Major Announcement!

Keep reading for major exciting news announcement just for you...

...but first, the seventh and last issue of the Extremely Crafty Ideas e-zine is ready for you to read here. Thank you very much to the amazing contributions of Josefa Laura and Bee & Dee Designs. We've included their stories and cards for your pleasure.

This will be the last issue of Extremely Crafty Ideas (at least for the next few months) because of this major exciting news I kept referring to yesterday. (Keep reading.)

You will notice the site has been recently revamped. Instead of writing new e-zines, I will include all content in the first instance in my blog and then it will be added to the Wall of Fun. Check it out here to see new pictures of the English seaside and learn how to make two beautiful shell necklaces.

And onto the major exciting news. . .

Trumpets sounding!

Lions roaring!

Big Ben chiming!

Extremely Crafty would like to announce its Craft Against Cancer challenge for the Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign.

The cure rate for childhood cancers is 75%. Wouldn’t it be brilliant if it was 100%?

The Royal Marsden plans to challenge this and Extremely Crafty wants to help.

Donate (via http://www.justgiving.com/CraftAgainstCancer/) or help us fundraise and we will tell the world about your efforts on our Fundraiser page with a photo and link back to your blog or website.

Suggested ways you can help:

• Donate a day’s proceeds from sales on Etsy.com
• Give the profits from a handmade goods raffle or auction
• Contribute the takings from a cupcake bake sale
• Organize your own amazing Extremely Crafty Craft Against Cancer event
• Host a craft fair and donate the door entrance fee
• Sell tickets to a Speedy Seamstress Contest
• Sponsor a Knit-a-thon (Last needles up wins!)

Please will you help me to spread the world using the power of the Internet. Wouldn't it be cool if we could unite crafters globally against cancer?

Read more about the Craft Against Cancer launch here.

Major Exciting News Coming Soon!

Just want to let everyone know I have another very, very exciting project to share with you tomorrow. It’s something I’ve been working on for a while now, so I’m really pleased to finally roll it out. Please check back!

Next up, Wimbledon! At 11p.m. on Friday night, I discovered my friend had an extra ticket for the next morning on Court One (the one next to Center Court). The tickets could not have been any better – directly behind a player, first row, exactly center. The tickets were from a friend of a friend. He must’ve been rich because those seats must have been super expensive.
I heard the grunts. I saw the sweat. I almost got sun stroke it was that hot. I had never been to Wimbledon before and was amazed at how huge everything is. There’s courts everywhere.

Matches viewed: Radek Stepanek vs. David Ferrer, Nikolay Davydenko vs. Tomas Berdych, and Tommy Haas vs. Marin Cilic.

You either have tickets for Center Court or Court One or you have a day pass to the grounds which enables you to walk around, grab a seat for a match on one of the outlying courts if you can, sit on the hill (like the above two ladies) with your picnic and watch the Center Court match on the big screen TV or stand around in queues (lines) trying to get a seat for one of the outer courts.

I always endeavor to bring you the crafty side of events, so here’s a look at the Ralph Lauren navy blazers with white piping, white caps, and fitted blue and white thin striped cotton tee shirts with white collar and cuffs. They were the best dressed umpires I have ever seen.

She was my favourite. Doesn't she belong in a Ralph Lauren ad?

Strawberries and cream was far too expensive, $5 for like 5 strawberries and a bit of cream. (The strawberries above which is a photo of my breakfast one morning would probably have been $25.) Pimms was a variety of prices depending on where you bought it. Champagne was almost $50 for a half bottle. I saw many an empty one, so who would know we were in a recession? I would highly recommend going to Wimbledon if you have the chance, but take a hat, lots of sunscreen, and a wallet full of cash. This shows the speed of a player's serve. I saw one guy serve 123mph!

Also, thank you to Sophie’s Mama of Cardz for U for the lovely blog award. It is really appreciated.

Did I mention I have major exciting news for tomorrow? Check back!

Wimbledon!

Back tomorrow with tales of Wimbledon!

Because you love Babushka

Still on the Babushka theme, I used the same template for the body and added trimmed marabou for the fur around her face.

I've been hard at work trying to prepare the next issue of my Extremely Crafty Ideas e-zine featuring greeting cards. I'll be including the template for the babushka body so you can make one of these at home. I am also featuring some guest crafters who will be showing their wonderful card creations. I hope to have everything finished this weekend and ready to read by Monday.

I have been thinking about how I want to take this site forward and have decided this will be the last issue of Extremely Crafty Ideas. In the future, I will be including more of the instructions and recipes directly into the blog.

I also have another crafty idea I am preparing to launch and am super excited about it. It's still brewing at the moment, but I hope to let you all in on it soon, so stay tuned because it's super duper duper exciting!

Babushka cards

A huge thank you to Al (friend of June of Arty Retreat) for making this delightful e-book cover for my e-pdf "How to Sell Greeting Cards 101". I have absolutely no idea how you make pictures look 3D like this, so I think Al is an absolute genius. Thank you very much, Al! It looks great.

