extremelycrafty

Video Posts

2010-04-27T22:00:00.003+01:00

Hello Everyone! I've been creating crafty videos for your to view at the right side of the page. Just double click and the video will expand. Learn to make a fabulous fabric flower above, a butterfly...

...some chocolates...

... and a cocktail!

Would love to know what you think!

Whereabouts

2009-09-09T20:26:00.002+01:00

Dear Readers,

Just to let you know I am dealing with a family health issue and will be out of contact until approximately the 23rd of September. The worst is over, just getting everyone healthy again.

Best wishes,
Michele

A Quilt was Born!

2009-09-06T19:42:00.000+01:00

I had enough of that country time fabric to make a really, really big lap quilt. Big enough for me and my big doggie at the time. Of course, nothing else in our house was navy, beige, and red, but what's the fun in matching the furniture? I lined this with soft red flannel and many, many years later. I still love having this on my bed even in the summer. I cherish so much more anything I've made.

Honestly though, I must admit that I am disappointed when I have put so much time into something and given it to a friend for it to be tossed aside. I've learned my lesson and now only make things for certain craft friendly friends. Have you found the same or are you only friends with other craft people?

It's a Lavendar Christmas

2009-09-05T07:37:00.006+01:00

Another easy peasy lemon cheesey, nice and squeezey quilt. My mother by this time was sick of me making wall hangings and told me to make something useful like a quilt for the bed. I was on a roll, but scared to try the bed quilt. It was just so daunting. I protested. I procrastinated. I watched a lot of TV. I bit my nails until finally. . .

Stay tuned till tomorrow - Did I make the quilt or did I make another wall hanging? What's your vote?

Can there be enough Christmas prep in September?

2009-09-04T07:33:00.002+01:00

Gingerbread men applique on gingerbread men fabric. Don't you love when the fabric combination works perfectly. Please note - some of the men are ginger girls. Note the pink.

Does anyone have a good recipe for gingerbread ice cream?

More Angels

2009-09-03T07:28:00.000+01:00

Okay this is it for angel quilts. I've run out of pictures. This was the third one I ever made. It's been stuck in a box, but not forgotten. By this time, I was completely bored by country colors and had moved on to jewel tones. A heart again, but slightly different shape.

Obviously I am never going to have a house for Christmas that matches. All of my decorations are completely different. I have another set of light blue wall hangings with Santa and a bunch of Christmas pink and lavender fabric to make into something special. Well, one day when I grow up (I refuse to believe I'm grown up) and have a big house, I'm going to need enough rooms to have a theme in each one.

Angels, angels everywhere

2009-09-02T19:20:00.000+01:00

Do you believe in angels? Another easy wall hanging with appliques pieces. As for chattering angels, that's not so easy. I haven't actually hear one, but perhaps I'm not listening closely enough. Have you ever heard them? What did they say?

p.s. - my grandfather saw one once cross his room when his baby was in hospital. He ran to the window and no one was there. A few hours later, two policeman came to the door and told him that his child had died at the exact time he had woken and seen the shadow. I think it was an angel. The baby's name was Catherine and we still talk about her.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

2009-09-01T06:09:00.000+01:00

This Santa wall hanging is my most favorite quilted wall hanging I've ever made. Out of the Debbie Mumm book, this was the one I really wanted to make, the reason why I bought this book. When I sat down and made it in a few nights, I was so pleased. I had taken extra care to use all different green, red, and beige fabrics, as well as the buttons on the ends of his hats. Again, this was a really easy piece. Again I worked in the country color scheme. What are your favourite color schemes? Normally I like bright splashy colors, so this was a real change for me. I have a confession though, in my flat, my living room is beige. Before I had a flat, I swore I would never decorate in the dreaded plain beige, but after visiting so many other flats I had seen with bright walls and being told I could probably negotiate a couple thousand off the price because of the color scheme, I decided when I had my own flat to stick with beige. I actually like to think of mine as creamy oatmeal that shows off the white wood doors, fireplace, ceiling rose, and plaster work around the edge of the ceiling.

So are you a beige type of person or is your house an array of mismatched colors?

Quilting Memories

2009-08-31T07:55:00.000+01:00

I've been going down memory lane and dusting off the old quilt box. This was the first quilt I ever made from a Debbie Mumm book. I practically made every quilted wall hanging in the book. For the first time in my life, I used a muted color scheme without any garish bright accents and the pieces turned out lovely. Very country, home town America.

I had bought the book at our local Plymouth quilt shop near the railway station. When a train zoomed past, hang onto your fabric as everything would start to shake. Actually, I think my mom bought the book for me and rather than be intimidated by the scary quilting, I started with this easy heart quilt and I think finished it in the night. I think it was Christmas when I made this Valentines quilt. I soon moved on to the other Christmas themes, my absolute favourite I will show you tomorrow.

What was the first piece you ever learned to quilt? Does anyone out there not know how to quilt? Would you like to learn?

2009-08-30T07:52:00.004+01:00

My mother's handiwork for our neighbour who is a volunteer at the humane society. I've never met anyone who loves and does more for dogs than our good friend.

Around the dog's neck is the tag from one of her old dogs that might be gone, but not forgotten. This is another easy pattern. The dog and the hearts are stuffed. His little ear is a flap. His eye a button and his nose embroidered.

Do you often include animals in your work? If so, are they your pets?

2009-08-28T07:45:00.004+01:00

Quilted placemats. Flying geese. Easy peasy. Difficult - taking photographs of them that are straight. They look straight to me in real life, but in photograps, mine always appear wonky which is why I've had to crop off the top of the geese!

Would anyonw be interested in learning to make these?

Bags & Bruises

2009-08-27T07:34:00.004+01:00

With the trend of big bags, my mother found her forearms were often bruised because her bag was so heavy. I think she needs to dump some of her stuff. I mean what was she carrying in there? Instead she decided to make a bag with fabric handles instead of leather. I think this was made from a Vogue pattern with some Japanese fabric we had been saving.

Has anyone noticed out there that some of the pattern pieces just don't fit? It didn't happen with this bag, but some recent undergarments I made and a blouse my mother is currently working on have the wrong shaped pieces. Considering how expensive patterns are, you'd think they'd get them right or at least test them out before they sell them. Has anyone else out there had this experience?

Can one have too much glitter?

2009-08-26T06:41:00.000+01:00

One can never be too thin, too rich, or have too much glitter.

Inspired by wonderfully chunky rhinestone rings in Harrods, I made myself a glittered flower ring. I thought I would make it on the small size. I now must go dancing so I can wear it. Not sure what they'd say at work if I showed up in this.

About favorite jewelery, I have three rings I normally wear every day. Two with blue stones and one with red. My parents bought them all for me - two for birthdays and one for graduation from university. I absolutely love them and always think of them when I wear them.

What is your most favorite piece of jewelry and is it something someone gave you or something you made?

Roar!

2009-08-25T07:27:00.003+01:00

This patchwork bag is so easy. It's all about the positioning of the squares. One of the trickiest bits is remembering which way the lion has to face. He was upside down a few times. Why do we always have to sew things the wrong around before sew them the right way around? Might just be me, but if there's a mistake to be made, I always seem to do it. How about you?

Christmas

2009-08-24T06:31:00.000+01:00

How many of you are making Christmas crafts already? This is a babushka ornament I made this past weekend. I would love to do a whole tree filled with these sparkling gals.

Hmm, I usually start writing Christmas cards in August too. Last year, I was waiting for my mother to have an operation and I just wrote and wrote all of the addresses. The repetitiveness took my mind off where I was and what was happening. Luckily, my mother was fine and my cards were then pushed to the back of my desk, only to be forgotten, and mailed a few days before Christmas!

This year I would like to hand make all of my own cards or at least draw the design and have a printer print some up. When do you usually start on your Christmas card list? Are you someone who mails them early every year or late?

