NEW BLOG REMINDER :0)

HELLO LOVELY PEOPLE :0)

Don't forget that I post in my 'NEW' blog now at

love.hope.craft

So remember to stop following this one, and pop over there!

Love Donna xxxx 

**GIVEAWAY**** And new blog information...

Well Hello Lovely People :)

For the time being, this will be my last post on Bizzydays (I say timebeing as I change my mind like the weather LOl)

I have moved over to this shiny new blog.

So from now on, I shall be over there.
I haven't finished 'doing it all up' yet, but you can still enter the giveaway :)

If you pop on over, you will be able to enter the  GIVEAWAY that I've

just opened for two splendiferous books.

I forgot to add over there that anyone in the world can enter, not just UK entrants.

So don't forget to pop over and put your name down.

Take care, and I'll be back tomorrow with more photos.

Love Donna x

Alternative sausage rolls for bizzy people....

Hello lovely people :0)

How are you all this fine, clear evening?

Hope this post finds you all fine and dandy, well over all the indulgance of Christmas, and raring to go on with all your crafty lives :0)

Now, I didn't know whether to blog this or not.

I thought that maybe, it might be a little basic, but then maybe (as well) you might like to try 'em.

And, children (most) love 'em.

This is our alternative to sausage rolls (we eat sausage rolls too, veggie ones though).

This is probably a very old idea, but i made it up (for us) when our youngest daughter was about 2, as she wouldn't eat bread!

I mean, have you ever met a child that wouldn't eat bread?

And can you picture how awkward that makes having a picnic ? lol

Anyway, I'll get on with it shall I?

Take 6 cooked sausages (we use veggie ones, but obviously any will work)

Then get 6 slices of sliced bread (uncut doesn't work)

Take your bread knife, and carefully cut all the crust edges off, leaving as much soft bread as you can..

Your left with a nice plump slice like this..

Then, take your rolling pin, and roll out the bread till it's as flat as you can roll it..

You'll find that you get a slightly thicker end where it won't roll properly..

Now, if you'r eusing hot, just cooked sausages, don't butter the bread, but it they're cold out the fridge, then you may need to spread a thin amount of butter on the slice...

Take some sauce of your choice (we use tomato ketchup)..

And dollop a bit on each end..

Get a sausage and place it on the flatter end (not the thick end)..

Next roll it all up, and ...

VOILA!

An alternative sausage roll!

Children love 'em (even older ones ;)  )

And they're excellent for packed lunches and cut in half for parties, even put a cocktail stick through  'em!

Just a note, if you cover the whole slice in sauce, the sausage slips out..lol

Have fun ;)

***

I'm still beavering away on my 'flower motif' motifs.

And I've been practicing those granny squares, with flowers poking out the top that are doing the rounds (not lol) know the ones I mean?

But they are SO fiddlely. Has anyone else found that?

Maybe I'll be able to show you what I mean in my next post as i forgot to take a photo.

Anyway, I'm off for a rare treat this evening...

Going to watch The Expendables on Box Office. (A Christmas present for when it came out :o)

I do love some action films, well, the older ones, or rather the ones with the older men in, you know, Sly, (didn't think much of Rambo though!) Arnie, Bruce and quite a late comer Jason Statham. (I do really like Jason Statham, but I think he's a bit short for me, now if only he were taller,..... and I was slimmer...LOL)

My OH thinks it's hilarious that there's a film with all my 'hero's' in!....AND I got excited about it when it came out...lol

Anyway, I can tell I'm rambling now, and I've got to list some buttons in my Etsy before we watch it!

Have a great weekend everyone.

Take care,

Speak soon,

Love Donna xxxxxxxxxxx

  

Yarn Stashers...

Well, hello all you lovely bloggy people :0)

How are you this fine (actually drizzly here!) evening?

Got over Christmas and New Years eve have you?

For the first time we let all the children stay up to 'see in' the New Year this year.

We got a pizza, some fizzy drinks (just to make sure they didn't sleep when they eventually went to bed Lol) and some popcorn, and watched old films all evening. Well, I say old, I mean like 'The Mummy' and it's sequel etc.. which I'll agree with the children is 'old' for them...

But the children hadn't seen them before, so we all had fun. I think I was the only 'grump' about, as I had a migraine coming, and had to try and be all happy and excited like they were at them staying up. I think I succeeded, because I just sat there quietly crocheting which is what I always do if I'm sitting down anyway. My husband was the only one to notice luckily :0)

Still, migraine and the holidays all over with now.

(Am I being a party pooper?)

Now we can all begin with a fresh new year getting on with everything crafty :0)

I think I've crocheted enough bags now, so I'm gradually putting them in my Etsy shop (well, 'cos of my migraine, I've only put one so far LOL, but the point is I'm getting there!).

I've started a couple of new projects.

The first is a 'SPRING' blanket.

Now, I know what I'm making will look like lots of crochet doilies to you, but I assure you, the 'olde fashionede' (new word here folks) seventies book that I got the doily recipe from assures me that it is a 'Flower Motif' .

I've now finished quite a few, but I'm unsure as to whether or not to do multi coloured ones?

You know, with a flower centre and dfferent coloured outside petals?

What d'you all think?

I want it to be nice and bright and well,...SPRINGY ish..

I need to find more room for my oddballs of yarn too, so I made a little upcycled basket for them to go in ..

I used the majority of the thrifted sheet that it's sitting on to make it with.

This is my new yarn stasher.

I've also been playing with one of my christmas presents..

It's good isn't it?

It's a Paper Potter. I've wanted one of these for a few years now. You just rip any old papers into strips (we don't get a news paper, so I had to buy one 'specially to play with my new toy ! ), then fold it round what looks like the end of a rolling pin (thrifty ideas coming anyone?), squish it on the stand, and Hey Presto, you have a little recycled pot to plant your seeds in, then you can just plant them in the ground in as it's bio-degradeable..  Cool eh?

I kinda missed the point though, as I bought a news paper....LOl

Still, it's getting to Spring now with all the gardening and planting happening..

And this just brought it a bit closer for me...-  me who loves SNOW!

Still, if it's not snowing, I want it to be warm and sunny:0)

Well, that's all I have to say today lovely people.

I'm going to pop over to Etsy and list at least one other bag, then get on with my spring blanket.

I'll leave the last word for what's left of our snowman...

Till next time, take care,

Love Donna xxx

LOL Bye xxxxxxxxxxxx

 

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