SantaSantaSantaSantaSanta!!!!!

Guess who got to go and see Santa Clause today? ME!

Yay!!!

Of course, I had to drag the grandchildren with me so as I wouldn't look silly standing in the queue with hundreds of little kids screeching for the Man himself... but we all know the visit was just for me really :)

The kids got the gifts... and I got to have hugs from the real Father Christmas... really is him *lol*

He smelled like pine trees and christmas cake... and I could have quite happily stayed snuggled into his fur trimmed coat for a few hours - without the grandkids though *lol*

Next year, however, I shall not have orange hair, and hopefully be back to a more natural, blonder look.

I'm so excited though...

I saw Santa

:)

CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Even More Sprucing!

I think I have a bit of an obsession with shelving.

I asked Hubby to make a high shelf for the dining room so I could put all my favourite books out of the reach of sticky-fingered grandchildren and paper-chewing moggies - he did brilliantly!

Then I asked for a shelf above the cooker in the kitchen so I could have my most-used cookery books within easy reach... and he did that too!

After the shelves I asked for the bedroom, and the shelving for the cupboard under the stairs, I am beginning to wonder if I have a problem *lol*

My kitchen is tiny - wee-tiny! I've had to put an extra freezer in there at the moment, to store the food I'll need to feed the 14-15 people I have coming on Christmas Day... and I've had to put the freezer in the front of the dining room door! Still, it'll be back in the shed after the big day, and then I can start to thnk about what else I need doing to the kitchen... being an ex-council house, the rooms are somewhat functional rather than pretty - and I so desperately want to hide the massive boiler that takes up so much room! But... the architect and designer I had visit said that unless I want to rip out the kitchen entirely and start again from absolutely nothing, I'm stuck with it how it is... and we all know how tight I am with that sort of money. I'd much rather 'make do and mend' than 'splurge out and buy new'.

At least the pipes are boxed in... so it could be worse :)

And the freezer, although in the way, is a handy box to put a little spare Christmas Tree on :)

Christmas Cake!!

I decorated my cake! Yay!!!

I actually decorated it the same as last year, but instead of having gold ivy leaves, I handpainted the leaves in green.

Now I just have to stop the kitties and the mutt from sneaking bites *lol*

Remote Controlled Candles

Just a quickie... I wanted to show the candles I purchased at The Range - but they don't seem to have them online :( Anyway... The Range is where I bought them (set of 3) for £9.99. They are flickering, wax outer with inner bulb, do have a simple 'on-off' remote control and are vanilla scented.

I don't rate The Range as much as I used to - the prices have shot up and the quality crept down, though  have to admit that the majority of the staff are absolutely amazing. I am shopping there again though... and my next purchase is this gorgeous table piece.

It matches the mirror I bought for the bedroom. I have no idea where I shall actually put it - I just know I like it :)

More Sprucing...

More little piccies of my home-improvements. I'm sure no-one is really interested in how I decorate my home... but I am just so pleased with all the little touches I have added in the recent weeks.

A little while ago, I had to re-paint the top of my jewellery chest - I had ruined it with nail-polish remover by accident! Unfortunately, the unit is not white, but more of a winter-white sort of tone - so I couldn't match the colour. Never mind, thought I... and went ahead with white gloss and gold-coloured rubbing wax. I did go over-board with the gold - but I did want quite a heavy-handed feel to it really :)

I also bought the little round mirror - quite a bargain at £10. Hubby was pleased, as he thought I wanted a full-length mirror at quite a high price... I hadn't the heart to tell him that I plan on him buying one of those after Christmas :)

I also did something I thought I would never do at all... I got rid of my sleigh-bed. I had wanted one for so many years, and last month I gave mine to my eldest daughter. I now have a much smaller white metal-framed bed that fits my small bedroom much better. I have hanging in my bedroom a picture my mum gave to me - but it had a pine frame, so I painted the picture-frame white and used the gold-rub on that... and found some more words for the wall too...

