AuroraDawn

Been a long time

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Sun, 26 Apr 2015 17:47:00 +0000

It's been a very long time since I last updated my blog. Lots of reasons, main one being I could not get Blogsy to work and I am in no way IT technical ....

DH has got me up and running again and I have a good bit of material .... Yarn to share :D

But first something papercrafty, because you're not going to see much of that because I haven't really been in the craft room for 12 months except to make DD a wedding anniversary gift, the first one HAD to be paper! She had asked me if I could make her a paper rose heart similar to one that 'Next' are currently are selling.

I started die cutting roses straight away, but struggled to find a heart the right size. After sourcing the heart and starting to fix the roses I realised I hadn't cut and rolled nearly enough .... lesson here. However many you think you need. DOUBLE IT.

I hit a problem. I was using some old designer series paper which was now retired .... Oops

I put a call out on facebook to some crafty friends, several of whom came up trumps .... Problem, the colour I was using 'bashful blue' over the years had changed! I had to remove all the roses I had alteady attached to my heart form so I could 'mix' the colours. I am really, really pleased with the result :D

Finished It

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Tue, 07 Oct 2014 16:10:00 +0000

I have finished my Coastal Ripple Blanket and OMGosh I LOVE IT.

I loved everything about it from start to finish, the colours are sublime, the yarn (stylecraft special DK) was amazing to work with, the pattern was fabulously easy for a novice like me to understand, it was reasonably fast to work up, I could, once I got the stitches in my mind, work on it mindlessly while watching TV ... What's not to love.

Oh, it doesn't fit in with current decor ... I just might have to change the decor to suit the blanket!

I was going to sell my lovely blanket but despite several offers, I really cannot bear to part with it. Still up for hooking up another one though, and I have a few commissions to complete before Christmas, I think I'll be busy bunny :D

Work In Progress

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Sat, 04 Oct 2014 21:51:00 +0000

It's been a while since I last posted. I haven't spent much time in the craft room. I've been sat on the sofa nursing 2 frozen shoulders for the last 18 months, still a way to go but I'm taking my mind of the pain with my new fav hobby, crocheting.

My lastest project is Lucy, from Attic24s Coastal Ripple Blanket. The kit arrived just before I went on holiday. But Unfortunately it was just too big to take away with me so I couldn't make a start until I got home 3 weeks ago. To say its been an addiction would be an under statement! I haven't been able to put it down.

It's been a joy to work with Stylecraft Special DK, I love the colours :D. I've just finished the main body of the blanket, just have the tails to sew in and the then a boarder to put on then I guess I'm ready to start another project, or maybe get on with one of many Work In Progresses.

Thats another reason to love crochet, you can put it down, play with another project, and go back to the original ... Just as long as you remember which hook size you were using ;0)

Craft time

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Sun, 29 Jun 2014 16:10:00 +0000

My first visit to the craft room since the flower-a-thon earlier in the year. A good crafting friend had a birthday coming up abd I just couldn't bring myself to go out and buy a card, I had to make one for her.

I'd seen Julie's gorgeous concertina cards and knew I had to recreate one. My biggest struggle was that I've sold off or cut down almost all my 12x12 designer paper cardstock!

Luckily I found an unopened pack of Stampin Ups Sycamore Street, an old SAB and set to work

I forgot how much I enjoy cardmaking. My shoulders hate it, but the mind enjoyed it LOL

Most of my free time is still spent on the current crochet project. I love working on this, and of course I have my puppy shaped shadow helper!

It's coming together, the colours are gorgeous!

Life is wonderful

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Mon, 23 Jun 2014 16:25:00 +0000

So exciting, one of my many packages arrived last week.

I really didn't know where to start! But I was good and made a start on a shawl for my mother in law's birthday present. I misjudged how much yarn I needed and have had to order more, so it will feature on another post.

I also received some gorgeous cotton yarns ....

I set to work making up this hexagon pattern by the fabulous Lucy of Attic24. I plan to join as I go so I'm going to get a whole load of circles ready so the blanket grows really quickly!

Friday evening we were really lucky here in that the weather was beautiful. We were out for the evening, to see a theatre production of Agatha Cristie's 'A murder is announced' so we had a really early dinner in town and then had a lovely walk along the prom.

The views were amazing, we could see all the way back to Hastings.

The show was fantastic, if it does a run in your town its well worth going to see.

