A Beautiful Day!

Today has been sooooo gorgeous! The sun's been shining all day and it's been hot, hot, HOT! Spent most of the day in the garden and the sunshine inspired me to make some pretty dragonfly suncatchers. They're easy - all you need is a few sheets of coloured cellophane paper, some beads and some craft wire. I left them on the washing line all afternoon but now they're hanging in my bedroom window.







On Tuesday I spent a couple of hours with Diane and Karen, we went around the charity shops. I was looking for some bits of cheap jewellery to use on my altered book. I found a couple of pieces but I like them so much I'll probably keep them to wear, lol! I also found what I thought was a cushion cover, but on closer inspection I think it's a pyjama case. Doesn't matter though, I'm using it as a cushion cover anyway, it looks lovely with the other two that I have on the bed, and it only cost 75p - bargain! Oh, I got a pretty little hook thingy too, with a picture of a clock, it was only £1 and it looks kind of shabby chic.. I have an idea of what I'm going to do with it and I'll post a pic once it's done.

Here's the jewellery and the hook







I was pleased with my bargains but I still need some bits for my altered book cover so I'll jusy have to keep looking - I don't mind because looking around charity shops is one of my favourite things :o)

I had to go over to Tenby yesterday so I baked a batch of oatmeal cookies for Diane and made an old fashioned brown paper bag out of some parcel paper and tied it with some raffia. Simple, but it looked really good, kinda rustic :o)

Tonight I made a lemon drizzle cake for tea and over half of it's gone already, lol - nothing lasts long in this house!

Crafting Saturday

Today I decided to have the whole day to myself, doing nothing but crafting. It's ages since I last had a day to simply sit back and enjoy myself and not bother about housework, cooking or rushing off to work. Soooooo... I started out by making a miniature book - an old, battered, worn out book containing pictures of old-fashioned medicines and treatments.





Next I made another old book, this time containing pics of Victorian transport....





....and after that, I made a little journal. I don't have any pics of the inside of it yet, it's not quite finished, but here it is..



When I'd finished with the miniatures I started on something I've been wanting to do for ages - an altered book. There are some beautiful altered book pictures online and I just love them! Anyway, I gathered together some bits and pieces and I'm quite pleased with how it looks so far, although I want to add a lot more to it yet! I covered the original cover with plain paper dyed with tea and scrunched up to give it the wrinkled effect, and then laid some gold tissue paper over parts of it. I made two flowers with the tea-stained paper and later on I added some gold flecks of paint. Yes, it's coming along nicely, I think I'd like to add some metal pieces to it so I'm going to keep a look-out for something suitable. Here it is so far...

A very sad post.

This is going to be a very short post, I had a list of things I was going to blog about but everything came to a grinding halt the other night when a fox killed our eight beautiful free-range chickens. We searched everywhere in the hope that some of them had managed to escape and hide. We called to them as we searched and we looked in every possible place at least three times, but all we found were feathers. It was a terrible loss. I'm just glad that, while we had them, they had the best kind of life, roaming free, foraging and dust-bathing and just doing all the things that chickens like to do.

Ouch!

Went back to the dentist on Wednesday and finally had some dental work done. Had to have three extractions - yikes! I knew it was coming so I was prepared for it but I was still very apprehensive about the needles. It wasn't too bad and I was feeling quite pleased with myself, but when I went to stand up I had a hard time getting my legs to support me! It's quite normal, apparently. The dentist accompanied me back to the waiting room and told me to sit there for as long as I needed - he offered to phone Nigel, who was waiting down the road in the car, but I didn't have my phone with me and I can't remember for the life of me what his mobile number is, lol! Eventually I stood up to go and a very nice lady who was waiting for her appointment offered to walk down the road to the car with me. I thanked her but said I'd be fine, but as I walked to the door I started to feel really shaky again and she jumped up from her chair and insisted on walking with me, and to be honest, I was really grateful for her company. I felt a bit better once I was out in the fresh air and it was only a five-minute walk to the car where Nigel was waiting. It was really nice of her to take the time to help me. I didn't get her name and chances are I'll never meet her again since the dentist is forty miles from where I live.

I was going to go into work the following day but by then my face had swollen up on one side and it was really painful so I called Dawn, the supervisor, and explained that I wouldn't be in. Friday came around and still my face was playing up so I had to stay home again. It's Monday now (bank holiday) and I'm still taking pain killers, but I'm getting back to normal so I'll be going to work tomorrow.

Well, it's been a beautiful day today, hottest day so far. I went up to where Nigel works this morning and checked on our chickens, which we keep there. They were thoroughly enjoying themselves out in the sun. Nigel gave my car a wash with the pressure washer while I was up there so it's looking all pristine again - that won't last long, lol!

Took a few pictures and then did little bit of shopping on the way home. I bought a jar of local honey and I have to say it's the best honey I've ever tasted - gorgeous!



I spent the rest of the day sunbathing in the garden - I'm getting a tan! Hooray!! :o) Here are a few pics I took today..



All of these were taken up at the hotel where Nigel works, except the last one which I took on the way home, looking towards Newport Beach.