Ideas ideas

Being back at college means that I have to cram an awful lot into my evenings once the kids are in bed...but with so many gorgeous craft blogs out there I find the lure of reading and looking at beautiful blogs far outweighs my desire to make something myself. For starters, there's no risk of making something truly hideous that just proves I don't have what it takes to ever be a designer-maker. So often I end up accomplishing nothing in my evenings but just a major dose of blog envy, doubts over my own ability and the blank pages of my sketchbook still staring back at me. But then sometimes, I come across a truly fantastic blog that it makes my evening of inaction so worthwhile. Ninainvorm is one such blog. I totally adore her cute and colourful collages and ceramics. It's really got me thinking about my own work and how important it is to stay true to what I really like, and what makes me happy. Looking at Nina's work I am so inspired to have a go at making collages and ceramics and somehow find a way of incorporating it into furniture and woodwork....ooohh the wheels and cogs of my imagination are turning....I guess that's some kind of action (even if it's not visible!).

Blooming Marvellous

What to do with leftover fabric scraps and random buttons....

...make Kanzashi, Japanese fabric flowers of course!

Combining gorgeous fabrics with origami techniques....it just can't get better! My mind's just swirling with ideas on how I can use these cute flowers...I'm in craft heaven!

Ta da!

Some pictures of my finished light...

I'm de-lighted with it (hee hee!).  Who'd have thought these little paper fasteners could make such a difference! I'm contemplating a wee line of these lights...stay tuned!!

X'mas Merriment

Our Christmas day was filled with...

...opening of many presents!

...being fa la la la la...festive!

...eating, drinking and being merry!

...celebrating my darling husband's birthday!

...catching-up with family, playing games....and falling asleep in front of the telly!

Happy Holidays!

Me Me Me

Yesterday I had another day to do as I please (yes I know what a self-indulgent cow I am!) whilst the boys were being looked after by my dear dear in-laws...So I traipsed over to Edinburgh to hang-out with my friend Karen...we did some shopping on George Street, popped into Harvey Nichols for Jelly Bellys and a shot of Edinburgh Gin (oooh and it was only half past 12!), followed by a mammoth eating session at Wagamamas. To finish off an already fab day we popped into The Market, a design-led craft market to check-out the local talent...well we only got a third of our way around the stalls before we BOTH ran out of cash...arrrghh! I could so easily have bought something from every stall!

At the show I got chatting to the lovely Tara McIntosh of Twiggd as her delightful wooden accessories really jumped out at me...turns out she's a trained cabinet-maker and as you can see, her affinity for all things woody really stands out! The one item I was particularly coveting was the gorgeous wee box she kept her sale proceeds in...just tooooo cute! Not only are her items as sweet as pie...they are seriously well made too!

Admittedly I do go a bit crazy for crochet so I just couldn't walk past Emma Lamb's
gorgeous goodies without picking-up my jaw off the ground and buying myself something! We had a good old blether about the joys of blogging and crochet hooks...as you do! What a great girl! I bought one of Emma's patterns to make a cute wee garland....I can't wait to give it a go and maybe even share the results of my efforts (if it look's anything as good as Emma's...she did reassure me that it's pretty straight forward to do!)

How swoon-worthy are those mismatched buttons?!

There were so many other fab sellers there...gorgeous prints from Mina Braun (I want to fill the boys' rooms with her charming illustrations), funky jewellery made from recycled paper and packaging by Little Red ...oh I could just go on and on...

One thing's for sure...I'll be heading down to the next Market event with a full wallet next time!



p.s I also got a lie in and breakfast in bed this morning...what a smug cow I am too! LOL!

Down time

Eeekk....I've not posted for more than a week!! Been busy with my various projects but I've also been balancing it out with plenty of fun times with my boys, and of course some time for me too!

...celebrating Grandpa John's birthday

...having fun at the park

...satisfying my huge craving for miso ramen (all by myself!)

Good times :)

ps. I've finished the second prototype of my light...promise to post a picture as soon as I've photographed it in better quality light (it's the middle of winter and I live in Glasgow...who am I kidding!?)

Rapa Nui

Some people have innate style and my friend Claire is just one of them. So when she told me about the business she's launching, Rapa Nui an online shop selling design-led, ethical and handmade goods...I just knew it would be filled with lovely things....how right was I! As a wee taster of things to come, Claire's opened a pop-up shop at Offshore cafe that runs for only 3 days...so I hotfooted down there this morning to bag myself some goodies!

Being an avid internet shopper, I can't wait till her online shop launches in the new year!