Yesterday we had to take a day off from home improvements/bathroom and take advantage of the lovely summer weather so we took a drive out to my favourite gardens at Great Dixter, Northiam.

They are full of colour most of the time, but I think this time of the month has to be the best!

Just look at the lovely meadows in the Orchard.

The borders are full of planting schemes that can be used in any garden at home.

Just breathtaking.

And today.

I spent the morning filling in job applications and the afternoon watching tennis and crocheting .... Can life be more perfect?

A Mandela

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 14:40:00 +0000

I'm still stitching.

I've finished a mandela for Lucy, she's put out a call and hopes to get as many as she can to put on show at Yarndale in September this year. I stiffened mine last night with copydex glue and will get it into the post to her to tomorrow.

I used Lucy's patten as I'm not a very confident stitcher, but I have to say I really enjoyed it.

The next project is coming along nicely. It's a Beautiful Multi Stripped Baby Blanket, I'm following a video tutorial on YouTube by Wooly Wonders Crochet.

I'm not 100% sure I will make it up to full blanket size as I have nowhere to put it, but it may make a nice scarf?

My order is in for a shed-load of cotton DK yarn which I cannot wait to arrive ... I have a project I've been aching to have a go at.

Crochet Tote Bag

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Fri, 06 Jun 2014 13:34:00 +0000

I am so pleased with how the bag hooked up. I made it up bigger than Lucy's instructions and changed the handles but other than that, its all Lucy. I'm using it to hold WIP projects, so I can grab and run.

It took just less than a week to complete, fitting it in here and there. But I will admit to taking it away with me last week and hooking my way to and from Wales in the passenger seat ... It really makes the miles fly by!

I used Stylecraft DK Special yarn and a 3.5mm Clover hook.

As a learner, I pretty much winged it on the size and guessed on18 rounds for the base and then started to work my way up. The bag is 36 rounds in height (including the handle rounds).

As you can see I used 'Lucy' colours.

I am thrilled with my new crochet bag and am thoroughly enjoying my new hobby. I just hope I can keep it up. I thought I was on the road to recovery but my left shoulder is still in a lot of pain as its in the process of thawing and my right shoulder is now starting to freeze!

A Star Blanket

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 16:02:00 +0000

I haven't updated the blog for a while again, but I have been busy.

I finished a granny stripe blanket all bar the border, which I can't decide in on so I've put it away until I come to a decision.

The next project was another blanket for my daughter who is about to fly to the Falklands for a few months .... It's a tad chilly there she tells me. She requested a star shaped blanket.

She saw the blanket on Pinterest, it was one of many that I'd pinned. The pattern is here.

We were both really pleased with the result, it took me about 3 weeks to complete.

My current project is Lucy's Tote Bag. Its coming along very nicely.

We've just had a long weekend in Wales and of course my hook and wool had to come too!

A Star Blanket

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 16:02:00 +0000

I haven't updated the blog for a while again, but I have been busy.

I finished a granny stripe blanket all bar the border, which I can't decide in on so I've put it away until I come to a decision.

The next project was another blanket for my daughter who is about to fly to the Falklands for a few months .... It's a tad chilly there she tells me. She requested a star shaped blanket.

We were both really pleased with the result, it took me about 3 weeks to complete.

My current project is Lucy's Tote Bag. Its coming along very nicely.

We've just had a long weekend in Wales and of course my hook and wool had to come too!

Happy Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 07:04:00 +0000

I really haven't been paper crafty for a while and although I have a card to show you, its one I've had stashed away for a while, ready for my Mum's birthday this week.

She loves the shabby look and I had to use some of my favorite sets. I love this colour combination.

Millie and I went to visit mum and her dogs this week, look at all the good doggies ...

My current project

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 20:53:00 +0000

My current crocheting project is growing very, very slowly. I'm managing 4-6 rows an evening, if I get a chance to pick up my hook at all.

I chose a granny stripe blanket after seeing it on Lucy's blog (Attic24) and instantly falling in love with it. I have to say, it is really Not my usual style at all, I don't do bright colours ... But after I saw Lucy's project look what I had to order ...

Oh my ... Just beautiful.

I was really not sure about using acrylic yarn (Stylecraft Special DK) as my previous projects had all been crocheted up using what I thought was a much better quality ( and a LOT more expensive!) but if it didn't say it on the label I wouldn't have known. Stylecraft yarn is wonderful to work with :). And the range of colours .... Wow!

I ordered Lucy's colour pack from Deramores.

