Book Reviews and A Little Creation!

Hello! I hope you all had a lovely weekend! I was pre-birthday treated to a hotel, a meal, and Russell Crowe's frankly ridiculous accent in Robin Hood - was it Geordie? Yorkshire? Irish? Only Russell knows...! Though I hasten to add, I did enjoy the film immensely! An eagerly-awaited parcel also arrived for me, and I thought I'd share the contents with you!



I've had an Amazon voucher hanging around my room since Christmas, and after seeing the ever-stylish Queen Michelle's review of Lovely Things to Make for Girls of Slender Means by Eithne Farry over on Kingdom Of Style, I decided it would be well spent on that and its sister book, Yeah, I Made it Myself: DIY Fashion for the Not Very Domestic Goddess, by the same author.

If I'm truly truly honest...I was slightly disappointed. The books themselves are beautifully designed and illustrated (my photos do them no justice, they really are lovely!), and very friendly and accessible, but I have only the most basic knowledge of seam-stressing and they were still just too simple - a lot of the projects are really quite obvious.

Don't get me wrong, there's a lot about both books I love; the background stories, the handy sewing hints and the way the books show the reader their way around a sewing machine:



...some beautiful projects to try:








...some charming accessories:


...and an amusing tutorial (from the author's experience in domestic science lessons) named 'How to make a draught excluder in the shape of a sausage dog in 17 weeks':


But there's also quite a bit of repetition between the two books:





...and some of the projects are so simple, they're on the silly side:




What do you need for this butterfly headband? A headband and some paper butterflies...oh...


A chip-fork necklace...? I don't care if Tatty Devine designed it, it's ridiculous (and you'd be forever sniffing vinegar!).

I am glad I bought them, but I could have just bought the second one ( Lovely Things to Make for Girls of Slender Means) and been happy! Have any of you bought any crafty / thrifty books recently? What have you thought?

Talking of simplicity, however, sometimes it's the best way! I recently bought these beautiful hair pins from eBay:


...and after having a little look at their construction, quickly rustled up another set from some wired roses I had hanging around:


I love them!

I'm generally too lazy (busy!?) to do my hair, and shoving it up in a bun with these pretty flower pins is my answer! What do you think?

A Couple of Little Projects...

I did manage to be a little productive on my day off, in between swimming, napping and eating my dad's fish pie...mmm!

I made a wedding card for my cousin and her new husband! The gold looks a bit...erm...mucky (!) in this photo, but it's much softer in real life. They've (literally) just got married on a beach in California, hence the shells!


I made a birthday card for another two-year-old (see the similarities to the last one?)...I love the primary colours and big shapes - it definitely appeals to the two-year-old inside me!


And I started hand-stamping ready for the next project...I wonder what the event might be...?!


Have you been being productive lately? Or are you more in favour of procrastination? I feel a healthy balance is best - which generally involves crafting to Glee (have I mentioned my obsession recently? It's growing in intensity, I can barely wait for the next episode...)! I realise this must look odd to my neighbours - a 23 year old in her pyjamas jigging around the living room? Too cool for school...! My new favourite characters are...


...LOVE them!

Just Thought I'd Share This...

This is completely unrelated to crafting, but I hope it will amuse you greatly...I've just watched it three times!

Enjoy! And share your procrastination-aids!

I Love Your Blogs! ...And A Winner!

Hellooo, I hope you've all survived the dullest day of the week and that your Tuesday is sunny and productive (or rainy and lazy, whichever you fancy!)! Hopefully mine will be too...(I haven't decided which, yet!)!


Today I'm going to share (some more!) blogs that I love - Joanne of But Enough About You was kind enough to nominate me for an 'I Love Your Blog' award, aww! Joanne and I went to school together, got into plenty of mischief and her blog makes me giggle every day, so go check her out! Thanks Joanne!


I thought I'd use this award to nominate new blogs I've found recently - I've nominated lots of other blogs I love here and here - but I keep finding even more great reads! So today are more recent finds (though I still love you all, too!) that make me think 'ooooh!' when I notice a new post.

The Red Rosette has lovely outfits, amazing accessories and beautiful hair...win win win!


Karla's Closet is probably only new to me, but she inspires me to make an effort every day and make some attempt to look as amazing as she does!


fullofmarketingcupcakes is my friend Danielle's cupcake-based marketing blog! She's just started it, but it promises to have great marketing tips as well as marketer of the month features, and she bakes the best black cherry gateau muffins in the land...mmm!


Leaves In The Spring is my partner in Big Blog Card Swap crime, and she's just lovely! I love her photo montages and delicious recipes.


Ruffles And Stuff posts the most generous tutorials and giveaways, and I want to try everything!


Kitchy Coo makes the most beautiful childrens' clothing and also makes me giggle with hilarious stories about Scottish weather and mischievous children!


Daddy Likey is another one I'm slow on the uptake for, but she makes me laugh in almost every single post...I particularly like her High Fashion Haikus, Imagined Conversations With... and, erm, Chocha posts...I'll let you investigate for yourself!


Thaw is not actually a blog, but a book written as a blog, and it's keeping me hooked...I can never wait for tomorrow's post.


left hand endeavor consistently posts beautiful smiley photos and adorable vintage outfits!


Q's Daydream Vintage is another vintage blogger and also sells incredibly covetable clothing and accessories...I want this 1960's Leather Saddle Bag pretty darn badly!


Go check them out :) which blogs do you love? Shameless self-promotion is positively encouraged :-D

Oooh! And I almost forgot to draw my winner...


Comment number 5 was Skooks of Skooks' Playground! Well done you! Thanks everyone for entering!

Cosy Weekends

Hello! Apologies for my rather brief post on Thursday - I've just had my days at work increased and it seems to take up sooo much more time! Good for pennies and for more responsibility, bad because it enables me to go for cocktails with the lovely fullofmarketingcupcakes...! Actually, that's not really a bad thing!

Anyway, today I thought I'd share the beautiful card I received as part of the Big Blog Card Swap. It's from Helen of Fuel For Body And Soul, and I absolutely love it!


Isn't it pretty? It's an embroidered butterfly onto a quilted fabric piece. I've never considered embroidering, or even using fabric really, as part of a card design, but this has inspired me to give it a go! Inspiration was part of what we hoped the card swap would bring, so thank you so much, Helen!

We did a bit of impromptu baking today after deciding the weather didn't merit any effort deciding on a place to visit!




Chocolate fudge cupcakes with chocolate chips and fudge icing - mmm! They're not the most stunning cupcakes in the blogosphere, but they certainly tasted delicious! Munch! Now I'm off to make something delicious for tea - this in fact! I don't imagine mine will look much like that photo, but will hopefully taste yummy! What are your plans this weekend?

Election Day!

I voted today, and if you're in the UK, I hope you did too :)

Let me know if you did!

Bank Holiday Weekend!

Hiya! What did you get up to over the Bank Holiday? We had a little camping trip to Wales, and since I didn't make anything to show you over the weekend, I thought I'd show you some of the photos!

We made a palacial camp by a lake (and our friends had a swim - those little yellow dots are their hats!)...




We had a barbeque in the rain (that is my incredibly stylish butterfly umbrella!)...

We found a castle...




We went to the beach, flew a kite and played some cricket (reasonably well, shockingly!)...






And just generally had a lovely time!

Did you have some Bank Holiday fun? The weather wasn't particularly amazing, was it?

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!