2009-08-22T07:07:00.003+01:00

One can never switch between crafts enough. I was fixing a hole in one of the bags I made a while ago and am not sure if I ever posted a picture of it. The rose is made out of some gorgeous hand dyed cottons brushed with an iridescent paint my mother once bought. She's very protective of them, but hasn't used them in a while, so hopefully she won't noticed I nicked some. Don't tell.

An Interior Design View of Cambridge

2009-08-21T06:53:00.003+01:00

Cambridge - what a wonderful place! It's filled with bicycles...

...geniuses...

...and some fabulous interior design work. This room is one of Prince Charles' favorites. Mine too. Look at the wonderful detail of the ceiling.

And the complimentary stained glass entrance.
Is it too late to go back for another degree? Many years ago, I took stained glass class. I love the simple elegance of this window and the clean colored glass. It looks like rays of sunshine are always brightening up the room.

Do you have a favorite city you love to visit?

Russian Dreams

2009-08-20T06:49:00.000+01:00

The skyline of Russia. I'm planning on going there one day. Preferably in the summer so it's not too cold. I already have a big Russian black fur hat I once found in a charity shop in the middle of a heatwave. Just couldn't pass it up. Of course, when London had all of its snow this past winter, I couldn't find the hat. I was cleaning this weekend and of course found it. Thus, I had Russia on my mind during my glitter fest.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and would you dress like the locals?

More Bags & Bambi

2009-08-19T07:14:00.001+01:00

Thank you so much Laura, of Mi Sello Personal for the lovely award. Remember her - she's the one with the great cards featuring loads of people. I pass this award on to Kristina who makes gorgeous beaded creations. Do check out her blog. I don't know how she makes some of those necklaces.

As for the applique pattern for the little girls, Rosie & Bella, I will work on this and let you know when it is available. As for what I've been up to. . .

Another bag. It's simple, but carries home a ton of shopping. The fabric is recycled from curtains. Isn't it great what all may be made out of curtains. My mother's wedding dress was either made from curtains or into curtains. (We are a very practical family.) Another pair of my old curtains were made into painting sheets so my floors don't get paint sploshes. Now I just have to do the painting. A childhood set of curtains now lines the back of a quilt.

What have you made out of your old curtains?

Paris!

2009-08-18T07:20:00.000+01:00

Once a theme is in mind, it crosses over from craft to craft. This is made form a plain white heavy shopping bag I had. I think it came free with a magazine. I'd been working on the appliqued scene and it happened to fit perfectly on the bag. I think this would be adorable to give to a little girl. I would have loved this when I was little. If you would be interested in the applique pattern, let me know.

Crafting

2009-08-17T06:20:00.003+01:00

I've been very quiet on the blog front because sometimes you've just got to craft. Two weeks ago, I decided I was going to specialize in one craft, sewing, but as you'll see, I am back to glittering. I've been making birthday cards. I'll be going to Paris in September, so was inspired by the Eiffel Tower and the croissants on offer at my local patisserie.

Glitter is my latest favorite craft supply ot use. What is yours?

Handbag Inspiration

2009-08-14T06:10:00.000+01:00

Inspired by the handbag we had just raffled off, I decided I wanted to sew another one of my own, so I dusted off my old Miss Singer sewing machine and have been taking her for a whirl. I had all of the fabric already in my stash and a few weeks ago had found a set of three hand embroidered doilies in a charity shop in Broadstairs. That's what you see as the babushka's tummy. I think the whole purse must have cost less than 3 pounds ($5). Bargain!

Have you made something recently that was a great value for money?

Raffle Prize Winner Announced!

2009-08-11T19:12:00.000+01:00

Congratulations Glenda all the way in sunny Australia for winning the wool felt purse. I think it's the middle of winter right now, so hopefully this will come in handy.
Sewing update - I made three handbags this weekend. Will soon have photos for my site. Need sunshine first. Some of you had some great ideas about adding shells and all, but that creation is still to come.

2009-08-10T06:13:00.006+01:00

I have spent this weekend sewing and visiting the Waterhouse exhibit at the Royal Academy of the Arts. There is a major retrospective of his works there. He had been an academician at the turn of the century. His work is very romantic, often including knights being seduced by fairies, sirens calling sailors into the water, mermaids brushing their hair, pagan gods, and Green mythological characters. His work also was inspired by the poetry of Keats and Tennyson.

His work was so beautiful, I went around it twice. Like the sailors in the pictures, I didn't want to tear my eyes away from such beauty.

I would be the first to say that art should not just be about pretty pictures to hang on walls, but I recently went to another Summer Exhibition preview evening at the Royal Academy and this was the best work of art there -

The dessert table. The champagne table was pretty good too, but couldn't sneak a shot of that.

The Summer Exhibition is supposed to be a showing of the public works of art alongside work of the Academicians. However, the work of art from the public is extremely limited. Believe me, I've tried to get in. Not bitter or anything. I think the Royal Academy asks for public submissions because they receive a non-refundable while the acceptance is like 1%.

Only for my dear readers, I snuck my camera out and took a few shots of the art. This is a monkey picture scrawled by Tracy Emin which seems to have sold like crazy (indicated by the red dots). Now come on, how can that compare to the Waterhouse works that happen to be in the next room?

Thank you Clare of Clare's Crafts for the lovely blog award, but I will refrain from passing it on (and including it on my site permanently) because I am having difficulty keeping up with working, blogging, and crafting. Just wanted to mention Clare because it was reading her site that gave me the inspiration to raise money for the Royal Marsden. Check out her blog to read her story.

To Sew or Not to Sew. . .

2009-08-06T20:14:00.008+01:00

Thank you to all of my readers who left comments about their favourite crafts. I have been thinking I should focus on one craft rather than having my flat strewn with everything from shells to fabric, glitter to sugar roses. Last weekend, I only went to the seaside so I could buy shells. I've not actually made anything with them, just washed them.

But I bought some fabric today and am feeling inspired. I'm glad I'm not like this at work or I'd get nothing done.

On Sunday, I plan to have a craft day. Wake up early and start sewing. . .a bag maybe or a change purse. . .or maybe I really should do something with those lovely shells. . .

Thank you so much to Lynn of Spyder's Corner for the wonderful award. The five things I would like to do is 1 go around the world 2 have dinner with Bill Clinton 3 have a room as a craft studio 4 have my own tv show 5 have a book published.

I pass this award to: Angie, Merry,Tertia, Rita, Shirley, PAD

Any big projects planned for this weekend?

Seaside Crafts

2009-08-05T20:05:00.005+01:00

How much is that teddy in the window?I found this wonderful knitted creation in a craft store in Broadstairs. From the sandcastles to the sandwiches, this teddy bear's picnic is completely hand knitted. Apart from the local handiwork, Broadstairs is famous for being the home of Charles Dickens. The seaside town was absolutely enchanting. From the overgrown lavender outside his former home -

- to the Charles Dickens pub one block down with its red velvet cozy nooks and yummy steaming hot meat pies - - to the GIANT ice creams with Cadbury's flake chocolate bars -

I fell in love with the place. Around the crescent shaped beach, there's pastel painted beach huts, an old fashioned cinema along the seafront, and even a doll's hospital. This might not have been what inspired Mr. Dickens, but that and knitted teddy bears is certainly what inspires me.

photo from Wikipedia

Mr. Dickens was inspired by Bleak House for the title of his ninth novel about the failure of the British legal system. Dickens would spend at least a month a year in Broadstairs and even wrote David Copperfield here. I have heard murmurs that he even brought his mistress and established her in another house by the sea away from his wife. How did he have time to write all those novels?

Also quaint in Broadstairs is a shop selling doll's houses and furniture. This is in addition to the doll's hospital. They have very unusual doll's - including a miniature tramp. Who would want to include him in their doll's house scene? He even has a mini bottle of cider on his trolley. A bit scary for a child I would think.
As an end note, dear readers, may I ask please how many of you out there make cards and how many of you out there sew? If you sew, what may I ask so you usually make?

We have our Second Winner!

