A Very Lucky Girl

At this weeks 'Crafty Club' Maria showed us how to make little gift bags.  They were really easy to make and look so lovely. Filled with chocolates, they would make such a nice little gift.

We also had  a quick lesson from Jen on how to crochet 'granny squares'. I am fairly new to the world of crochet and Vicki and Maria have never crochet before so poor Jen really did have her work cut out for her, oh and on top of all of that Maria is left-handed so it was twice as hard for her as she had to try and reverse whatever Jen was doing!  We have all decided that we need to practise ...LOTS!!!

Crafty Club was a bit of a special one last week as it was my birthday last Wednesday and the girls surprised me by throwing a tea party just for me.

It was such a lovely surprise.We had, scones with jam and cream, little party sandwiches, yummy pastries, and lots of cake...

I feel so lucky and very spoilt. I got so many lovely presents for my birthday, it really was such a nice day.

I hope you are all enjoying the weekend and are having a nice relaxing Sunday...I'm off to practise my granny squares....I'll post a picture of my progress soon!

x

Rainy Days

I haven't drawn any animals in a long while...After all the rain we are having in Auckland, it felt right that the little pig I drew should be happy in a muddy puddle...

Happy Sunday everyone!

Pet of The Week!

Merlin & Diesel

Owner: 

Jen, Auckland

Age/Breed:

Diesel: 5, He's a long haired domestic, with some Maine Coon in him. Merlin: 4, He's a short haired domestic with some Russian Blue in him

Where did you get them from?

I got them both from ‘Animates’. I worked around the corner from the store and one morning tea break my friend and I went there to see if they had kittens we could ooh and aah over. I had no intention of buying one before I walked in, but Diesel was so fluffy and cute and he was hogging the whole cat basket on his own, stretched out like a God with all the other kittens huddled in a corner away from him.  Apparently he was the favourite in the store and had all the staff wrapped around his over sized paws.

When I saw Merlin  I was with my sister and her kids, they had just had some bad news  so we went to the pet shop to cheer ourselves up and Merlin immediately stood out from the others. We asked if we could have a hold and he just clung to me happily and started purring and so I was hooked. I told my sister that if she didn't get him, that I would have to, because I couldn't just leave him there. I took him home that day. One of the few impulse buys I've never regretted. Merlin is my little darling.

Favourite Food?

Diesel: There are two things that get him climbing my legs with impatience: hot roasted chicken; and cheese.

Merlin:  Tuna and biscuits.

Favourite place to snooze?

Diesel:   Anywhere I don't want him to...usually on an item of clothing

Merlin: On my left shoulder when I go to bed. He gets really excited when I brush my teeth because he knows it's bed-time!

Funniest Habit?

Diesel: Hmmm... not so funny for the victims but he likes to steal paint-brushes ( the decorating kind!) He brings them home in the middle of the night to slay. The poor neighbours are half way through painting their house and wonder where the heck their paint brushes keep disappearing to.

Merlin: Hiding under the covers where he thinks no one can see him!!

 (If you would like your beloved pet to be featured on my blog, then please contact me: kerri002@hotmail.co.uk with some photos and the answers to the questions above x)

Brick Bay Sculpture Trail

Brick Bay Sculpture Trail Is always somewhere that I wanted to visit. It's on the way to my sister's house so I pass it a least once a week.

Last week me, my sister and my dad finally decided to go there for the afternoon. It was such a gorgeous day with not a cloud in the sky (complete opposite of today where the rain is literally falling in buckets)

We paid our $12 and set off along the sculpture trail

There was a real mixture of different styles of sculptures and all cleverly displayed in such a beautiful setting

I love how this sign is placed in the middle of the trees, it comes as a complete surprise

Who would of thought that blue trees could be so effective! you can see the reflection from the tress in the photo below...

This is such a pretty, relaxing  place to visit...I can't wait to go back, but next time I will definitely be making the most of the vineyard and enjoying a couple of glasses of wine.

Until next time
x

A Badge Making Extravaganza!

My friend Vicki has finally decided to take  her hobby of badge making to the next level and has set up a little business making badges,magnets and lots of other lovely little goodies.

After a lot of persuading I managed to rope her into doing a market with me on Saturday, which I am soooo pleased about as my lovely usual neighbours at Birkenhead Artisan Market have abandoned me (sniff sniff , I'm gonna miss you Jess & Lucy x)

Having a stall at a market for the very first time is a little nerve-racking and a little daunting, 'are people going to like my stuff?' 'will my stall look ok?' and most importantly, 'will I sell anything??'

So, we decided to make lasts night Crafty Club meeting a 'badge making' special. 

A little production line was formed and under Vicki's supervision we helped to make some badges.

Like all things hand-made there was actually quite a lot of preparation involved.

Strips of fabric/paper had to be cut...

templates had to be drawn around...

and cut out...

 and of course, cups of tea had to be made to keep us all going.

Then the badges were made using the....hmmm, I'm not quite sure what the right word is for this piece of machinery so I will just call it the 'badge machine'? This was my favourite part of the process. I would let out a little squeal of delight every time a new little badge was born.