I set about chosing my colour combination by laying all the balls on the floor, once I made up my mind I started hooking ... Chained 260 ...

I'm loving it, loving the colour/s

Be back soon with an update on my progress :0)

Millie's Blankie

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Sat, 05 Apr 2014 16:32:00 +0000

In order to get the full use of my babette blanket back from Millie the puppy I set to work on creating something just for her. I scoured the internet and pinterest and finally decided on Sarah London's Wool Eater Blanket because of the lovely texture, she has a wonderful free pattern here.

The pattern was really quite easy to follow once you get the hang of it.

Millie loves it, but I have to admit that once I'd finished it I actually prefer the reverse side. .... I know I'm wierd like that!

Maybe next time I try this stitch I'll try different colours and the 'right' side will grow on me?

My current project is growing ... Albeit very slowly.

Pics to follow later in the week.

My New Addiction

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Wed, 02 Apr 2014 18:42:00 +0000

My new addiction.

I didn't ever get round to showing you how my stack of squares turned out last year.

I have to say I was absolutely terrified of sewing the blanket together, it was such an enormous project. I made up a template so I knew which size square went where but the colours were pretty much a lay it out and see how it looks! I even got some help from the cats ... Not!

In desperation I tried to farm out the sewing but couldn't find anyone willing to take it on. So after thinking about it long and hard I decided to divide my pattern into lots and lots of bitesize chunks. It worked, it wasn't nearly so scary, tacking the squares together and sewing them together, then taking those chunks and sewing them to all the other chunks. I did in fact really enjoy it. Although it took me almost two weeks working on it every evening and weekend.

Isn't it just beautiful, even if I do say so myself. Millie the puppy, loves it too! So much so, the next project was a little blankie for her, just so I could get mine back!

All self taught using books and utube. I'd love to find a local class, if anyone knows of one in the Bexhill area?

Paper flower wedding

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Sun, 30 Mar 2014 13:42:00 +0000

It's been a long while since I last posted. It's not that I haven't been busy in the craft room, I just needed to take a break. I'm back in blogland but I'll be posting about more than just my paper projects from now on :)

What have I been up to?

Big News. Dannii and Ben announced their engagement at Christmas .... Wooohooo

Big Shock. We had just three months to prepare, they'd decided against a long engagement, and "Oh Mum, you'll do all my flowers for me won't you. I would really like paper flowers" ;) and it goes without saying the invites ....

Dannii found some invites she liked on Pinterest which I dutifully put my own spin on. She loved them.

Then she found a bouquet she loved which she asked me to recreate in her colours ...

I invited some really good crafty friends round to help (a really big THANK YOU to Sam, Chris and Cindy for ALL of your help) we needed to make a lot of flowers. Then we needed to make a lot more because they just don't go as far as you think.

I finally finished putting together the bouquets, one for her, and one each for her two bridesmaids and I have to admit I loved the finished item, so much so I really wanted one for myself. They were so pretty. Unfortunately neither Dannii nor her bridesmaids wanted to give them back LOL

I really thought after all the cutting and rolling, I'd have enough flowers left for the cake .... Did I mention she also wanted paper flowers on her cake ... Cue more crazy flower cutting and rolling ....

I also have to thank my wonderful friend Monica Gale for the wedding cake. As soon as Dannii announced she was getting married up North I knew I had to ask Moni to make her cake, and she didn't fail me. It was AMAZING.

I loved all the paper flowers so much I then went on to make the button-holes and corsages

They had a fabulous day .... The new Mr & Mrs

If you can't get crafty

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Sun, 21 Jul 2013 13:16:00 +0000

If you can't get crafty, get tidy ... I'm still not up to crafting so I'm doing the next best thing (in my world) and tidying the craft room, clearing some of the stash that I'm not using. So watch out on eBay for lots of cheap, hardly used (if at all!) bargains

MIA

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Sun, 14 Jul 2013 14:42:00 +0000

Long time no blogging ... I'm sure you thought I'd given up crafting. In truth I haven't been in the craft room for sometime due to health issues which I won't go into. But I have been sat on the sofa with my crochet hook, I'll post some photos of the finished product soon but here's a sneek preview.

I have managed to venture into the craft room today and create a card, it's taken me all day but I'm glad to be able to do something with glue, card and paper!

With this card I'm entering a few challenges:

First of all Clearly Besotted's 'Seeing Spots' and as you can see there are more than a few spots to qualify, and I've used Stephanie's beautiful stamp set Butterfly Wishes.

