Happy New Year..

Yes, Happy New Year to all of you lovely

people out there in blogland.

Hope you all have the most exciting and special New Year yet :0)

Take it easy everyone,

Speak to you next year

(sorry, but I love saying that bit :0) )

Love Donna x

P.s. I'll be back early next year with a new project I've just started!

Bye.xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx



Happy in between Christmas and New Year ! :0)

Hello lovely people :0)

Hope this post finds you all happy and well, and that you all had a super, splendiforous (is that a word?) Christmas.

We did.

Although I do feel a tad greedy.

No, not 'cos all the food, (although yes, I was a bit greedy), but because even though we had all that lovely snow, I'm still jealous of America with all theirs!

Honestly some people are never satisfied are they! :)

Still, I'm up and raring to go now, looking forward to the New Year and all the exiting (hopefully) things that are going to or may happen.

I've been a bizzy bee over Christmas too. Would you like to see some of my makes? Well I'll post a photo further down. I wanted to have a bit of a chat first:)

What I want to know is sometimes, when you get an idea in your head to make something, do you ever just get the urge to make, make, make?

I do.

And sometimes like these past couple of days, it drives me nuts!

I got a lovely amount of yarn from my children and husband for Christmas. I mean they were all just what I call 'oddballs' (no, not my family, the yarn LOL). just lovely bright colours and sooooo squishy. And straight away I had the immediate thought of making some little bags with them. And, well, I haven't been able to stop! Since Christmas day I've made 9! yes, 9 bags!

Since I took the photo above, I've made another two.

I've made the green one above, and a black mohair type one.

I've been mixing my plain but bright Christmas yarns with some mohair and sparkly ones that I already had to add texture.

And I've done a couple in rag crochet which I love :)

I've shown a picture of the sheet that I cut the strips from in the one above and the other rag one is the creamy/flowery one on the right hand side in the top picture.

I'm going to keep the green rag one, but the others are going in my Etsy shop when I get round to taking proper photos :)

I hope they sell, as I can't seem to stop making them, I feel like a wound up doll that isn't running out -I've even got a cream one (my tenth!) on the go while I'm writing this and waiting for my photos to come up ! LOl

It must just be a release from all the tension that unfortunately, Christmas brings most of us....

Anyway, on to other stuff...

I've sorted out a couple of my pillowcase and duvet stash shelves, so now I can see half of what I've got ..The other half is behind what you can see! ..

I've got some really gorgeous retro style pillowcase in there which I might just sell as they are they're so cute...

That's not taking into account the bags I've got stashed in my wardrobe, or my pile of fat quarters that I just can't bring myself to use.

But this year, (I mean 2011) I must try not to buy, and just use all that I have. Only then will I buy, I have decided.

I'm also going to try and recycle and re-use a lot more....but I digress....NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS are a whole other blog post (for someone else...), and I'm not going there as I'll be there all day!! LOL

Here's what was left out for Father Christmas and Rudolph in our house. We always leave him coke, (we don't drink in our house- not intentionally, it's just worked out that way..) as he's probably had so much Sherry before he get's to us, that he could do with a good, long, cold drink! LOl

The pieces of 'scrappy' paper are three very worn Christams lists ;)

Anyway, I had so much to say to you all and now it's gone right out my head! Talk about the attention span of a fly! Honestly.

I'll love you and leave you now.

Take care all of you, especially if you're reading this, and lucky enough to live over the pond where all the snow is! (you know who you are:0) )

Take it easy everyone, and speak soon.

Love Donna x

MERRY CHRISTMAS :0)

Hope this finds you all happy and nicely prepared for the 'Big Day' :)

We are nearly prepared which has surprised me a lot, but is mainly due to my very, super organised husband!

The tree is up and decorated  :: Yes, a real one :)

I took pictures, but have improved on it since, so when I take some more, they will be put on here for you to see.

I've nosied about quite a bit, and I have to say all of you lovely people have absolutely stunning decorations, tree's and snow !

We've just got snow left mainly on our back roads now ..

  This one was taken on Monday.

Our road is just icy slush now, which is more dangerous than snow as above.

I took my youngest daughter (11years) out to see friend of hers yesterday who lives quite a way away. We was traveling up our road (above) at about 7mph it was really slippery, and as we went around a bend, the car just went from underneath me, and we just had to slide with it. Luckily, there were no other cars about, but we hit the curb and bounced off, then stopped.

That didn't shock me as much as my daughter did, 'cos as we began to slide, she stuck her arms out either side of her and grabbed me with one of them and exclaimed in a loud voice   F*****ghell !

I was gobsmacked!

Honestly, I didn't know what to say, but she was rather shook up by it, so after split second thinking, I just asked "Are you alright darling?" and ignored the swearing.  I ddin't know whether to laugh or cry. LOl

My husband cracked up when I told him, he thought it very funny.

