Creativity
I have a desire at the moment to make stuff. There is even a small desire to draw, which I haven't had in ages!
However, the current thing taking my fancy is jewellery. In fact, i've fancied jewellery making since I started peering at the beads in the craft shop. I've bought a couple of books, but they are aimed more at metalwork, which would be great to do but seems to involve massive amounts of tools! I bought a couple of bead work magazines which the projects involve little more than a couple of pairs of pliers and some wire cutters so I think I can stretch to that. They also have space at the craft shop on a jewellery making class. It's on Thursdays so I have to decide whether to do card-making and jewellery making, or just the jewellery making. Think I will do both for a while.
I also really want to be card making and scrap booking, so when the in-laws go home I'm planning on spending some of my free time, at least once a week, on making cards and having a play at the scrap booking. I think I may try and sell a couple of cards on ebay and see how that goes.
It's quite strange, it's like there is a goal - I feel as if i'm looking forward to something but i'm not sure what - like something's about to happen. I can see time in my days to be making cards and jewellery and I can see designs, especially for the cards, forming in my head all the time! It's great and of course I will show anything i['m up to on here.
Labels: card making, craft class, hobbies, jewellery
Happy New Year!
Ok, I know it's a bit early, but who cares! I've been fairly busy of late hence why I haven't been updating this regularly but now my life is my own again I can start 2008 the way I mean to go on!
I could write a list of resolutions as long as my arm (involving doing more housework and boring rubbish like that!) but I know I won't keep them so I'm going to stick to a few that are either
- really important, or
- things I want to do
So... in the really important category we have:
Sort out my Finances (*shudder*). I am fairly bad at managing my money and have managed to have a rather large overdraft and a largeish credit card bill. None of it's really horrendous compared to the debts you hear about on the telly, but it's a lot when you work part time for not much more than the minimum wage!!
So, to overcome this I have made a budget. Every 4 weeks when I get paid I'm going to take out my money for the month in cash so I can see the actual money going down and how much i'm spending, rather than randomly using my debit card for everything. I am going to stop ordering books I don't need from the book club and Amazon (*sob*) and make lunch rather than buy it on the days I work all day. I have also applied for a new Credit Card with 6 months 0% interest on balance transfers so I won't have to pay interest for a while on the the credit card balance.
The Big Plan is, if I can pay all my outgoings out of my wages (which I should be able to) any extra I get from the pet portraits can go in the Savings account, which is looking Very Sad at the moment. Wish me luck!!
And now on to the fun ones:
Learn to knit. I have been wanting to do this for several months now but haven't had the time. I have been inspired by several blogs and websites and have decided I would love to be able to knit some things for myself and other people. As of yet, there is no definite plan on how i'm giong to do this but it is likely going to be self taught from books. (I love books.)
Make more cards. I'm not really sure if this counts as a resolution but I'll add it anyway. I've really been enjoying the card making and am planning on making all my cards from now on. I am also planning on making some for sale using my own dog drawings. I need to get some more money coming in from the drawing front and this seems like a good way to do it - handmade cards, but totally original as they'll have my own artwork. And i've seen some great paper with doggy paw prints down the craft shop!
Do more crafty stuff. How marvelously vague that is! I spend a lot of time wasting time on the internet. This year I'm going to put my time to good use and make some stuff. When my card making course has finished, I'm planning on doing something else - either scrap-booking or jewellery making probably. By next Christmas I want to be able to make all of my Christmas presents!
So, there you have it - my plans for next year. I also have a training course for work to do and would love to find the finances to do an Open University course, but that's definitely only a maybe - depending on time and money. Hope you all have a fantastic start to 2008 and long may it continue!
Labels: card making, craft class, hobbies, resolutions
Cards
As it's card making day today, I thought i'd better get on and show you what I did last week. We made oriental style cards, which aren't really my 'thing' but they were good fun to make and didn't look too bad!
Card #1
This was made with a metal stencil. We used black ink on a little finger stamp pad to do the black bits. We then drew around the clothing and cut it out, then used another stamp to create the pattern. This was then glued on the card. The gold bits are stickers.
Card #2
This card was made using the same techniques as the other one, except the clothing is patterned paper. The purple colour is chalk as I made a mess with the ink and smudged it everywhere! The little rivets holding the card on are great!
This evening we are making Chrsitmas cards.
Labels: card making, hobbies, oriental
Cross stitch completed
I have now finished my cat cross stitch. I've stitched as a Christmas present, but i'm not sure who to give it to yet. I've started another one in the same series, but i've only done two lines of white stitching, so there's not much to show off yet!!!
Here's the finished one:
Project details are in this
cross stitch post.
Labels: cat, completed projects, cross stitch, hobbies
Cross stitch
Cross stitching has to be one of my most long-standing hobbies. I was taught by my Grandma when me and my sister were little, along with embroidery, quilting, knitting and crochet. Cross stitch is the only one I stuck at, though i'm planning on re-learning to knit in the new year.
I love cross-stitch, it's so easy and such stunning pictures can be created from just a blank piece of aida and some threads. I think it's brilliant that a series of crosses in varying colours, sometimes with a bit of backstitch for definition can create pictures of absoloutely anything. I tend to go for animal designs, generally enormous, complicated ones involving loads of colour changes so I have about four unfinished ones on the go at the same time then some smaller ones in between times as well!
Here is a work in progress photo of my current project:
Project Details:
- Manufacturer: Heritage Stitchcraft
- Designer: Margaret Sherry
- Kit: Cattitudes: 'Get a Dog!' MSGD719. Available as a kit, containing either Zweigart 14 count Aida or 28 count Evenweave, with pre-sorted DMC threads, chart, needle and instructions.
- Size: approx. 14cm x 14cm
Labels: cat, cross stitch, hobbies, work in progress
