Perfect crafty weather

It's a damp but lush Friday morning in our village today...perfect crafty weather! - It's too wet for a walk

- There isn't glorious sunshine to tempt me outside

- It's dark enough to light a candle, make a brew & toast a currant teacake.

- It's the kind of weather that makes you hunker down & take stock...or, in my case, get inking.

See, perfect crafty weather!

Happy Friday

Sarah

X

snow day

morning!

a boat load of snow fell overnight so we are all at home today - thankfully I had the good sense to stop on the way back from work yesterday, for essentials such as hot cross buns and a bottle of fizz, so all is not lost ;)

currently the boy is downstairs on the PS3, texting his pals to see what they're doing today and the mister is still snugged up in bed - I foolishly left my alarm set, even though I knew we were going nowhere as George has been off school sick this week. I tried to doze back off but my brain had others ideas - it fired into action, shooting images of all the things I could make and draw like a slideshow of handmade colour bursts and that was me sold! Here I am in my little room (hovel) drawing, blogging, supping tea and planning. I love planning and plotting...two of my all time favourite things to do.

I've been playing with ink and watercolours recently

I have a wonderful commission to get on with, for an equally wonderful friend...some whimsical Easter decoration ideas and I quite fancy making a few more of these darling little chicks from the Myrtle & Eunice tutorial...they are so utterly dinky, and perfect for keeping your hands busy whilst your eyes oggle the tellybox - you should really give them a go!

tutorial is here

Sarah

x

corners of our home

pretty blooms in my workroom, filling the house with a delicious scent

corners of our home

Hello and a very happy new year to you!

As I have going round our house, cleaning and tidying, I keep spotting little corners that make me smile so I thought I might share a few with you this year.

I'm kicking it off with the top of the bookcase on the landing...

from the left:
Mum & George gazing out to sea; me in Mum's arms; me sat on Dad's knee.

S
x

handmade Christmas: part 1

good morning lovely folks!

I've been busying beavering away for the past few months, stock piling handmade gifts, working on new design ideas and generally having a blast making things!

I plan to share a few of my makes with you over the next week or so, but I thought I'd kick it off with our window decorations.

I couldn't sleep in on Saturday morning (head buzzing with preparations for the family party we were hosting that evening [it was wonderful!]) so I got up and painted some of our windows! hahaha ;)

Since we got a new door, we've had nowhere to hang a Christmas wreath so I thought it would be a mighty fine idea to paint one on the window at the bottom of the path...so it would great any visitors over the Christmas season.
I'd heard about using acrylic paint so, I had a quick Google and read a tip about mixing a little washing up liquid in with the paint, to make it really easy to remove*. And off I went!

It started with a wreath and then progressed to snowflakes on the kitchen windows. I love them even though it's all a bit freehand a wibbly - next year I may draw up some templates and tape them to the outside of the window to follow.

*I can confirm that it did come off easily as I botched a bit

I hope you like them...

Oh, and the best part of it - George's face when he came downstairs to find Mummy painting the windows...priceless!

cheerio for now

x

Tuesday

Morning!

so what's everyone up to today...jobs? office? creating (if so...what?)? plotting?

my day so far has gone a bit like this...

wet through and chilly after getting caught in the rain on the walk to school

thinking that wellies are a darned good idea in this weather! [though maybe not when filled with plants]

taking Henry for a stroll around the house...see, he likes it!

being knocked sideways by sudden and glorious sunshine, flooding in through the windows

rushing to the window to take a look before it vanishes again [til March?]

cracking back on with filling up my Etsy shops
[quick question - do those of you who work in various media - eg, stitch, paint, pen - keep everything in one shop or split them out? I currently have three shops, one for painted items, one for stitched and one for drawn...Ditsybird, Ditsybirdsews and Ditsybirddraws. I'm now wondering whether to put them back under one roof but worry that it will look a little chaotic and very full...any thoughts lovelies?]

•••things went slightly awry at this point as school called to say G had been sick...cue dashing to car (so he didn't have to walk back home in the rain feeling all rubbish like and sore tummied); collecting of boy; getting him home; him deciding to do his homework (I know, me too!); phoning work to arrange working from home for 2 days (48 hr rule - great if it's a bug - not so if he's pulled his tum and run too soon after eating); rearranging the car service booked for tomorrow; popping back up here to finish this; heading down to make a coffee and finally, coming back up again to continue with the Etsy fillin.