2009-08-04T22:03:00.006+01:00

Congratulations to Heidi of Simon Says Stamp! You've won our second prize - 8 hand made beautiful cards which were generously donated by Susie of Die Cut Dreams.

Remember - early donations have a chance to win all remaining prizes. Even though you've won one doesn't mean that you can't win another!

So who is this knitted teddy on picnic?

Come back tomorrow and I'll reveal where I found him.

What's the craziest thing you've knitted? I'd say this ice cream is pretty crazy, but the strangest thing I've done is half a fluorescent pink rabbit head. Can you beat that?

My Inspiration to Sew Part 2

2009-08-03T15:23:00.000+01:00

My mother started sewing by hand as a little girl. She dreamed of sewing dresses like the ones she saw in the American dress magazines, but there was still rationings on fabric after the war.

At age 14, as was common back then, she left school and became an apprentice at a local sewing factory in England. She learned to properly sew there and over the years, came to know how to make raincoats, blouses, skirts, dresses, anything. If there was a new pattern, they only needed to hand it to her and she could sew it together while many others struggled. The others were only used to sewing the same part over and over, but my mother could work the whole garment. She was speedy too. You had to be if you worked piecework (you’re paid by the piece).
Growing up in grey Britain after the war, my mother dreamed of heading to Hollywood to design costumes for the stars. She saved and saved for the boat passage from England to Toronto and headed there. She quickly found a tailoring job and set about saving once again.
My parents met at a dance, got married and when one of the women at the tailor shop where she worked told her about where to go to get immigration papers for America, my mother went and within a few short weeks, she and my father were loading everything they owned into a Volkswagen mini bus and heading to Hollywood.

They drove from morning until night. In Britain, they would have crossed the country in that amount of time. In America with the old roads, they were in Michigan. The car broke down and they have lived there ever since.

Again my mother quickly got a job in the best tailor shop in Detroit. She made men’s suits until the shop was robbed and she was held at gun point. She never returned to work for many years. I was born and she directed her energies and her love into making all of my clothes (many of which were Princess Diana recreations), reupholstered our chairs/sofas, made curtains, bicycle bags, quilt, and hold-alls for small engine airplanes.

My mothers dresses did end up in Hollywood and the Cannes film festival just not as expected. I wore them to a job interview I once had (came to London instead) and to a number of film premieres.

My Sewing Inspiration

2009-08-02T13:48:00.006+01:00

Who inspired you to sew? Someone asked me the other day. My inspiration, like many others, was my mother, but my mother is like no other. What makes her so special is her determination, patience, creativity, generosity, and I have never met anyone who can sew like her.

Growing up during World War II in England, my mother’s house was bombed on Christmas Eve. Luckily, she, her mother, and brother were in the Anderson shelter so all survived, but a few days later, she and her brother were evacuated into the country.

Their new home was dreadful. A mean lady took them in for the money. My mother was forced to look after the old lady and a houseful of dogs and cats. The few toys they had were confiscated and food was severely rationed. Any extra money my grandmother sent for food, my mother and her brother never saw.
When the lady died, my mother and her brother finally found relief and went to live in Lancaster Castle with a bunch of other children, some nuns, and prisoners.

You see, Lancaster Castle also operated as a prison. In fact, back in 1899, only 30+ years before, children had also been imprisoned here with adults, but to my mother and her brother, life suddenly opened up to them and the world never seemed so exciting.

They had almost nothing, but my mother and her brother would escape into a fantasy world by creating art with everything and anything at hand. They painted with berries and dead caterpillars and fashioned murals out of shrapnel. My mother even once found an old yellow raincoat and discovered when you cut it and placed it right sides together, it stuck together. She made doll’s clothes for dolls she didn’t even own. Who knew this was the beginning of her sewing career?

Tomorrow – Read about Coming to America – my mother’s journey to Hollywood to design costumes for the stars.

p.s. - Who was your sewing inspiration?

Win a Stamp Connection Prize!

2009-07-31T20:38:00.001+01:00

Thank you Jennie of The Stamp Connection for donating the big stash of wonderful crafty supplies, including the stamps, flower templates, and pad.

Jennie is the manufacturer of The Artistic Stamper range of unmounted rubberstamps and Kling-On Repostionable cushioning. She is also a Certified Ranger Educator.

The Artistic Stamper has just recently become famous in the crafty world. They had some new and exclusive Stitchels stamps on QVC!! Congratulations, Jennie, that’s a great achievement. Just look at some of the beautiful crative art Jennie has been making. I just love this woman deep in thought. It's not often you see the color yellow in use in great amounts, so I really like how it was used here.
Jennie regularly runs giveaways from her blog and includes tons of crafty ideas with tips for making your own amazing creations. Her tales of her crafty adventures are always so fun and she gives good suggestions of where to go.

You Take the Cake, Kate!

2009-07-30T19:28:00.003+01:00

Thank you very much Kate of The Kathryn Wheel blog for donating your mini 4” x 4” “You Take the Cake!” canvas. I absolutely love this piece of art because I think the little girl look like my mother.

Not only is Kate a school teacher specialising in music, she is a crafts tutor, teaches card making and scrapbooking, and plays in a ceilidh band. Somehow she also finds time for her family and to make some stunning art. Kate made You Take the Cake as a sample before a craft party in which she led little girls in painting. She certainly inspired the girls who made the wonderful below creation.
From artist’s trading cards to journaling, Kate is always showing her new creations on her blog and they are an absolute delight to see. Kate herself says she likes to embrace the weird, so you’ll always find something unusual. Kate includes great blog links and is also a crafting celebrity having been published in Craft Stamper.

For a chance to win this prize, donate to Craft Against Cancer.

You Take the Cake, Kate!

We Have a WINNER!!!!

2009-07-29T20:51:00.008+01:00

Thank you! Thank you! so much Suzy for making such a generous donation! Because of your selling cards at work we can now have the first raffle.

It was so exciting to see we have reached the first donation especially tonight. I've just come home from the doctor's with repetitive strain injury and my hand is now in a brace. I've been doing too much of my normal job and just too much blogging/emailing people about Craft Against Cancer. Over the past few days, I had taken a bit of a rest and trying not to use my hand. I'd been worried this whole Craft Against Cancer idea was not going to take off and I'd lined up all these wonderful prizes from such generous people, but coming home and seeing the donations reach our first target makes it worth all the while.

Now onto the raffle. Drum roll please....

This beautiful fairy made by Rita (for more adorable fairies, click here)....

is going to a new home....

in a land far, far away....

and her new human will be...

Shirley of Nannieflash!

It gives me the greatest pleasure to know that this little fairy is going to a wonderful home. It seems especially fitting that the fairy (or as my mother keeps calling her, the little angel) is going to live with Shirley since Shirley the first cheerleader for Craft Against Cancer. To spread the word about the devastating effects of childhood cancer, she revealed her own story in her blog and encouraged almost all of the first donors. Read about it here. My mother thinks it's a sign and you know, so do I.

Another Great Raffle Prize from Tatyana

2009-07-28T21:29:00.000+01:00

Thank you very much to Tatyana of the Wool Thumb blog and Art Studio Shanti shop for donating this gorgeous hand crocheted bag. This is made out of light blue woven cotton with a metallic thread running through it which gives it a shimmering frosted look. This bag would be fabulous for a special evening out on the town.
In her adorable shop, Tatyana sells felted goods, toys, original jewelry, and bags.
Originally from Russia, Tatyana started making jewelry, bags, pillows, etc. by hand when she moved to the USA. Lucky for us, her friends talked her into opening a store where you can see a selection of her unusual crafty goods.
From Asian rice paper laminated placemats to polymer clay pendants, everything Tatyana makes looks so great.

Tatyana tells her crafty tales on her blog, including adventures in repurposing and money saving beauty tips. I especially like these. She has such great ideas to try with old blush and lipstick. Check them out.
Thank you again, Tatyana for your kind donation!