I bought some dark purple rugs for the sides of the bed (to cover up where my daughter burned the carpet with hair straighteners! - cheaper than a whole new carpet), new bedside cabinets (which I have to find new handles for), gave away a large wardrobe, and invested a little money in a thin, tall set of drawers.

It's all been done on a budget really... finding cheap alternatives for the expensive design items I originally wanted... up-cycling old furniture, and plain old elbow grease for cleaning carpets and walls.

I had an orangey-pine shelf that I up-cycled... giving it the white gloss and gold-wax treatment. I'm pleased with how it's turned out - though I am in the process of making three little boxes for the middle shelf instead of the wicker basket that sits there at the moment.

I added little hooks to the underside so I could hang little odds and ends from them.

I had generously been given some curtains that matched perfectly with my flowers that I've had for about twelve years (on top of the tall chest of drawers)... and found a matching lampshade for just £4.

The candles on top of the chest of drawers are from a set of three that includes the one I placed on the top of the re-vamped shelves - they were an extragavance - battery powered and remote controlled, they cost me £10. The third candle I placed in a half-birdcage - it's quite effective and pretty.

So... that's how I've been spending the weeks running up til Christmas... I've had a lot of spare time with all the present-buying, wrapping, and tree-decorating already done.

Tomorrow I decorate the cake... scrumptious!

Sprucing...

I have been sort-of decorating... not the full-on wallpapering and painting the walls sort of decorating, but more of a 'shjuzzing up' sort of thing. Sprucing up my home. Eight years I've been in my little home... and it's finally beginning to feel like it's all mine :)

I found a temporary frame for the little embroidery that my Nan had done...

Ideally, I'd like one a bit thinner and longer... but this was a little charity shop find that will do very nicely for now. In the same charity shop I found a perfect little cushion and cover in a gorgeous deep red - brand new for just £2.50... bargain!

I found something I always wanted for my home too... words. I wanted to paint words on the wall, going around an inner corner of the front room... but never found anywhere that would lend me an overhead-projector to get the writing perfect... then I came across some word stickers that were almost exactly what I wanted!

Of course, when I had the original idea, we had a moderately sized television that sat nicely in a wooden cupboard... now I have a monster on the wall... but then, I suppose that Hubby has to have some things his own way in his home :)

I've done loads more... just little things to make this house feel like it's my 'forever home'. I loved my old house - though I only lived in it for about ten years, and didn't think I'd ever really love the home I have now. But things change... and though my house is a concrete little end-of terrace box on a council street, I feel like I am home.

Some Ideas, Please...?

I have been a busy bunny lately. I decided that the under-stair cupboard (read: dumping ground) needed a clear-out, and so I set myself the task of sorting and binning, sweeping and cleaning the whole space. Three times I banged my head backing out of the doorway of the space - concrete lintels hurt! Anyway, I managed to sort through the bags of bags (seriously!), old video recorders and Sky boxes, smelly wellies and muddy boots and have made a useable space for ironing board, vaccuum cleaner and bags-for-life. The only problem was that I knew the sideboard in the dining room needed sorting out too - it had loads of 'stuff' inside that could be stored in the newly-spacious under-stair cupboard... so I did that. I won't be making any Christmas cards this year - I found EIGHT packs shoved in the back of a drawer or two, as well as a big box of loose cards. I have the sneaking suspicion that I may be a bit of a hoarder :) So... everything tidy (-ish) and with a pile of stuff to get rid of on Ebay, I find a little rag at the back of one of the side-cupboards in the sideboard. I was so tired of tidying, that I almost just threw it in the bin, before my mind jolted and I remembered what it was... A small piece of practice embroidery my nan had done.

I want to hang it in my dining room - the colours would be perfect. The actual needlework picture is about 9"x5.25", with plenty of space around it as you can see. The background colour is more of a sort of oatmeal colour than it shows here... but that's besides the point.

So... I was wondering about the best way to hang this.

