Wrapped Up With String

Feeling Festive

2011-11-30T22:39:00.001Z

Good evening! Yesterday afternoon was very wild and windy - a perfect excuse to spend some time indoors making Christmas cards! It always takes far longer than I realise to make batches of cards, which is one of the reasons I have failed to prepare adequately for both of the Christmasses that my Etsy and Folksy shops have been open (there's no point linking to them, they're empty for the third Christmas in a row ;-)). To be ready for when everyone else starts to feel festive, I need to have started my Christmas crafts in August, but that's still camping and cider-in-the-garden time, not crochet and tinsel time!

Of course, now it most definitely is hot-chocolate (okay, hot Bailey's!) and warming soup weather, and I'm getting very much in the Christmas spirit, and time is already running out! But nevertheless, here are the cards I'll be selling at the Christmas fairs this weekend!

We'll be at Adel Primary School Christmas Fair on Saturday 3rd December and Hollybush Christmas Fair on Sunday 4th December - if you're in the Leeds area, please come down! All proceeds are going towards our fundraising efforts!

If you're not in the area but would like to buy some handmade Christmas cards, please email me at wrappedupwithstring@googlemail.com and let me know what you fancy!

Here I Am!

2011-11-28T00:00:00.000Z

Hello!

I am alive! I am rubbish, but I am still here, and I do read everyone's blogs regularly, even if things are rather quiet on Wrapped Up With String! Since getting the puppy, then having two part-time jobs, then starting a college course, everything seems to have ganged up against me being a reliable crafter and blogger - I do apologise.

Oscar is also v. apologetic...

...see?

Anyway, I do have some very exciting news that will a) help re-invigorate my crafting and b) give me inspiration to blog...you might remember at the start of the year that one of my resolutions was to find a swimming event that I really wanted to do, and do it. Back in July, I swam the Swim for All and after this, I swam in a team triathlon with Oliver and our friends Sophie and Garnet. Now I definitely have the swimming bug, and next summer I will be swimming the Real Channel Swim - a relay Channel swim with a team of five others swimming to France in aid of spinal injury charity Aspire!

Of course to do this, we need to raise £1750 each, and my friend and team-mate Sophie and I have teamed up to raise our collective £3500 together, crafting, creating and selling as much of our friends' and families' junk as possible - all in the name of charidee! You can follow our fundraising on our blog Sophie and Sarah's Channel Swim - all words of encouragement welcome!

This week we have been crafting salt dough and crocheted decorations to sell at Adel Primary School Christmas Fair on Saturday 3rd December and Hollybush Christmas Fair on Sunday 4th December - if you're in the Leeds area, please come down!

You can also support us by...
- following our training and fundraising on our blog
- following us on Twitter @sas_swim
- liking us on Facebook
- donating on our JustGiving site
- donating by texting 'SOSA86' and £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10 to 70070 (eg. 'SOSA86 £3')
- sending us an encouraging email at saschannelswim@gmail.com!

I promise I won't inundate this blog with charity posts, but I'll keep you updated with my crafty bits and bobs :)

My name is Sarah, and I am addicted to CSI...

2011-08-03T11:00:00.003+01:00

I have a surprise day off tomorrow, and in celebration I am staying up too late watching American crime drama and window-online-shopping (I also crocheted a pretty headband from this pattern - I'm not having an entirely superficial evening!). But instead of buying lovely frocks and accessories that I've almost convinced myself I'll use forever, I have spent this month's extra pennies on exercise kit...a teenage me would never have seen this coming!
So instead, here's an August-payday wishlist, in the hope it will relieve my shopping urge!

Dress / H&M
Bag / H&M
Shoes / H&M

Dress / Monsoon

Necklace / Monsoon

Dress / Monsoon

Ooh, and a little update - I did my first outdoor swim! I mentioned it in my last post, and here's the proof:

Friends Garnet and Sophie on the left, little old crazy-haired me on the right!

...although I sadly have no proof of my time since my timing chip remains at the bottom of Pugney's Country Park lake *sigh* gutted! It was around 32:20, and I wanted to do it in less than 35 mins, so I'm chuffed anyway :-) and hopefully there'll be a couple more swims before the year is out - I've got the bug now! Plus Sophie keeps tempting me with new events, and I can't resist a (swimming) challenge!

I've also just jumped on the 30 Day Shred bandwagon, as seen everywhere at the moment, but particularly on the lovely Where Are My Knees? blog - I've done two days so far...fingers crossed! So my pledge is: to complete the full thirty days of the Shred, then train for the swimming events whilst watching what I eat with a view to losing 1 stone by 1st October. Wish me luck!

Apologies for the hiatus - working two part-time jobs seems to take it out of me so much more than one full-time one! I still read everyone's blogs at lunchtime though!

Splash!

2011-07-05T00:05:00.000+01:00

My affection for amazingly poor Monday night television is obviously what inspires me to blog... ;-) tonight is brought to you by Dirty Sexy Things - previous favourites have included Glee and Made in Chelsea, brilliant!

Anyway, a little update! I mentioned a while ago that I'd signed up for the Yorkshire Swimming Festival 1500m Swim for All...and it's now bearing down on me, it's this coming Sunday! I tried out my wetsuit when we were on holiday in the Lakes (for the record, Crummock Water is terrifying....and I am a wimp), stunning, no?

...and had my first proper outdoor swim this Saturday - Puppington joined in, too!

I realise this is not amazing training, outdoor-wise, but there are chuff all places to practise around Leeds (unsurprisingly, really, being in the middle of the country!) so I've been swimming in the pool instead - we'll just have to see how it goes! I'm trying to get used to the initial shock of the cold water by having cold showers (it's a good job it's toasty warm this week!), as I find it really hard to control my breathing (minor issue...) but I'm just going to shut up and (wo)man up - wish me luck!

What have you been up to? Any events you're gearing up for? Good luck!

Music Monday - Bastille

2011-06-06T22:44:00.002+01:00

Sitting knitting in front of Made in Chelsea (which I secretly love of course, since I have such appalling taste in television...) I heard this, and it's lovely!

...and then I had a bit of a nosey and found this, and it's lovely too!

Hope you're all well :) if I ever finish this sample square, I'll share my knitting attempts! x

Garden of Delights (no nudity involved...)

2011-05-10T08:30:00.000+01:00

I hope you all had a lovely weekend! We spent most of ours in the garden, potting plants and feeding our vegetables (me), mowing the lawn and fixing things (Oliver) and eating plant pots (Oscar). We also rescued a frog and set him free in the river! It was pretty darned exciting, believe me ;-) I thought I'd share some photos!

Onions, herbs, strawberries and forget-me nots!

A rogue strawberry which managed to escape Strimmergate...

A little bit of Christmas in May? Why not!

Tiny shoots which WILL become beautiful flowers!

'Me? I wouldn't dream of eating your flowers.'

Hopefully we'll have some produce to eat at some point in the future! I'm coming over all Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall! What have you been up to?

Tomorrow...

2011-05-04T08:30:00.000+01:00

...we get a chance to change the voting system here in the UK.

I'll be voting! Will you?

Golly gosh...

2011-05-03T08:30:00.002+01:00

...where have the weeks gone?! I realise I have been a DREADFUL blogger and I do apologise - life seems to have become crazy busy recently! As well as spending lots of time with Oliver and Oscar the pup, I've got a new job working for a conservation charity (eee, exciting!), but as it's part-time, I'm still doing my old job part-time too, and it's taking some organisation! We've also spent a lot of time in our garden with the recent beautiful weather - it was hidden under a layer of snow when we first moved in, and we're just discovering the potential for growing vegetables!