Thank you Simon Says Stamp!

2009-07-27T21:34:00.000+01:00

Thank you to all of the wonderful ladies at the Simon Says Challenge blog and shop, especially Lorraine and Heidi.

Do check out their blog for inspiration. They show the best of the cards made in each of their challenges and some of them are exceptional. I love looking here for ideas. Their shop is also particularly well stocked. This is an under statement. They have a huge amount of stuff, including really unusual stamps. Do check them out.

Enormous Prize from Dawn of Crafty Ramblings!

2009-07-26T14:58:00.000+01:00

Thank you to Dawn of Crafty Ramblings for donating the huge amount of fun Tag Art, gorgeous hand made cards, stamped images and other crafty items. What a fantastic prize some lucky crafter is going to win.

Dawn has a wonderful blog called Crafty Ramblings in which she shows her gorgeous creations. She participates in tons of challenges and has some great tutorials on her site.

If that’s not enough to keep her busy, Dawn is also part of the ABC Challenge Design team, Something Completely Different, and Craft Barn Blog. She’s a guest designer too for Making Handmade Cards, a Spoonful of Sugar, and Cute Card Thursday.

There is certainly always something new on Dawn’s site. Either she makes it herself or has a catalogue of links to others. She has some great tutorial links in which you can learn how to make amazing pop up cards and paper roses.

Thank you again, Dawn! What excitement this great prize will bring when received in the mail.

Why Exercise when you can Stamp for Charity?

2009-07-25T16:07:00.000+01:00

Debbie of The Crafty Pad has graciously donated to the raffle her Race for Life stamp as well as any other stamp of the winner’s choosing on the Crafty Pad site. This is a really great site with lots of card making ideas, tutorials, and creations from guest designers.
Debbie designs all the stamps on the site and they are made in the UK by a stamp manufacturer.
Her Race for Life stamp is really a great idea. Part of the proceeds go towards the Race for Life Charity, so if you are in no shape to exercise (like moi) then what a great idea to stamp for charity!

Thank you again, Debbie

Win 5 Gorgeous Handmade Cards!

2009-07-24T07:18:00.007+01:00

All we need is 50 more pounds for the first raffle! If you donate now, you'll have a chance at all of the prizes. Pictures of most new items to be added this weekend, so keep checking back!

Diane of 1CardCreator blog and shop has generously donated 5 greeting cards of the winner’s choosing from her etsy shop. Thank you, Diane!

From her Michigan home, Diane specializes in making very detailed handmade cards. What makes her shop unique is she offers a greeting card mailing service. She will remind you of people’s birthdays and anniversaries, personalize the card, sign, address, stamp, and mail it for you this year and next. What a great idea! I wonder if she does Christmas cards? Wouldn’t you love someone to take the hassle out of doing those each year? There’s no more excuses of “I ran out of time” when Diane’s around.

Diane is even a minor crafting celebrity now. She is the proud winner of the Papercraft magazine 2008 World Card Day Contest. Her winning card submission will be featured in the March/April 2009 issue. Diane has been making cards since 2001 and has never stopped since. She just loves making cards and seeing the joy they bring to her friends.

Diane’s 1CardCreator blog is also really interesting. She demonstrates with clear pictures how she made her cards. She’s also got some really unique ones on there – cards in the shape of a graduation cap, balloons bursting forth from inside a card, and cards with moveable objects. To see pictures of all these are more, click here.
My favorite post on her blog is how to tie dye card stock with shaving foam. It is absolutely genius. With ideas such as these, Diane is sure to be winning more awards.

Gorgeous Vintage Charm to Win!

2009-07-23T15:47:00.001+01:00

June of the June’s Arty Retreat blog donated this gorgeous aqua vintage charm. I just love the sweet little girl’s face and the dangly beads. This is just one example of the treasures June makes on a daily basis.
June is also a superb card maker and likes to mix vintage and romanticism with a twist. She regularly participates in challenges, shows all of her cards on her site, and often includes instructions about how she made her creations. Her site is a place to go to find out about other challenges and blog candy on offer.
June also has some really great links on her site to other wonderful sites I would not normally have found – like where to buy doll’s heads. June’s such a warm, welcoming person, you’re sure to delight in her blog. Do become a follower. I promise you’ll have a lot of fun.

June also has another wonderful blog titled Art Freebies. You can download for free tons of great images. She even creates her own digital images and posts them there. Don't you just love the above photo? Does anyone out there make their own digital creations?

Win Great Prizes from Kimmi of Poppy Petal Designs

2009-07-22T15:33:00.005+01:00

Thank you Kimmi of Poppy Petals Designs Shop and blog for donating 25 mixed charms on chains to put on cards and scrapbooks plus any Digi images she now has in the shop and any that she puts up until September this year.
I absolutely love these charms, especially the one with the ladybird (ladybug), and they really jazz up cards. The metal and beads are a great contrast to the paper and ribbon on typical cards.

Kimmi has been fighting cancer herself and has been raising money herself for the cause. She’s an inspiration as someone who keeps fighting and creating. She’s also well exceeded her target donation goal. Great job, Kimmi! I know how hard that can be. There are so many people and children out there fighting this dreaded disease that every donation helps to find a cure.
Kimmi’s fun blog is a place to win great candy, not only does she give it away, but she regularly participates in challenges in which others are giving away prizes. In her shop, Kimi also has for sale some adorable digi images that she designed. My favourite is the patchwork donkey. Head on over there and take a look. I’ll guarantee you’ll enjoy yourself.

Also, thank you very much to Josefa Laura of Mi Sello Personal for the lovely two awards. I pass these two and the beautiful blogger award from yesterday on tosome of my first blogger buddies, Harbor Hon and Mindy. Old friends are not forgotten.

Milagra Gourd Lady Raffle Prize!

2009-07-21T22:38:00.002+01:00

Bridgette of Bella Luna Arts has donated from her shop one of the most interesting dolls I’ve ever seen – a blue and green milagra gourd lady. Her body is made out of a gourd, surrounded by blue net and adorned with jewels and beads. She has silver hands and little silver shoes. Her hair is a twist of blue and aqua beads with the most expressive face. This milagra is absolutely delightful and I hear she brings good luck.

Did I also mention this milagra is from a celebrity family? Her sisters have been featured on HGTV's Carol Duvall Show and in the magazine of wearable art, Belle Armoire Jewelry.
All of Bridgette’s pieces are so unique. In her shop, she is also showing a beautiful little Steampunk angel with brass wings and vintage watch plates. It’s whimsically Victorian, yet also has a funky, industrial feel.
Bridgette really is creating art over at Bella Luna. Her piece “Mary Watches Over Me” is made up of a sweet vintage Miraculous Medal of Mary encased in a small vintage watch case. What a great idea! This piece is lined in black satin with tiny gold beads floating around Mary. From the watch dangles Swarovski crystals, vintage glass & brass.

If you would like the chance to win one of Bridgette’s milagra gourd ladies, all you need to do is donate and be entered into the raffle. Thank you again, Bridgette!

As of tonight, we have raised 100 pounds! Thank you very much to everyone who has donated. All we need is to raise 50 more pounds and we will raffle off the fairy. New prizes are coming in all the time. We have about 18 confirmed now. The raffle prize page will be updated this weekend. Remember, it's best to donate early because you will then have a chance to win ALL of the raffle prizes. Best of Luck!

Matryoshka Doll Hair Clips To be Won!

2009-07-20T21:24:00.000+01:00

Aysel of Enna Design Shop has created a felt fantasy world of bambis, babushkas, and lily of the valley babies. There’s a few French poodles in there too. She designs all of her own creations and sews everything by hand.

