Card Creations

 Just a quick share of some card creations. These are made using decoupage toppers from Craft Consortium. I really enjoy putting them together. I think the cards turned out quite nice. Now that it is hotter I find myself up in my craft room more. I go for my walk in the morning - very early - and it's too hot to even sit outside later so up in the craft room it is. I certainly have enough to keep me busy!

Friday/Some Crafty Bits

The weeks just seem to be rolling on by and I seem to keep plodding along with them. The colours have been lovely around here but I'm a little reluctant to see them go because I know what's coming next - grey and dull all around. I'm already trying to think up ways to keep busy and not think too much. I shouldn't have to worry about keeping busy - I have tons of crafts to do, lots to read and loads of photography techniques I could learn, but it's all about getting motivated. Once I start a project I (mostly) enjoy it. It's the getting started that I have trouble with. 

I did finally take a bag of books up to my old work friend at the local store. We used to go out to lunch every couple of months, but that hasn't happened for a long time! She took some time off at the beginning of the pandemic but has been working since. She says sometimes it's not nice working in the shop. She works customer service and has to listen to people complain about wearing masks, or something not being available or wearing their masks wrong. She says it has got worse. People that used to be friendly are really rude sometimes. I feel for her. If not for the people working in the shops the shortages would have been a lot worse! Please, whatever your feeling on the virus, be nice to those that work in the shops. They don't make the rules. Products not being available isn't their fault. Prices aren't their fault. 

Enough of that.

I have done a bit of dithering in the craft room.  I put together some Christmas decoupage toppers - which have yet to be made into cards. I think these are really cool.

I also got a couple of bases cut out - several for Christmas cards and one for a birthday card. These bases will be pop-up cards. 

And yes, another mini-album. I can't stop making these as I really like doing them. If I'm not feeling creative they are a good go-to just to feel as though something creative is being accomplished. 

I have been working on my cross stitch too. I'm in the last stitches of it. I can't wait for it to be done! 

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Social Media - Instagram - Crafty Project

Still hot. We got a downpour of rain and thunderstorms and it was cool....for about 30 minutes. It heated right back up with stifling humidity as well. Phew. It was another hot night last night. I was up several times due to foot/leg cramps. I am sure the heat is not helping. I went for my walk this morning but it was horrible - I was all sweaty at the end of it (and not because I was moving at a fast pace!). Thank you for all the comments yesterday. I appreciated them.

Still sorting and getting rid of things. I hope to do a little reorganising next week as I've pulled out lots of magazines from the magazine holders and now can condense. It certainly is a job and a half. I think it will take me a while, but as long as I keep taking steps forward I am happy. I can see some space emerging. The trick will be not filling it up again! I still have a LONG way to go. The next go round will be a little tougher!

I am trying to do better about posting on this blog. I really need to update my photography blog but - as you all know - I am not very organised and before I know it days have passed without a post. I should write down in my planner to do it and then perhaps it will get done. I am doing pretty well on Instagram remembering to post. I don't use a lot of other social media. I have a Facebook account but I rarely post on it. I use it to belong to a couple photography groups. I have two Instagram accounts - one for my photography and the other for my home life (books, crafts, documenting life). If I could figure out how to post a button I would - tried it once and it did not work!  I have included a couple of links in case anyone else is on Instagram. It's my favourite social media as I can choose whose feed to see and it is all crafty or photography. It's nice to be able to choose!

My Photography

Crafts, books & more

I have been up in my craft room doing a new little book. This one is a waterfall album. It is really easy to make. I love it! The pages are great for 4 x 4 photos so I am going to have to dig some out!

It's supposed to cool down tomorrow. If it's still really hot and humid I'm not taking a walk. I'll have a rest day. I'm going to take a break from sorting too and maybe spend a lot of time crafting.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Too Hot Saturday

Yuck. It's very hot and humid today. We're under a heat advisory. Our Saturday walk this morning was early and fairly short. We made sure to take water with us and we were glad of it! Phone photo below.

