ooooh I can feel Christmas in my bones now. I've been looking at all the lovely Christmas things that Misi have for sale. I've bought some beautiful Christmas gift tags from DarlingDillyDilly http://www.misi.co.uk/handmade/darlingdillydilly.html and while I was there I bougth some general tags because I liked them so much.

I sold one of my hanging wooden plaques as well, whcih has cheered me up no end. Little things easily please me!! I hope that everyone who buys my items loves them as much as I do. i don't think I ever made anything I didn't like, I wonder if that goes for everybody who creates??

The Misi Great Autumn Giveaway

The wonderfully talented Helen aka The Beading Lady has put together an Autumn giveaway to promote all the shops at http://www.misi.co.uk/. Click on the link to the Misi blog http://misiuk.blogspot.com/2009/09/amazing-autumn-misi-blog-giveaway.html#comments , follow the instructions and you too could be in with a chance of winning all the lovely goodies that have been loving made.

While you're there why not have a nosey round the Misi shops and get some ideas for Christmas presents. Theres some Christmas things on there already.

Here are a few of them:-

Kim at "Kims Crafts" crocheted lots of snowflakes, perfect for hanging on the tree, jazzing up the computer monitor, light switches or photo frames at Christmas or attaching to prezzies.

http://www.misi.co.uk/gifts/20041/5_small_white_snowflakes.html

Moppy at "Oh Sew Nice" has made some baby

bibs which are Christmas themed. ready to catch any Christmas dinner which goes stray!! AND she's reduced them!!

http://www.misi.co.uk/gifts/2322/**PRICE_REDUCED**Christmas_Baby_Bandana_Bib___Worldly.html

last, but not least........ from "With Hugs & Kisses"

Personalised stockings!! Everybody needs somewhere for their pressies to go!! and these are just right to hold the important little pressies.

http://www.misi.co.uk/gifts/19940/Personalised_Robin_Christmas_Stocking.html

Gone on, what are you waiting for, off you go!! Good Luck :)

I'm very sorry, I've been very lazy about writing here lately, but with summer holidays and 3 children things just ran away with me.

They're all at school now, my youngest Noah, started today. He's been looking forward to going Since June when he went for the afternoon. He came home, covered in glue and really pleased. I however missed him so much that I decided to Autumn clean the kitchen and paint the ceiling!!

I've had children at home for 10 years and now theres none :( Just me and the dog, still, I'll get used to it and find lots of things to fill my afternoons with and then I'll wonder how I managed to do everything with the children around.

My tadpole population is now very low, because my youngest decided to fish most of them out of the water and taken them for a ride in the tractor!!. I was so cross with him, we've told him all along that they need to stay in the water to live.

I received a belated birthday pressent from my brother & sister in law, a lovely bottle of champagne and a box of Charbonel & Walker chocolates. They cheered me up a bit.

I did a craft fair in Lincoln last week. It was my first proper fair and I was very nervous about how my stall would look. I took a friend with me and we had a great day. I met fellow Misi member, Victoria from Plum crafts. She makes the most amazing teddies for a fantastically wonderful price. I bought a lilac one called Anna. She sits on my bureau watching everyone in the room.

Summer & all that it involves

It's definitely here, well its in the fens if nowhere else, its been here for about 2 weeks now and I'm loving it. Yes, the Sun has arrived. The weather has been good since Easter, almost too good for the farmers, they now want a decent rainfall, but they're never happy at this time of year. All the flowers have started to bloom and the veg is getting stronger in their little beds and the tadpoles have grown the tiniest legs I've ever seen. It been years since I've had a good look at a tadpole and now we've got the pond I think I'm more interested than the kids!!

I'm now Godmother to my adorable little niece Caitlin. We had a lovely weekend in Thorne for the service and she was perfect throughout, no tears and smiles for the cameras when needed.

We collected 9 rescue hens last Wednesday, 3 were for us and 6 for some friends who have started to keep hens too. Unfortunately when we checked on them Thursday morning we'd lost 5 during the night. We've had rescue hens before and never lost any, I was a little bit sad that the poor things had been through the trauma of the rescue and being re-homed only to die on their first night of freedom. The other 4 are now happily living with my friend and her boys.

One of those weeks

Well this week has been fun..... I was slicing the potatoes for our fish pie on a mandolin slicer. I was using the guard to hold the potatoes, but didn't have my thumb high enough. The end result was a slice off the edge of my thumb in the pile of potatoes and a call to the neighbour to come and bandage me up. We ended up going to see the Nurse at the surgery as it wouldn't stop bleeding. Its getting better now but still wrapped up, and it's my right thumb so I'm learning to do things with my fingers, turn the car keys, hold a knife and pen.

