11 months

11 months? Yes, that's how long it's taken me to figure out what to do with the wooden letters that I decopatched last May. Back then I thought I knew exactly what I was going to do but never got round to it.

Looking at them again recently I realised that the papers were not quite 'right' so I re-did them with the green crackle effect paper I had left over from a previous project and added a chipboard sign that had been decorated ages ago and not used.

 I found a metal buckle and threaded it with pale green spotty ribbon. The colours from the original paper still show through a bit but that's ok

 A metal heart plaque attached with twisted wire.

 4 large stripey brads in the top corner.

 The chipboard sign at the bottom covered with a patterned paper, no idea where from as it was done so long ago and coloured with Promarkers. The car has glossy accents on it.

It's up in the kitchen already! That is about the only thing that has stayed the same from my original plans. It looks quite good on the pale lime green wall.

Finishing off

Today I made myself sit and finish off some of the knitted items i've been busy making over the past few weeks.
This little top was so quick and easy to make even with tv and family noise in the background. It only took a couple of evenings.

 This is based on my favourite baby pattern which i've knit many times. I fancied a different yoke to the normal ribbed one so did stocking stitch with garter stitch stripes. The blue fluffy yarn is a nightmare to knit with but ok in these small quantities and just adds a bit of colour.

 This is an old pattern but i've never tried it before. I almost gave up on it after undoing the pattern on the back several times. Strangely enough by the time I finished I hardly needed to look at the instructions. Luckily it knit up quite quickly as it's nice thick aran yarn.

Now I have numerous boxes full of buttons but could I find enough of any one type suitable for this?   Could I heck as like! That's why it has blue gingham ones. I thought the heart one in the middle just gave it a bit more interest.

British bulldog

It's St. George's day and also my son's birthday so I decided on a Patriotic style card for him. This bulldog image is from Rachael Hale on the Joanna Sheen cd entitled Furry Friends.
I printed it out and layered it up onto a white card blank with added die-cut swirls in red, white and blue to match the Union flag. A silver peel-off greeting finishes it all off.

Ooops a couple more!

Not sure why these were missed off my previous post. Joanna Sheen cd and Martha Stewart punches again.

Easter and a Birthday

I've been making family Easter cards for a few years now and thought i'd do something a bit different from the cutsie ones for my Mum & Mum-in-Law. I wanted to do religious but somehow they looked too much like sympathy cards so I ended up with these 2 with images taken an MCS cd. I think the top one looks a bit symbolic of the 3 crosses so i'm happy with them. These next ones are really cute with the cow and chick image from Joanna Sheen's Rachel Hale cd Furry Friends.

I printed the whole page off and used various sizes to give different looks to the cards. I made a table in word and printed the little greetings banners then cut them out and rounded the corners.

These last 2 use images and backing paper from the Forever friends cd. The corners and bright yellow card are cut using Martha Stewart punches.

This card for my sister's birthday uses an image again from the Furry friends cd, she loves pigs so it is ideal for her. Not sure which pad the backing paper came from as it is an A4 sheet cut down to fit the 8 inch square card, possibly Henbury Lane.

Our area

I decided to go out for a walk to the garden centre and craft shop this morning as it was such a lovely day with clear blue skies and warm sun. It's about a 25 minute walk if someone is with me but took less than 20 minutes as I just cannot walk slowly. I did try to slow down on the way back though and took some photos of the countryside around us.
This is the lovely fairy-tale looking Castell Coch, set amongst the trees on the hillside, with it's towers and pink stonework.
The horses which like to be fed, signs say they can have apples and carrots.

Crossing the railway line with it's lights letting you know about the trains.

The iron bridge which lends it name to the road leading to our house. Just wide enough for a bike or pushchair it crosses the River Taff.

Taken from the bridge, view of a lovely stretch of the river with Castell Coch in the distance.

Signpost for the Taff Trail with Cardiff Castle, in the centre of the city, being only 5 mles away. I cycled a short way along here last week.

The price we pay for living in a village but so close to Cardiff, this is the view from our front bedroom. Beyond the 15 foot fence is the A470 into Cardiff.

From our bedroom window up at the top of the house the roof of the garden centre can just be seen in the centre of the photo, beyond the road, railway line and river. In the distance the hills are often covered in mist or low cloud.

During Winter, when the trees are bare, looking to the right we can see Castell Coch.

Mother’s Day

Last Sunday was Mother’s day, I had to get my cards done and taken up to Mum & Mum in law at the beginning of the week.

I used A4 cardstock folded to make A5 cards and images from Forever Friends cd. As usual I imported them into my MCS programme to manipulate and add backgrounds and text. I’m not sure which cd the backing designs are from, possibly from MCS because I know the lace embellishment strip is.