She's only 11! Well, a shocked 11 bless her.

As you may or may not know my eldest daughter has epilepsy. At school they support her brilliantly, and her options for her exams are mainly catering (this is really one of the worst things she can do as heat and the fast paced kitchen area brings on seizures, but we're supporting what she wants :) ).

The school entered one of her classes in a county cooking competition, and we're so proud of her, cos' out of her class, she got through to the semi finals in February. Not only that, but she made our Christmas cake as well (not for the competition, she had to do a fish dish and a soup for that) ..

She made the fruit cake inside, the marzipan (!) the snowman and the christmas tree herself, but as she was away poorly, she wasn't there to make the main layer of icing, or the little decs', so they're bought ones, but she's done well hasn't she ?

We're so proud of her and how she copes.

Also on the children front, our youngest daughter won a county competition too, and is going through to the national finals (am I boasting here? or just being proud? or both? LOL) she had to design a poster on world peace. She spent weeks on it, and won!

She received £30 in WHSmith vouchers, and is going through to the next heat.

Oh, lovely children.

And well, my son Uummmm...he only had two detentions after school in December instead of one each week (they broke up half way through didn't they? )

so that was good... LOL ;0)  We're proud of him too :0)

Anyway, I think I've bored you enough my lovelies.

I'd just like to say thnkyou so much for reading my blog and leaving me lovely comments since I started it.

I'm finding that your support really means a lot to me.

Thankyou.

Have a lovely HAPPY CHRISTMAS, and if you don't get back before, have a really HAPPY NEW YEAR too. :0)

Take care everyone, and wrap up warm

I hope Santa comes to visit..

Love Donna x



STOP RIGHT HERE..........

Yes.    STOP right here, don't scroll down...

Hang on....

Stay with me folks....

Here they come.....

SEE !!!

My very own snowflakes blowing across my blog!   LOL :0)

Oh well, they cheer me up anyway :0)

Took me aaaagges to work out how to add the hmtl and all that, 'cos they wouldn't copy and paste so I had to write it all down letter for letter.

Still, I did it !

Little things 'n' all that :)

Anyway back to something a bit more grown up.

How are all you lovely people? Hope this yacking finds you all fine and dandy.

Have you done all your shopping yet?  We've still got lloooaaddss to do!

Our lovely eldest daughter has been very poorly with her seizures. She's had that horrible cold going round, and when she gets a temperature it makes her fit even more than usual, so she's had to be off school bless her.  We're all a bit grumpy round here from lack of sleep, and the cold is doing it's rounds of the family. I've got it at the moment, so I can't talk much, but I can still yack on here though eh? :)

We're going to have to finish Christmas shopping next week when all the children are home for the holidays...sensible ....not!

I've managed to get a few decorations up, although we still haven't managed to go and get the REAL christmas tree yet...

A while back I got these gorgeous lights. They are quite old, but in perfect working condition.

We've never had outside lights before, so it's a real novelty for us :)

 I love the box they come in. It's got such a happy feel to it.

Yes, I know you can see a Christmas tree there in the hall, but that's the old one... with 'fibre optics'. It seemed a shame to just leave it in the loft, so being greedy, we put it up in the hall.

I've been busy making other snowflakes too..

I've been cutting out snowflakes and putting them up at the windows. These ones I put up with some mini vintage baubles.

If you do this, make sure that you hang them on a lovely piece of mohair yarn, as this holds each snowflake in place :)

I've also been bizzy with my hook...

Whipping up some pastel green and white granny stars for the dining room window.

In fact, i haven't been able to stop with my hook this past week. Any spare minute, out it comes. Trouble is, even though I've been hooking (!?! LOL not sure that's the right word...) at nights as well, I still don't seem to be able to finish all that I want to do.

I've still got my son's scarf to finish, my husbands hat to do (he probably won't wear it, but I couldn't think what else to hook him this year!) some stars for a friend, and i wanted to get more bit's done to fill my etsy shop...

OOooo... Etsy shop. That just reminds me. Did you see my little Etsy shop thingmajig at the top on the right? It's cute isn't it?  Well, I first saw it here at Victorias place , so I thought I'd have a look at them. They've got a few to choose from if you have a look too.  Just click on the link on my thingamijig.

Goodness me, this is the most I've chatted in about three days lol.

I've also been making these..

They're really cute little snowflakes aren't they? I got the recipe from Ravelry. I can't do the linking business to any recipes on there, but if you just type in Ravelry, and then snowflakes, these little beauties will pop up :)

They're dotted all around my house now.

And these..

(Which are a self taught recipe.)

Is'nt the yarn in these stars just gorgeous?

It was an extremely lucky charity shop find. 50p a ball, and I got four of them. It's chunky and shimmery and oh so gorgeous.

The second picture is much more like it :0)

I got some more bargain yarn there, but I'll show you that next time.