Optimism, eh?

Besides the commission I mentioned a couple of posts ago, I've barely had chance to get making anything new, and I feel my shops are looking rather neglected, so I've decided to close them for a little while and concentrate on my blog for the time-being! And to begin with the blog again, I should probably revisit the resolutions I made at the beginning of the year!

Resolutions Revisited

- make at least one new thing every week, and share it. Well...I HAVE been making, but not sharing, I do apologise! Most of the bits and bobs have been for the wedding commission, so they're for the bride's eyes only until the wedding day, exciting! As an aside, did you watch THE wedding? I'm not particularly fond of the royals, but I AM fond of weddings, and what a beautiful wedding it was, just lovely!

- share my Meat Free Monday meals with you. Again, I have failed! I have been making lots of Meat Free Monday meals, but the time to document and share seems to pass me by! Must try harder!
- teach myself Spanish - I have the books and the discs...the time to get working on them has so far eluded me, however - MUST TRY HARDER!

- save, save, save! This one is trickier, but I'm not doing too badly, yet!
- run a personal best half-marathon (without moaning!). I've signed up for the Bradford Half Marathon in October and I'm trying to run at least three times a week - more on that in a future post!

- find a swimming event I really want to do...and do it! I've also signed up for the Swim for All in July - I've yet to sort myself out with a wetsuit, but with plenty of advice from Sophie, I shall be hitting the water soon! Brr!
- learn to park! Erm...the less said about this one, the better! Me and Xena the Seicento have been out on a few little adventures, one of which including bumping a lamp post...ha!
- learn to knit! I've signed up for the new 'Art of Knitting' magazine, as it worked so well for crochet, and I've finished my first sample square! I'll share them as they improve!

- plan. My lists are second to none...doing what's on them remains the challenge ;-)

Well, this has turned into a right essay; I hope I've not bored you into a slumber if you're still out there! I've missed you, and I've missed blogging, and I hope I'm back for good now :) what have you been up to?!

All images from weheartit.

A Little Bit of Everything...

2011-03-09T22:50:00.000Z

Golly, it's been tooooo long! I haven't been slacking, though, I promise! I have been...

...making delicious Meat Free Monday meals to share with you (details will follow soon, I promise)!

...working on a lovely commission! Very excited about this one :)

...gatecrashing afterparties (well...one)!

...and of course spending lots and lots of puppy time :)

Whimsical, eh? Yes, that would be a bag of poo in my hand...

Oh! I almost forgot! I am also now the proud owner of Xena the Fiat Seicento...I'm hoping her name will make her ambitious, since she is granny-tastic...I don't have a photo to share as, well, would you really want to see it? Anyway that's my other bit of Real Life news! Watch the road, kids! Especially as she currently doesn't have a working speedometer...

Wool Hello! (say it, it sounds funny...!)

2011-02-23T23:58:00.000Z

In between the madness that is the puppy (he is very very well-behaved and sleeps about two thirds of the time, but when he's awake he likes to chew wellies, newspaper, my hair and of course he needs plenty of cuddles!), I spotted this post by Deanne of Quirky Boots appealing for donations of wool for her premature baby appeal. I wanted to share it as it's such a great project :)

Deanne is going to make premature baby hats in various colours for the babies to wear in hospital and to be given as a little present to the parents when they are able to take their babies home. She doesn't want any money, but she'd like your donations of wool - preferably organic wool as it's so soft to the touch.

She's hoping to get enough donations so that all through March she can get crocheting the hats, and if she has lots of donations then she'll continue into April and donate to another local hospital as well.

Besides the above (which I've mostly pinched from her post!), she says:
'Please share this with friends far and wide, the more wool, the more hats, the more hospitals, the more babies that have a special little gift.'

Please email her at quirkyboots@hotmail.com if you would like to donate a ball of wool - mine's in the post! Thank you :)

A Terrible Blogger...But A Good Excuse!

2011-02-21T14:30:00.001Z

Good afternoon! Golly, ten days since my last post, what a horror! I have a very good reason, however...and hopefully some photos of him will make up for it!

We've been puppy-planning! Woof woof! We picked him up on Saturday :-) he's called Oscar and he's seventeen weeks old and he just might be the most relaxed puppy in the world...he sleeps all the time (a chap after my own heart!), he loves being stroked and he wasn't the slightest bit bothered on his first nights alone!

He's lovely! Once my obsessive behaviour has lessened, normal service will resume ;-) but if you want to join in with the pet-crazy - please share your pets!

Another Lovey-Dovey Folksy Friday!

2011-02-11T07:30:00.000Z

There were too many things to choose from last week...so here's instalment two of Heart Shaped Folksy Friday!

Have you got any Valentine's plans, or are you going to shun it all and watch anti-Valentine's films?

This Week, I Have Been Mostly Making...

2011-02-09T07:30:00.000Z

...pretty parcels, wrapped up with string!

Tuneful Tuesday...

2011-02-08T07:30:00.000Z

...a Rocky Horror Show Glee?? Oh yes, please!

...of course I couldn't let you forget my Halloween tribute!

lolz

Meat Free Monday - Flatbread Pizza

2011-02-07T20:35:00.000Z

Today's Meat Free Monday was simple but delicious...and good for you (well, me, and hopefully you!)!

Flatbread Pizzas

Ingredients - anything you fancy on your pizza! I had...
- onion
- sweetcorn
- jarred peppers
- courgette
- mushroom
- basil
- tomato sauce
- grated cheese

Along with...
- flatbreads
- salad leaves
- spinach
- seed mix for salad sprinkling (idea courtesy of Laura at Keeping Slim and Getting Stylish!)

1. Chop all your pizza toppings, sauce up your flatbreads and add toppings.
2. Cook on gas mark 5 for 20 minutes.
3. Mix up your salad leaves and spinach.
4. Add salad to plate and sprinkle with seeds. Serve pizza!

Yum!

Sound of Sunday - James Blake

2011-02-06T17:35:00.000Z

I can't stop listening to this! Pretty sure Oliver wants to tear his ears off by now...but I'll probably play it again nevertheless ;-)

Ooh, this also reminds me that I bought Paris, Je T'Aime with a Christmas HMV voucher and haven't watched it yet! That may make a bleak Monday worth looking forward to!

What's your Sound this Sunday? Have you been up to much over the weekend?

A Very Romantic Folksy Friday (aww!)

2011-02-04T07:30:00.000Z

Folksy has been inundated with pretty romantic bits and bobs...so many, in fact, that this may be a Folksy Friday 1 of 2!

Are you celebrating all things lovey-dovey, or having a very anti-Valentine's February?

Oh, People Tree, How I Love Thee...

2011-02-02T07:30:00.001Z

Just a quick little post declaring my love for People Tree! I know I don't often grace Wrapped Up With String with outfit posts, because that's not really what I blog about (there are plenty of far-more immaculately dressed bloggers out there that I'd much rather look at!), but this People Tree frock ticks all my ethical and environmental boxes, and I love it, so I had to share!

It makes me feel very Mad Men, and if I had matching skyscraper heels and the patience to craft a beehive, I would have gone full-on Joan Holloway, but this was for tea and drinks with Oliver's parents, so it might not have been the most appropriate! It's 100% cotton with just the right amount of stretch, perfectly-sized, and I heart heart heart the neck detail...