I hope you're having a fun Tuesday!

x

PS three posts in three days...one, two three, faint! hehe

it's a brand new year

well hello there and how is 2012 treating you thus far?


it's alright isn't it? a bit on the damp side but hey, we'll be glad of it when the sun shines on our green and pleasant land again, no? why, yes we will.


sooo what's been occurring in the Ditsy Bird nest...it's been a busy old Christmas, and one full of ~
family & friends; epic hide n seek fests (ace, just ace!); delicious meals; 3 curries in a week (never again tho); a trip to the iMax; lots of lovely gifts made, given & received; pyjama days; twinkly lights; fun and love. Lots of love.


but now I seem have developed itchy, move-furniture-around-and-rearrange-my-nest fingers! ha
tis ace!


I've nearly finished rearranging my studio/workroom/thespareroom & it now has a work table and a laptop/photographing table. two tables. oh yeah..chickity check me out and my fancy ways ;)
this then lead on to my rearranging the study downstairs prompted by a couple of comments by crimbo visitors, saying that it was Paul's room
so I thought...why not?


it has a bureau avec desktop, a huge bookcase so that's a good start
sadly the g't wonky coat rack will have to go, as will the sweaty pongy shoes (the boys', not mine...I'm a laaaady)


so that has knocked on to my shifting (just now in fact) the bookcase on the bottom stairs, up to the very top landing...in order to make room for some space saving, sort your ruddy coats out (my name is Paul and I am a coat addict - is a there a Coats Anonymous??? hmmm) coat hooks down there - thus ridding the Man's room of outdoor attire
I stole the extra table from the study*, clearing room for a comfy armchair for said Man to sit in and be manly and aloooown and read his book (who am I kidding) iPad


sooooo, all we need now are the afore-mentioned coat hooks and a shoe cupboardy rack thing
oh, and an armchair
but there were whisperings by his pa of their getting shot of their super snug and snazzy chair
hmmm


there's much hmmm-ing afoot tonight


as my lovely friend Karen put it...I think you may have dropped in on one of my meandering thoughts - I like that, it makes me happy to meander some more :) 
x


*this may not go down too well
but...it did have my work laptop & mega screen (which I'm looking at now in my own dandy little room) so that's a good thing that that's gone isn't it?!?! oh yes I think so
hmmm


ooh this post is entirely devoid of pictures...

dada! a little example of handmade tags for pressies

Reflecting

I sat in the garden this evening, reading blogs and reflecting on the lovely day we'd had.

Nothing ground breaking (and maybe that was the charm of it all), just the ticking off of chores and the relaxing with good friends, listening to children's giggles and supping loose leaf Darjeeling tea brewed for precisely 3 minutes, black, with one sugar*.

It's the simple things that can often make the biggest impact on your day.

x

[*as recommended to me by the lovely @mysecrettearoom on Twitter and brewed perfectly, for my first ever taste by Rachelle - the lovely, kind hearted Rachelle - of the Secret Teacup @secretteacup

Snowmen & Snowflakes

I've been busy with the hand stitching again - and with the odd bead or two sneaking in too...but all in the name of Christmas this time!

Snowmen for girls...

and boys...

as well as little embroidered keepsakes for the ladies...

Christmas is coming!!!
x

Countdown

No Ditsy Birding today...it's the last day of our school hols :(

George has been given the choice of what to do today and it is this:
•Watch TV in Mummy's bed whilst eating some sweets
•Lunch
•Go to Molly & Jacks for pressie giving, lovely walk to pick Moo up
from school then back & play for it bit
•McD's treat tea before going off to Daddy's for the weekend before
he goes away for a fortnight

The first week back shouldn't be too bad though as Paul has just
called to say he's finally booked us a holiday...to Thasos in Greece
for a week. So that's one week back then Thasos for a week to top up
his tan and then back to school. Ah what a life he has :)
X

Sunday slob

I'm happily sat in my pj's, watching cheesy TV and catching up on my
hand sewing...very relaxing!
Here's my latest bunting offering...I dare not even try and work out
when I actually started it, it would be WAY too long!
Happy Bank Holiday Sunday folks!
x

Things to do this Summer…

[apart from entertaining George and thoroughly enjoying his company]

* Sort the filing drawer (shred or file – those are the ONLY options – no ‘undecideds’ allowed)

* Delete the hard drive of the old pc and take it to the tip

* Tidy and clean studio

* Sort the shoe/coat situation in the study – it is beyond irritating now…can shoes breed????

* Scan old photos to send to be printed for my brother’s bday pressie (Sep 2 – which seems aways away but it’s a big ole box of photographs!)

* EXERCISE – specifically, Mission Bingo Wing Destruction!!!

...and that doesn't include my DBD to do's!

What are you up to - other than finding ways to keep children entertained whilst the British Summer behaves badly?