my watch to put it on, I saw that it had stopped sometime during the night. How weird!

I don't really think i have powers but i do believe in the power of the positive mind. There is a house that i really, really want. We have been house-hunting and the third place we saw i fell in love with. I have pinned up pictures of the kitchen and the lounge so that i can look at it every day. I tell myself that it will be mine soon. And it will!

My friend is very lucky when it comes to finding a parking space. She always manages to find the best spots. She tells herself that she is going to find a parking in the front of the building , or close to where she needs to be, and she does. Do you have any powers?

Saturday 28 May 2011

Just added new napkins to my shop

After neglecting my folksy shop lately, I finally added a new item. I have a few new ideas for napkins but you'll just have to wait a little longer for those.


And here is the final product


Please pop over to my shop for my other items here

Tuesday 17 May 2011

Past relationships

Isn't life funny. It seems someone hacked my e-mail account and sent all my contacts a spam message. A guy who i'd had a brief fling with a few years back contacted me as a result.
 -Things had ended suddenly between us, i assumed he was being a typical male and had met someone a bit more interesting after he stopped returning my calls. I was quite annoyed at the time as I quite liked him, and i had thought he was a nice guy.
So this guy, lets call him 'H' sent me a brief e-mail after he received my spam, asking how i was doing. I sent him a short but friendly reply. In his next e-mail he said he felt he had to explain why he 'fell off the face of the earth' back then and went on to say that he'd started developing feelings for me that he hadn't expected to. He'd just come out of a bad relationship and hadn't wanted to start something serious so soon afterwards. Understandable. I admit that was not the reason i was expecting. Of course i was really flattered, who wouldn't be! I had always wondered about why it ended like it had and now it's been put to bed.
He is in a relationship at the moment, i am engaged and live seas away, so there is really no possibiltiy of us getting together now. It does make me wonder though if he had been honest with his feelings right from the start, where we would be now.
But that is life, it's all about timing and if something is meant to be it will happen. I am really happy where i am now, i feel i can really be myself with CJ whereas with H i think i would have been trying to be someone i was not. And anyway, the cirumstances in which CJ and I met are so incredible that it couldn't possibly not be meant to be!

Sunday 15 May 2011

My latest project

A few months ago i printed some designs on baby vests and sent them to CJ's sister for her newborn. Unfortunately they took forever to arrive and he was quite a big baby, so they didn't fit.

I decided to make him something that he could use and it wouldn't matter what size he was. I looked in a baby shop for some bibs but I could only find ones made of toweling or pvc, nothing that I could print on. So I decided to make my own. I have only completed one so far and it was fairly simple. I'm quite pleased with the outcome, what do you think?


Power of positive thought

CJ and I have been on the search for a house. We just really want to get 'on the ladder' and stop paying for someone else's mortgage with the rent we are paying. The only problem is, and i'm sure we're not the only ones, finding the money for the deposit. We have seen a house we both really like and now it's a matter of seeing if we can afford it. I am trying to use the power of positive thought and have printed pictures of the lounge and kitchen. They are posted at my work desk where i can see them easily. I like to believe that if you think about something enough it will happen, whether it's good or bad. But i am also scared of putting all my hopes into this house and then being disappointed if we were not able to get it. So i think i will not talk about it anymore incase i jinx it. I never thought myself to be superstitious but i do sound like i am...... although i'm not bothered about walking over 3 drain covers, or under a ladder etc.

I often find pictures online of houses and their interiors, i save the pictures i like for future use. Yesterday i came across a website where you can put all your pictures and articles. I was originally going to print out all the pictures and put them in a scrap book ( whenever i had the time) but now that i've found this site i can just put them all in the same place instead of having them in random files taking up space on my computer.  The site is called Evernote, i've not explored it much so i'm sure there is loads more you can use it for.

I find most of my inspiring pictures from this website. Here are some of my favourites.





The creators of this website also do a post of pets on furniture. If you are an animal lover you will love this.