Aysel’s stitching is so impressive – so small and so neat. Look at all the details she has lovingly put into every one of the babushka. The vibrant colors of the felt are amazing. Where she found two shades of lavender, aqua, and peach, I don’t know. Her fabric shop is definitely better than mine.
Each little face is perfectly fashioned too with little pink cheeks. These would be absolutely perfect for a little girl’s birthday present or a big girl…I know I love them.
Aysel also has another doll fashion shop called DoLLYSToRY where she sells her hand sewn creations for Blythe, Petite Blythe, and Momoko dolls. Puff sleeves, pearls, and lace, these dresses are amazingly detailed.
Thank you for your kind contribution, Aysel. Someone is going to be really lucky because I know I want them! (but for obvious reasons, am excluded from the raffle). Do check out her shop. The colors and the cute photographs will perk up your day!

I just wanted to add an enormous thank you to Shirley of the wonderful Nannieflash blog who gave me this award today. It really means a lot, especially today. Shirley has really been a strong supporter of the Craft Against Cancer campaign and has revealed her own personal story on her blog which has inspired many of the first donors. Do click on the above link and scroll down. This is why it's so important we do all we can to raise money for the Royal Marsden cancer campaign so they can find a cure for childhood cancer.

p.s. - I will pass on the blog within the coming days.

Beautiful Blue Bella Raffle Prize

2009-07-19T22:51:00.003+01:00

Trudette, thank you very much, for your utterly charming donation of Blue Bella to the Craft Against Cancer raffle. Blue Bella is a delightful young lady who is fond of flowers, loves to be in a world of blue, and bring smiles wherever she goes. She would make a delightful gift for a baby or a little girl.
Trudette and her blog/shop are also truly delightful. In her shop, she sells crocheted gift bags adorned with roses, daisies, chicks, and hearts. I particularly love this deep pink one with pale blush rose. Look closely and you’ll see she adorns some with beads too. In fact, if you look closely at a lot of what Trudette makes you will see she all of her work is quite detailed.
In addition to crocheting, Trudette also draws the most enchanting pictures of little girls surrounded by flowers. They all look so pretty, I’d love to hang them in bunches on my walls. They’d look particularly lovely in a little girl’s bedroom (maybe big girls too.) Every year I age, I seem to also regress into a little girl land.
Trudette also has a blog in which she entertains her followers with tales of Miss Amy and her captivating Belgian neighborhood. I just love seeing where other people around the world live, don’t you? Her photographic skills are excellent too. I want to reach through the screen and gobble up her pictures of food and spread my arms into the clouds of her sunset evenings. Thank you again, Trudette, for sharing and giving so much.

Check out all of the raffle prizes here

Sunny Russian Doll Print - Raffle Prize!

2009-07-18T22:07:00.002+01:00

Thank you to Amy Perrotti for donating one of her "Sunny Russian Doll Print" to the Craft Against Cancer Raffle. I first saw this 11"x8.5" print as a treasury on someone’s blog and absolutely fell in love with it. The bright colors make me feel so happy whenever I see it. The Russian Doll's name is Sunny and I’m told she’s a kind and happy child. She is sure to bring a smile where ever she goes. I’ll vouch for that.

The print is of an original drawing by Amy Perrotti that she digitally illustrated. It is printed on an archival Epson matte paper using an inkjet printer with HP Vivera inks that resist fading for a century.

(All pictures are the work of Amy Perrotti. Please note that only the "Sunny Russian Doll" is for the Raffle. For the rest, you have to head on over to her great shop.)

All of Amy’s prints in her shop are so unique. They’re modern, bright, and bold. I love her take on Little Red Riding Hood, Circus Animals, Buddha, Russian dolls, tiger girls, and fairies.

In the Fairies playing Hide and Seek series, Tiger Girl and Fox Girl, the little girl depicted is so serious about pretending that her clothes are like a camouflage costume, but you can always tell she is a child by her sweet little stocking feet.

One of the things that makes her blog so interesting is that she shows the drafts of her art during the creative process. When I see the final print, I feel as if I’ve gone on a journey with her.

Amy makes such interesting craft things too. She’s made babushka tent doll cards that make me want to have a party just so I can buy them to use as party invitations. What fun everyone would have receiving these in the post. They certainly would be unique.

I just love Amy’s bold bright style. It’ll bring a smile to your face, if you go visit her here or follow her on Twitter. Thank you again, Amy!

Glorious Soap to Win

2009-07-17T22:14:00.002+01:00

Thank you, thank you to Patrice of the Soap Seduction blog and shop who has generously donated a $20 gift certificate for one lucky to winner on use on any of the soaps in her shop. Whoever wins this sure is going to have a hard time picking.
Patrice makes the most glorious of soaps. They make you want to sing at 6am in the shower even before you’ve had your coffee. She uses the most luscious of scents like chocolate coconut, cranberry fig, blackcurrant and nectarine, lemon chiffon sugar bubbles, and butter cream cupcake. They make you just want to gobble them up, especially the cupcake.
She has fashioned her soap in really inventive ways too – just perfect for a really unique gift. Who has ever seen fishies in a bag soap, gummy ring, fortune cookie, or monkey soap (you’re just going to have to mosey on over to her blog to see that kid approved soap).
Her blog is really very amusing. She tells it like it is with a cheeky grin. Be prepared to be entertained.
Thank you again, Patrice!

More Raffle Prizes - A Magical Print

2009-07-16T17:31:00.000+01:00

Thank you very much to June of Arty Retreat for being such a strong supporter of the Craft Against Cancer campaign. June is offering seriously wonderful candy (pictured above)osts on her blog and goes to this page to read about Craft Against Cancer and adds my button. She’s aiming for 100 participants. This is really appreciated, June, because that’s just what we need to help spread the word. June has also donated a lovely vintage charm to the raffle. I will be blogging about June and her fun blog more in a few days.

Thanks to June and Shirley’s support, we have raised £35 in the past two days and £70 in total! We’re almost half way there to the first raffle. At £150 donations, we raffle off the fairy and she’ll flutter away to a new home.

Remember, it’s best to donate early because once you’re allocated an e-raffle ticket (for every £5 donation), you’re entered into every raffle draw until the prizes run out or the end of September. We’re up to 11 prizes already!

I must also say how generous everyone has been in donating prizes. See them all here. Today I want to thank you very much to Karen of the Moonlight and Hares blog and shop.

Karen generously donated a signed print titled Traveling Circus (above) to the charity raffle. I absolutely adore this print. Who could not fall in love with a white rabbit on a roller skate? The print measures 18x18cms within an A4 sheet and has a border around for mounting.

Karen is a UK based artist/illustrator and maker of wooden things and has illustrated children's books (sounds like the best job in the world to me), greeting cards, wrapping paper and magazines.

What I love about Karen’s work is that I feel as if I’m transformed into an animal fairy world in which birds walk along the grass pushing their eggs in a pram, the manes of majestic pure white lions blow in the breeze, narwhals dance in the sea beneath the stars, and fairies bless foxes. In this world, angels also speak to hares and birds in the moonlight. Wouldn’t you love to visit?
Well, you can. Check out her superb blog here in which she will transform you to another world with her photography of nature and little animals and check out her shop full of magical paintings.

Thank you again, Karen.

Remember - Once you donate, your e-raffle tickets will be considered for each raffle until the end of September 2009, even if you have already won an item. (So get in there early for the best chance to win!)

Thank you also to Nannieflash , Ginger, Rach, LN, Janet & Jacqui for your kind donations. They are really, really appreciated.

Another Wonderful Prize - Digistamps!

2009-07-15T20:49:00.001+01:00

Thank you very much to Lynn of the enchanting Linnie Pink blog for contributing to the raffle five sheets of digi stamps. The winner may choose any five from her shop.

In Lynn’s wonderful shop, she sells cute Daisy May digi stamps, each one drawn by her own hand. My favorite page is the one above, Daisy May dressed up as a spooky witch, graceful ballerina, and delightfully cute devil.

I just love digi stamps. No more smeared ink because my stamping hand is shaky or ruined paper because the surface of the stamp doesn’t pick up ink evenly from the pad. All you have to do is print out the digi stamps from your computer!

Thank you again, Lynn!

