New New New

I spent a lovely relaxing day yesterday making some new things - very exciting stuff - and then amidst all the dreary grey rain we've had this weekend it was magically sunny for half an hour & I got a chance to take some photos of them all...

A sweet goldfinch ornament:
A fun camera badge/brooch, adapted from a larger custom piece I made last year:

Plus because it's the season for hanging things on tress, I've made a camera ornament too:

Where does the time go?

Actually, I know exactly where the time goes: it gets eaten up by sitting at the computer faffing about. Nom nom, yummy spare time says my computer: check your emails! reply to them! file away those pictures! delete the ones you don't need! back them up! start your accounts! hunt around for that photo you put somewhere! look up new cameras! etc etc etc.

Needless to say, I have been goggle-eyed in front of the computer screen for the past few days. It is most dull. I still haven't replied to all my emails. I still have a meeeeeellion photos to label and file, and I still haven't really made much progress with my accounts. Sigh.

I have at least done a couple of scans of my work from this past week, to try to make up in some small way for my lack of a camera. My camera broke on day 280, but after taking lots of lovely photos (hurrah!). I am totally counting photo-taking as craftiness! Then day 281 I moved furniture around to extend my crafty workspace (and rescue my supplies from the depths of the spare room). Even if I had a working camera I couldn't show you this yet as it's still the most embarrasing mess!

So, then this week has been days 282-90 and I've been drawing many many new patterns (staying top secret until I get them sewn!), and also attending to some works in progress. I finished a big batch of doves and bluebirds, which look like this:
And I've also been sewing and embroidering LOTS of oak leaves. The finished ones look like this...... but there are more still to embroider. The leaves are destined to be lots of fun things: necklaces, bracelets, hairbands and brooches. A whole range of leafy accessories :)

Being Busy (365, day 279)

Yesterday I finished a whole bundle of things...
A custom pale pink poppy brooch, a custom Lily of the Valley ornament (I love making special ornament versions of my brooch designs), an assortment of poppy bracelets, and two new masks: a white rabbit (with seriously lopsided ears) and a brown bear. I also made my first flower necklace but foolishly omitted it from that picture. I went to take a quick snap of it to put up on this blog, and DOOM! my camera had died again!! Argh. So far giving it a good whack has not fixed it. Not good :(

I suspect I will be buying a new camera next week, even if it does spring back to life. I have so many new things I want to photograph and list, these delays are just too annoying. Luckily, I did manage to get some fab shots this morning of my masks and hairbands being modelled out in the sunshine. Ooh, that reminds me, I still need to edit those... better go do that really... (I also might try whacking the camera again, you never know, it might work, right?)

UPDATE: My poppy design is now available as a sewing pattern! Visit my shop to see all my printable PDF patterns

Always Remember to Charge Your Batteries

My camera batteries needed charging. I didn't charge them. What an idiot I am...

So, no photos from me today and instead a double dose of 365 fun tomorrow.

In the meantime though, if you have an Etsy account please head on over to this forum thread and vote for your favourite entrant in the UK Etsy "sweets from your childhood" challenge. Everyone has been really inspired by this month's theme, and the entries range from jewellery to ceramics to art to soft toys... there's even a pair of knickers! The votes will be counted at midday GMT tomorrow (Sunday 2nd March), so please get voting...

Here are just a few of the entries (sneakily including my dolly mixture brooch, bottom right)
1. (39/ 365) crafting / Vintage sweet notebook Uk challenge entry, 2. sweet bag with sherbet pips, 3. candy bracelet, 4. Last three toffees bowl, 5. Meet Fizzy!!, 6. Flying Saucers Necklace, 7. Crayon Roll and Notepad, 8. the last one..., 9. Dolly Mixtures brooch