Sunday 30 November 2014

Malmesbury

I stopped off to see my parents on the way back from wales- My mum and sister have kindly offered to assist me in delivering my presents- like lovely xmas elves!

We went to Malmesbury for a look around- there is a rather impressive abbey- it only survived Henry VIII's assault on all things Catholic because someone bought it to store bales of wool in!
That is a bit crazy!
It has been restored- the windows were made by William Morris- and the original roof with all it's carvings and painting has survived too.
It's an impressive building with lovely gardens and the graveyard.


Which brings me to a point of interest- this is one of the headstones in the graveyard:


It's the grave of a serving girl from a local pub who got too close to a tiger in a travelling circus in the 1800's and was mauled to death.
Interesting stone. Bit of a shame for her really- I don't imagine people got to see very many tigers in real life.
It's almost local legend now!

After the abbey we went for teacakes and chai lattes in a lovely coffee shop- and then we did a spot of shopping- I got 2 new baubles for the tree which look like retro light bulbs.
All the shops had awesome window displays- this is possibly my favourite of the day:




Dan's Birthday dinner

On Saturday evening, Me Dan, Jay, Sah, Non, Lis, James and Katie went to viva brazil for dinner- it's crazy!
Theres a salad bar in the middle of the room with chippys and fried veggies, rice, couscous etc
Then they bring loads of different meats to the tables- and you can choose what to have!
Oh my god!
It was amazing!
I ate so much food I thought I would die.

Jay and I got into cardiff early so we went to the music shop so that I could get a shoulder rest to replace the one I completely mangled in my anxiety at playing in front of people.

We still had some time to kill and it was a bit too cold for mooching about on benches so we had a look round Jacobs Antiques- Whenever I go there I wish I had a massive house to furnish- and an infinite amount of cash! They have some super cool stuff.
Jay was very tempted to buy the skill of some enormously horned antelope thing- I'm grateful he didn't as we'd have had to have carried it round with us and taken it out for dinner!

I really wanted this patchwork blanket:

And this victorian/edwardian day dress- it's just a shame I was about a foot too tall and about a million clothing sizes too wide!

There were also some amazing examples of bad taxidermy.

Wednesday 26 November 2014

16 things I know are true but have yet to learn- From Raptitude.com - Thanks Jay

Post image for 16 things I know are true but haven’t quite learned yet
There’s a difference between knowing something and living as if it were true. At the end of 2013, these truths are all lingering on that awkward threshold, for me anyway.
1) The sooner you do something, the more of your life you get to spend with that thing done — even though it takes less effort (or at least no more) than it will later. It’s the ultimate sure-thing investment and I pass it up all the time.
2) I never regret working out. I can’t count the number of times I’ve negotiated with myself to work out the next day instead of today because I’m worried it will be a “bad workout.” I seldom have a bad day on a day that I work out.
3) Whenever I’m playing with my phone I am only shortening my life. A smartphone is useful if you have a specific thing you want to do, but ninety per cent of the time the thing I want to do is avoid doing something harder than surfing Reddit. During those minutes or hours, all I’m doing is dying.
4) Nothing makes me more productive and in-the-moment than a clean house. There is mind-clearing magic in cleanliness. Waking up in a house whereeverything is put away is a glorious feeling. There seem to be more possibilities in the air, and all my things seem more useful.
5) Minute-for-minute, nothing I do is more rewarding than meditation. Even after just a very short session, it reliably makes me better at everything, especially making decisions. It lets me do my best. Yet I still do it only intermittently.
6) Creative work is something that can be done at any time. It’s no different than any other kind of work. Inspiration is nice but completely optional. I’ve almostcompletely come around on this one in 2013. But sometimes the Four Horsemen still trick me.
7) Acting the way you want to feel usually works. When I feel crappy just before I have to go do something, if I decide to act as if I am happy for a while (even though I’m not) I usually end up feeling happy after not too long, or at least much less crappy. This is straight out of Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project and it’s an extremely powerful thing to experiment with. [More on this in an upcoming post.]
8) Ninety-five per cent of my happiness comes from having a home, a functioning body and something to eat. I live in utter luxury, by any sensible standard of what “luxury” is. If I am unhappy it’s because I’ve lost perspective about the other five per cent. 
9) Our minds are geared to manage much less than we typically end up managing. Modern people have so many options they conflict with each other in almost every area. The fewer things I have, the more I enjoy my things. The fewer goals I have, the better I do them. The smaller the portion size, the better food tastes.
10) The quickest and most reliable path to personal improvement is to do the things on my list that I resist most. Internal resistance should be taken as a big red sign guaranteeing rapid growth and new capabilities. Given my experience with the ecstasy that comes with overcoming resistance, logically I should be attracted to it by now.
11) All you need to do to finish things is keep starting them until they’re done. The idea of doing something in its entirety always seems hard. But it’s easy to commit to simply starting on something, and then you’re past most of the resistance. Continuing is just as easy. (Thanks to Leo Babauta for this one.)
12) Whenever I think I’m mad at a person, I’m really just mad at a situation.I’m mad because suddenly life requires something new of me, and it’s easy to implicate a person who contributed to that situation. I want the situation to be responsible for fixing itself, so I attribute it to someone else’s moral failing, and then I don’t have to feel responsible for this new problem of mine.
13) Ultimately, to get something done you have to forget about everything else while you do it. The mind is always telling you that 85 things are on fire and you need to do everything now. However you respond emotionally to it, to move things along you have to pick one to deal with, and let the rest continue burning while you do.
14) The most consistently joyful activities for me are visiting with other people and reading books. Aside from earning a living and a bit of travel there isn’t much else I need in my life. Somehow these two things are still not clear priorities. What are yours?
15) If I find myself in an argument, I’ve made a mistake. It doesn’t matter whose position makes more sense, because by the time it’s an argument any real communication has ended. Marshall Rosenberg’s brilliant method of Nonviolent Communication is a far more useful default response than argument, but I often forget it completely.
16) Few things matter long-term other than relationships, health, personal finance and personal growth. Crises in almost every other area turn over so quickly there’s not much reason to get upset at them. Interestingly, those four are the areas that probably contribute most to happiness in the short term too.