I might let down the hem just a tiny bit in the future, just because I'm not that fond of my knees and it would finish off the Mad Men effect! Otherwise, it's perfect - it even has comfortably-sized arms for those with *ahem* swimmers' arms like myself...!

And just look at the box it came in! It was also delivered really quickly and packaged in handmade paper - tick, tick, tick!

Dress: People Tree / Belt: Swished / Hair Clip: Crown & Glory / Tights: Pretty Polly / Shoes: Dunnes / Bracelet and Earrings: Gift / Spectacles: Specsavers!

Cath Kidston, Mini Sew! Review

2011-01-31T23:05:00.000Z

Good evening! I have a little crafty preview for you tonight - the new project book Mini Sew by Cath Kidston, published by Quadrille (£9, paperback).

It comes in a pretty little folder complete with templates and patterns for all the projects in the book, and a sweet vintage-style pin case that my mum especially enjoyed!

I tried out one of the projects so I could practise following the instructions and do it justice when reviewing, and I attempted this pretty iPod case for my friend Amy's going away present...it didn't turn out exactly like the pattern, but I was definitely proud of the finished article!

Pros
- it's beautifully presented, with pretty photos and lots of inspiring projects to try - even if you don't fancy a shower cap, everyone needs an oven mitt!
- it's a good, handy size for keeping around whilst you're working - I have project books that are so big and cumbersome that I practically need a spare table to keep them on, but this is neither
- it starts off with the basics and runs through them in a nice, simple but not patronising way
- the little folder is handy for carrying around extra traced patterns and a pencil (and the notes I made for this review!)
- it's great value for money, coming with all the patterns, templates and the little needle case
- it encourages the use of leftover and vintage fabrics
- the extras are both pretty and handy
- there are 41 projects to try! That's a lot for a little book! They include cushions, blankets, a hot water bottle cover, homewares, bags, pinnies, decorations...and plenty plenty more.
- each pattern has a little tip for altering it to just how you fancy it

Cons
- some of the projects are much more complicated than they need to be - I scrapped the extra bias-binding around the top and drawstring ends of the iPod case because they were so fiddly (this may simply be a case of Cath Kidston having a lot more patience than me...probably!)
- the instructions would benefit from a few more sketches / ongoing photos in case of confusion
- the seam allowances were too small for the batting, outer fabric and inner fabric to be stitched neatly (this was from my mum!)

Verdict
I was delighted to be sent it, and I'd definitely buy it to give as a gift! I might dedicate a full day, rather than a couple of hours for future projects, though, so that I can spend time working them through. All-in-all, it's a great value book, which is a joy to look at and slightly more of a challenge to work from!

Sounds of Sunday - Boards of Canada

2011-01-30T17:17:00.000Z

This Sunday is very grey and dull...a good day for chilly walks, looking at puppies, putting up new curtains and making Valentine's cards - with a very chilled-out soundtrack, courtesy of Boards of Canada!

What's your Sound this Sunday? What have you been up to this weekend?

This Week, I Have Been Mostly Making...

2011-01-28T20:56:00.000Z

...crocheted hearts, ready for Valentine's cards! These are practise ones, made from leftover wool, to be turned into a pretty garland - I'm off to buy locally-produced wool for the cards tomorrow!

...and an iPod case for my friend Amy at work, who is leaving me (sad face) to go off travelling (happy face)! Seen here with my terribly old-school phone that everyone laughs at...! The case is made using a pattern from the new Cath Kidston 'Sew' book, which I'll review for you over the weekend! Aptly, Amy got me a Cath Kidston mug for my giant cups of tea at work...aww :)

What have you been up to this week?

Oh, Comely

2011-01-24T23:22:00.000Z

Good evening! Tonight I'm declaring my love for, and spreading the word about, the beautiful and charming magazine Oh, Comely, discovered for me by my partner in gin-and-crazy-dancing crime, fullofmarketingcupcakes, and much sought after by us both ever since!

It's published every two months and available in WHSmith, although sometimes it takes a good old search to find. This bi-monthly search, and the subsequent delight when I find it is one reason I love it, but there are plenty more, and I thought I'd share them with you in case you haven't seen it yet, because it's really worth sharing!

As well as crafty tutorials...

...there are quizzes (my results have included a fish knife as well as milk, cookies and a siesta),

...beautiful photoshoots,

...delicious recipes,

...lots of new music to sample,

...pretty letters pages,

...and fantastic giveaways (we won this set of mirrors! woo!) from a wide variety of sources,

...it's also got excellent writing, interesting interviews, well-placed, unobtrusive and relevant adverts, toaster reviews and lots of lovely articles about things you didn't know you didn't know. It seems to last perfectly until the next one arrives, and there's an article for whatever kind of reading I feel like. I just love it! You can also start from the beginning (I hate starting in the middle!) by getting past issues online right here! How incredibly convenient!

Have you been Oh, Comely'd yet? What are your reckonings?

PS. I have stolen Miss essbeevee's super advice for photo editing this evening - thank you!

Sounds of Saturday - Emma's Imagination

2011-01-22T12:21:00.004Z

I think I'm a little late to the party on this one, but Claire of French for Cupcake posted one of Emma's Imagination's songs on her blog the other day, so I investigated further, and I really like her! She's a Scottish singer who won Must Be The Music, and definitely worth a listen or two :)

What's your Sound this Saturday?

This Week, I Have Been Mostly Making...

2011-01-20T23:05:00.001Z

...thank you cards! For the people I didn't get chance to say thank you for my Christmas presents to in person (yes, I realise it's almost a month since Christmas - shh)!

I love the designs on these papers, plus they're recycled and eco-friendly ones I got in the sale! I did what I always do - save lovely papers for a particular project (always as-yet undecided), so I used them instead of hoarding them, and I really like how the cards came out - what do you think?

I also made a birthday card, but that's not yet been received (actually, neither have these cards...shh again!), so I won't show you just yet :) what have you been up to this week? Do you have anything fun planned for your weekend?

A Treasure In The Attic!

2011-01-17T06:00:00.000Z

So I wrote before Christmas about a treasure that we'd discovered in the attic of our new house, and the lovely Ellie of Pretty Much Penniless requested to know a little more - so this is for you!

We found this beautiful old Hohner Student accordion in fantastic condition, in its original box and perfectly tuneful - our friend Garnet gave us a very festive rendition of Good King Wenceslas (I can imagine our neighbours were delighted)!

It also has 'T. Turnbull, Mulberry Rd, Northfleet, Kent' in pencil on the strap...

...and a practise book dated MCMXLVII, which Google kindly informs my uneducated self is 1947, with Lynn Turnbull and Miss Ardley's names written on the front!

I love it! We didn't want to just shove it back up in the attic forgotten, because it's lovely just to look at, if not to play (I didn't want to aggravate the new neighbours TOO much!), so it's remained in pride of place in its open box in our living room, and I feel happy every time I see it!

We also discovered an enormous old school desk, which I've cleaned and polished and adopted as my work-desk (no more rickety picnic-table!), some old Oscar Wilde books, a telephone table, two prams and a high-chair, a mini figurine of Lara Croft who ended up on the Christmas tree (!) and a scribbled note on the floor where the ladders live saying 'Keep Clear, By Order of the Ladders!' heehee

We'll have to put it all back up there when we leave, but for now, our cosy little home filled with other people's lost treasures is staying that way :)

Folksy Friday - Happy Birthday, Dad!