For colour I've taken inspiration from both Color Throwdown and A Passion for Papertrey (if the team wi'll let me get away with the Kraft I've used).

For the design I popped over to Mojo Monday for some well needed layout inspiration, although as you can see I've juggled the layout just a tiny bit.

Supplies

Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Butterfly Wishes. Papertrey Ink - Botanical Silhouettes, Polka Dot Basics II
Cardstock: Tempting Turquoise, Melon Mambo, Crumb Cake, So Saffron, Whisper White
DSP: SU - Designer Series paper stack
Ink: SU - Tempting Turquoise, Crumb Cake, Melon Mambo. Memento - Tuxedo Black. Versamark
Embellishments: SU Basic Rhinestones

With luck I'll get back into the craftroom sometime soon.

Thanks for visiting

Dawn
xxx

A Valentine

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 07:51:00 +0000

Found this picture on my camera roll, its the card I made for DH for Valentines Day. Its a great design, especially for masculine cards.

Stamps: SU Tiny tags
Inks: Royal Velvet
Card stock: Ripe Avocado, Royal Velvet
DSP: PTI Pacific Vineyard
Tools: PTI tiny tags die, twine, dimensionals, Multipurpose liquid glue

Shabby Notebook

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 07:41:00 +0000

I had a plain notebook in a drawer, which I re-covered. I’m really quite pleased with the result.

Stamps: Established elegance, French foliage
Inks: Early espresso
Card stock: Very vanilla
DSP: Tea for Two, soft suede DSP stack
Accessories: Rhinestone basics pearl
Tools: Itty bitty shapes punch, Multipurpose liquid glue

Mother’s Day Cards

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 07:34:00 +0000

Mother’s Day crept up on me this year, I didn’t forget, it was just a little last minute.com so our two mum’s both received the same card, just ever so slightly different.

I love this colour combination, and the gorgeous stamps of course

The only difference between the two cards is one is laid portrait and the other landscape.

I love seam binding triple bows.

Stamps: Established Elegance, French Foliage, Elements of style
Inks: Elegant Eggplant, Certainly celery, Crumb cake, Early Espresso
Card stock: Perfect plum, certainly celery, Very vanilla
DSP: Crumb cake DSP stack
Accessories: Rhinestone basics jewels, Antique brads, Seam binding
Tools: vintage wallpaper embossing folder. Itty bitty shapes punch, Multipurpose liquid glue, stampin dimensionals

Simple Masculine Birthday Card

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 07:21:00 +0000

A simple masculine birthday card.

Stamps: PTI Think Big Favorites #12 Mini stamp set
Inks: Black
Card stock: Soft Suede, night of navy, marina mist, baja breeze, bashful blue
Accessories: buttons (stash), twine
Tools: PTI Tiny tags die, Square lattice Embossing folder, Square punch, Multipurpose liquid glue, stampin dimensionals

Shoe Box swap

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 07:09:00 +0000

I recently took part in a Shoe Box Swap. What’s a Shoe Box Swap?

A shoebox swap is where each person makes up a project. They then make a “kit” for each person attending and in the box that is brought on the day will include all the kits, dies, punches, stamps and inks etc that each person needs to complete the project. Everyone gets to make one of each project and goes home with plenty of projects they’ve made one the day.

We all tried to make our projects something that could be completed within 10 minutes so all kits could be completed on the day.

All Supplies Stampin Up unless stated.
Stamps: Established Elegance, French Foliage, Elements of style
Inks: Crumb cake, Early Espresso, Baja breeze
Card stock: Baja breeze, Very vanilla
DSP: Tea for Two
Accessories: Rhinestone basics pearl, Antique brads, Very vanilla seam binding, Crochet trim
Tools: Itty bitty shapes punch, Multipurpose liquid glue, stampin dimensionals

40th Birthday

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:53:00 +0000

I made this card some time ago for a friend’s 40th, she (like me) isn’t into cutsie so when I saw Christina’s card I knew it would be ideal for an age card.

Stamps: Memorable Moments, PTI Big birthday wishes, Tiny stars from PTI banner builder stamp set
Inks: Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Perfect Plum
Card stock: Whisper White, Bashful Blue, Pretty in Pink, Regal Rose, Perfect Plum
Tools: Multipurpose liquid glue, stampin dimensionals

I will definitely be filing this sketch away, its one that can made up in masculine colours for a man.

