Over 24 hours in the making ...

... I would consider myself a speedy scrapper, that is when I get a whole hour to myself to sit down. Making this LO is pretty typical nowdays of why I don't get to scrap as much as I would like!

- Yesterday morning start LO
- Take DD2 to party, she's still at the stage where she likes me to stay
- 2 and a half hours later get home, play with LO for 5 mins
- Go to Ikea to buy more storage for the ever increasing stuff the household is accumulating
- Back home, 5 more mins on LO
- Make tea and then flat pack furniture (DH is useless with that!). Put girls to bed
- Crash on sofa in front of TV exhausted. Go to bed
- Get up, school run then work
- Find 10 mins to finish LO before dog starts whining for his walk.

Photographing LO and blogging is another story! Anyway, I've used a Sketchy Thursday sketch.

I've got quite a few stamps and never remember to use them, must make more of an effort.

Will class this as last week's LO for goal purposes seeing as thought I'm 1 behind!

Laptop bag ...

... I have a laptop for work and although I don't need to take it out of the house very often when I do I have a really awful case for it. So I've been on the lookout for something more stylish and when I saw the Organised Office Bag in The Bag Making Bible, I thought I'd give it a go.

Now this bag is far more advanced than any bag I've made before - it has hardware for a start!!! I'm amazed at how it's turned out. It's not without it's faults -

- for a taller than average person, the strap needs to be longer (I can change that)
- I put the turn lock holes on the front flap too high so it's a bit squeezed at the top when closed
- I'm rubbish at sewing topstitch and around corners!




Inside there's a holder to keep my laptop secure and a few pockets for pens and a phone.

And here it is filled up.

I have to say I'm thrilled with it. BTW the fabric is from Ikea.

Zipper fear ...

... I don't tend to make much that requires a zipper, however I was really taken with the Origami Bags in AmyButler's Style Stitches Book and know I'd have to take the bull by the horns!

I was really please had it turned out (even if the sewing machine did throw a wobbly and some unpicking had to be done which resulted in the fabric getting torn!!) The beauty of it is that it opens out really wide, so you can actually see what's in there. This one's a present for my step mum but I'm sure I'll be making some more.

And a big congratulations to my dad and stepmum who celebrated their Silver Anniversary yesterday (the interior fabric of the bag looks a bit like the fabric my bridesmaid dress was made in!) A simply card for them.

Sketchy Thursday ...

... I always forget to show you the sketch when I've done a challenge LO! Here's the latest one for Sketchy Thursday. I've rotated it and only used 3 photos. So that's another birthday LO I can cross of the list!

And to keep up with my card a week, this one is for my cousin's new baby girl. I have a whole collection pack of this Basic Grey untouched til now!

I have been doing some sewing, but nothing completed yet. We're trying to redecorate the house in 2011 and have been doing DD2's bedroom this weekend. Decorating takes so much longer once you have children, and they have definite views on colours!!

Inspiration ...

... I may not have made a lot recently, but I've lots of projects in mind from both books and things I've seen online. This is the little book collection I have amassed recently. I am loving Meet Me At Mikes for some whimsical makes and Lisa Lam's The Bag Making Bible not only has great ideas but lots of useful sewing tips. I've mentioned Flossie Teacake's patterns, but I've also bought a few from Virginia Lindsey , the notebook slipcovers made great Christmas presents.


The girl's both got a new rag doll for Xmas, and the pattern for those came from A Bit of Whimsy - meet Jane and Mae (can you tell which is which??!)

Do you have any fab sewing blogs that you read? Great crafty books?

Catching up...

... I have quite a bit of scrapping to catch up on - birthdays, holidays, special events so I thought I'd start with the most recent and work backwards! So here's DD1's 8th birthday. I truely cannot believe that she has turned eight - it feels very close to 10 and double figures!Using Jan 1st Stuck Sketch - I'd forgotten how much I liked these sketches.

Hello blogland!

... I'm back (I hope!)

Well having a new puppy and then increasing my work hours certainly had an affect on my creative energy and time for blogging. 2010 was not a great year for me emotionally and although I celebrated my 40th birthday, which was fantastic, in many ways I am glad to put the year behind me. I am grateful though that the family has its health and we remain financially stable.

Being creative however is part of my being and I did really miss it. I managed to make some lovely Christmas presents and cards, which I forgot to photograph.

So whilst blog hopping I came across Monika Wright's blog and this post in particular has really inspired me to get back into making and doing. So with a new resolve I have written myself some goals for 2011:

- make at least 1 LO a week

- make at least 1 card a week

- make at least 1 fabric project a week

- make a project with the girls each week

- blog about what I've made!

- blog about what is inspiring me

- take part in a photo challenge - either this one or this one

So here we go - all made last Friday!

Using Sketchy Thursday sketch and Scarlet Lime Kit (mainly Sassafras). I have decided to cancel my sub to Scarlet Lime, as you can imagine I have lots of kits to use up.


A couple of cards (well two are as easy as one!)

And a hair accessories board using a Flossie Teacake's design (love her blog!) I made one of these for my sister for Xmas and this one's for my neice. Don't think you can see them easily, but there are hooks on the lefthand side for hanging up hairbands (or bangle/necklances) and the ribbons are for putting clips on.

We're redecorating the girls' bedrooms and I plan to make one for each of them. Hopefully it will make finding clips and bands easier in the morning!

So that's it for now. I need to spend a bit of time sorting out photos and then hopefully I'll get back into the swing of scrapping again.

See you soon!