2011-01-13T23:55:00.000Z

It was my dad's birthday on Monday! This Folksy Friday is dedicated to all sorts of lovely things he'd like (although one of his actual presents was The Girl Who Played With Fire on DVD...tip - don't watch with parents - I know this from experience...lolz)!

He likes...

...sailing...

...coffee (and he had specs just like these bad boys when I was little)...

...travelling (especially in Greece!)...

...music (and Prague - handily, this encapsulates both!)...

...coconut...

...useful things!

He's a hippy at heart...

...and he has a beard!

He's irritatingly good at Scrabble (irritating because I am rubbish!)...

And he's called Trevor!

Happy Birthday, Poptastic!

This Week, I Have Been Mostly Making...

2011-01-12T23:35:00.000Z

...a birthday card for my dad! Made from recycled materials, of course! Happy Birthday, Pops!

...new squares for my throw! I love the different coloured one, and the purple one has a lovely texture that really doesn't photograph well...the yellow one is a work in progress, however - it's set to be embroidered, but I haven't decided if I like the pattern yet!

So the pile is growing again steadily!

One day, this will become a blanket...! What have you been creating this week?

Meat Free Monday - Lentil Casserole

2011-01-10T11:45:00.001Z

Good morning! So far so good with this year's resolutions (I realise that we're only ten days in, but still!) - here's a delicious meat-free recipe for a Meat Free Monday! Chuck in any old vegetables you have - we used frozen veg and whatever else was left in the fridge as well as the chickpeas and lentils!

Lentil and Chickpea Casserole

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
- 2 onions
- 3-4 cloves of garlic
- 5 carrots
- 1 cup of green beans
- 1 cup of peas
- 1 cup of sweetcorn
- 1 cup of lentils
- 1 400g tin of chickpeas
- 2 stock cubes
- 1 tsp each of dried oregano, ginger and chilli powder

1. Chop all the vegetables and fry the onion and garlic with the herbs and spices in a large pan.
2. Soften the carrots and add the peas, sweetcorn and green beans.

3. Transfer the mixture into a large casserole dish, and add the chickpeas and lentils.
4. Make up 2 cups of stock (same cup size as the lentils) and add to the casserole.

5. Bake in the oven for 60-75 mins, adding more water if necessary.
6. Munch with crusty bread!

Find out more about Meat Free Mondays here!

A Shiny Folksy Friday!

2011-01-07T14:13:00.000Z

Today's Folksy Friday was inspired by something silly and a little bit sad that happened on our way back from our festive trip (which was was beautiful, special, snowy and very festive - I would recommend Krakow to everyone, so don't let my silliness affect any holiday-making decisions you may be making!)...we got delayed overnight, and in my rush to shove everything back in my bag at four o'clock the next morning, I stuck my little bag of silver jewellery in a side pocket and when we arrived home, it wasn't in the side pocket any more :( silly arse!

Although it wasn't worth a huge amount altogether, there were pieces I'd picked up in Thailand and Germany, and gifts from Oliver, and I was a little weepy for a while BUT every cloud and all? Because silver is also a colour I've always associated with the new year, and on a happier note - look at all this beautiful jewellery!

I'll show you some Poland snaps soon - including the now-infamous-to-some sea-lion that I fed somewhat illegally...he was awesome! :)

Happy Happy Two Thousand and...Heaven?

2011-01-04T13:49:00.015Z

...well it kind of rhymes! I'm feeling terribly optimistic about 2011 - I can just tell it's going to be a million times better than 2010 in every way, and it's already started well with trips to see friends, sunny weather, plenty of swimming and a tidy house (it's the little things, yes?)! ...and one thing that always makes me feel positive is PLANNING!

I've never really made New Year's resolutions, besides the boring-but-necessary aim to eat more healthily and do more exercise, but this year I have lots of little things I want to do, and I've been inspired by Kate of earth vs. the wild heart to share them...which will definitely ensure I do them...definitely!

Aims for 2011!

- make at least one new thing every week, and share it! I made lots of my Christmas presents (and have a few more to finish...ahem!), and I would have loved to have shown you them, but as each one of them took far longer than expected (of course!), most of them needed wrapping and giving IMMEDIATELY after they were finished! My first project of 2011 will be, of course, thank you cards :) I'll show you soon!

- teach myself Spanish - my GCSE just isn't cutting it!

- run a personal best half-marathon - WITHOUT MOANING!

- find a swimming event I really want to do...and do it!

- learn to park haha I pinched this one from Kate's list but it's a serious need!

- share my Meat Free Monday meals with you - which in turn means making something other than pasta and pesto for Meat Free Monday!

- save, save, save! With cuts left, right and centre (well, mostly just right, let's be honest...), who knows what's going to happen, and I want to be careful, just in case.

- learn to knit!

- plan! Lists, diaries, timetables...they make me happy and I sleep better at night!

Of course, to help me with my new organised lifestyle, I did need one last indulgence - this pretty diary from PoppyMeadows ;) well, how could I resist that fabric?!

What are your aims for 2011? I hope so so much that it's a happy year for everyone :)

Folksy Friday - Green!

2010-12-17T07:30:00.000Z

Although I'm loving the cosy and creative festive period completely, this icy weather and the dark dark mornings do make me long for spring - here's a Folksy Friday dedicated to my favourite spring-green colours!

Of course we couldn't not have a decoration in there somewhere!

Right, now back to the festivities ;-)

Festivities!

2010-12-15T07:30:00.000Z

Hello :) it's all go in the Wrapped Up With String household, with present-making, decoration-crafting and card-writing, and last weekend we held our little festive housewarming, which meant plenty of...

...decorations everywhere!

...sweet-treats on the tree

...and everywhere else!

...lovely housewarming gifts

...treasures discovered in the attic

...and resulted in this giant pile of festive desserts to spur me on through my Christmas card-writing ;-)

What festive (or anti-festive?) activities have you been getting up to recently?

Music Monday - Kate Bush!

2010-12-13T07:30:00.000Z

Happy Monday! I'm working today (I normally have Mondays off and craft-happy!) because we're off to Krakow later in the weekend, so I've scheduled a very entertaining Music Monday in case you get bored in my absence ;-) Kate Bush - one of my absolute favourites!

The videos aren't the best quality...they're pretty old school!

And my two favourites together :)

Ahhh I love her!

If any of you have any holiday tips or good places to visit in Krakow, do let me know!

Folksy Friday - Festivity!

2010-12-10T07:30:00.000Z

The return of Folksy Friday is upon us! Of course, this week the theme had to be festive :)

I love them all and wish I could fill the house with treats!

What are you up to over the weekend?

Here I Am!

2010-12-07T20:03:00.001Z

Goodness me, that absence was far too long! The snow started just as we moved into our new house, making the last week very pretty, but also pretty tricky, as ascending our front steps is akin to climbing Everest...maybe!

But now we're here and cosy and have spent the last week...

...Christmassing everything up!

Finding new homes for our things alongside each others'...

Making Christmas presents (can you tell what it is yet?)...

Listening to gorgeous new Christmas songs...

And discovering old favourites (how mental was Toys?? me and my sister LOVED it!) ...

And sticking to this cosy post, I'm off to watch Kirsty and Phil's Perfect Christmas with a mince pie and a cup of tea! This time, I promise I won't be gone so long :)

I missed you!

Sound of Sunday

2010-11-21T23:52:00.002Z

Oh goodness, I'm just watching the X-Factor on ITV Player...that show's producers don't half know how to play on people's emotions!