I've been working on some more cards too myself. This is the latest in the Babushka range.

She's made of fabric, lace, and sequins against a shimmery yellow sunny background.

A Perfect Pair

Just found this picture on my camera. Caught dancing together in the Nikki Beach club at Cannes - Leopard and Snake. Bet they're a wild couple.

Some interesting Wimbledon statistics (compliments of the Metro):

• 32,913 seats


• 447,126 spectators


• 17,000 bottles of champagne are drunk


• 56,000 lb of Kent strawberries are munched


• 14,000 pints of cream are savoured

Ah Wimbledon, it always takes me back to being on the junior varsity tennis team. I taught myself how to play one summer. I hit balls against the wall on the court of Leann Park. I practised my serve to my imaginary partner and I avidly watched Wimbledon trying to absorb the rules. Two weeks before school started, I went to the week long trials for the team. I was ecstatic to be picked and I wasn't the worst one on the team, I was the next to worse one. What joy! I was just so proud to be part of the team. That's how I felt a few months ago when I struggled to sew some lingerie. Isn't it the things that challenge us the most that we cherish the most?

Another Day at Ascot

A good time was had by all!

Come with Me to Ascot

Bets were placed and horses raced.

Men wore kilts and some wore stilts. (lobster girl) Flags waved and friends were made. . .

Despite the cloud, the band played loud.

And I must say, it was a great day!

Lions & Tiger & Bears Oh My!

Nagi Noda is the designer who will make you a hat out of your own hair. I love them. They are the most unique hats I have seen in a very long time. They are truly conversation stoppers. Who wouldn't turn to look when you were walking into a room? The giraffe and the lion are my favourites.

Would you wear one of these hats to Ascot?

Amazing Ascot Hats

Thought you might like a peek at some of the amazing ascot hats that were in attendance this year. The actual first day of Ascot week is today. I saw a woman boarding the tube this morning with a bright pink feather creation on her head quite like the one below only smaller (thankfully). She would have needed a whole carriage to herself.

Apparently this is what one girl wears when she takes her horse racing. And my favorite -

Where else can you wear lobster claws?

Ascot Countdown

This is Royal Ascot Week. The races start today and run until Saturday. These are some arty shots of hats I spied in a window of a ribbon shop near Sloane Square. Love the lips, don't you? Someone had kissed the window.

Love the long feather eyelashes too. Where can I get some?
So I was up late last night making my Ascot creation. There's feathers, netting, more feathers, and bits of fluff all over my floor. The first year I made a hat for ascot, I looked like Peter Pan. Let's hope this year I don't end up looking like Captain Hook - he wore a big feather, didn't he?

London's Naked Bike Ride & More Glitter Butterflies

(C) 2009 Peter Marshall

I've recently taken up cycling, but I can assure you my legs are not strong enough to have cycled in Saturday's Annual Naked Bike Ride through London. There were about 1,200 cyclists who participated in protest of emissions on the environment. At least, that's what some said. I think a lot just wanted to get their kit off.

These photographs are from Peter Marshall's cool site. Check it out here for more great photos.

Now onto crafts. I know I said last week I would show you what I had made with my Martha Stewart glitter butterflies, but I'm afraid I'm going to keep you guessing a little longer. I went wild this weekend and made a whole bunch more new butterflies and started finishing off some of the earlier ones. I won't reveal yet what I'm doing because I want to make sure they look good in an unusual sort of way, not just unusual in an unusual sort of way.

So if you had a naked bike ride in your town, would you cycle naked? I won't ask if you think I would.

Sunset Polo

Yesterday evening, I went to Ham Polo Club in Richmond to watch a sunset polo game between Argentina and the Rest of the World.


The players chased the ball up one side of the field...

And back down the other...

The players had a few skirmishes...Until finally Argentina scored a few goals...

and Argentina Won!

Magnums of champagne were sprayed and everyone boogied in the clubhouse to the DJ spinning the tunes.

On a more crafty note, earlier in the evening, there had been a match between some boys and girls. I absolutely loved the design of the girls shirts - pink with swirling roses. Where can I sign up to play so I can get one of those awesome shirts? The roses remind me of the ones that creep up towers where damsels in distress roll down their long blond curls.

On another crafty note, one of the guys I work with just got married. He brought in wedding cake for everyone, but I was working from home those two days and by the time I got back, it had all been gobbled up. All except two sugar roses that had sat atop the cake that now have pride of place in my kitchen. If my husband gave away my sugar flowers, I don't think I'd be very amused, but he said they had bags of them in the fridge and didn't know what to do with them. I'll give these two a home.

I absolutely adore flowers made out of sugar. I took a cake decorating class - once a week for a whole year - just so I could learn to make roses. They intrigue me. They're mini sculptures, so delicate they could be smashed at any moment.

If you're married, what did your wedding cake look like? Did anyone make their own cake? Any wedding cake disaster stories? If you're not married, what would your dream wedding cake look like?