A photo frame? But then, do I stretch the picture over some sort of stiff backing - because I really don't want to cut it to size...? Or should I stretch it over a canvas frame and staple it in place? Would I need to glue the whole thing down - though I'm loathe to do that too, as I don't want to harm or damage the piece of work.

I did think of sewing a rod into a channel at the top and bottom of the piece, and hanging it that way.... but not too sure, as I want it to look more like art than just a wall hanging. Maybe a shadow box... but how would that work, I'm wondering?

So, any ideas... anyone?
Any photographs you have of similar projects you could point me to would be fantastic!

Oh, Christmas Tree...

Not the best photo... but it'll do for a quick snap.

 The pressies are all bought and wrapped, and the meat is all in the freezer. This year I shall be serving up venison, beef, chicken and pheasant (as well as a ton of veggies!) to a household of smiling people - I hope :)

I added to my decorations this year with a bear from Avon that recites the poem "A Visit From Saint Nicholas" (Twas The Night Before Christmas). It's adorable... though Lily tries desperately to ignore it *lol*

Miss Violet

A quick introduction to Miss Violet ("Baby"), who is just over 4 months old now, and we've had her since she was about ten weeks old. She's a long-haired terror who is utterly adorable, and thoroughly spoilt! This was taken during the first week we adopted her...

She thinks the dining room table is her bed during the day.

She also takes over my daughters bed...

Places herself in awkward positions in my craft room...

and occasionally seems to get "cat" muddled up with "meerkat"...

...which is funny because when we first went to see her, the sellers said she had facial markings that made her look like she had a moustache like the "Go Compare" tenor singer.

So, there's the little kitty who's helping to heal my broken heart.

When...if... Bella returns, they will get along famously! Of course, they'll wreck my home... but it'll be worth it :)

Seven Months!!!

SEVEN months?!?!?

Yes, that's how long it's been since I blogged here - disgraceful!

I actually had a bit of a gentle kick from Di (Hiya Di!! Will reply soon - promise!) who wrote me a lovely e-mail and asked how the heck I was.

Di writes beautifully - and anyone who needs to see something beautiful should check out her blog too :)

Anyways...

What's been happening in the world of Patchwork Apples? Not a lot. Jewellery making took over my life for a few weeks, and then something awful happened in August this year. My beautiful Bella went missing... and I haven't seen her since. The times I've spent trawling around the area, putting up posters and just asking people if they'd seen her mounted up to so many hours - but nothing has been seen or heard from my beautiful little kitty. Callie (her fur-mummy) became stressed and lost a lot of weight and fur because Bella wasn't around for her to hiss at and be bossy to, and so we had to take her to the vets. Then the dog started suffering from some sort of Bella-missing-induced depression... and I just wallowed in self-pity over the loss of my beautiful Bella. Breaking into wastelands nearby and calling out "Bella Winky... little bit stinky!" made me a bit of a character in the local area - I am now the strange cat lady - which is kind of funny seeing as my friend up the street has 24 cats - and I'M the strange cat lady??

I digress...

I did the only thing any insane strange cat lady would do under the same circumstances. I bought another cat. Miss Violet (usually called "Baby") is NOT a replacement for Bella... just another addition to our furry-family. Callie is happier - she now has another bundle of fur to hiss at. Lily (our dog) is over her depression and now just has to understand that she is actually a dog and not another cat - poor little thing has serious issues and I can't afford doggy therapy.

Next, Hubby paid out huge amounts to get both the cats microchipped - though we're not getting Baby spayed yet because Hubby thinks it's best if she has kittens.

So... there we go. My sad few months... made a little easier by the arrival of our little baby kitty.

I absolutely promise to post a photo of our Christmas Tree very soon... of course I decorated the house on November 1st again...

Thank you MUCHNESS to Di for the lovely e-mail :)

Bella. 21st July 2012.

WOYWW 151

I've been so uber-busy that I've had no time for WOYWW the last couple of weeks... shame, shame on me!!! Naughty!

Anyways...  here the workdesk...