The original and the best...

But because it is for a very good cause...

Folksy Friday - First Home!

2010-11-19T07:30:00.000Z

Well good morning! I hope you're all well! This week Oliver and I signed the forms for a lovely new house...our first since university and our first together...eee! I am soooooo excited! Of course a lovely new house will need turning into a home with lots of lovely new things! Today's Folksy Friday is full of them :)

Bi-plane shelves for Oliver! I love them!

And just because...

...well, it IS nearly Christmas?

Music Monday - Ellie Goulding!

2010-11-15T21:14:00.000Z

So in my week of musical happenings, I mentioned that we also managed to see Ellie Goulding - she was awesome!

Tonight we also made this delicious Jamie Oliver recipe for our Meat Free Monday (we missed out the anchovies!) - and it genuinely looked like this:

It was amaaazing! I realise it's completely out of season, but a lot of the veg is frozen so it's not really environmentally unfriendly, and Oliver really really wanted it after a week of survival training, building fires and gutting fish (mmm!) in the pouring rain, so it was allowed :)

What did you get up to this weekend?

Folksy Friday - Cosy Winter Warmers

2010-11-12T13:53:00.000Z

Oh my goodness, the weather last night! Wind, rain, stuff falling down my chimney! Luckily I didn't have anywhere to go, and snuggled up under a blanket with some crocheting...so today's Folksy Friday is all about the cosiness :)

Lovely!

A Busy Busy November!

2010-11-09T08:30:00.002Z

I realise I've been a bit quiet on the blogging front, but it's not because I've been being particularly productive, I just seem to have had a bit of a crazy last week! To sate you (I know you've been missing me, don't try to pretend otherwise...) for now, here's a round-up of the last week! Apparently, poor photography - including my ever-popular end-of-the-arm photography, of course - was the order of the week!

I was a mildly horrifiying Magenta when I trotted off to go see the Rocky Horror Show...

Lots of gin (some would say far too much...I would disagree!) was consumed...

Which led to this photo...loving the pugs!

...we've seen Ellie Goulding and Marina and the Diamonds (both sooo much fun!)!

...and of course some fireworks and toffee apples!

I promise I have been being very productive in between the madness - Christmas present creation has begun! I can't show you properly until after the gifts have been given (although my sister likes being told six weeks in advance what her presents are, so I might show you that one ;-) ), but I'll give you a few little glimpses along the way! This is the first year I've been even remotely organised - are you an organised Christmas bunny, or a mad Christmas-Eve shopper?

Lovely New Festive Goodies!

2010-11-07T17:04:00.001Z

Hello! I wanted to share my new Christmas decorations with you - now available in my shops over on Folksy, Etsy and Zibbet! I've been dying to share them, but needed to wait for all the manky weather to blow over so I could photograph them on our Christmas tree (which lives in our garden all year, of course...!) - anyway, here they are!

Recycled Map Decorations!

Fair Trade Decorations in Red!

Fair Trade Decorations in Brown!

Beautiful Crocheted Snowflakes!

Funky Green Decorations!

What do you think? I also have Christmas cards on the way...watch this space!

Sounds of Saturday - Marina and the Diamonds!

2010-11-06T16:59:00.000Z

Good afternoon! Today's Sound is the lovely Marina and the Diamonds, who we went to see last night (and successfully cleared a three-square foot space around us due to manic dancing and offensively loud singing, probably)...she was awesome :)

I've spent today recovering...and photographing my new Christmas decorations, which should be going in the shop tomorrow - watch this space! What are you up to this weekend?

Sounds of Sunday - Laura Marling

2010-10-31T15:37:00.000Z

Well hello there! Happy Halloween! Today's Sounds of Sunday post is dedicated to my lovely friend Ali, who informed me today that she's bought tickets for us to go see Laura Marling in November...and I am EXCITED!!

I hope you enjoy these lovely tunes for a nice chilled-out Sunday :)

Exciiited!!

A Very Spooky Folksy Friday! Wooooooooo!

2010-10-29T07:30:00.001+01:00

Happy Friday! Aaah, I love Fridays! The whole day feels fun in anticipation of the weekend! And of course, today's Folksy Friday is Halloween-based - even more weekend fun to look forward to! My mum has the treats ready (hidden in a cupboard so I can't find and eat them before the the local juvenile delinquents come a-knockin'...) and I'm getting my costume ready for the pièce de résistance - The Rocky Horror Show at the theatre on Monday! Exciting!! Photos will follow...promise ;)

Click the images of my fellow Folksy-ers' lovely goods to buy buy buy!

I love this hound's vaguely embarrassed look - when I have my own pup, he's defo getting a crocheted pumpkin vest.

What are you up to this Halloween weekend? Anything spooky? Fancy dress or pumpkin-based fun? Aaaawoooooooooooooooooo! Enjoy!

Autumn Autumn Autumn

2010-10-27T23:25:00.000+01:00

I don't know about where you live, but here in Yorkshire with the dribbly rain and chilly wind this week, Autumn seems to be quickly turning into Winter...Sunday was a beautiful day, though, and we spent it wandering around the Pumpkin Trail at Bolton Abbey, wishing we had a puppy to wander with! There were definitely some contenders for the steal-a-pup-competition...!

Oh blue skies, where have you gone?! You were so lovely!

There were a few weird trees with pennies and two-pences stuck in them...they looked like they had scales...I have no clue what that was about.

Obligatory camera-in-hand shot!

Also obligatory...Sarah-ruining-photo-shot!

We also carved a tasty pumpkin...

...roasted his seeds...

...made him into curry...

...and gave him a spooky face, ready for Halloween! Mwahahaha!

Lovely Hats!

2010-10-25T22:15:00.000+01:00

Hello! I was going to blog about our lovely autumnal weekend of pumpkins and walks but I think the photos may be en route to Oliver's base (oops!) so I'll show you these amazing hats made by Oliver's mum, Lorna, which I've been meaning to blog about since last weekend! That's Oliver's sister, Aimi, in the photos :)

Stunning! I'm first in line as soon as I have a 'hat event' haha!

Sounds of Sunday - Lykke Li!

2010-10-24T23:58:00.001+01:00

Good evening! I hope you've all had lovely weekends :) to finish them off, here are some lovely tunes courtesy of Lykke Li!

What's been your Sound this Sunday? What have you been up to this weekend?

Folksy Friday - Storage!

2010-10-22T08:30:00.001+01:00

Well hello there! This week has been a GIANT ORGANISING WEEK with lots of tidying, getting myself up-to-date and just generally sorting things out, and one thing that makes me sleep well at night (it's the little things, y'know!) is a lovely tidy room with all the mess away from my very clumsy feet! As a result, this week's Folksy Friday is all kinds of lovely pretty storage and tidying aids!

Aaaah that's better :)

Sounds of Sunday - The Bad Shepherds!

2010-10-17T22:25:00.000+01:00

Good evening! How are you all? I'm very aware of my almost TWO WEEK absence...how rubbish am I?! Excuses excuses - I was sick for a little while (this is big news in the Wrapped Up With String household...I never get sick!) and I've also been concentrating some SRS BSNS that may or not come to fruition over the coming months - I'll let you know! Anyway!