It was so exciting seeing the finished product, which once the actual prep was done only took a few seconds to do!

I'm really looking forward to seeing Vicki's stall set up tomorrow with all of her cute little products on display. I'm sure she is going to do really well!

x

PS Some of you might be wondering where is 'Pet of The Week' is today?, well, I have to say I am so overwhelmed by the amount of pets of the week that I have lined up and can't wait to feature every single one...but I have decided that it will be 'Pet of the Fortnight??' I know it doesn't really have the same ring to it does it, but I was starting to feel under pressure to post more often then I normally would during the week, in fear that every other post would be my pet of the week.  So 'Pet of The Fortnight' will be back next Friday and will star 2 very handsome cats ...I'm looking forward to it already!!

Look Out!

Lots of yummy cakes, coming your way....very soon!

Pet Of The Week!

'Molly' 

 (aka: Mollymoo, Mollington, Mop)

Owner:

Tracy & Adam - London

Age/Breed:

19 months, Labradoodle

Where did you get them from?

Hampshire Labradoodles

Favourite food?

Sunday Roast with all the trimmings! Whatever we have, she has... meat, veggies and gravy to top it off. Molly particularly loves Yorkshire puddings!

Favourite place to snooze?

On her very own 3 seater sofa, next to me on the armchair or in her new bed. She loved it when we went on holiday on a boat and she got to sleep with us on the big bed.

Funniest Habit?

Playing football with the Saturday and Sunday teams and scoring goals!

Thanks Tracy, Molly is one lucky (and very cute) dog!

(If you would like your beloved pet to be featured on my blog, then please contact me: kerri002@hotmail.co.uk with some photos and the answers to the questions above x)

For Aunt Doris With Love

It's my Aunt Doris' 92nd birthday next week. I wanted to make her something small that I could send over to blighty. I thought about making her a little scented door hanger but then I remembered seeing some lovely little pin-cushions on Helen Philipps blog a while back which I thought would be perfect.

I chose a nice light and airy fabric from my ever growing stash and once made, tied it with a lovely pale blue satin ribbon.  I made the little gift tag simply by cutting out a piece of card, stamping a hole in one end and sticking a small piece of fabric onto it using PVA glue.

I love it...I hope she does too!
x

Crafty Club

A while back, I was talking with some friends and we were saying how hard it can be to make time to do the things you love in this busy world. Work and family life take priority and the really simple things that we enjoy tend to take a back-seat.

So, I had an idea to start a Crafty Club.  We meet every other Thursday evening and the idea is that we bring along whatever it is that we are working on.
The first meeting of the Crafty Club saw Jen crocheting a gorgeous blanket, Nonie knitting a pair of slippers, Vicki making badges and I started making little fabric flowers for a cover for my sewing machine.

A few weeks back the girls said that they would like to have a go at painting one of my pictures, so we had a Crafty Club special.
I drew a simple picture of a witch and got each of them to trace the image onto watercolour paper. Then they began to paint their picture step by step with my supervision.

It was so much fun and interesting to see the different approach and technique each person had.

The evening whizzed by with lots of laughter and also sometimes complete silence ( a very first at Crafty Club) the concentration levels were very high.

So, first up, Maria with her lovely finished picture...

So cute, I love her spotty green tights.

 

Jen's picture.

I think Jen did so well, she has never painted before and I loved how her little witch turned out.

Vicki's picture...

Isn't she lovely! Vicki has never painted before either so I was very impressed.

Nonie likes to paint and has created some gorgeous pictures for her grandchildren over the years so she decided to copy one of my other pictures instead.

I love it!



I think it is so important to make time to do what makes you happy, even if it is only for a few hours a week.

I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone will be working on at the next meeting.

x

Pet of The Week

'Harry'

Owner:

Vicki & Mike - Auckland

Age/Breed:

11 years old, long haired German Shepherd

Where did you get them from?

I got him as an eight week old puppy - he was the tiniest cutest bundle of fluff I had ever seen, with massive paws!!  He was a Christmas present from my mum and dad - my best present ever!!!  I loved him from the moment I saw him.  The whole family helped name him over Christmas dinner - can't remember who suggested 'Harry' but it just seemed to fit!  Other nicknames are Hazza, Harry Trotter, and Hairballs.

Favourite food?

He's not very food orientated - he prefers his tennis ball to food, and will often save his dinner for later.  But he will never turn down fresh meat or a piece of cheese!

Favourite place to snooze?

He has several favourite spots, but on a sunny day he loves to lie flat out under an overhanging fern bush in our garden - it completely covers him, and you can just see his legs poking out.  Often, if I can't find him, he'll be snoozing hidden under his fern bush. 

Funniest Habit?

Ever since he was a pup, he likes to doze off sucking on a cuddly toy. He turns it over, holds it between his front paws and dozes off sucking on its bottom!! 

Thanks Vicki, Harry is absolutely gorgeous.  The biggest ones are always the biggest softies :0)

(If you would like your beloved pet to be featured on my blog, then please contact me: kerri002@hotmail.co.uk with some photos and the answers to the questions above x)