The Art Work of Natalie McKean

You know I often do a give-away on Facebook of random bits and bobs?

Well, loads of people I follow do the odd one too, and although I join in, I have never been lucky enough to win anything..... up to now!

I follow Natalie McKean on Facebook as I just love the different aspect of her work, she works on scratch-board to reveal beautiful colours underneath the paint - and I have always had it booked-marked in my head, to buy one of those pieces on day.

But then a few weeks ago she did a quick give-away to the first three people who commented on her post with which piece they would like.   Well, I could hardly move quick enough, and although I could not remember the name of this particular piece, I could describe it well enough fro her to work out which one I was going on about.....    

" I would love one of the lady with the muscles looking up into a sunbeam . She's lovely. Please "

A hard-backed enveloped dropped through my letterbox yesterday with my prized won print in it  :)

Isn't she lovely?

Go off and have a look at some more of her work on her website and give her Facebook page a quick like too, you might win something yourself next time.

Black Olive & Sauerkraut Coleslaw

A very quick and easy little recipe for you that adds a little extra to any plate.  

Black Olive & Sauerkraut Coleslaw.

What you need:

• A jar of Sauerkraut
• A few slices black olives
• A grated carrot
• Light Mayo
• Teaspoon of Wholegrain Mustard  (optional, but adds a little kick)

What you do:

• Chuck a spoon or two of Sauerkraut in a bowl with an equal amount of grated carrot, add the sliced black olives and mix gently.

• Add a teaspoon of wholegrain mustard and a good dollop of mayo and stir.

That was just too easy for words, wasn't it?

But so yummy and impressive if you have guests  ;)

Pile a burger up high with it for a filling, low cal dinner - adds to your "5-a-day" too   :)

The good thing is that a jar of Sauerkraut keeps for ages, so you don't have to go out and keep buying fresh cabbages for this Slaw.

Shrink Plastic Workshop at Hobbycraft.

Yesterday I held a workshop for kids at Hobbycraft in Carlisle.

For just one bright shiny pound coin they could make a Shrink Plastic keyring.

They seemed to have great fun  :)  Lots of concentration going on here, don't you think?

And look what was produced - fabulous work in my opinion.

Lego men and fire trucks, followed by Russian dolls and an elephant.

And I did a dinosaur which I gave to my mate Helen, who was working at Hobbycraft on the day  :)

I quite enjoyed doing the kids crafts, so I am now working on a list of activities for the October Half Term - both the English term times and the Scottish term times, so watch this space  :)

I'm still here......

You are not getting many blog updates as I am very busy moving craft rooms.

I am sorting as I go as I really do have way too much stuff.

I am multi-tasking today too, as I type I am sitting in my bra (snigger) with hair dye dripping down my face as I am off out in half an hour!   As usual, everything is a last minute panic.

In the meantime, and in case you are having crafty photo withdrawals, here is a tidy bit of yarn stash  :)  (there is no way I am taking photos of the rest of the mess, just yet  :)  )

Hopefully another afternoon will sort it and I can get back to making things   :)

"Wedding" challenge

The craft challenge for  July was "Something for a Wedding".  This was held on the Bead Buddies forum site, as well as two monthly groups held at Hobbycraft in Carlisle.

This one must not have had the juices of inspiration flowing as we only had one entry from the crochet class. - Actually, there would have been two but one lady didn't think she would make it to the class, ended up being able to, but forgot her challenge piece, which was a shame.

The crochet class entry was from Pat who made this very cute ring cushion from a textured yarn.  I love it! 

The forum entries were fab, pop over HERE and place your vote for one of them.

As for mine.... it is still very much a work in progress.  I have been working on it most days now and I just didn't realise how much work I had given myself.   It will hopefully be finished very soon and then I will show it to you  :)

The next challenge is "Curls & Swirls", take part if you like :)

My handbag obsession

My fabulous Hubster bought me a much sought after handbag for my birthday.  (My birthday was way back in May, but due to him having to back-order it, it didn't arrive until a couple of weeks ago).

I lust after Vendula bags in general, as they are fake leather  (good for vegetarians) but ever so funky and pretty.   I have been especially lusting after this Poppy Maisy bag for AGES !   The reason I have never treated myself is that I just couldn't justify it, having already squirrelled away plenty of other "must have" bags that barely see the light of day.