Friday 6 May 2011

Easter weekend review

Well Easter came and went, I can't say I have much to show for it though. I had great plans of getting stuck into my course work - i didn't even open a book. I was planning on doing some craft projects but only managed to half make a top for myself and CJ and I did a collage of african wildlife which we put on our lounge wall. We have a semi-african theme going on in our lounge, there is a lot of brown with a few splashes of colour. We have loads of photos which we took at a few game reserves in South Africa but have never got around to developing. I've been looking at a few online companies that offer quite cheap photos - we have so few pictures up on our walls. I want to enlarge a few of the really nice ones and put them up.... when I have a bit of time that is!

We had a good Easter break. I spent a bit of time with my sister, we went to Oxford for the day, had lunch and did a bit of shopping. I was trying to find some summer clothes for work but everything was so expensive - £35 for one top which was ok but not stunning. I would love to own some good quality clothes but just can't afford it - how depressing!

CJ bought some pot pourri but we do not have a pretty bowl to put it in, so i decided i would make one out of paper mache. I hope to finish and paint it this weekend and will post pics of the finished product!

Thursday 14 April 2011

Time to get motivated

After 4 months of being very lazy, I have decided I really need to get myself into gear and start doing my bookkeeping course again. I am hoping to have a bit of quiet time on Saturday while CJ is at cricket. It is really hard to get myself into it again especially when there are so many crafty things I would rather be doing!

I have been working on some napkin rings using paper mache and have almost finished decorating the first one. They are African themed and should go with quite earthy coloured napkins. I will post pictures soon. I might finish the one completely before I start my course work so then I won't be tempted to pick it up and finish it off in the middle of my bookkeeping.

I knew there were bank holidays coming up but I didn't actually realise how soon they were, as in starting next week - yay! CJ and  I have taken the 3 week days off as well so that we have 11 days of  'holiday' in a row, can't wait! I better get to the shops to buy some easter eggs, I always leave it till the last minute and then they're mostly sold out. My favourite is the Lindt Bunny - which is yours?

Wednesday 6 April 2011

New item in my shop!

I have finally added my baby vest to my shop. Take a look here. I made a few for my sister in-law's newborn as well. I posted them off to Canada 2 weeks ago and they have still not yet arrived. I'm a bit worried that if they do eventually get to her, they will be too small. He was quite a big baby and is apparently growing a lot - oops!
Here is a peak of the ones I sent her - she has a woodland theme for the nursery so hopefully they will go down well. The ellie is obviously not woodland-ish but i thought he was too cute!

Tuesday 5 April 2011

What can I accomplish this week

I had a nice long weekend, if only every week could start on a Tuesday! It was CJ's birthday on Sunday so we went to the dogs with a few of his friends on Saturday night and then lunch with the family on Sunday.On Monday we didn't do too much, I treated CJ to breakfast at the garden centre. He had to go off to work at 3pm which was a pity because we couldn't really go out and do something. The weather started off really nice but it became quite cold and windy later.

I have evenings to myself this week since CJ is working a later shift. It means less hours in the day for him, which is a good thing since I heard on the radio this morning that working 11 hours a day is bad for your health and you are 2/3 times more likely to have a heart attack - scary! For me it means a few more hours to get on with my crafts. I really should get back to my bookkeeping course as well, maybe next week...!

I am hoping to put another item in my shop soon, I'm trying to decide which design to use on my beige napkins. My cat-napkins were quite popular and they sold quickly but I want to do something different.
I am thinking of an african design to go with the napkin rings I am currently working on. I may even get to finish them off this week and will be posting pics once they are complete. I want to make it my mission to try and complete one project per week. I need to start putting more items in my shop, and I plan to approach a few local shops to see if they would be willing to sell a few of my products.

Friday 25 March 2011

Nearly weekend!

As I was leaving the gym last night, I looked up at the sky and saw these amazing pink colours. The photo i took with my phone doesn't capture how amazing it looked unfortunately.


Then I took a photo of my new car decoration, my patriotic mini boxing gloves!

I am hoping to finish my bags this weekend for the farm shop - a little late for mother's day possibly but you never know!

I may be starting to work at the pub again. New owners have taken over and are looking for staff. I could really do with the extra cash so am seriously thinking about it - as much as i enjoy having the extra free time :(



Tuesday 22 March 2011

Are you original?

