Stamp me up

I've always fancied making my own stamps. At work we have little birdy and leaf stamps that we use to mark off drinks on our loyalty cards, and there's something so satisfying about squishing the tiny little blocks into the ink pad! Here's some monday morning stampy inspiration for us all:

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Hello Birdy

So I first met Eve O'Neill on the dance floor of my local live music venue. It took me a while to put two and two together and realise that she was the proprietor of Fforestfelt, and creator of these beautiful felted birdies!

I never cease to be amazed by how realistic Eve's felt sculptures look. They're absolutely stunning.

You could easily mistake this guy for a real life visitor to the garden!

Eve's business is flourishing, and she was recently featured in Country Living Magazine too! Quite deservedly I think you'll agree.

If you'd like to see more of Eve's work visit her website, or facebook profile.

Crafty Storage Solutions

So, I have somewhat of a space issue when it comes to crafting. I live in a teeny tiny little shoe box of a flat and as renting workshop space isn't really an option for me at the moment, I am going to have to be ridiculously organized in running Crafty Jemima from home (Yes those of you who know me may well be laughing right now!). My only saving grace is that I have beautiful high ceilings and so plenty of wall space. So I'm looking out for some creative storage solutions, and here are some inspirational pics that tinterweb has to offer:

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I wish wish wish I had a closet like this!!

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I have a ton of empty jars and bottles so something like this will do me fine.

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There's a great little tutorial goes along with this pic - click on the source button and hop on over.

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Magnets are the way to go me thinks!

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I literally don't have enough space to do this, but the shelving is inspired. Anyone of you lovely crafters have any tips / clever storage solutions in your craft spaces??

Hi!

Hello Strangers! Oh how I have missed you! I am sat in the window wishing the sun would rise high enough to warm me a little, waiting for two loaves of onion thyme bread to prove and listening to the gurgling of fermenting hop wine. It's time for a cuppa, but I thought I'd drop in and say hi before I whack the kettle on.

I haven't had an Internet connection for a fair while now, and I'm struggling to keep up with my online craft community. But I've decided to bite the bullet and install a land line, so hopefully I'll be cooking with gas again soon! So lovely ones, you'll be lucky enough to see a lot more of me soon!

Another decision I've made recently is to re-stock my folksy shop and hopefully open up on etsy too. So watch this space within the next couple of months for lots more crafty goings on! How exciting! Right well I'm off to put these loaves in the oven and make myself a warm cup of tea. Happy crafting!

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Ebenezer!

Bah Humbug! I've been struck down by a chesty cough and I'm struggling to feel the least bit Christmassy. Christmas is normally my favourite time of year but this year it seems to be flying towards me so fast I can't enjoy it. Maybe a visit to Granny's for the season's first mince pie (because Granny does make the best mince pies!) will put a stop to all this moping. But I've got to get rid of this blasted virus before I can do that. So in the mean time, I've had a scout about the interweb for some festive makes to banish the scrooge in me! Fingers crossed!

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WIP

I am delighted to report that a fair bit of crafting was taking place over at Jemima HQ last week. It's not often that I have the opportunity to spend some quality time with the sewing machine. The conditions need to be right - comfy warm clothes, no distractions to lure me out of the house, and a nice acoustic play list or a good audio book.


I bought some gorgeous Christmas fabrics a few weeks ago so this was the perfect opportunity to get making. Can you guess what they are yet?? I'll be gingerly cutting some different fabrics to make some more today as I was unfortunate enough to come into contact with some peanuts over the weekend. So it's a slow day getting over the allergic reaction for me today. Plenty of hot tea and vitamin C and maybe a little bit of knitting will set me right again. :)

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween! We celebrated Halloween early this year and had our ghoulish fun at the weekend.

I got far too engrossed in carving my pumpkin and forgot to do important things like eat and entertain guests. I think it was worth it though:


Then I had lots of fun making myself even paler. Apparently the undead look becomes me!


I hope you have a spooky night whatever you get up to. :)

Brrrrr

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I am a seasonal crafter. This past week, the weather has settled into it's usual autumn crispness, and out have come the woolly jumpers, leg warmers and bulky hats. I love this time of year. Cold and crisp, I've switched from warm milky coffee to hot tea and the knitting sticks have been clicking away. I am a day away from completing my very first jumper - and it's a jumper for me! Imagine that. Of course the camera situation lingers still, but I shall have the all revealing "ta-dah" post for you later this week, when I've sewn it together. I can't wait to wear it!

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Now I have been known on occasion to bring my knitting to the beach, but on the whole I get disinterested with it during the summer months. Maybe it's the association between woolen garments and the cold winter months that make me neglect my needles in the summer, discarding them to grasp on to that little glimmer of sunshiny hope, but it seems silly really only to start making warm, lovely, wrap-me-up-and-keep-me-toasty things when the cold weather is already at your door. I could do with a new hat and scarf already, and I seem to have misplaced the hand warmers I made early this year. I guess my hands will have to move a little faster to keep up with my ever growing make list!

I have managed a fair old bit of people watching over the past few weeks and I can say with delight that fair isle is still very popular this year, so I'll have to get the squared paper out and come up with a few designs for my new makes. Anyone else had success at creating their own fair isle patterns? x