I Skyped with Mum. We connected really quickly. Poor Mum got a sunburn. She went out yesterday to the seaside with my sister and though she wore sun cream she still got burned on her face! She said it was quite windy down by the sea so I'm sure that was part of it. Also she hasn't spent as much time outside this year as she usually does.

This afternoon I did some more crafting. I have been using up a pack of cards and envelopes that I must have picked up at a sale or something to make some more albums. They are smaller than the ones I originally used to make the last album but it gives me the chance to use up some smaller pieces of paper too. I am really enjoying making these and using up some supplies. This is one of the ones I made.

I have had this paper hanging around forever. I think I'm going to use this one as some sort of nature journal. I think the paper works really well for that.

I hope everyone has a good weekend. May the sun shine and it be nice out but not too hot! Stay safe.

Crafty Bits

Here's the last of the cereal box mini-albums. This one I made into a Halloween album. I really like the paper in this one. Not sure what I'll do with it but (I think) it turned out well.

I also made these two little ones, each from 1 piece of 12 x 12 double sided paper. I followed along with a really easy YouTube tutorial from Lyric Lover 810. They are small and cute. I like her videos. She does a lot of papercrafting ones that are easy to follow along with.

An inside peek at the top one. This is one I'm going to fill in.

And this is the bottom one that I filled with little things that bring me joy.

It's been hot here the past couple of days and looks to be just as hot in the days to come. I've been working on the cross stitch for my sister as I can do that in the living room.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

A Good Book and another Mini Album Make

I've just finished another book. I've pledged through Goodreads to read 100 books this year and am well on track for my goal. This is another by Kristin Higgins. It's what my Mum would call a woman's book - a little family story mixed with a little romance. I liked the characters in this one. There were a mix of ages and they all seemed realistic. I was reading a book the other day and some of the characters were going on about their mother and how she was and the author made her sound like she was in her seventies - turns out she was fifty-six!!! I groaned out loud at that one. I'm fifty and I couldn't recognise myself at all in this 'old' woman as she was described.

I finished another of the cereal box mini-albums. I have only one more left to do and it's about half done. I quite like how this one worked out. I have to work out what I'm going to put in them now.

I've got a new stitching piece to work on too. I had most of what I needed to do it and I have ordered a couple of threads (speciality) that I didn't have. Usually I would probably just make do but this is a special piece for my sister and I want it to be just right.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

Feeling a Little Productive

Even though it's only Tuesday I feel as though I've been quite productive so far this week. I ticked some things off my to-do list and have spent quite a bit of time in my craft room tidying things up and doing some crafting. I have managed to make several more mini-albums. Now I have to fill them! I think tomorrow when I am in my craft room I shall make sure to spend some time sorting out some photos that can go into each  mini album. The hardest thing - I find - is coming up with a theme to each mini album/book. I feel as though they should have a theme.

I have been out for a walk yesterday and today.  My ankle is doing a bit better. I think I am learning when it is time to stop. I have also spent money that I didn't mean to spend. It was Christmas money and I bought a couple of jumpers (sweaters) that I did need. They were on clearance and the shop had another 30% off their clearance. I really like them. They are big and comfy and just what I was looking for. It's funny though because when I was actually shopping for jumpers I didn't see these ones. I wouldn't have paid full price, but I would have kept an eye out for a sale.

Tomorrow I have some running around to do, ring Mum, a couple household jobs and then some crafting. I do have to improve on meal planning. I know it's chicken something for tomorrow just not sure what lol.

Photos today
* mini-books I have constructed (put together with 3 pieces of 12 x 12 paper). I think I have these worked out now as I tweaked the measurements from the YouTube tutorial I watched.

* The beginnings of my Little Golden Books junk journal. Admittedly they don't have a lot of junk bits in them as I was more working on construction. I still feel funny about pulling apart books so I didn't pull apart anymore than this book. I have discovered that I have a couple of old diaries that have lovely decorative pages in them that I thought I might use next time and some glossy bird magazines. I did mess up on these and punched the holes on the wrong side of some book pages. Instead of abandoning the project I stuck some washi tape on top!