Half-term Holiday over :-(

Oh well, back to work! Nice to have a few days off. I managed to get some serious crafting in and I am up to date with all my swaps (I just have one on the go now), and I'm starting to think about Christmas. I have a few ideas, and have sorted the materials out for one or two things. I've got a few craft fayres booked up for the festive period, and as I have a month off at Christmas so that students can go home, I am looking forward to some well earnt relaxation time, and a bit of time to catch up with some personal projects! I would like to get the bedroom decorated at some point, but it's having the cash as I'd like to replace the furniture, carpet, and have a new double glazed window fitted. The window we currently have in there is knackered, and the curtains blow with the wind! *lol*

The top photos are what I made for a Firefly swap, whilst the photos to the left are some bookmarks I made for another swap! I'm enjoying applique and embroidery at the moment.

Injured Digit

Well, first things first, wine and lino tools are a bad mix! Seriously, never ever get drunk whilst you're cutting with sharp tools, it is such a bad idea! *lol* I know the creative juices flow well with some alcoholic lubrication but you can end up with some painful crafting injuries!
And if you look closely, there are not one but three cuts (no, I never learn from my mistakes), the one at the top being the biggest and deepest. It bled. It bled lots. There was blood pumping out and dripping down my wrist! (I was holding it up in the air and running to the bathroom cursing!) I'm quite pleased with the result though. The owl lino is hopefully part of an idea for a personal swap I'm doing, and also I'm testing out some school stock so that I can do some lino cutting in a lesson or two. I think it's pretty old stuff though. It's really hard to carve; I'm gonna try warming a piece up to see if that helps. It's really dark too. The stuff I've used before has been alot lighter. It made it hard to see to sketch the image on. Okay, so I have learnt that I need to get a grip board sorted out, a tray with side just doesn't cut the mustard, I need fresher lino, I need to sharpen my tools a little too I think, and I need to cut while I'm sober!

No new floor :-(

Hahaha! Got the first couple of strips of flooring down to discover that the floor is not completely level, so it was impossible to lay the wood. Having spent most of the morning listening to the BF's complaints and temper tantrums (DIY does not come naturally to him...no, really) we pulled it up again. We were ruining more of it than getting it down. Even Dad came to have a go and struggled, which made me feel a little better - this is after all, our second attempt at it! The BF just wants to pay someone to do it now...he's seen what it may potentially look like when it's done, and he wants it! And to be honest, with our menagerie, a carpet wouldn't survive! I just want it done....*sighs*
Anyway, signed up for another couple of swaps on Craftster...the Firefly Swap and the Hogwarts at Christmas Swap. Can't wait! Yep, I'm a swapaholic! Yeah, and a Sci-Fi geek! And I made a couple of scarves for swaps, and also a sunglasses case from scraps, which I appliqued and embroidered. All in all a productive weekend, apart from the failed flooring attempt, but hey, I'm getting used to that!!

Time Turner!

Okay, it's official - I REALLY need Hermione's Time Turner. I just don't have enough hours in the day! I'm seriously thinking about giving up sleeping! I had a really nice weekend, spent Saturday night at Mum's, celebrating her birthday with a nice family meal; Sunday, I finished my other kitty mitten, so my kitty hat finally has paws. I also made a scarf with some nice novelty fleecy yarn that I got in the magic yarn ball swap (there just wasn't enough to make the capelet, so I frogged it) whilst watching Angel. Then I did some yoga and spent the rest of the afternoon chopping shrubbery (I just can't say that word without going all Pythonesque!) in the garden. Filled my wheelie bin, so no more chopping till the Council empties it again! I really resent work! It gets in the way of the things I want to do! Oh well, till I win the Lottery anyway! I've spent tonight painting glass, so there'll be some new stuff in the shop shortly :-)
This week is exam week, so all my students are knuckling down to some still life stuff - I took some of our instruments in (didge's, drums, percussion stuff) so they'd have something other than flowers to do *lol* Then next week is half term! I do Monday and Tuesday teaching pottery for a charity, for people with special needs, but then I'll have Wednesday, Thursday and Friday free! Yippee! And, how cool is this...Hawkwind are playing locally on the Tuesday night, so I can go and see them and get completely trashed and not have to worry about being all cool and responsible the next day! This weekend though, the BF and I are supposed to be laminating the living room floor...can't wait....

Cooling down!

Wow, the temperature's certainly taken a nosedive in the last day or so! It's starting to feel like September now! I am definately going to have to get my kitty paws finished! I don't know if I posted my finished Kittyville hat piccys, but here it is!! I really like it and I'm so pleased with how it came out!

I've also been doing some Craftster Swap projects! Here are 3 necklaces I made for Cotneyroo; a microscope slide pendant, a domino pendant and a necklace made from cd's and dvd's (it took ages sanding those buggers down!) It glitters so nicely in the sun! And next to them are a set I made for Madmatigan. The ubiquitious Craftster panta in a lovely turquoise colour, a bottle cap necklace (UK readers might recognise the Newcastle Brown Ale cap!) and some dangly glass earrings! I really liked how they all turned out! Some of them were so hard to part with! Might have to make another bottle cap necklace just for me!