I'm kick-starting up again ( trusty pack of tissues alongside - aaah-chooo!) with a truly excellent (and long-time coming!) Sounds of Sunday - The Bad Shepherds! Led by Adrian Edmondson and with Troy Donockley on Uillean pipes, cittern and whistles and Andy Dinan on fiddle, they play punk music on folk instruments...and it's great! Now, my dad's been touring with them as their sound man all year, but it's taken me until October (shock) to actually see them...and I wish I'd seen them sooner!

Enjoy :)

The first one - Talking Heads - is my favourite :) what's your Sound this Sunday? What have you been up to?!

Music Monday - Clare Maguire!

2010-10-04T13:33:00.001+01:00

Hello! I discovered today's Music Monday supporting at last night's Hurts gig (which was amaaaaazing, but they've already had their own Sounds post!) - she's Clare Maguire, and she was great! Enjoy!

Amazing amateur photography, no? I think all the tall people in the gig were standing in a line directly in front of me...

Folksy Friday - Happy Birthday, Mum!

2010-10-01T13:17:00.002+01:00

This week is choc full of birthdays! Today's my mum's, and this Folksy Friday is made up of all sorts of lovely things she'd like (and quite a few that I'd like, too, ha!)! Click the photos for the Folksy pages :)

Happy Birthday, Mamarinio! Ruff ruff!

Edinburgh!

2010-09-30T07:30:00.001+01:00

Well hello there! Would you like to see some photos of me being ever-so slightly childish at Insect and Butterfly World in Edinburgh? Yes? Oh good! There are also some more sensible photos of my creations at Edinburgh Bead Fair...

Steam and spectacles - a stunning combination!

We held a tarantula named Lola! Yes, the rest of the people around that table were under 10 years of age...

Ha!

Obviously myself and Jem went a bit mad buying beads at the Edinburgh bead fair - here's what I've made with a few of mine! I love teal and brown together, and I wear those colours probably four days out of seven (exciting, eh?), so my first attempt at jewellery (since I was about fifteen, anyway!) is based around them...

We also went to a class about Reducing, Reusing and Recycling things to make jewellery from, in which I made this set (and laminated a whole load of other images!)...

The class was fun, but it cost £16 to go to, and if I'm really honest, it was pretty simple and nothing I couldn't have imagined up myself, so we were slightly disappointed, but it was a Sunday afternoon spent creating, so I didn't feel too hard done by!

The whole weekend was pretty creative - Jem's a fellow crocheter, so we spent some cosy evenings crocheting and jewellery-creating and she also gave me some of her gorgeous recycled earrings - I'll show you them soon! The gents bought a flat-pack wardrobe from Ikea and spent about five minutes putting that up before giving up and watching Ocean's Thirteen instead...it's the thought that counts, yes? Heehee!

Happy Happy Birthday Oliver!

2010-09-29T00:55:00.000+01:00

If I was an amazing cake-maker, I would make you one of these:

Or maybe some of these:

Unfortunately, I am not...so this will have to do:

Happy Happy Happy Happy Happy Birthday!!

x

Music Monday - Kate Miller-Heidke

2010-09-27T23:11:00.001+01:00

Today's Music Monday is pinched from the lovely Jem, one of the friends we stayed with this weekend in Edinburgh...plenty of eating, drinking, film-watching, crocheting and beading ensued (I'll show you my creations once I've photographed them!) - and she had some of the lovely Kate Miller-Heidke on her iPod...so here she is! Thanks, Jem!

Did you get up to anything fun over the weekend?

Folksy Friday: Edinburgh!

2010-09-24T21:25:00.001+01:00

Hello! We've taken a lovely lovely long weekend up to visit friends in Edinburgh, so this week's Folksy Friday theme is just that...Edinburgh! Och aye the...ahem!

We've got plans for farmers' markets, bead festivals and plenty of eating, drinking and crocheting (well, just me and Jem....the gents probably won't be indulging so much!)...a perfect weekend! What are you up to?

A Post to Make You Smile - Guaranteed!

2010-09-21T21:25:00.000+01:00

This is what I have spent my evening doing...

...the hilarious and lovely...

..the frankly bizarre...

...and the strangely ominous...

Productive!

Pretty New Creations!

2010-09-21T07:30:00.000+01:00

Hello! I've not shown you many of my creations recently so I thought I'd give you a sneak peek at one of my favourite new crocheted items (getting ready for Christmas...shh!)...these gorgeous snowflake decorations / ornaments - I love them!

They're all ready to be pinned and starched and hung with ribbon - to be added to my Etsy, Folksy and Zibbet shops very soon!

I was also delighted to find the perfect wool to make them with - 100% wool, unbleached, undyed and spun by a company based locally - right here by me in West Yorkshire! I love the slight differences in colour and the slight changes in the thread thickness...it gives such a lovely effect when crocheted.

What do you think?

I'm also still working on a background for my photos...I like the dark blue much better, but this tweed gives a bit of a washed out look - I'm on the hunt for the perfect backdrop! Do you have any photography tips? I'd love to hear them!

A Bit of a Different Sound of Sunday

2010-09-19T23:25:00.003+01:00

Today's Sound is the beautifully eloquent Stephen Fry...

The Intelligence² Debate - Stephen Fry (Unedited)
Uploaded by Xrunner17. - Check out other Film & TV videos.

Folksy Friday: Recycled!

2010-09-17T12:20:00.000+01:00

Hello there! I've been a little quiet this week as I've been at a trade show for waste and recycling (fun times!) for work - I'm back now, but I've still got recycling on the brain, hence today's Folksy Friday theme! As always, click the images for the Folksy listing :)

Carbon Neutral Blogs!

2010-09-13T08:28:00.000+01:00

Good morning! A very early post this week before I zip off to a recycling and waste management show for work...! Before I go, I wanted to tell you about Carbon Neutral Blogs - a completely free initiative with the aim of helping to make as many blogs carbon neutral as possible by planting a tree on your behalf.

From their website:
'The UNFCC calculates that each tree helps to remove around 10kg of carbon from the atmosphere every year. This means that by adding the button, and having a tree planted, your blog will become carbon neutral, moreover, it will actually be carbon positive! In fact, if all 200m blogs in the world signed up to the initiative, rather than contributing 700,000 tonnes of carbon, the blogosphere would actually help remove 2.1m tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere each year!!'

The trees are currently planted trees in four forests in the US, where there is the need for reforestation as a result of global climate change, drought and forest fires:
- San Bernardino National Forest, the Butler II burn.
- Plumas National Forest, the Moonlight fire.
- Huron-Manistee National Forest, Kirtland Warbler nesting habitat restoration.
- Ocala National Forest, longleaf pine restoration.

Sound good? It's really really simple to join in...
1. Add the button from this page to your blog’s sidebar, header or footer
2. Write a new blog post about signing up to the initiative (this is mine!)
3. Email carbonneutral@stockdisplays.co.uk to tell them about it
4. They'll send you an email back to confirm when they've planted your tree!

Let me know what you think - I'd love to know if you've done it too!

Right! I'd better make sure I've packed my crochet bag! Have a lovely week and I'll be back reading everyone's blogs on Thursday!

Sounds of Sunday!

2010-09-12T22:50:00.001+01:00

Unfortunately for you today, I've not been listening to any music...but I have spent this evening crocheting whilst watching Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves *coughwhichIsecretlylovecough* so today, I bring you...

lolz!

What have you been up to today?

Etsy BNR!

2010-09-11T13:00:00.000+01:00

Happy Saturday! Today I'm taking part in Craft Britannia's 24 hour Buy N Replace sale over on Etsy - a Buy N Replace sale means that when you purchase something from the shop, your own item replaces it (and hopefully someone will buy that in return!).