Love Actually

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 16:34:00 +0000

Its swap time, this month the theme is ‘Love Actually’ and rather than make a valentines card or similar I decided to made a Photo purse, I’d seen some on Pinterest made with those paper CD holders, but I sat played with some cardstock and came up with my own version. I thought my swappee could use it to hold photos of their loved one.

Products used: All Stampin'Up! unless otherwise stated

Stamps: Layered Labels
Inks: Island Indigo, Pool Party, Tangerine Tango
Card stock: Island Indigo, Pool Party, Sahara Sand, Summer Starfruit, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White
DSP: Sycamore Street
Accessories: Rhinestone basic jewels, 1/4” Night of navy stitched grosgrain ribbon.
Tools: Itty Bitty Shapes, Boho Blossoms, Bird Builders and Tab (ret) punches. Bigshot. Finishing Touches Edgelits, Hearts Collection Framelits, Apothecary Accents Framelits. Tombow, Stampin’ Dimensionals.

It opens up to reveal two heart picture frames

Which have pull out tabs

Hope my swapee likes it

French Foliage Birthday cards

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 18:48:00 +0000

A few quick and simple birthday cards.

I actually made a small stack of these to keep in my drawer at work, colleagues are always raiding my stash.

I originally only bought this set for the little paint splatters, but those leaves have really grown on me ... and I managed to use all six stamps that comes in the set on one card – I think that might be a first!

SUPPLIES:
Stamps: French Foliage
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Basic Grey,Old Olive, Cajun Craze
Ink: Basic Grey,Old Olive, Crumb Cake, Cajun Craze
Accessories: Linen thread, neutral buttons
Tools: Clear Mount Block ‘D’, Multipurpose liquid glue. Stamp-a-ma-jig.

Passionette’s Spring/Summer Catalogue Blog Hop

noreply@blogger.com (AuroraDawn) — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Monica’s Passionettes are excited to introduce you to new Stampin' Up! products that are available in the new Spring/Summer Catalogue. We hope you find inspiration and ideas for using the new stamps, papers and accessories from every page of the catalogue.

You should have just left Irene who created some stunning projects using products from pages 22 & 23.

I'm showcasing Collage Curios and Soda Pop Tops from pages 24 & 25 which I’ve coordinated with some of my favourite stamps from the current annual catalogue.

Here, I created a framed collage, I used the 1-3/8" Square Punch (119865) to crop each collage square and the new Tea for Two designer series papers and coordinating colours.

All the mini stamped images are from a new stamp set called Collage Curios (Wood-Mount 129099, Clear-Mount 129102).

Today's project also shows off four different embossing folders, two new ones from the Stampin' Up! Spring Catalog, Cloudy Day (see above) and Honeycomb (see below).

Collage Curios Coordinates beautifully with the 1” and 1/2” circle punches

Finally, I also used the new Soda Pop Tops from the Stampin' Up! Spring/Summer Catalog. There are two sizes of these, the larger Pop Top (filled with a 1" Circle Punch) is shown on this project but there is also a smaller Pop Top that comes in the pack (that you could fill with 1/2" Circle Punch).

The Soda Pop Tops are a very thick embellishment, but I flatten it by simply running it through the Big Shot between both Cutting Plates, with some added scrap card and the Multi Purpose Platform opened to no Tabs. You can flatten several at a time.

Products used: All Stampin'Up! unless otherwise stated
Stamps: Collage Curios, Elements of Styles, Established Elegance, French Foliage, Affection Collection.
Inks: Regal Rose, Lucky Limeade, Crumb Cake, Basic Grey
Card stock: Lucky Limeade, Regal Rose, Very Vanilla, Whisper White
DSP: Tea For Two
Accessories: Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Soda Pop Tops
Tools: Stampin Dimonsionals, Multipurpose liquid glue. Curly label, 1-3/8 square, small heart, itty bitty shape, 1” circle, 3/4” circle, bitty butterfly circle punches. Vintage wallpaper, vintage fan, honeycombe, cloudy day embossing folders. Floral fusion sizzlits.

Your next stop on the Passionette’s Blog Hop is Monica Gale at Monicas Passions who has created some fabulous projects using products from pages 26 & 27 in the catalogue. If by chance you have stumbled here completely by accident and want to join in the hop at the beginning you can start from herehttp://vickylouscorner.blogspot.co.uk/. Thanks for calling in and see you soon x