Now, usually I have a furry little helper... but rarely a doggy! This is my Lily and she's jumping onto the chair because she's recently had a bath and a haircut, so she doesn't smell and is allowed on the furniture again. Until she goes outside and rolls in mud and muck again *lol*

So... onto the actual desk. It's covered in a new venture (yes, yet another one!) that involves me having no feeling in my forefinger tip any more. Seriously *lol* I've been making shamballa-style bracelets for a business that is being set up. Of course, I had to show off a bit and do chokers, necklaces, rings, and even hairslides too :) The loss of feeling in my fingertip is due to me having to burn and seal the ends of the nylon cord I use... and I've had so many blisters and burns that my fingertip is now calloused, rough... and ready for any flame *lol*

Hopefully my consignment of pave beads will be here soon... and I'll be blinging it up shamballa stylie :)

I am still scrapbooking, and also making miniatures... but not so much in the last two weeks. I spent two days just tidying up my craft room, and half a day making display boards (12"x12") for the jewellery company.

So what's your work-space looking like on this lovely Wednesday? Be brave and share a piccie with us all and Mr Linky with Julia at the Stamping Ground :)

Have a wonderful and busy Wednesday everyone!

WOYWW 147

Did you hear it???

It must have been loud...

the bomb, that is...

The bomb that obviously went off on my desk this morning!

It is such a mess!

I was running late yesterday evening for the craft night at Pickwell's... I had deliveries all day (not that I'm complaining - I love to get things in the post!), trying to get at least ten different things done at the same time (and achieving the completion of NONE)... and basically running around like a headless chicken getting nowhere fast :)

So... how's your desk for WOYWW this week? Bet it a LOT tidier than mine!

I can't close my drawer, I haven't unpacked my bag (with my amazing, gorgeous and simply wonderful WOYWW badge on it )

 I have no idea why the Autumn Swirls mini album and stand is back on the desk... because I have finished it - finally! As for the packet of choccie buttons... I swear they were unopened when this photograph was taken. They are now, however, all eaten with the wrapper hidden in the bin. If you hide all evidence of eating chocolate, the calories don't count, right?

 My laptop is sat on top of magazines instead of my lap, I have clay bits and paintbrushes everywhere...

And I still haven't gotten around to starting that darn crochet yet either!

Well, have a wonderful WOYWW to all!

Pop on over to Julia's and join in... if you dare :)

WOYWW 146

You're never going to believe this... but on my desk today, there are actual scrapbook papers... really!! *lol*

"What's On You Workdesk Wednesday"? is here again ,YAY!!! and hundreds of nosey parkers are snooping in on other people's desks... those who dare to show them.

 As you can see, there's a lot going on - a little bit of everything... so nothing is really getting done.

 Yes, that IS chocolate... and there's not much left either. And, yes, it was ME who ate it all *lol* The autumn mini-book and stand are out again - I am determined to get it finished...

 I'm also re-learning to crochet. I've not gotten very far as yet. Okay, so I've not got anywhere at all... I did do a few loops last week... and then threw it across the living room (much to the kittens joy and fun!)...

 That's my diary... I still write in it every day - all boring stuff. And then there's the dollshouse I have yet to build... well, the instructions anyway. You'd think that, by reading the instructions, all would be plain and clear... but, NO! After reading the instructions my head was swimming, and I had no idea what to do next. So the dollshouse has thus far stayed in it's box... in pieces. Of course, this last week has been flippin' awful... the hallway and stairs are being redecorated. Hubby was fed up with the dark chocolate brown walls, and asked me to pick another colour... "Anything but brown", he said "Or blue". To be fair, the colour I picked is a medium to light teal sort of colour... which (in my opinion) is more green than blue (though it doesn't show too well in the photograph).

So... he can't really complain about the colour :)

That's it... I'm back to getting this mini-album finished...

Have a wonderful WOYWW everyone!

Happy Crafting!

Oh... and have to add:

Buckets of thanks and smiles to Julia - I got my badge and it's brilliant! It's attached to the shoulder strap of my large craft bag ... so wherever I go, the badge comes too :)

Mothers Day Shocker!