But it arrived, in a package, addressed to me.  I was so excited and childishly chuffed.  It does differ slightly from the one shown online, it is more like the 'Macy' style they do in other design-ways, but I don't mind too much  :)

And, I have used it...... once.   I was a bit too precious about who went near it, and that I couldn't put it on the floor in case the studs get dirty.  Hopefully that will pass  :)

Now, for those who know me on a personal level, you will be saying to yourself, "Hang on, handbag obsession?   I never see her with a handbag", and you would be correct.  You usually see me with my keys, phone, loose change, etc... stuffed into my trouser pockets in a most un-lady like fashion.  I usually dash out of the door (late) and just grab the essentials.   When it actually comes to the rare occasion that I am prepared, and on time, I find I have too much stuff in my hands and have to go find one of my bags.

So, I have dug a few of my favourites out of the cupboard to show you.  (Dusted off the moths).

In no particular order.....

Matthew Williamson, from the Butterfly range at Debenhams.   Ooooo, that was a mistake, searching for that link for you, I have just spotted another one to lust over!

But seriously, isn't this just the prettiest bag?  It has sequins and everything  :)

Also from the same designer / same range, is this one that a friend bought me years ago for my birthday.   a blooming big jewelley butterfly on this one  (although some of the gems have become loose now, I must try and pop them back in).

This little yummy, or rather super big yummy is a Desigual bag  (the 'S' should be back to front but my keyboard won't do that!)  I tracked this down after feeling the need to stop someone in the street to ask where she got her bag from, well it was either that or I was going to just grab it and run!

It is HUGE, with pockets everywhere, inside and out.  A great weekend bag, or for a trip on the train - you can get loads of crochet yarns in it  :)

This beauty I bought at a local mill shop called Linton Tweeds.  It is really an outlet for their fabrics, along with a lovely coffee shop, but they have the odd accessory in there too.  And this was really well priced too if I remember correctly.

This one is from Lakeland (a long time ago, before I became a vegetarian) and although I don't use it anymore, (in fact when I pulled it out of the cupboard just then, I greeted it like a long lost friend), it is a nice shaped bag and maybe one day someone will need to borrow it.

I don't particularly like this one, and cannot for the life of me remember where it came from, but it is the most useful bag to use on holiday - loads of pockets, lightweight, showerproof and you can just sling it over your shoulder.  Looks naff though.

Awww, cute little bag - only holds a sunglasses case and an iPhone, but it's cuteness makes up for it.  Actually, I have it hung in my bedroom just to look at.

And finally, a boring looking bad.  Faux leather again, from Accessorize. This bag was bought on holiday in York, I have VERY specific requirements (colour, shape, size, pockets) and it ticked all the boxes.  It is actually the bag that you are most likely to see me with.

The dangly teddies on one side are there as a reminder to that weekend away.  Myself & Hubster and our friends Lezley & Ian were in York for the weekend and we went into Scarborough for the day, where the boys decided they would spend some time in an amusement arcade (as they do).  To keep us ladies quiet they gave us each a little plastic tub full of 2p pieces.   We found a push coin machine which had these little keyrings in, so when the 2p's were pushed along, the keyrings got closer to the edge.

We made it our mission to empty the machine of it's keyrings.  I am not sure how many £'s we changed into 2p's, but it was a lot by the time we had finished.  The boys were bored and had wandered off down the sea-front and somewhere, in the distance, was a fire alarm sounding.

When the boys came back they said that the roof of the building next door was on fire and we should go out and look, but we still had keyrings to win, so we stayed  :)    Ten keyrings we ended up with - 5 each, probably cost us a fortune in the end.  I have three left, two have been released from their metal chains and have gone somewhere to experience the big wide world, another two have lost limbs, but one remains intact - for now.

I went off on a tangent there a bit, but I had finished talking about the bags anyway.  

All that is left to say is that during my photographing session, I emptied them all out - found a hairclip, a dry-felting needle, 17 lady products and £33.18 in loose change!

I took the £33.18 up to Hobbycraft and bought some storage boxes for my new craft room  :)  Pity it was all in 10p and 20p pieces really, but hey, money's money, right?

Dragonfly Peg making

Last week was my first week of the Kid's Club activities at Hobbycraft in Carlisle.

I tried to keep the prices as cheap as possible, not actually making myself any pennies, but hopefully providing activities and skills that kid's enjoy  (plus I dish out my business cards to the parents :)  ).