Tuesday 25 November 2014

Wintery is here!

Today was the first really wintery day so far- I knew it would be bad today as on my way home on Monday night I followed the gritter!
When I got up it was bloody freezing- I dug out my winter woolied for my walk to work- it would have taken just as long to de-ice the car as to walk the 3 miles- even the pavements were ice-rinkesque.

This is, I think, The ultimate winter hat- My Dad bought it for me when I was a kid- as a joke. In the film "Theres only one Jimmy Grimble" Theres a girl who punches a boy who's a dick to her in the face- my dad always said she looked a bit like me, and got the hat when he saw it so complete the look.
Although, I've never punched anyone in the face!
I whatsapped him this morning to show him- He was impressed I still had it! it must be about 15 years old.
He did also think it was funny. I think I look pretty damn good for 6:30am.

The walk was lush- everything was all white a sparkly!
This all makes being half frozen to death worthwhile.



Saltdough xmas decorations

On monday I made my first salt dough xmas decorations of the festive season!
lovely easy xmas craft!
:)
It just needs painting now.


Sunday 23 November 2014

Crochet ginger bread man cookies from Repeatcrafterme.com



No need to worry about putting on extra weight during the holidays we these calorie-free crocheted gingerbread man cookies! Great as an appliquĂ©, ornament, or holiday decoration. String them together for some gingerbread garland! Or sew two together and stuff with a little poly-fil to make a little stuffed toy. Finished gingerbread man measures approx. 3.5" x 2.5". 

Materials:
Worsted weight yarn in brown and white. I used Lion Brand Vanna's Choice in Honey which is a great gingerbread color!
- Size G (4.00mm) Crochet Hook (or larger if you wish to make larger gingerbread men)
- Tapestry needle
- Small pom-poms for eyes and buttons and a little piece of red yarn for the smile.

Abbreviations:
DC = Double Crochet

Gingerbread Man Cookie Pattern

First lets make the body...
Magic ring, ch 2, make 10 DC in ring, join to first DC, chain 7

DC in 3rd chain from hook and in next 4 chains, (now you are back to your 10 DC round) skip one stitch and join to the next DC stitch, chain 7
DC in 3rd chain from hook and in next 4 chains, (now you are back to your 10 DC round) skip one stitch and join to the next DC stitch, chain 5
DC in 3rd chain from hook, and in next 2 chains, (now you are back to your 10 DC round) skip one stitch and join to next DC stitch.
Slip stitch in next two stitches.
Chain 5, DC in 3rd chain from hook, and in next 2 chains, (now you are back to your 10 DC round) skip one stitch and join to next DC stitch (this should be the same DC as where you started the first leg)
Fasten off and weave in ends.
Now make the head...
Magic ring, ch 2, make 12 DC in ring, join to first DC, fasten off and weave in ends.

