Icy days

It was such a lovely thing to step out of the front door today and be inside a winter wonderland!! Arthur and i got up early to get some shopping and i wanted the new issue of sew hip...but it wasn't in the shop (it said the 31st on last months one!!!, but i guess bank holidays and Christmas slow things up a bit.) The frost was sooo thick it looked liked it had snowed!! i took my camera along and I'm very glad i did....look....

Brrrrr...i think it was worth giving myself frost bite on my toes....it was such a lovely walk through the park!!!

And...fresh from the oven..... to warm me up...Terrys chocolate ornage cookies!!!! i love this recipe, its actually a double chocolate cookie recipe but last year around chirstmas time i made this variation so i thought i had better do it again because they taste sooo good. They are really oaty as well....that makes me feel healthier..the oats make up for all of the chocolate....right??

eurgh....because its new years eve i have to start work earlier...at half two!!rubbish!!!

Right i'm off to eat cookies and other such important stuff.

Take Care

xxx

Feels good to be back and stitching!!

Afternoon all!! Hope everyone's enjoying this strange limboesque week!!! I've had a really lovely day today....even if i have to go to work soon. Arth and I went to see a film this morning and it was lovely. We hadn't been to see one for so long that i forgot how good it feels to settle down into comfy seat and watch a massive screen bring new worlds to life! We saw Inkheart, i was a bit worried that Brendon Frazer would be a bit...cheesy...but it was really really good!!! I love that feeling you get after a film as well...kind of cozy...i guess i forgot all of those things and got to grumpy at working at the cinema.

Yesterday we made a coffee and ginger cake. I was worried when we were missing it up because it looked like one of those cakes that is never going to be persuaded out of the tin...but when it came to it it just popped out...and tasted delicious!!! We used coffee with rum extract in it...a gift arth got for Christmas. We couldn't taste the coffee that much but it still tastes great!!! Look at it!!! (I'm quite pleased with the photo as well...for once!!) i like to bake often but I'm known for the stuff tasting nice but not looking that wonderful but this gets top marks!!!

I also made a secret request from someone for someone......well i cant say who!!.....then it wouldn't be a secret. I apologise for the pictures when i got round to taking them all the light had gone!!!!!! (i guess its OK to put the pictures up....the person doesn't know about it.....oh dear....what have i done?) Anyway enjoyed making this because I've been holding onto these little bits of fabric and I'm glad that i put them to use for something for the secret person (How confusing?)

Well....I'm off to scoop some popcorn....Tomorrow Chocolate Orange Cookies....and the new issue of Sew Hip!!

Take Care

xx

Hope everyone had a lovely christmas !!!

Back home safe and sound. I had a wonderful Christmas at home with mum, dad and Rachel. Arthur had to work early on the 27th so he went to Bristol to see his family. Christmas in Lynn was a little bit different than normal....more quieter. I guess that's because every ones grown up a bit now...Rachel went to see her boyfriends family in the evening...so after she had gone me, mum and dad watched a film and ate too much chocolate!! Perfect!

I got such lovely presents!!! Even though Rachel and I are older mum and dad still hid some of our presents and left us clues to follow in order to get the surprise presents!!! And boy!! was it worth solving my clues....Mum and Dad had brought me a collection of antique china!!! LOOK!!!

It was such a lovely surprise!!!every piece wrapped up in tissue paper!!! i must have packed it up and unwrapped it at least ten times on Christmas day!!! I also got a lovely dragonfly shaped brooch from Arthur which looks lovely but i forgot to take a picture of it!!!

Boxing day was really busy...everyone comes to our house so it gets really busy. We used to all go to nanny's but its a bit too much for her now so everyone piles into our house. It was lovely but i did go and hide with the cat every now and then...Although that didn't work out to well because the cat got all temperamental and bit me...then he bit dad....on the forehead!! (I'm not sure i should have found it as funny as i did!!)

And now I'm back in cheltenham....and the cinema...lovely!!! This bit in between Christmas and New Year always feels out of place for me...like nothing fits in. But its kind of good to think of things that I'd like to try and do in the New Year...i don't want to call them resolutions because that curses them i think!! I'll right more about them later...because I've just seen the length of this one!!!!

Enjoy the rest if the festive season everyone!!

Take Care

xx

Rush Rush Rush!!!

It seems to me that all of posts are going on about the same things at the moment!! being busy!! so I'm going to shut up about that now and get on with what i meant to post about....