One of the blogs I enjoy looking at is 'Print and Pattern' which you can take a look at here. It has so many examples of different designs and prints, I find them really inspiring. A lot of the designs have similar themes, I've noticed owls are commonly used as well as fruit and veg. One designer that I do like who is often mentioned, is Orla Kiely. Her designs are quite bold and distinct. I've noticed a few of her designs in the shops lately on everyday products, such as water bottles. Every now and again I come across a design quite similar to hers, yet slightly different. It is really hard to be original.  How do you make sure your designs are your own and not something you've seen before but have adapted. Is it really your design in the end?

Thursday 17 March 2011

My first real folksy sale!

On Tuesday I was pleasantly surprised to receive an e-mail from folksy saying that one of my items had just been purchased! I have sold one item before but it was a commisioned piece for someone I know, so it feels more of a big deal. And so exciting! I just hope it is a taste for things to come.

Without a second income now, I have to be a little more careful with money. I am hesitant to look for another second job just yet because I really want to pursue my little shop and try to earn a bit of extra money from that. While I have a bit more free time I am working on new designs and getting some more items ready to sell. At the moment I have a folksy shop but am working towards opening an Etsy shop too. I don't know whether it means a greater potential for sales or not but I need to pursue all avenues. There are so many inovative shops on Etsy and Folksy I don't know how someone would decide to make a purchase from one shop and not another. I realise the key is getting yourself out there, promoting your shop and making sure it is seen. It takes quite a bit of time and effort, but I suppose if you really want to succeed that is what you need to do.

So my game plan for the next few weeks is to set up my Esty shop, add a few more products to my collection, and see if any local shops would be willing to put my items in their windows for a percentage.

Let's hope I will have something good to report in a couple of weeks!

Tuesday 15 March 2011

Bird baby vest

On Saturday I bought some baby vests to paint my designs on for CJ's sister, who still has not yet had her baby! I have only done two designs so far, this one and a baby ellie. I am quite please with how they have come out. The vests are so tiny, making me a little broody!



My poor little boy is going to the vet on Friday to get snipped and a chipped. He went for a pre-op checkup this morning and apparently did not want to get into his cat box, am I going to have fun convincing him to get in again on Friday, oh dear!
I am hoping that once he is chipped we can use our cat flap properly. I got one that works with their chips ages ago for our other cat who is chipped, but then we got Marley and had to take the batteries out because he obviously wasn't chipped yet. We get ALL the neighbour's cats in our house, some even sleep on our couch while we're not there - cheeky buggers! And of course they eat all of our cat's food, not to mention terrorising them in their own house. I'm hoping the cat flap does work properly because it has given a few problems before and the batteries ran out really fast. I'm thinking of getting two sets of rechargeable ones. I just hope Marley doesn't hate me too much after Friday. At least it is weekend and I can keep an eye on him. Poor thing!

Friday 11 March 2011

Fabulous Friday!

Don't you just love Fridays? It always puts me in a good mood dressing for work on Friday, knowing that i can wear whatever i like - to an extent of course! It also helps when the sun is shining and all the daffodils are starting to come out. I really love Spring in the UK, there are so many little colourful flowers around, it's so pretty! And you know that 'summer' is around the corner. I can't say i was too impressed with last year's summer, i don't remember too many warm days, but then i guess i can't compare it to Cape Town's weather.

I painted another bag last night, i think it would be more suited to kiddies. The colour of the bag reminds me of the bookbags we had at school. I took this picture with my phone so it's not great quality. The bag will be in my shop soon so you can get a better idea if you take a look there.



CJ's sister is expecting her baby very very soon. I'm going to print some designs on plain babygrows (onesies) and post them to her. We dont' know whether it'll be a boy or girl yet so they will have to be unisex. She has a woodland theme for the nursery so i might do something along those lines!

Have a great weekend!

Monday 7 March 2011

Bright, cheery Monday

Monday, the sun is shining, it's got to be a good day! It's amazing how a bit of sun can improve everyones mood.

I had a pretty good weekend. I worked on another design and have added it to my folksy shop

I thought it would be a good design to use for the bags i plan to put in my friendsfarm stall. I may do some green apples as well as other types of fruit.

I video skyped my mum back home on Saturday afternoon, a 2.5 hour conversation! I love skype, it's amazing to think a few years ago i was spending silly amounts of money to have an overseas telephone conversation for only a few minutes.