I’ve added organza ribbon held in place by small flowers on this one.

On this i’ve used an organza ribbon which already had an embellishment attached and a gem.

At the beginning of the month our neighbours little boy celebrated his first birthday, again Forever Friends cd used.

This time I printed the background with stars and train and then did the bear/number and greeting separately and layered them up. The greetings banner had a backing of blue pearlescent card.

Thanks for looking, more knitting soon.

Sue xx

Still no cards.

Over on PreemiesUK facebook page I set myself the challenge of knitting at least 20 items during March. I’m halfway there already with these which are ready to go in the post.

Firstly a few little bonnets, the top left is newborn sized and the smaller ones are from a doll’s pattern but i’m sure they will be ok. They are so quick and easy to do and the pattern ‘pretties’ them up a bit.

Next, sadly, burial gowns and bonnets for tiny babies who don’t survive. I didn’t think i’d find it in myself to be able to knit these but the thought of tiny babies without such clothing is a sadder thought, they all deserve the dignity of clothes.

Now something to raise a smile hopefully.

These are exactly what they appear to be – knitted boobs! Admittedly they do require some stuffing. Midwives in the units use them as an aid to teach new mothers the techniques of breast feeding.

If you'd like to help, even if you don't knit, nip over to PreemiesUk on facebook and take a look at the type of things they collect and recycle. I'm also sending some white fabric which hopefully can be used in cribs and a pack of used postage stamps. Thanks in advance if you do decide to help in any way.

Sue xx

PreemiesUK

I’ve just sent my 2nd package of tiny knitted items off to this worthwhile cause. They provide, with the help of lots of knitters and crocheters, special small sized items for premature babies in hospitals throughout the UK. Some sadly are used for babies who are so small or ill that they don’t survive, others are given to grieving parents as something to treasure to remember their baby by.

These hats really are tiny and have a hole in the top to allow wires to be attached to the head if needed.

To get some idea of the size just look at the buttons, they are so small. The bodywarmer measures about 5 inches across.I managed to find a matinee jacket in prem sizes and tried it out in this spotty yarn. It’s a 12 inch chest and only took a couple of evenings to make.

The saddest thing is these tiny burial buntings, measuring only 8 inches in length. It brings a lump to the throat and a tear to the eye to knit such items.

If any readers to my blog would like more info on PreemeisUk and the good work they do they can be found on facebook. Don’t worry if you can’t knit or crochet as there are lots of other ways you could help.

Sue xx

Jewellery gifts

Quite a few of the Christmas gifts that I gave this year were handcrafted jewellery items. Some were made from scratch but a couple were made from ‘bits’ which I had given to me and then altered.

These cute little memory wire bracelets were given to my grandaughters as stocking fillers.

This cascade style bracelet was made for my daughter, it uses silver plated jump rings, silver coloured shiny and textured beads and pink glass drop beads.

These 2 pictures show the altered jewellery items which were in fact both broken. I simply used the components to make my own, with the addition of ear-ring wires and silver plated chain.

Sue xx

‘Special’ Christmas cards

I realised i’ve not blogged for absolutely ages so thought i’d post the cards I made for the family this Christmas.

The week before Christmas I received a lovely gift of flowers through the post from my Mum, 10 days later they still look beautiful.On Christmas eve Mick gave me a potted orchid as he couldn’t find any nice flowers. Another bud has opened already, I just hope I can keep it alive.

Family cards VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

I hope everyone had a good Christmas and a very Happy New Year.

Sue xx

Baby time again

My daughter’s friend had a baby boy last weekend, the card has already been sent but i’ve just finished off the blanket which I have been knitting.

The card uses an image and background papers from Teddy Friends cd by Peerless designs. It’s all printed onto pearlescent paper to give a nice sheen to it.There’s a narrow mat of silver foiled card behind the image.

The inside has the same image suspended on fine wire in an aperture.

The blanket is in white and to finish it off I managed to crochet a single chain into each of the holes around the edge. This is done in pale blue and gives it a nice fresh look. It measures about 27 inches square and is knit from corner to corner, increasing each row until the size is achieved then decreasing each row.

This little fellow just had to get in on the act but he’s staying with me.

Sue xx

Male cards

It’s my brother’s birthday today and my brother in law and young nephew have birthdays next month so here are the cards I made. They all use images from MCS.

This is for my brother who has his own motorbike. I’ve put various bits and pieces together to make this image then added the text before printing. I used a very dark cardstock for the card.

This is for my brother in law who likes his fishing. I’ve added a tag and scrap of silver yarn.

This is for my nephew, all layered up in MCS before being printed.

Thanks for looking.

Sue xx