This rather slender young lady is for a friends sisters...

Here she is in all of her glory!!!! (I'm trying to not prod and poke the present which has my name on it!!!.....I'm trying really hard)

She's a little different to the order so she might stay with me if shes too different..she can keep Sputnik company.....ohhh!!! she could be Sputniks other lady mistress!!!What would Sputnika say now!!tut tut tut tut

Well...I'm off to deliver Christmas presents to friend and to deliver some food in my belly

Take Care!

xxx

Not Enough Hours!!!

Phew!!! sooooo much to do!! Why did i decide to make as many chirstmas presents as i could? Silly idea....well no its a good idea but i left it too late to get everything made peacefully and unrushed!! Still only a few things, im pretty sure that i'll still be sewing on chrismas eve!!

So i finally picked up my camera and sooo i have a few pictures for you...

Look at all of these lovely presents!!! i know what they are!!! hehehe...had alot of fun making and wrapping these. Arthur and I finished almost all of it yesterday. i was really worried that town would be bedlam but maybe other people were thinking that and so didn't come in...but it really wasn't that bad. We finished up with a coffee and chocolate mousse shaped like a Christmas pudding!!

I mentioned on a previous post that i swapped on of my purses for one of Joanna's tooth fairies and i promised a picture...

Here she is!! i think i will call her Petunia...that's right I'm 22 and still name things!!! there were so many fairies to choose from i decided on this one because i liked her sleepy eyes and her red dress.

And i thought that it would be nice to put some pictures up of where i do all of my sewing and i think it will better to do them bit by bit so here's a picture of SOME of my button jars..

...Except its more of the things on top of my button jars...the horse was an early Christmas present for me from me...its actually a place name holder and the snow globe was a present from my good friend Sarah.......which i said i wouldn't open until christmas....shhhhhhh....i couldn't help myself!!!!

Well....that's about it...i will pop in before Christmas!!

Good luck with all of the last minute Christmas presents!!!

xxx

I'm still alive!!!

Just thought i would drop in quickly to apologise for my lack of posting. Ive been really busy since i got back from lynn either at work or making chirstmas presents! and i still cant see any light at the tunnel. On saturday (me and arthur must be insane!) we are going to buy the christmas presents which i cant make!

Today i met with Joanna who has a great blog (http://thingshandmade.blogspot.com/) we did a swap as she liked one of the purses which did not sell at the sale and i liked her little tooth fairies so it was logical!! It was a lovely coffee and good to meet with someone who Ive come across thanks to the stuff i make and do.
Just finished a really cool card wallet which someone ordered from me and I'm quite impressed...only a few things id change next time.
I'd love to post pictures of everything up....but Ive left my camera at my friends and still haven't picked it up yet!! I'm losing my mind!!!!

Well.....what more can i say apart from.....work

Take Care
x x

Back home safe and sound

Finally I'm home, the coach journey back was a nightmare to say that least...horrible migraine...horrible delays...horrible getting squashed into a replacement taxi to get me into cheltenham an hour later. But i made it!!! it was so nice to come back to the flat last night...i literally collapsed on the sofa!


I did have such a great time. It was lovely to see mum, dad and Rachel. Going to help mum at Clifton House and then going for lunch or coffee. It was great to make some things for mum and Rachel when i was there...mums sewing machine is old but faithful. Here's a picture of everything i made whilst i was at home (in true me style its a rubbish picture!)



The purpley black thing in the bottom left is a make up wrap i made for mum and I'm actually pretty chuffed with it, it has two zips and three compartments and you wrap it all up and tie with pretty ribbon. I cant talk too much about the other stuff because they are Xmas presents!(shhhhhh)

Oh, i said i would post a picture of our Christmas tree so especially for you....

The multicolored mess at the bottom of the tree is a bundle of paper chains put there to hide the muddy pot it is in!! its small and pretty and i like it.

And...just to finish things off we made roasted tomato and pepper soup with bacon today...it was delicious!! (I'm having to stop myself from eating the leftovers which are meant to go in the freezer!!)

Any way...work beckons me!!

Take Care

xx

Home Tomorrow

I promise i haven't popped out to an Internet cafe to avoid repacking! I honestly do...eurgh i hate the whole repacking thing. On the plus side it will be nice to get home to cheltenham and see arthur and everyone else...i dearly love coming home to see my mum and dad but its always nice to get back to your own house and not worry about eating the last chocolate biscuit or whatever!!
I had a really productive trip to lynn...apart from today (due to bad headache) i have made something everyday! I'll post pics later

Well i guess i cant avoid it anymore....i must pack and prepare myself for the bus trek home!