Go and have a little peek at some of the gorgeous (and ever-changing!) items in the shop today :) let me know what you think!

What are you up to this Saturday?

A Very Musical Folksy Friday!

2010-09-10T07:30:00.000+01:00

We've had a very musical week here at Casa Wrapped Up With String...we were at Bingley Music Live last Saturday and Sunday, Hurts' amaaazing début album was released on Monday (and has been on repeat pretty much since...I love love love it!), and we went to see the stunning Jónsi on Wednesday night - none of us were sure quite what to expect, and we all had a fantastic time - definitely definitely go see him if you get the chance; it's a fantastic show! So it seems natural this week's Folksy Friday to follow in a music fashion! Click the images for the items' Folksy pages :)

And just to finish...

Heehee!

A Delicious Meat-Free-Monday Recipe!

2010-09-07T22:20:00.000+01:00

I posted aaaaaaaaaaaages ago about Meat Free Mondays and had half-planned a regular veggie-friendly recipe post...however, I quickly realised that I don't actually cook particularly interesting for myself food very often (lunch today? cream of tomato soup and a roll...dinner today? pasta, pesto and sweetcorn - and I just realised I forgot to add sunflower seeds...damn!) so that fizzled out somewhat...ANYWAY I (with Oliver...much credit to Oliver!) did actually cook a delicious Meat Free Monday-tastic dish on Monday that I must share! It's from the New Covent Garden Soup Company's Book of Soups and I whole-heartedly recommend!

Roasted Red Pepper, Corn and Chilli Chowder

Serves 6 (or 4 hungry folk!)

3 medium fresh chillis
3 medium red peppers
3 fresh ears of corn
3 pints of vegetable stock
1 tbsp olive oil for sautéing
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 medium leek, white part only, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 medium potatoes (about 350g / 12oz), peeled and roughly chopped
150ml / 1/4 pint single cream
salt and pepper to taste

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C / 400°F / Gas Mark 6
2. Put the chillies and red peppers into a roasting tin and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Put the ears of corn into a large saucepan with the stock. Cover, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, melt the butter a cook the onion, leek and garlic gently in a covered saucepan for 10 minutes without colouring.
4. After 30 minutes, remove the chillies and red peppers from the oven and skin and de-seed them. Dice the chillies and chop the peppers into small, even pieces - keep them separate. Remove the corn from the stock and keep both. Remove the corn from the cob (this took a right age but it was so tasty and worth it!).
5. Add the onion, leek and garlic mixture to the stock with the chillies and potatoes and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are tender. Add the corn and red pepper pieces. Purée half the mixture in a food processor and return to the saucepan. Add the cream just before reheating.
6. Serve with plenty of warm crusty bread, cheese, olives and hummus.
7. Devour!

It's a perfect warming soup with just the right amount of spice, crunch and dipability - always very important where a soup is concerned! Yum :)

8. Plonk your satisfied self down and don't move for the rest of the evening...

Sounds of Sunday - Frightened Rabbit!

2010-09-05T09:30:00.000+01:00

Hi there! After announcing the beginning of autumn on Friday like it was practically Christmas already, I've spent a beautifully summery Saturday (and hopefully Sunday!) listening to music, dancing, picnic-ing, cider-drinking and trying our best to avoid the ming-ming-minging toilets at Bingley Festival! One band that stood out on Saturday were Frightened Rabbit - very Mumford and Sons and perfect for a sunny weekend drinking cider with friends! What do you think? What have you spent your weekends doing?

Lovely!

Folksy Friday - Autumn!

2010-09-03T07:30:00.000+01:00

Typically, the weather was absolutely glorious as I planned this post, but the trees are definitely turning and there are gold, red and brown shades all along my cycle to work (...and the shiny jet black 4x4s of the middle-class mothers dropping their children off at school *rant*)! Anyway! It's a lovely lovely colour palette, and one I'm going to celebrate in today's Folksy Friday...what do you think? Click the images for their Folksy listings :)

Summer Memories and Crochet Throw Update

2010-09-01T07:30:00.000+01:00

Hey there! Although the summer seems to have been pretty crazy busy, I don't seem to have much to show for it craft-wise...I do have these lovely summer memories...

Aww (that hard-hat stunner is from the Carnglave Caverns in Cornwall, where we escaped to when it was pouring down - besides the amazing headwear, I'd recommend!)! But the summer has been disappearing over these last couple of weeks and September is now upon us...September?! What? Where on Earth has this year gone to...?! Anyway! September is now upon us, and the recent chilly evenings have meant some cosy evenings watching films, and finally getting on with my crochet throw! Wanna see my new squares?

I've just got a new photography 'booth' with lamps, and I'm still working out the best way to use it, so please forgive the ever-changing (and slightly old-school-looking) background colour - I was trying to get the yarn colours to show up! I've now finished 21 squares (I'm not sure how many the total will be...!) and the throw is too big to fit on any surface flat enough to show you, but I'll work something out and give you an updated photo of the throw so far as soon as I can!

Are you looking forward to autumn? Although the evenings get shorter, I still seem to get a lot more done because I can't get in the house fast enough after work! What will you miss about summer?

Music Monday - Karine Polwart!

2010-08-30T23:54:00.000+01:00

Okay...so this versatility with the 'Sounds of...' name seems to extend to Monday too (just!)! Sneaky! Did you all have a good Bank Holiday? What did you get up to? We had a little trip over to Liverpool, saw some friends, ate plenty of lovely food (of course!), watched lots of films and bought some pretty gifts and fed some animals at Cedar Farm in Ormskirk! We also listened to a lot of today's Music Monday - Karine Polwart! I hope you enjoy!

This post was brought to you by the beautiful weather of Cornwall:

Stunning, no?

Folksy Friday - Candles!

2010-08-27T07:30:00.000+01:00

Well, hello! I hope you've not missed me too much - we scooted away to Cornwall for a few days staying with Oliver's brother and sister-in-law (and their gorgeous pup!) and then a couple of camping nights! The weather was typically inclement on both camping evenings, but one thing keeping us cosy was plenty of tea lights and candle holders, leading to this week's Folksy Friday candle theme! Brr! What have you been up to this week? Do you have any Bank Holiday plans?

Sounds of Sunday - Ella Edmondson!

2010-08-22T07:30:00.000+01:00

Well hellooo! I hope you're enjoying your weekends and having plenty of you time! Today's Sounds of Sunday is another of my sister's recommendations (she's way cooler than me, obvz!) and is Ella Edmondson! She's a folk singer / songwriter (and also the daughter of Adrian Edmondson and Jennifer Saunders) and her new album Hold Your Horses is just lovely - have a listen!

Wat's your Sound this Sunday?

Folksy Friday - Stationery!

2010-08-20T07:30:00.000+01:00

Oh I do love stationery...I used to adore writing to various penpals (I think I found most of them on Teletext, how old school...!?) when I was younger; four years ago (sigh!) when I was doing research for my degree in Thailand, I wrote Oliver a letter every day for six weeks, like a little diary to stop me missing home, and I do still love writing lists, postcards, gift tags, letters and notes whenever necessary (and usually in between, too!), so this Folksy Friday is dedicated to lovely things to write your letters and notes on!

Do you have dedicated stationery sets, or do you just scribble wherever is free (I scribble eeeverywhere!)?

A Big Thank You (and A Little Recipe)!