CJ and i went to look at some houses they are putting up quite close to us. We saw a divine 3 bed place - obviously it looked really nice as it was a show house. I fell in love with the kitchen , it was huge and modern. Pity though that we can't afford it. I guess our first house will have to be a bit more modest unfortunately!



Wednesday 2 March 2011

New design

I've just joined the gym with CJ - well i made him join with me really. He's been going 4 times a week lately whereas i've only been 3 times, of course he likes to rub it in that he goes more than i do! I went last night and did a circuit training class, I wasn't too stiff when i got up this morning but as the morning goes on i can feel my muscles starting to get sore. By the end of the day i wonder if i will even be able to walk!

I did manage to do some craftyness when i got home last night. Here is a sneak view of the new design i'm working on. I still need to add a few final touches. Please excuse the photo i took it with my phone so it's not the best quality.














I will hopefully have it in my folksy shop before the end of the week.
www.folksy.com/shops/dutchcouragecrafts

Monday 28 February 2011

Another new addition

I am happy to say that i now have a new set of wheels! We drove down to West Sussex this weekend to fetch my car, it's a bright red Hyundai - not my favourite colour but the price was good and it looks in really good condition. I couldn't say no. I still have to name him though, i'm thinking of Hadley the Hyundai..... or Redro. In South Africa growning up there was a sandwich spread, think it may have been fishpaste, called Redro. On TV it was advertised with a little boy who was being 'interviewed' because he called everything Redro. When asked why, he replied ' I call everything i love Redro, don't i Redro?' and then looked at his mum. For some reason that advert has stuck, with my car being red i thought it was quite apt. I've never named a car before, do most people have names for their cars?


In my previous blog i mentioned a design which started me on my folksy shop adventure. I though it was about time i printed it on one of my bags to put in my shop.... and here it is!
You can see it in my folksy shop: www.folksy.com/shops/dutchcouragecrafts

I am currently working on a new design which i hope to put in my shop very soon, it has a very African feel to it. I did a trial run on a tea towel and it came out really well. I won't post any pictures just yet as i did quite a small print for the trial run so it looks a bit more basic than how it will look on the bags.

Wednesday 23 February 2011

Let the crafting begin!

Last night was my first work-free tuesday in ages. Even with the extra hours i still didn't seem to manage to get much done. I did pre-cook tonights dinner and made sandwiches for lunch for me and CJ for today. I chatted to my sister for almost an hour and then worked on a new bag design. Funnily enough, the design i was printing last night is the first one i actually came up with, but have just not used. Once i have completed the bag i will post pics.Now that i have a bit more time because i'm not working at the pub anymore i hope to complete some more bags to put in my friends farm stall.

Here are some pics of my napkins i've recently added to my folksy shop: 
www.folksy.com/shops/dutchcouragecrafts






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Wednesday 16 February 2011

Good news/ bad news

Last night i worked my second last shift at the pub. They are closing their doors on Saturday - business has been bad and there is no money. It's a bit short notice although we were told a few months ago the plan was to sell, but things have obviously gotten worse and now it's drastic measures. I think the manager knew we were closing the doors a lot sooner than the all staff did. He has been slacking off lately,not ordering stock and generally not putting much effort into running the place. It's a bit sad, i don't know if the regulars have been told yet but i'm sure it will be a bit of a shock to some.

I feel a little relieved really, to have a bit of time off now. I may look for another job in a few weeks but i think i will use this time to work on some more designs and get a few more bags in my shop. I can also work on some bags to put in my friend's farm stall and see if they generate any interest.

The guy who asked me to make a bag for his girlfriend for valentine's day gave me some feedback on it yesterday. He came over and gave me a big kiss on the cheek! Apparently the girlfriend loved the bag, especially the fact that it had been handmade just for her. He was kept on raving about it! What a great response!
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Tuesday 15 February 2011

New items in my shop

New addition to my shop



I have been fairly busy crafting lately. I have added a new item to my shop and made a customised bag for a valentine's gift for a friend. He asked me on Tuesday if I could make something for the weekend, I almost said 'no' but decided to give myself the challenge. As it turned out i managed to finish sewing it on Friday night and did the final touches on Saturday. He wanted a special message on the inside of the bag, deciding how to do it and actually sewing the message onto the bag was probably the most time consuming. But i was pretty pleased with the end result. I will find out tonight what she thought of it!






 





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