Take Care
xx

Comfortable and Happy at Home.

I'm not sure what to do with all of this spare time...no cinema until Friday no orders or sales to get ready and to top it off I'm at home with my mum and dad and sister in their nice centrally heated house!! (what a novelty!)



Oh did i mention that i have this little man to keep me company when I'm chugging along on mums old sewing machine!

Yes, Ladies and Gentlemen i give you Blue. He's a charming young man who likes to wake people up at 4 in the morning eating plastic bags by your bed!

Whilst i was talking rubbish to Blue this afternoon i made this for Rachel. Shes at stage school and so always has lots of stuff in her bag like ballet shoes and other such essentials. I thought this would be the perfect size for her and i really like the fabric!

I would post more pictures but it takes quite a long time to load them up! sorry!!

Wonder what i will make tomorrow?

Night Night
xx

Hello from sunny Ol' Lynn

hellllllllloooooo!!!!

How is everybody?? I feel a bit dissattatched from everything here, mum and dad only have a dial up connection so everything goes really slooooowwwwly. Anyways...The affore mentioned bags of fabric in the last post were full of wonderful stuff!!! I tried taking a picture but it didn't do it justice (I'm really bad at taking pictures!) amongst these scraps was a lovely piece of stripey silk fabric and i was too impatient to wait until i got back to cheltenham to do something with it sooooo i made this!

Hmmmm...doesn't really do it justice but I'm really pleased with it..its the first thing i have ever made which is made 100% from silky fabric. It has two zips and is dusty pink inside. It ties up with a yellowy colored ribbon. Is also supposed to be for someones Christmas present......but I WANT IT!!!

Anyways must dash fabric to cut and things to make!!!

Take Care!

xx

I'm off tomorrow!

I did mean to put pictures of our lovely Christmas tree which we put up today but I'm too snuggled and sleepy on the sofa to go upstairs for my camera (gasp!) So i will post them tomorrow....when i will be back home in Kings Lynn for a week!! wohoooo! Can't wait to see ma and pa and the cat!! The promise of two bags of fabrics from one of the people my mum works for is making it even more appealing!! Its a bit of a surprise trip...i got told i had a fair bit of holiday pay left to take so i decided to take it as soon as i could!!

Anways....time for bed i think...the buse leaves at nine in the morn and i dont get off til half 5!! i'm going to need to manufacture lots of zzzzzzz's to get me through that...
take care
xx

Taaaa Daaaa!!

What do you get if you add this...


And this...

And this...?

You get these!!!

Carrot and Cinnamon Muffins!!! Topped with Philadelphia icing and walnuts!!

They make for lovely...

TEA!! (see the lovely plates? we found them in a charity shop for 75p each...one has a bear on and is arth's because arthur means bear...and the other has a fox on which is my one!I think they are Norwegian and I'm not sure they are made to use but they look to good to leave in a cupboard or on a wall!)

xxx

First Batch All Finished!

What a lovely day I have had!! No cinema today so I went for a coffee with Tanya and little Gethyn and then I headed back to the flat to finish off Alix's order from the sale on Saturday and they all went swimmingly (wrapping them up was just as much fun for me as making them...im pretty sure that wrapping everything up and making it look good for the person who brought it is just as important as the item you wrap.) Then after my adventures with brown paper and string I had lovely nachos and dip for tea and watched Deadwood with Arthur...a great night!!

Thought I'd put up some pictures of the orders all lovely and wrapped up...

Wish they were all for me!!!!

xx

Melancholy.....and Cold!!!

Hi everybody!!
hope your ok and not freezing your toes of like me!!!I had a few pictures to put up today but the batteries died in my camera. I have just finished an order for some necklaces and they looked really pretty....oh well.
Feeling a little bit fed up today.Work at five and i'm dillying about what I want to do (regards to Masters)eurgh!! why can't things just get decided for you but always be the right decision!!
Anways you probably dont want to think about me worrying about pointless stuff so on the plus side....
I've just signed up to folksy and have a few items for sale on there! I did originally sign up for etsy but got a bit intimidated by its size!! anyways the adress is
http://www.folksy.com/shops/bexsbuttons

Take Care everyone!
xx

Todays the Day

Phew!! Its done...THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO CAME!! I've just settled down with a cup of tea and the nicest fussiest feeling (thanks to you guys who enjoy the stuff i make!)
I'd just like to say thank you to everyone who helped...Eleri for the flyer's...Lorna for helping me sew in the labels...Karina (and Lorna again) for helping me set up...Arthur for telling me to stop being silly went i panicked...everyone else (god this sounds like an Oscar speech!!!)