Another Great Prize-A Gorgeous Bag!

2009-07-14T19:22:00.002+01:00

Lisa of Craft Bugs has generously donated to Craft Against Cancer one of her gorgeous handmade wool felt bags.

Lisa is a self taught artist who started crafting ten years ago when she couldn’t find attractive handmade party invitations at a reasonable price. Well, she made the invitations, the party went on without a hitch, and Lisa’s been crafting ever since.
Lisa is now a demonstrator for Bramwell Crafts and presents workshops too. Her next workshop is the Build A Flower Card & Matching Box Workshop on the 5th August 2009 from 7pm-9.30pm in Sutton Coldfield. I wish I could go because the flower shaped card is adorable.

If it’s too far to travel, you can always check out Lisa’s Craft Bugs blog, in which she shows her amazing cards, writes crafty tips, and gives away great blog candy.

Her shop is called Handmade by Tigerlily where she sells fantastic wool felt bags, brooches, and a cute tea cosy. She also sells some of her unique card creations which she decorates with ribbons, hand stitching, crystal beads and other mixed media. I absolutely adore the bags, especially the added flower buttons.

Thank you again, Lisa.

p.s. - There’s only two of the bags left in her shop, so you’d better be quick.

Raffle - Another Great Prize! A Lucky Fairy

2009-07-13T12:11:00.000+01:00

Keep reading for RAFFLE RULES.

Thank you Rita of Ooak Fairy Fae Sculpture who offered our first donated item, the gorgeous Boudoir Fae, to the Craft Against Cancer raffle. The details on this fairy are marvelous. Her eyes are so exquisite and her lavender hair is so lovingly styled. What an unusual gift this would be for someone. I hear this fairy brings good luck too!

For more about Rita, I had posted about her wonderful fairies here a few days ago. Since then, she’s been busy again and has made a wonderful Michael Jackson tribute doll.
Look at the detail of those toes! For more, check out her blog here.

Thank you very much, Rita! And more about the RAFFLE:

Raffle Rules:

For every £5 donation via the Extremely Crafty Just Giving page, you will receive 1 e-raffle ticket. (For a £10 donation you get 2 chances to win, £15=3 chances to win, etc.) Be sure to send me a message via the donation page that states your name, email, donated amount and “Raffle”.
The first prize will be raffled off once a reserve limit of £150 has been reached. Each subsequent item will be raffled off once subsequent new donations reach an additional £100 of donations.
Once you donate, your e-raffle tickets will be considered for each raffle until the end of September 2009, even if you have already won an item. (So get in there early for the best chance to win!)
You can donate more and increase your chances (i.e. buy more e-raffle tickets) at any time.
Everyone who donates a raffle prize will have their item listed on the fundraisers wall with a link to their blog or etsy shop. (Great way to advertise your shop, while giving to charity!!!) I will also blog about your site/shop and link to you.
If you would like to donate a prize, please email me at michele[AT]extremelycrafty.co.uk (replace [AT] with @) and send a photo.
All prize donors will be responsible for:
Shipping the prizes directly to the winner, and
Paying postage and packaging to ship the prize to the winner.
A computer generated program will pick winners at random.
Extremely Crafty and Michele Young will be held harmless for any item not received by a prize winner or damaged prizes.
Extremely Crafty reserves the right to change the terms of this raffle at any time.

BONUS Coming up – we are also working on creating a special DONORS ONLY page which will include free pdf templates and downloads for all donors to access.

All proceeds go directly to the Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign.

Please donate generously. Thank you very much!

Thank you to first Donor and announcing a Raffle!!!!!!

2009-07-12T14:43:00.011+01:00

First, thank you very much to BM for the first to donate to Craft Against Cancer. Your donation of £25 is really appreciated! Since you are the first donor and I'm announcing the Extremely Crafty Raffle today, you will be allocated 5 tickets.

So what's this RAFFFLE all about?

To raise money for Craft Against Cancer, we will be having a raffle to raise donations. For every £5 donated via the Just Giving button on the Extremely Crafty site, you will be allocated 1 e-ticket. We will be listing all donated items with links to the donor's shop or blog on the Fundraisers page.

Some wonderful crafters have agreed to donate already. I'm just waiting for photos before I post about them, so do check back. We have one early bird donor and it’s…
Susie of Die Cut Dreams was the first to send her photos, so thank you very much Susie for agreeing to donate these eight beautiful cards.

Susie has a brilliant blog called Sassy Designs where she shows some of the beautiful cards she’s been making, gives away wonderful candy, and has links to lots of other sites giving away candy. I always love her use of color and embellishments in her cards. Her site is always a great place to find ideas and tips. I especially love her Bewitched by Tilda card.
Susie also has a great shop called Die Cut Dreams which sells a huge array of custom die cuts, stickers, charms, and brads, to name but a few things. Susie even designs some of the die cuts! One of my favorite things on the site is her fairytale castle album which you can see here.

Thank you very much again, Susie! Your generosity is really appreciated.

More details about the raffle tomorrow, including more details about how to win these fabulous cards, so check back!

p.s. - If you'd like to donate an item, please send me an email at michele@extremelycrafty.co.uk. If you'd like to enter the raffle for these cards and more, donate here and you'll be allocated an e-ticket.

Chanel's Russian Treasures

2009-07-10T01:06:00.000+01:00

(all photos courtesy of bagsnob.com)

These are the latest exquisite creations from Karl Lagerfeld’s Chanel Paris-Moscow collection. The accessories are a collector's dream. Perhaps he read my blog and went to go see the Czar exhibit at the V&A museum and was inspired. My first love of the collection was the black matryoshka bag with the pretty gold face and pearl flower embellishment. My second love - those heels! What a mix of architecture and fashion. Lagerfeld is a genius!
My third love is that black leather bag quilted with the Moscow skyline. I want all three.

I don't have a spare couple thousand dollars in my pocket at the moment, so I think I shall have to find a way of making at least one of them. Keep posted.

Which is your favorite that you'd like to make?

First Craft Against Cancer Event Organized!

2009-07-08T19:23:00.004+01:00

I absolutely love the weird and the unusual, especially in relation to classes. (Keep reading for why this man is wearing this mask.) Since coming to London, I’ve taken what I thought were the most unusual classes I could find: tiara making, children’s illustration, mosaics, feather headpiece class, palm reading, off the body chakra healing, animal healing, etc.
Thus, when I learned that the first event where profits would be donated to the Extremely Crafty Craft Against Cancer campaign for the Royal Marsden was going to be from a “Make Your Own Gent's Cane or Personalise a Parasol” class at The Making Space in London, I was overjoyed. Thank you very much Simon for the generous offer. I absolutely love that people will be crafting canes and parasols for charity.
I never dreamed of making such items, but why not? They look gorgeous. I think more ladies (and men) should personalize their own parasol and twirl them while they walk through the daffodils in the park. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if people actually did that nowadays? What a treat it would be to see.
Simon has the cool job of being an art director on films and TV projects. He trained at RADA and also has held other classes in London such as mask making. How cool. Even if you’re not in London, check out his site and if you’re in London on Thursday 16th July from 6:30-9:30pm, how about joining in the fun at The Making Space, Gales Gardens, behind Bethnal Green Tube Space, London.

Thank you Mom!

2009-07-07T21:50:00.003+01:00

Tonight, I wanted to share a photograph with you of a blouse my mom and I made together when I was home in April. It is my absolute favourite blouse now. I feel like Carmen Miranda and want to cha cha in it all night long.

I found the fuchsia silk in John Lewis and made it into a lingerie set. I loved it so much I bought enough to make this blouse (Vogue pattern to come. Have to ask Mummy). I figured my mother and I would sew it together and I would better learn from her how to sew. Yes, trust me to pick the hardest thing to try to do. The satin slipped everywhere, so much so, my mother, a professional tailor, even got frustrated.