The last few minutes of Mothers Day are upon us... and what a lovely day I've had. I just had to write down something that my son texted me earlier today:

If you add up my childrens' ages, you get the amount of years I've been a mother... mine totals over 83 years so far! Of course, this does not include being a furr-mummy to my smelly little pets *lol*

Wow... a combined total of 83 years. Now that's truly a shocker!

My Photography

Something a little different today...

For my New Years Resolution, I decided that I would write in a diary and take a photograph every day. So far, I've kept that resolution and have taken some really pretty photographs that I will (hopefully) get around to scrapbooking soon(-ish).

I thought I'd start sharing some of my favourites. I go so very few places, so most photographs are taken from my windows or out in the garden - a lot of photographs of the pets, the weather... and clouds. I must admit that I don't think I'll ever tire of photographing the sky - it's always different, never the same. To catch a moment on film (or rather, "digitally" nowadays) that will never be seen again is somehow quite special in my mind. Or maybe I'm just an old romantic and a fool *lol*

This one was January 11th... from my daughters bedroom window.

I love this one... so simple. It was taken at around 9.30 in the morning on January 16th.

My daughters favourite picture... taken in the garden on February 23rd.

And finally, I couldn't resist a photograph of the kitties. They are so funny - mimicking each other like a pair of book-ends. They do this sort of thing all the time...

This one was taken on the 28th February... I must have photographed them 20 or more times that morning, and every time one of them moved a bit, the other would copy. Just so cutsie :)

WOYWW 145

Today It's Wednesday again... time for the joy that is always "What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday?" (hosted by the wonderful Julia at The Stamping Ground)

It's a shame I didn't have a photograph of my desk yesterday - covered in scrapbooking stuff... just like old times :)

Today however, it's "Makin'Bacon" time on my desk... and trying to figure out what next to do on my 1:24th scale teashoppe.

Seriously... that little white tile has upon it what will eventually be 1:12th scale crispy fried bacon. I've been in the mood for a lot of music of late - hence the i-Pod and speakers - I think I've listened to everything on there twice round in the past day or two. I have to add that the ashtrays on my desk are NOT because I'm a heavy smoker *lol* They were extremely cheap to buy and are very useful for mixing pastel chalk colours in and storing miniature fried chips in.

Well, that's all on here for today... and my! isn't Julia early posting WOYWW post today? (even if she did forget Mr Linky)

:)

Have a wonderful WOYWW everyone... and Happy Crafting!!!

WOYWW 144

Wow! I finally got around to posting here... and on a Wednesday too for Whats On Your Workdesk Wednesday! I really should have gotten here sooner - considering I've been up since 5am (which is becoming quite the 'norm' here nowadays). To be qite honest, this week my desk isn't really about scrapbooking... it's still making miniatures (food mainly), but I actually quite miss posting on my blog here rather than the other one (Adventure Into Miniature - go check it out!... please? *lol*) and I really should catch up on what everyone's been up to. I am feeling much better of late, and hopefully I'll get back to being me soon.

So... here on my desk is a pile of polymer clay and a tea strainer... curiouser and curiouser :) I'm going to try and make miniature corn on the cob... I'll post about it on the miniatures site later - if it works *lol*

My last WOYWW was week 130 - 14 weeks of missed fun and nosiness!

I just have to add a qick something that bears no relation whatsoever to WOYWW, crafting, desks or anything like...

I recieved a phonecall from a charity for deaf people... can't remember which one. Anyway, I thought they were going to ask me for a monthly donation (which I simply can't afford) but instead, they have a brilliant ide... they are going to send me a small cardboard box which I shall put in all loose change... when it's full, I send it to them - brilliant! No hassles or guilt from a charity... just giving what I can afford. Wonderful idea!

Awww Shucks! The Leibster Award

Well, here I am welling up again... aren't you all the sweetest bunch of people???!!!