D'you know, I've been crocheting all these little ornaments, but it took me longer to cut out one paper snowflake than it did to crochet two!  I was doing the paper ones for about two hours! But I'm glad I did, 'cos they look all 'homemadie' d'you know what I mean?

And yes, I know i've got three children, but they were'nt the slightest bit interested in helping :(

I think I'm a bit young for them really :0)

Anyway, that's it on the chatting front really.

I'll leave you with a few pictures of what I was bagging up in cellophane and pretty wrap for the childrens friends at school.

Oh, and the pink minature flufffy tree of the girls.

Speak soon lovely people, and take care,

love Donna x

Mmmmmm, Yummy.... And NO, I haven't eaten one.......

YET ;0)

This ones supposed to be fibre optic too, 'cept the bulb went when we put it up, so i've got to get a new one before it can do it's shiny, flashy thing!

Bye lovelies...   x

.

Little cuties...

Hello lovely people.

How are you this cold winters evening?

I've finally 'opened' my Etsy shop. I've listed just four things in there at the moment. I've been slowly plodding on the computer these past few days, listing items on feeBay- for some extra Christmas pennies,- and Etsy with my handmade goodies.

I shall be listing more bits on Etsy after Christmas, but I think that's all I can manage for now :0)

I've also been busy crocheting and sewing. I've been crocheting little sparkly christmas wreaths to tie onto the bags of sweeties my children give their school friends. I've been making more little owlettes, and improving on the recipe!

And, I've been making items out of my stash of pillowcases, but I'll show and tell more about that after Christmas:0)

The Little Cuties in the title of my post are this pair..

 Aren't they just delightful?

Such a cute Mr & Mrs Christmas, snoozing in their armchairs after a hard nights Christmas Eve :0)

I just couldn't resist them. They're a salt and pepper set. Mrs Christmas has got a chip/hole (not the one where the salt comes out ;)  ) in her back, so I asked if I could possibly have a few pence off, they were £2.50, but the lady behind the till said how about 75p? I mean who was I to argue?

What a bargain. I just had to have them to look at!

Next, I've been planting up my Christmas hyacinths.

The dead looking things on top of the compost are actually dried rose petals, and in real life they actually look a gorgeous deep red colour. (I always dry any rose petals I can lay my hands on as I think they look so pretty in bowls -it makes the roses last longer ;)   )

They look very plain in this pot, so I'm going to do what Jo did a few days back, and add some pretties around the edge when I can.

I've also made an 'African flower' pot  holder. I found this potholder on someones blog while I was being nosey, and they said to look on Ravelry for the recipe. Which I did. NEVER again will I try and follow a recipe. This simple flower took me AAAAggggeeeesssss and ages to crochet, simply because I could tell parts weren't right, and had to keep frogging it and making it up as I went along. But, I started so I had to finish!

The middle bit is the African Flower. The rest is just plain Granny :) With a simple scalloped edge.

Anyway, I'd better love you and leave you for now as I've got so much to do atthe moment. I'll be back at the weekend with (hopefully) pictures of our tree and decorations.

I'm still working on my granny tree skirt as I speak (well, when blogger's loading the pictures.

It seems that the nearer we get to Christmas, the more I remember to make.

Oh, see, I just remembered two other photos I had to show you..

These are the two scarves I've made my girls for Christmas. The top one is a beautiful shimmery blue, nice and chunky.

The next one is the one I call 'calypso' in the neon colours. I shall be putting this one in my Etsy shop too.

These swirly scarves seem to be in all the shops at the moment, and I have to say I do think some of them look rather tatty for rather a lot of money! Or is that just me being grumpy?

Anyway, that really is it for now lovely people.

Do take care, and wrap up warm.

Speak soon,

Love Donna x

Snow at last......

Yes, Yes, Yes....! :0)

Proper snow at last people:0)

Ooooo, I was so excited when it started to snow good and proper. We got about 4 or 5 inches here. I know this is'nt really much as snow goes, but it was tons for us :0)

Schools were all shut, so everyone had a fab day today. Including me as I pelted Mr BD with snowballs when he was unawares ;0)

I took gazillions of pictures. I'll just post a couple below, cos' you're probably all snow pictured out by now!

These first ones I took about 5.30 am this morning till about 8.30am...See, I had to hurry out there in case it all melted....lol

Above is the front garden, and below is looking down my road..

It's  not me that's ruined the snow on the path with those footsteps either :)

Here's the back garden..

Now Blogger won't let me load up any more photos, it's obviously snowed under with them.....lol (sorry, just had to say it)  so I'll have to pop back tomorrow and show you what I've been up to today.

You can see part of what I've been doing by looking at the top of the blog and seeing the Christmas bunting :0)

I loaded that one up earlier....

But the rest will now have to wait till tomorrow.

Speak to you then lovely people.

Take care, and don't forget to wrap up warm in this weather.

Love Donna x