2010-08-17T07:30:00.000+01:00

Hello there! I hope you've all had a jolly nice weekend and a not-too-rubbish Monday back at work! I got a lovely surprise on Saturday when a big packet of crafty goodies was sitting waiting for me at breakfast time - my giveaway winnings from the very generous Deanne of Quirky Boots (check out her beautiful Folksy shop here!)!

There are notepads, embellishments, fabric flowers, brads, gift bags and a beautiful pack of cupcake-themed cards, woop! You can get lots of these goodies (and plenty more!) over at Deanne's crafting material shop Quirky Pit Stop, so go give her shops a visit! Thank you, Deanne!

Today I have been gotten by some kind of allergic reaction (I'm not sure to what...I hope it wasn't last night's cocktails...!) and have done very little except drink cups of tea and blow my nose...attractive! I did achieve something in my snuffly state today, which was to make my week's breakfast smoothies, and I thought I'd share my recipe with you!

Mmmm! Okay, this photo is not the best (I'm really not one for food presentation, more for eating it immediately ha!), but I assure you that it is delicious, and perfect for grabbing as I leg it out of the door, after a morning swim or when checking my emails, and great for using up slightly funky-looking fruit that's been hanging around for a while...!

It's really really easy to make, and really good for you! I make a giant jug at the beginning of the week for my week's breakfasts, so these are the ingredients for four (generous!) helpings:
- five pieces of fruit (I usually go for a couple of apples, a couple of bananas and a pear, because I like my smoothies sweet)
- a 500ml pot of fat-free yoghurt (I use strawberry)
- half a pint of milk
- a couple of handfuls of oats
- a packet of frozen smoothie fruit if I have it!

Just chop the fruit, add it to a blender with the yoghurt, milk and oats and blend it until it's smooth...yum! Best enjoyed with a toasted cinnamon and raisin muffin...but just as yummy on its own!

Take note - the yoghurt and fruit juice will separate overnight, and look a little suspect, but just give it a stir before pouring it out and it'll whizz back to looking (and tasting) delicious!

What's your favourite super-quick breakfast? I am always late in the morning!

Sounds of Sunday - Jónsi!

2010-08-15T16:50:00.001+01:00

At my sister's request, this Sounds of Sunday comes all the way from Iceland and is just lovely :) he's the singer and guitarist from Sigur Rós, and my sister and dad love him so much that we're all going to see him when he's on in Leeds in September...family trip out - woo!

Pretty, huh? What do you think? What's your Sound this Sunday?

Folksy Friday: Gardens!

2010-08-13T07:30:00.003+01:00

Happy Friday! If you follow me on Twitter, you might have been plagued by my recent Tweets to vote for my local conservation project, Herbs and Dragonflies, to win a grant to create a show garden, getting members of our local community involved (you can read more here!). A HUUUUUGE thanks to all of you who voted, because we won!! Hopefully garden planning and creation will begin soon, and I'll keep you posted :) and naturally, the theme of today's Folksy Friday had to be gardens!

I love them all! I can't wait to have a little house to fill with gardeny delights!

One Lovely Blog Award - Thank You!

2010-08-12T00:15:00.000+01:00

What's this? Two blog posts in a row? Goodness me! I wanted to dedicate a whole post to this as a thank you to Melissa of Hand Made Me for passing on a One Lovely Blog Award to me...thank youuu!

Melissa has a beautiful crafty blog filled with her own lovely creations, inspiring photo-posts and pretty colour-themed 'found' collections - go visit her blog and Folksy shop now and find yourself in a lovely sea of calm (oh, and whilst I was writing this, Melissa, the Glee version of 'Jump' came on...I thought you'd appreciate that knowledge haha!)!

As part of the award, I think I have to tell you seven interesting things about me, so here we go...!

1. I used to swim for Leeds when I was younger, and I still adore swimming more than any other type of exercise...I love, love, love it! When I haven't been for a few days, I actually long for the feeling of swimming (and beating all the men in the pool who are convinced they are faster than me...yes, I am competitive!)...aaaah!

2. I love the colour green more than any other colour...I would have a green house if I could!

3. I really really want to learn sign language, and one day I will - I can finger spell and tell the weather...but that's it so far!

4. I obtained my goldfish Mr Fish by accident, and he is apparently fifteen years old (I'm not sure if this is true, but he definitely looks pretty wise to me!) - he is also no longer gold, but white!

5. I'm a qualified tap dancer, and although I haven't danced for a couple of years, I do still love a good shuffle-hop-step in the kitchen when I'm making a cup of tea! The other members of my family are not so impressed with this fact...

6. I love pretty much all animals, except killer whales...I do not like killer whales at all.

7. My favourite films are the Indiana Jones films (well, hey, there, Harrison the Ford!)...I even love the second one with the Most Irritating Woman In The World! I wanted to be an archaeologist from being about six years old, and very nearly took archaeology at university...I look good in a fedora! Spot the difference!

I'm not sure how interesting those were haha but I'm going to pass this on to seven new Lovely Bloggers I've found recently!

1. MessyCarla for her inspiringly bright outfits, awesome hair and very readable posts!

2. crumbs for dinner for consistently posting mouthwateringly delicious recipes - including a VERY generous helping of veggie-friendly posts!

3. But Then Feminism Happened for making me giggle with every post!

4. Color Me Katie for simply being a delight to look at!

5. elevatormusik for her beautiful outfits and jealousy-inducing accessories!

6. Pearls, lace and ruffles for her smiley photos, pretty dresses and...really nice eyelashes! What?!

7. Herbs and Dragonflies Diary for tirelessly promoting conservation in our local area (and for occasionally featuring amusing photos of me taking part!)!

Congratulations, lovelies!

Well Hello!

2010-08-11T22:30:00.000+01:00

Hey everyone! Apologies for the impromptu hiatus - I don't really have much of an excuse besides being pretty busy recently for lots of different reasons! I'm back now and full of things to ramble on at you about, so fear not, friends!

Firstly, Oliver celebrated passing his driving test by buying a car (of course!) - he's a Ford Focus that I have named Harrison (Ford - get it? ha!)...Oliver does not entirely approve of his name, but he doesn't really have a choice! Anyway, we had a little camping trip up to Whitby and Robin Hood's Bay over the weekend (so this week's missing Sound of Sunday was seagulls and sheep!) to test Harrison out!

Oh, hey there, camping hair...!

Secondly, following the craft stall, I've been trying to make as much as possible to keep my stocks up, which is not easy with an almost-full-time job and busy busy weekends, but I'm getting there! Check out these new sets of pretties:

What do you think?

This ties in with a thirdly, which is me finally setting up my Zibbet shop (what's that? you'd like to visit it? oh go on then!) - hurrah! It shouldn't have taken me nearly three months from signing up to setting up, but it's up now! Have a peek at the two new ranges I've just added over there (click images for Zibbet links)!

This one is based around locally-sourced dried flowers:

And this one nautical colours and ladybirds (aw!):

I feel a lot happier having a stock of cards rather than one-off versions - I do love my one-off ones, but it's costly to add them to both Etsy and Folksy when there's actually only one! It's nice having the back-up stock for when work and weekends become busy all of a sudden!

So although I've been a bit quiet recently, I'm definitely still here and I've been keeping up with all your lovely blogs - I've just been trying to get as much done as possible! Does anyone have any time management tips? I know a lot of you have jobs, crafty shops, kids, pets, hobbies and a million other responsibilities - how do you do it?!