I only popped in to check a few things... and saw I had a few comments on my last (rather melancholy) post. I read through... tears clouding my vision, and thought to myself "you silly old fool!" :)

So here I am... saying "Thank you!" to everyone who takes time to read a few lines others have written, and to make a whole lot of us - because I know it's not just me - feel as though we're not all so alone and crazy in the way we feel sometimes.

Big hugs'n'stuff to Sheridan, who mentioned me and listed me in her award blog...

Here's how it works (and I admit to hitting 'copy & paste' for this):

This award is given to bloggers with less than 200 followers, in the hopes that it will bring many new friends/followers.

Leibster is German and means 'dearest' or 'beloved' but it can also mean 'favourite'. The idea of the Leibster award is to bring attention to blogs with less than 200 followers. So, in the spirit of good fun I am passing this award on to five other bloggers. Please stop by and visit them.

The Rules are:

1. Show your thanks to the blogger who gave you the award by linking back to them.

2. Reveal your five picks for the award and let them know.

3. Post the award on your blog.

4. Bask in the love from the most supportive people on the blogshare-other bloggers.

5. Finally and the best rule of all..........have fun and spread the love!
My favorites for this award are listed below. Click on over to their sites and take a look!

In no particular order...

Scatty Chick at Scraps Of Me

Sandra at All Things Pretty

Diane at Pixies Crafty Workshop

Toni (MissTeeJay) at My World... Sort Of

Jules at Scrappin' Mojo

As always, there were so many more I wanted to list... but rules are rules!

I think I chose the people I have done because they are seem to be strong, fun-loving women with some amazing ideas - truly, go visit their blogs and have a sneaky peek :)

Well, although my life at the moment is all miniatures and vegetables I have to make a start on finishing a lot of my old projects. And yes I did just mention miniatures and vegetables in the same sentence... apparently I have quite a knack for making 1:24th scale vegetables. Who knew! Though I admit having been utterly defeated by teeny little onions. 'Nuff said :)

Back to the whole 'finishing off' thread...

I've been asked by the local church to take my mini-books and scrap albums to a craft show. Everyone at 'Unravelled' (the St Marys Church craft club) 'shows' there... and these women are a gifted lot - so I'm quite chuffed at being asked. Of course, it may have nothing at all to do with the fact that my creations are any good, but that I seem to be the only scrapbooker who attends the craft club *lol*

My mum is a tatter and knitter and crochet queen... many of the other attendees are either knitters or card makers (and flippin' excellent they all are at their chosen crafts too!).

So... that will be in June... and I'll have until then to finish off all the tags and pages within each album.

Part of me is kind of looking forward to getting out all my scrapbooking stuff again... and part of me is dreading having so many projects on the go at one time. Still... if I'm crafting then I have less chance to fill me hands (and then my face) with muffins and cake *lol*

Oh... forgot to add that I finally have got a name for that Christmas album...
Elizabeth at Silver Scrappers
is the winner!
I have a lot of handmade flowers to give away too... and have decided that Beth will pick a number between 1 and 54... and the winner will be one of the followers I have already. I really will do that in the next few days - and won't keep everyone waiting for nearly three months this time :)

Still Here...

Just a quick update to let everyone know that I am still here.

Time for an admission...

I am a manic depressive (what is nowadays referred to as being 'bi-polar'). I have, up until a few weeks ago, been coping very well... but have found myself recently in the middle of an 'episode'... which means that I am feeling considerably low and detached. This means that for the most part I haven't been doing too much - though I have just updated my other blog. I find that crafting can be both beneficial and yet also a hindrance... when living through an episode, I can lose myself in crafting and shut myself off completely. This can be a bad thing, as I tend to ignore everything but whatever it is I'm crafting ... however, on the 'plus' side, it can mean that I am focusing my attentions completely on something other than how I feel (or don't feel.... other sufferers will know what I mean*lol*).

I am taking steps to 'recover' and hopefully will get back soon - back to my normal self (if I can ever be classed as normal at all *lol*)

So... in the meantime, please take care of yourselves everyone and I truly hope that everyone is having a wonderful New Year!