Out and about

I've started to do things on the move...I had to! With a little one your time is not yours anymore. It took me time to realise it. I was fighting it at first, trying to do things as I used to, trying to fit her needs into mine. Well, after four and half months I finally gave in, and you know what, it got better, much better! I learned how to make the most of my time when baby O is asleep and getting organised so I can do staff easily. I started to take photos with my phone, so I can send them to friends and family or post them online straight away...there is no more time for downloading pics on my laptop, do the editing, creating folders, etc; this is now a monthly task! I put together a very small sketching set, easy to carry around and ready for whenever...if I want to post a sketch I just take a pic of it...no more time for scanning! And now the blogging task. I was hoping to increase the number of posts on the blog, but that didn't happened either... so now I'm posting on the go using an app on my phone. Fine, the results are not the same, I admit, the app has a lot of limitations (a lot!!), but while waiting for google to make it better, I'd rather post as it allows rather than not posting at all.

Cross stitch fan...not!

We started to receive baby gifts from family and friends! G's auntie gave us a yellow baby bib with some plain Aida fabric on the front. Since I realised I don't particularly like proper baby motifs, I chose a stylised tree instead. I initially picked yellow and blue anchor threads, but didn't like the finished stitch effect (too messy!), so I swapped it for some embroidery thread which was easier to use. After stitching the middle tree I decided to add two other colours to make it less boring and picked some olive green and a lighter blue. Did like the overall results, although I don't think I like cross stitching very much.......

L Letterpress Combo Kit Review

I finally got it!!! I've been looking into this letterpress for months now and was not sure if it was worth the money due to its bad reviews almost anywhere on the internet. Then I came across a review from PaperCrave which led to another review from Boxcar Press, and guess what..I thought maybe it is worth trying!!! My boyfriend was in San Francisco last week......what better than this as a birthday present...and although the extra weight he had to carry...here it is, my brand new letterpress.

So I gave it a go with the basic tools provided, including some extra tips from Boxcar and these are the results:

1st attempt

2nd attempt...much better!

I can see where this tool lets you down a bit...the supplied plates are cheap, very cheap!!

You cannot expect professional results, but overall I was quite excited with the potential of it, especially if you can get customised photopolymer plates! In addition the tool comes with die cuts (round shapes only, but I'm planning to buy different shapes):

You can also buy embossing folders which give you the most amazing effect:

I'm now waiting for some coloured paint and more plates to arrive.....

Felted Pouch

I bought a new laptop just before Christmas and was in desperate need for a nice and coloured pouch. The ones from the shops were not very stylish, and the ones online would have not arrived on time before going away. So I went to one of the local charity shops and got a wool sweater for a fiver, machine washed it, hand stitched it and voila'...my new pouch was ready to be loved by everyone!!

Purl Hand Warmers

I bought the pattern and the yarn for these so cute hand warmers at the knitting and stitching fair back in October. They come from Purl, who by the way has some amazing patterns and yarns! Somehow I managed to finish them off before Christmas so they became a nice present for my boyfriend's sister. The instructions weren't difficult to follow, but the final stitching at the back was hard to do and the results were not extremely pleasing! Overall I liked the idea of homemade presents...will have to start quite early next year though!

Recycled Bags

I'm doing a pre-Christmas gift wrapping exercise these days. I have three different events to attend this weekend and all of them require a gift, so I thought why not experimenting with brown parcel paper, string and masking tape! I had this in mind for ages as I like the eco/recycling feel of this type of gift wrapping. Also, I finally managed to use the lino block print I made a while ago, although it still needs some improvement...I need to find a good tutorial on how to use it really!!

Neck Warmer

It'll be my friend's birthday this Sunday and I made for her a cute neck warmer much needed for this weather that suddenly turned cold without warning! The pattern is from Jane Richmond and can be downloaded for free from Ravelry. It was quite easy to knit, but I admit I had to start twice as I lost count of the rows and couldn't find my way out of it. I hope she'll like it!