While she sewed, I did all of the cutting, ironing, tea making and hand stitching. The neckline which you can't see in the photo is all my handiwork. I had to keep rolling and folding as neatly as I possibly could before hand stitching and pressing in place.

We had a few mishaps with the sleeves - like sewing the ruffles on upside down, but the most difficult part was sewing the ruffles which when flat are actually circles cut in half with a hole in the middle because they didn't fit perfectly on the sleeve. A lot of fiddling was done and perfectly turning under the edges before sewing into place.

It took all day bonding with my mother and endless cups of tea for that blouse to be finished, but every time when I wear the blouse I think of all the fun we had down in the basement on the vintage Singer.

What craft projects did you or do you make with your mother?

Fairy Delightful

2009-07-05T09:30:00.004+01:00

Thank you to all of my Extremely Crafty Chums out there for offering to help with the Craft Against Cancer Challenge. I can’t wait to hear about all of the exciting crafty events you are planning to help fundraise. Please do keep me posted.
I wanted to let everyone know about a fun blog I found. It’s by Rita of Ooak Fairy Fae Sculpture who makes the most amazing fairies.

What impressed me the most is Rita is relatively new to sculpting. Rita started making the fairies when she saw a beautiful fairy on Ebay. She knew she had to try this new medium, but didn’t have any clay. She found on Google a recipe for cold porcelain, made some, and at first made flowers with it. She still makes flowers, but now incorporates them into her fairy designs.
She then started to use Fimo clay. Rita says she made quite a lot of mistakes at first, but found the Ooak Guild invaluable for tutorials and advice.
Rita has always been artistic, but has had no formal training. She paints as well as sculpts, but her first love now is sculpting fairies. For a beginner, Rita’s work is absolutely amazing.
If you’d like to see more fairies and other dolls by many different artists, do check out the Ooak Guild. All of the work on here truly is art. Another fairy sculptor is Jamie. Her fairy is below. Click here for her site which also is amazing.
If you could make a fairy, what type of fairy would you make? Goth? Riding atop a unicorn? Mermaid? Princess with long flowing red locks? Lizard fairy?

Major Announcement!

2009-06-30T12:51:00.001+01:00

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!

2009-06-29T18:53:00.008+01:00

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!

2009-06-28T10:47:00.002+01:00

Back tomorrow with tales of Wimbledon!

Because you love Babushka

2009-06-25T11:05:00.000+01:00

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

2009-06-24T19:04:00.000+01:00

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

2009-06-23T10:58:00.000+01:00

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

2009-06-21T09:33:00.000+01:00

A good time was had by all!

Come with Me to Ascot

2009-06-20T20:21:00.000+01:00

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!

2009-06-20T08:36:00.005+01:00

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

2009-06-17T18:45:00.000+01:00

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

2009-06-16T06:52:00.002+01:00

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

2009-06-14T18:59:00.005+01:00

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

2009-06-14T10:21:00.006+01:00

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?

Jet Surprize!

2009-06-13T16:12:00.003+01:00

I was madly glittering away at my work table near the front window when I heard a thunderous rumbling in the air. I’m on the flight path to Heathrow, so my first thought was a plane was coming down.

My glue stick fell.

The windows started rattling.

Trembling hands knocked over glitter.

Pedestrians on the sidewalk pointed toward the sky.

ROAARRR!!!!!

Three red arrow jets zoomed past my window in formation.
Now I remember – the guards were practicing outside Buckingham Palace two weeks ago.
It’s the Queen’s official birthday!!!! Happy Birthday Your Majesty!
So where’s my invite? Am I the only one who didn't receive her invite yet in the post?

Found a Great Blog - Marvelous Kiddo

2009-06-12T13:17:00.003+01:00

Leigh over at Marvelous Kiddo writes a wonderful blog about her family adventures. I know many of you are mothers, so thought you would enjoy reading about her great family and seeing her great photos. She finds unusual children's fashion, art, kids stuff, and maternity wear. Take a look at her blog to find the story behind these ballerina shots.

And this monkey.

How many of you out there have little monkeys of your own at home? Grown monkeys count too!

Chanel Czars

2009-06-11T13:33:00.000+01:00

Thank you Rachel of the wonderful online shop Mother Goose & Gear for the lovely web award! Do take a look at all of her adorable baby clothes. There's some cute doggie pictures on there as well.

With ascot season approaching, I keep thinking about hats. I absolutely adore Karl Lagerfeld’s creations for Chanel. The man with the ponytail is an absolute genius. These are just a few of the hats in his Paris-Moscou 2008-9 collection. Check out the rest of the sumptuous millinery and gorgeous gowns here.
Right, now to make these hats. First, buy 5,000 pearls, gold lame, and a glue gun.

Only joking. Just save your pennies and pence and give Karl a call.

If I could, I would buy the petal shaped hat and wear it to Ascot.

If you could, which one would you buy and where would you wear it?

Portugese Card Inspiration

2009-06-10T13:33:00.000+01:00

Last year when I was in Lisbon, Portugal, I found this gorgeous embroidered card. The stitching looks as if it had been done by a machine and then a plain paper backing stuck to the back to finish it off. Here's a detail shot.
Card stitching is something I've been wanting to try for quite a while, but haven't gotten to it yet on my list of crafts.

Does anyone have any hints on tips from their card stitching experiences?

Do you hand sew or machine sew?

What type of needles are best?

Should you take the sewing machine foot off before sewing so it doesn't leave marks on the card?

Great Gorgeous Glitter 2!

2009-06-09T13:55:00.000+01:00

They're butterflies!

And now I need to think what to make them into.

Great Gorgeous Glitter!

2009-06-06T13:46:00.006+01:00

I absolutely adore Martha Stewart's gorgeous glitter! I have finally got to the glitter crafting on my Extremely Crafty List of things to do and I have been on a glitter crafting storm.

Of course, I never want to waste any of the precious glitter, so I pour each color glitter on a different color piece of paper and then delicately try to pour it back in the bottle. It usually works until the really sad occasion when I knock a bottle over and it goes everywhere. Don't you just hate that?

Well, lucky for me, I seem to repel the glitter, but unlucky for my boyfriend, he must be glitter magnetized because whenever he comes over, within five minutes, I find glitter behind his ears and on his nose. (Kind of like a puppy, but don't tell him.)

Here's a peak at what I've been crafting. Can anyone guess what they are?

Winner Announced & More Babushka!

2009-06-06T12:46:00.007+01:00

The winner of the "How to Sell Greeting Cards" e-book is June at ArtyRetreat. Thank you everyone for posting the button to your sites and helping to spread the word about Extremely Crafty. I'd really like this to be a unique site where you can find new and unusual crafty tips.

I'm still searching for the origins of the Cheese Rolling I posted about previously. Can't quite find it, but could find a picture of the hill at http://www.cheese-rolling.co.uk/. I wouldn't even like to ski it, never mind run down it chasing cheddar!

This is a crafty site, so better show some crafts. On my babushka card making kick, I made the little petal below.

Easy Peasy Lemon Cheesey Instructions:

Used the babushka pattern (I will figure out how to post a link to it soon) and cut out a body.

Used a flower puncher to punch holes in the babushka body.

Glued the green flowers to the card in contrasting color.

Drew face on another sheet of paper, used pastel pencils to shade in the face and cheeks, and black pen for the eyes.

Glued face to back of body.

Punched a flower out of the back of the card and glued it above her eyes. (I wanted the exact color peach and didn't want to waste a whole other card, so if anyone asks why there's a hole punched in the back of the card, I will say "It's the design, darling!"

Glued babushka to the card.

You see, easy peasy lemon cheesey!

Do you have any easy peasy lemon cheesey crafting tips?

Awards & Inspirations

2009-06-06T11:46:00.010+01:00

Thank you so much, Rkdsign88, for the "Lovely Blog Award". This is a real compliment because she shows such beautiful work on her site & shop. She’s an artist who makes such simple, happy pictures and I can’t help but smile whenever I see them. That’s one of her laughing little girls above. She’s recently created a lovely “My Moo Moo” print which I will let you go take a sneak peak at on her site here. Thank you also Shirley of Nannieflash for the Lemonade Stand award. Shirley makes really adorable cards, the one below is hers. They're always so vibrant with detail and often have 3D elements like the flowers.