Yesterday my 4 year old son came downstairs and told me he'd "cut his hair!!!". He was so proud I couldn't help but laugh. He'd climbed up on the toilet to reach the box on the top shelf of the cabinet in which they are kept. Kids!!! We've had to shave his head quite short but he still has obvious marks at the front and we're going to my neices Christening on Sunday.

Still everything that we lost this week will grow back, so we are lucky, some aren't so fortunate.

Cakes

Well, I've finished icing my neices Christening cakes and really pleased that its gone ok. I'm only a hobby cake decorator, birthdays & Christmas etc.

When they got married 2 years ago, they asked me to ice the wedding cakes. 3 square ones, plain iced with a ribbon around the bottom edge, all very simple. Everything was planned, until my mum said we would take them up 1 week early. We were on holiday for the first 10 days of May and that would leave me 10 days to ice 3 cakes. I said I'm not doing it and took them to a "proffesional cake decorator". When I collected them I had a quick peek inside the boxes, paid and left. When I got home I cried, hubby called my mum as he didn't know what to do. The cakes were terrible. They weren't on the boards square. The icing was different thicknesses around the edges and it wasn't level on the top. Luckily mum knew someone Kathy of Long Sutton who came to the rescue. She removed the icing and started again. The first lady had even left the chunks of apricot on the cake when putting the marzipan on, she went bankrupt last year so can't inflict this upon anyone else!!!

This is how it looked on the day, after a major repair job.

This is how the "Pro" did their wedding cake!!!

I wanted to prove, to myself and sis-in-law that I can do it. Confidence restored!! Lesson learnt, always check things properly before leaving the shop!!

Well the sun is shining and I'm loving it. I come over all mother hen when its a nice day, I want to wash all the sheets and spring clean the house. The reality is I get one set of bedding washed, empty the hall of clutter, hang the sheets out, sweep the floor and put everything back in the hall, realise at bedtime I didn't put clean sheets back on the bed and the dog & children have run through the hall so many times it doesn't look like I did anything. Still I tried.

We had some friends over for tea last night and all the kids played happily,5 boys and 1 girl. It was the most peaceful "friends round" evening we've ever had. They played together well and didn't fall out. There must be something in the air.

The tadpoles are living happily in the pond. I keep looking to see if their tails are getting shorter, but they swim away too quickly. As soon as I see legs I'll post a picture!!

I really must get making more things too. I sold a teacosy on www.misi.co.uk and was inspired to make another on after reading the comments about it, but haven't got round to it. Its next on the list I think.

I'm off to make a lovely G & T and have 10 mins in the sun. xx

The end is nigh

Well the holidays are nearly over and the children will be returning to school full of enthusiasm, well 2 of those 3 are right.

Oh, the postman has just delivered more of my plaques ready for me to paint and sell. Something for me to do when the kids are at school. I love it in the holidays when they are at home, we get to talk more and relax rather than just live each day in a routine of get ready for school, come home from school, homework, tea, tidy, wash & bed. We never really have time to sit and chill during the week :(

I had another tattoo done yesterday. I went with my neice, she had some stars along the top of her foot and I was going to have a chain of flowers around my ankle. After talking to the tattooist I changed my mind and had some daisys along the side of my foot. It was bloody painful and I'm glad I changed my mind from my original idea, otherwise I think he'd have got less than halfway round before I stopped him. My neice however was chatting away like she was on a car journey.

The tadpoles are still growing, they are feeding on worms that have either fallen in or my youngest has put in there!! At least they are still with us. On a sad note we had to dispatch one of our chickens, Action man, she belonged to my eldest son and was the last of the first 4 chickens we got 4 years ago. He wants to bury her next to his rabbit which died last year. Generally my children are very matter of fact about the lives of animals as we are very rural and the family have a farm, but my son has taken this death to heart as Action man was more of a pet to us. RIP.

Well this is exciting, its my first post on my very own blog spot. I've only got into it through http://www.misi.co.uk/. A fantastic web site for people with the skill to "make". You create your own little shop and people come, have a look and hopefully buy. I'm very hesitant about using the word "crafter" to describe the people on the site, because they are much more than that. There are people who make, teddies, jewelry, soft furnishings, clothes, toys decorations and much more. Have a look and see what you think.

I'm starting to make more things now the weather is getting better. My studio is in a cold part of our house, its an old farm house, and I don't like working in the cold. We've been busy outside though, pricking out the seedlings and keeping an eye on the tad poles in our new pond. A friend has given me some tadpoles and spawn to put in there and were waiting for the frogs to develop now.