Attach circle (head) to body with tapestry needle.

Surface slip stitch around entire edge if body. HERE is a great tutorial on how to make surface slip stitches.

Glue or stitch on face and button embellishments if desired.
I used small pom-poms from Craftprojectideas.com for the eyes and buttons. They came in this package of Rainbow Assorted Poms. You can find them HERE or at Walmart stores. I glued them on along with a small piece of red yarn for the mouth. You could stitch on a smile or crochet small buttons and eyes as well. 

Now here is the tutorial in pictures:








You can leave the gingerbread man "nudie"


or add embellishments!



- See more at: http://www.repeatcrafterme.com/2013/11/crocheted-gingerbread-man-cookie-pattern.html#sthash.fOkAJe4p.dpuf

How to make a finger knitting necklace from repeatcrafterme.com



Here is a project that is great for kids, tweens, teens and adults! Finger weaving (also referred to as finger knitting) is a simple way of forming a complex looking braid. I am going to show you how to finger weave a necklace, but you could make a bracelet or a variety of other projects LIKE THESE.

Materials:
- One ball of T-shirt Yarn. Tutorial HERE.
- Your fingers :)
- Two wooden beads (optional)

1. Leave a long tail when you start (this will be one end of your necklace strap). Place the tail of yarn between your thumb and pointer finger. Now wrap it behind your pointer finger, over your middle finger, behind your ring finger and over your pinky finger.

2. Now wrap the yarn going back through the fingers but this time behind the pinky, over the ring finger, behind the middle finger and over your pointer finger.

3. Weave yarn through fingers again. Behind pointer, over middle, behind ring finger, and over pinky.

4. Weave back through fingers one more time. Behind pinky, over ring finger, behind the middle finger and over your pointer finger.

5. Now take the loop that is at the bottom of your pointer finger and pull it up and over your finger.

6. Continue to pull the bottom loops up and over each finger. The tighter you keep the loops, the tighter your braid will be.

7. After you have pulled the bottom loops over each finger you are left with one loop on each finger like in picture 7.

8. Now weave the yarn over your middle finger, behind ring finger, over pinky finger, and back again (behind pinky, over ring finger, behind middle finger and over pointer finger).

Now you are ready to repeat steps 5-7 and pull bottom loops over your finger, weave yarn around fingers again and keep repeating until necklace (or bracelet!) is at desired length.

Your braid should start to look like this after awhile.

Now here is how to fasten it off when you are finished.

1. Take loop from pointer finger and move it to the top of middle finger.
2. Take bottom loop from middle finger and pull it over.
3. Take remaining loop from middle finger and move it to the top of ring finger.
4. Take bottom loop from ring finger and pull it over.
5. Take remaining loop from ring finger and move it to the top of pinky finger.
6. Take bottom loop from pinky finger and pull it over.
7. You now have one loop left on your pinky finger
8. Slip it off your finger and draw end of yarn through the loop.

You should now have your intricate finger weave braid with one strand of yarn hanging off both ends.

At this point you are basically done! You can add a bead to either end and knot the yarn to keep the bead in place. I decided to get fancy and cut two long strands of yarn that I pulled halfway through each end creating three yarn strands on either side. You can braid these strands or leave them loose for more texture and bulk to your necklace.


- See more at: http://www.repeatcrafterme.com/2014/03/how-to-finger-weave-necklace-with-t.html#sthash.FjLdIJQn.dpuf

How to make a Sand bowl from DIY Crafts.com


This sounds a bit crazy- maybe one for outside!
It does look awesome though and very unique... just a shame we live right in the middle of the UK and there aren't any beaches to hand.
Maybe I'll see if theres any sand at work I can borrow to try this one out. 