Anyway I'm absolutely shattered...night in with Mr Ben and Mr Jerry i think

thank you!!!!

Yummy Yummy Yummy

Thought you guys might like a little tatser of the goodies tomorrow....They taste great! Thanks to lorna for helping decorate them!

WOHOOOOO!!THEY CAME!

I was happily sewing along this morning, worrying about saturday and mumbling to myself when there was a little tap at the flat door. Arthur answered it and it was the postman.... Finally my labels have arrived!!What do you think? I'm so happy that they are here in time for Saturday!! It makes me feel really professional to have something with my name on!!

Also...Fresh off the machine today is this little (or big) lovely...

She's made from a lovely woolly fabric which i found for £1 yesterday and there are falling leaves made from brown felt and cotton on the front. The ribbon isn't right I'm going to pop out to sues before work and get something more suitable for it.

Sputiks are done now to! O.K. maybe I should explain. We have a draft excluder that is knitted by Grandma Payne (Arthurs 102 year old great grandma.) This draft excluder is called Sputnik (I have a horrible impulse to name anything new and cute which we get) Sputnik has proved to be quite a hit with all of our freinds (Dave and Shana are the proud owners of Sputnika and Sputkid....yeah thats right Sputniks wife and child) Anyways...there pretty popular at the mo because its freezing!! So I made a few to for the sale.

What do you think?

xx

The Days Not Over Yet

Afternoon! Thought I'd pop up this picture. Today I'm finishing the jewellery for the sale and these are the first batch done. I like making these hair clips there quite therapeutic for me!

AND finished just in time before I have to go to work..... some lovely pairs of kirby grips. I like making these but they make my eyes hurt (ouchy)

A Day Off Put to Good Use.

Went for a lovely coffee with Lorna today and then I finished this pretty flowery shoulder bag, its nice and shiny inside. Hope you like it!

Oh! Thought that maybe anyone that didn't come to the last sale might like to see some pictures of it (kindly donated my Miss Phelan) So here you go... (please dont judge me by the horrible pose!)

Not Long Now!!!

Hi everyone! Hope you had a great weekend!! I'm getting a bit nervous about Saturday!! I hope people were come. I enjoyed soo much to see people enjoying and showing an interest in the stuff I make.

Anways this is what I made today...a lovely little shoulder bag made from a sturdy stripey green and cream fabric and lined with a green and yellow art nouveau style fabric. It is decorated with a pink flower in a yellow ribbon frame and little shell buttons! Hope you like it!!

Before I leave for work...

Brrrr its horrible cold out tonight. Me and arth both had pay days on the same day so we went to the vine for dinner!!! I gorged myself on thai green prawn curry and malay bread and then Lo an behold!! ben and jerrys was on by one get one free at the corner shop!! oh well!!

Anyway...just before work i reeled off this lovely little wallet....it has a little white monster on the front who im quite attached to.

Oh...im really looking to the craft fair tomorrow...its at Chipping Sodbury and is orgainsed by two ladies called Michelle and Jayne it looks good!!! See you there? http://www.vintageandhandmade.co.uk/

NaNaNaNa........BATMAN!!

Hi everyone..hope you are all well. I had a lovely day today.Walked around the park finding leaves with arthur...it was a lovely autumn day and i had fun picking the leaves. Then i went over to the library and found an awesome book called masters of poster design..its got some really really funky pictures in it. THEN i went over to el's and we made the flyers for the sale they look great but el's printer was sleepy so we only got round to printing a few off but im really pleased!! THANKYOU EL!! and later on this eve me and arthur are going to go and watch easy virtue at the flicks!! (the dresses look pretty in it)

Oh...before all of this i made.....this...

A Sneak Peak!!!

I feel like I've been a bit bad today because I havn't made anything before work and the sale is sooooo close...instead I did alot of pricing and printed off the posters...which are important too so i should stop being stupid really!!!

Anyway here you go.....see anything you like?