One of the classes was Peg Dragonfly making - an simple process, but each young person that made one seemed to enjoy themselves loads, and they produced some marvellous, colourful peg dragonflies to take home.

Here is Eilidh with her masterpiece.  How neatly coloured, and she took careful consideration into which colours should go where.

Then there was Jamie and Charlie, who concentrated hard and made a beautiful one each.

You can just feel the concentration, can't you?

Another couple were Keelia and Lakota, who again made some gorgeous little peg dragonflies to take home  :)

There was others too, sorry if I haven't included you but I forgot to get permission to use your photos, but you did great!

Next week's classes on offer are:-

Peg Dragonflies & Bangle Making - 12/08/14 (12.00pm-2.00pm) - £1.00 per Dragonfly / £2.00 per bangle.

French Dolly Knitting - 14/08/14 (2.00-4.00pm) - £6.00

Shrink Plastic Keyrings - 18/08/14 (10.30am-12.30pm) - £1.00 per keyring

Mini Rag Rug making - 19/08/14 (10.00-12.00) - £2.00

Paperclip Necklace - 19/08/14 (3.00-5.00pm) - £2.00 per necklace

Cross-Stitch Bookmark - 21/08/14 (11.00am-1.00pm) - £2.00 per bookmark

No need to book, just come along within those times and craft  :) 

Craft room on the move again....

Last April (2013) my son left home, leaving us to do some room jiggling so I could have a craft room inside. 

You can read all about that time HERE.

Fast Forward  18 months and my daughter has now taken it upon herself to fly the nest too, which now leaves me with an even bigger room to move all of my stuff into.   This also means I can have my sewing machine set up all the time without having to unpack it every time I want to use it.

At first we were going to move our own bedroom into this space as it is slightly bigger, but when we measured it we would only be gaining 10" in one direction, so thought it was hardly worth dismantling and re-building the wardrobes for that. 

And here is the room as Shona left it on Saturday night to go to her own new little pad.

As you can see, two nice big windows to throw in lots of natural light.  And it is front facing, so I can be a real nosy parker right across our cul-de-sac  :)

She left me an old sofa too, I was going to throw it out but Ruby seems to have taken a liking to sitting on it, so it might just stay - as a giant dog bed!

And her axolotls.  Actually, she hadn't left these at all, I am just baby-sitting them while she sets their tank up in her new home - it takes a week or so to stabilise the water so, for now, they are residing at 'Chez Mommas'.

So this is my room as of now  (actually, it really isn't that tidy any more)..... watch this space as I move into somewhere twice the size   :)

Aubergine Parmigiana

#ShareYourTeaTuesday last week was this...

An Aubergine Parmigiana.

It's so easy peasy to make and you can prepare it ahead of time and just bung it in the oven for 25 mins or so to heat and brown when needed.

What you need:

• An Aubergine
• Tin of Chopped Tomatoes
• Ball of Mozarella Cheese
• Few dried herbs
• Olive Oil

What you do:

• Cut up the aubergine into slices.

• Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and when hot, pop in the slices of aubergine.

• Cook until they soften and start to go a lovely golden brown.

• Pop a little tinned tomato in an over proof dish, then layer your aubergine on the top.  They can overlap a little.

• Put the rest of the tomatoes on, then drain and slice the mozzarella and arrange on the top.
• Sprinkle with a few herbs of your choice.  I used oregano.

• Bake at Gas 6 in the middle shelf for about 25 mins or until bubbling and brown.

• Serve with new potatoes, salad, garlic bread, veggies - whatever really.  (any leftovers can be bunged in the fridge and reheated for lunch the next day  :)  )

If you want to "Share Your Tea" on a Tuesday and be inspired by other people's recipes, then pop along to my Facebook page where it all goes on  :)

Lavender filled felt Poppy

I made a stuffed poppy yesterday.  It started out to be a pin-cushion, but due the amount of felt overlapping on the front it is rather stiff to get your pins into.   So I adapted it, stuffed a little bag of dried lavender in and made it a lavender scented puffy poppy instead!

With a nice shiny black button in the centre  :)

Shown on the hand to show you scale.

....and turned around to show you depth.

And finally a back view, with the leaf waiting to be stitched into place.

A rather nice, scented addition for any room, don't you think?

I might make these up into kits  :)

A lavender scented poppy, does that make it a hybrid?