You can make a bowl from a lot of things, but did you know you can make one out of sand? It’s a great way to use sand from your favorite beach vacation spot to create a souvenir. All you need is a handful of items to make the beautiful piece that can be used to keep shells or other beach finds.
Make a sand bowl to hold tsotchkes.
What you’ll need:
Step 1. Choose a bowl that is going to serve as the base of your sand bowl.
Step 2. Wrap the outside of the bowl in plastic wrap. Smooth out all of the wrinkles and bumps so it’s a completely even surface or you can leave a few seamed lines so it resembles the natural lines created in the sand from the waves. Push the end of the plastic wrap into the inside of the bowl.
Step 3. Find a disposable bowl you won’t mind throwing out after use.
Step 4. Place your base bowl upside down on a vinyl placemat. It allows the glue and sand to stick to it, dry on and easily peel off or wash off with a little scrubbing.
Step 5. In your disposable bowl, mix together the glue and sand using a popsicle stick until you have a consistency that is thick but that you can still pour.
Step 6. Pour the glue mix over the bowl. Don’t worry if you don’t pour it completely even, gravity will pull it down and even it out.
Step 7. After about 3 hours, pour more glue over the bowl so it creates another layer. Repeat the process again in a few more hours.
Step 8. Let the bowl sit for a full day. Avoid moving it while it’s drying or you could make marks in the glue.
Step 9. Lift the bowl, then very carefully peel the plastic wrap off.
Step 10. Use scissors to cut away any ragged edges on your sand bowl.

DIY advent calendar instructions - From Morning Creativity

I'm going to save all my loo roll middles and make Traff  one of these next year! as it is, all the ones I'd saved have been turned into penguins at brownies and theres no way we'll get through 25 in the next 8 days!
This is a really good idea though- I've also seen it done with egg boxes, and smartie tubes which would be a bit teeny weeny for anything other than sweets. I like this much better!


I’ve been collecting toilet paper rolls for quite a while now and finally I’ve put them to use: In a Christmas calendar!
This calendar is made out of toilet paper rolls and cardboard. And you don’t need to wrap the calendar gifts, you simply lock them inside the rolls. Okay, here goes: 1. Supplies needed for this paper roll calendar: 24 used rolls (0r 25 if you’re not Norwegian), cardboard, multi purpose glue, a pair of scissors, a glue stick, twine, brown paper and a computer with printer attached. 2. Open a new document in a word prosessing program on your computer, type in all the numbers using a cool font. Print out all the numbers on brown paper. 3. Use the glue stick and attach the numbers to the rolls. Cut of the superflous brown paper. 4. Continue with a rectangular piece of cardboard and place all the used rolls on top of it making sure that it’ll fit all the rolls. Put small gifts inside the rolls and glue them onto the cardboard – sealing the gifts. Here you might wanna use something heavy to keep pressure on the rolls. 5. Make a roof with a piece of cardboard and make a chimney out of half a roll. Use twine to hang the calendar on the wall.
Now, this is all made out of cardboard and simply glued together. This means that you cannot put heavy gifts inside the rolls. Beneath I’ve listed of suggestions to both him and her that should fit inside:
For her
  • A Lipgloss/Lipstick
  • A Small Perfume Bottle
  • Small Bag of Tea
  • Paper Stars with Boyfriend´s Name on
  • Paper Heart
  • A Small Photo of the two of you
  • A Tea light Candle with Scent
  • A Matchbox With a Photo of You Two Glued on the Sides
  • A Gift Card (folded)
  • Her Favorite Candy
  • A Pencil Sharpener
  • A Rubber
  • A Gift Certificate on Massage From You (e.g. can be used three times)
  • Small Self Stick Bookmarks
  • I-Will-Make-You-a-Romantic-Dinner-Certificate
  • A Mascara
  • Hairpins
  • A Pair of Earrings
  • A Handwritten Love Letter
  • A USB-pen With All Her Favorite Music (for the Car)
  • Chewing Gum
  • In-Ear Headphones
  • A Magnet for the Fridge
For him
  • A USB Stick
  • A Protective Layer for his iPhone
  • Lip Moisturizer
  • Pencil Sharpener
  • An Eraser
  • A Mini Flashlight with Keychain
  • Batteries for his New Mini Flashlight
  • Gift Card From his Favorite Shop
  • A Lighter
  • I-Will-Take-you-out-to-Dinner-Certificate
  • I-Will-Dance-for-you-Naked-Certificate
  • A pocket knife
  • A Photo of You for His Wallet
  • Chewing Gum
  • A Razor Blade Cartridge
  • A Funny Magnet for the Fridge
  • A Little Coin Dispenser for the Car
  • Gitar Pics
  • Small Self Stick Bookmarks
  • LED Clip Reading Light
  • Dynamo Emergency Cell Phone Hand Crank Charge
  • A matchbox car