Right, so the general rules for the awards are to pass them on to other bloggers that inspire and delight. I am nominating the following blogs for both awards:

1 Maroinette a Kauai artist who paints gorgeous paintings and silk scarves based on the inspiration of her Hawaiian home. That's hers below.

2 Clare for raising awareness about the wonderful work the Royal Marsden hospital is doing. She has a really cool slide show, but you will just have to check out her blog to see it!

3 Sheena for the unique cards she makes. Check out the bees she has sewn below.

4 Bei Tesori for her lovely lovely pictures. That's hers below. I think she's even cuter than the Little Mermaid!I hope all of you Extremely Crafty readers find inspiration from the wonderfully diverse work of some of these cool crafters. Seeing them, I just want to sew cards, silk paint, and create wall hangings.

If you have any suggestions of other unique sites you've recently found, please post about them so we can all take a look. Thank you heaps!

p.s. - Check back tomorrow when I announce the winner of the "How to Sell Greeting Cards" pdf e-book!

button

2009-06-05T11:00:00.000+01:00

Giveaway, Cheese Rolling, & Crafts!

2009-06-02T01:14:00.001+01:00

Thank you Shirley, Merry, Gvendalen, June, Dawny, Julie, Bev & RockerJewlz for adding the Extremely Crafty button to your site.

If you would like a chance to WIN the “How to Sell Greeting Cards 101” 28 page pdf e-book (as per below post), copy and paste the Extremely Crafty button to your site and le me know you’ve done so via a post. Winner to be announced next Sunday!

As for recent crazy British events, the annual Cheese Rolling event happened once again at Cooper's Hill in Gloucestershire, England.

Image courtesy of Matt Cardy / Getty Images

Contestants chase a Double Gloucester Cheese down a steep incline of Cooper's Hill . Thousands gather to watch, a few chasers usually end up in hospital and the winner - well, he walks away with the cheese.

Would even Wallace of Wallace and Gromit throw themselves down a hill for cheese? This tradition dates back hundreds of years and has seen countless of broekn bones. Does anyone out there know the significance of chasing cheese?

As for crafts, I was busy painting Babushkas this weekend. Is anyone else out there Babushka mad?

Inspired by all my Card Making Followers . . .

2009-06-01T01:02:00.002+01:00

The code for the Extremely Crafty button has been fixed!

I've been on a card making kick and a a babushka boom. I challenged myself to a Babushka Challenge - using the same pattern, how many different looking babushka patterns could I make?

On this card, I've used recycled Christmas card stamps.

Made the card the same way as the chocolate wrapper Babushka posted about yesterday, but added stamps instead of candy wrappers. When I was a day camp leader many years ago, we used to have Christmas in July. That started me off making presents in July, but now I've started even earlier in May.

Has anyone started making Christmas cards and presents or am I the only one?

p.s. - how many of you love babushkas?

Extremely Crafty Button & Giveaway!

2009-05-31T13:34:00.007+01:00

After weeks of trying to figure out how to make an Extremely Crafty button, I've finally cracked it. For all of you Extremely Crafty chums who include it on their blog, you will be entered in a raffle to WIN the “How to Sell Greeting Cards 101” 28 page pdf e-book that’s in my shop.

Learn about the top 50 greeting card companies where you can submit your creations for purchase. (If you already own this and your name is picked, I’ll think up another prize.)

Winner to be announced next Sunday!

You'll find the code in the box at the top right corner of my site.

Thanks to Dawniy of A Crafty Blog for the suggestion and finally motivating me to make one.

Ever used candy wrappers in your craft?

2009-05-31T09:44:00.000+01:00

This card was made out of chocolate coin wrappers, which a number of you guessed. Last Christmas, I bought chocolate Euros in Belgium, chocolate nickels and dimes in Michigan, and chocolate pence in London. Look closely to see the coin embossing.

To make your own chocolate Babushka sweetie:

1 Eat lots of yummy chocolate coins and save the wrappers.

2 Smooth ridged wrapper edges, then cut off, so you are left with a bunch of flat coins.

3 Cut out babushka template from heavy paper. [Stay tuned -template will be provided in upcoming e-zine]

4 Draw and color face of babushka doll Her face is colored with pastel pencils and black pen for the eyes.

4 Position chocolate coins to cover all babushka body and glue in place.

5 Once dry, cut off any overlapping wrapper edges.

So, have you ever used candy wrappers or recycled anything else strange in your craft?

Tomorrow - a card made with stamps!

Cannes Surprize!

2009-05-30T21:07:00.000+01:00

I forgot to mention that in the apartment I was staying in in Cannes, this lovely lady was right above my bed. For those avid Extremely Crafty blog readers, do you notice it's a sketch in the same series as my post here. And I thought those Nomadic Academy of Fools had done it themselves. No, they'd lifted the photo from someone else's site too.

I post about it and the sketch randomly manifests above my bed. Coincidence or is it a sign? What do you think?

p.s. - If it's a sign, a sign of what?

Another Day, Another Card

2009-05-29T20:58:00.000+01:00

Can you guess what this little sweetie is made out of?

Card Crafting Craze

2009-05-28T20:26:00.000+01:00

Inspired by all of the wonderful card making blogger friends I've been making these past few weeks, I went card crazy and made eight different cards this weekend. I plan to reveal them all in my card craft e-zine. It should be out in the beginning of July. Can you wait that long?

I should have the summer at the seaside issue done now, but gosh, I just haven't been inspired to finish it. I'm too into making cards! What's happening to me? I'm being sucked in by another hobby!

Do you ever fight taking up a new hobby because:

a) you are crafting until 3am anyway and don't have any extra time?
b) have already maxed out your Michael's/Hobby Lobby/Hobby Craft credit card? or
c) are eating on the edge of your dining room table because the sewing machine and supplies have taken control?

A Race for Life

2009-05-26T17:09:00.000+01:00

It was a bank holiday this past weekend in the UK, so I went to a wonderful BBQ one day and the other two spent in crafting bliss. A lot of you know I have recently discovered a wonderful card crafting site, Crafters Kitchen, and many of the new people I've met on that site have been my inspiration to spend all Sunday making cards. I made eight and can't wait to photograph them and put them in the upcoming card craft ezine.

It's dark now, but tomorrow, I will post a little peek at one of the cards. My theme was babushkas gone wild! Just found this cute stamp over at The Crafty Pad (a Crafty Kitchen friend). Part of the proceeds go towards the Race for Life Charity. If you are in no shape to exercise (like moi) then what a great idea to stamp for charity!

Cannes Cannes!

2009-05-23T06:55:00.000+01:00

The lawn outside the Carlton. Remember the doll's house I posted about two days ago, well, I woke a few days later to see that the house was gone and in its place was a giant Christmas tree on either end and everything was covered in snow to promote A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey. Whose job is it to spray snow I wonder?
This is La Croisette - the main ocean drag in Cannes. The beach is lined with tents where people eat, drink, and party. That's the glass roof of one of them there.

Hotel Du Cap - these are the dining and bar terraces. A group of friends and I spent the day there. This is where most of the stars stay while at the festival. It's about a half an hour drive or fifteen minutes by boat. Here's my boat! (one day)

View of the restaurant terrace.

Pool

But life isn't all fun and games at the Hotel Du Cap. These are the paparazzi who hang out at the rocks bear the Hotel Du Cap and snap photos of stars on their yachts with super duper long lenses. It's also right near where people disembark from their boats to go ashore at the Hotel Du Cap.

One of the many glamorous hotels on La Croisette in Cannes. If you're a star, you're either staying at the Hotel Du Cap or if you want to be right downtown, you'll stay here. Great for late night star spying. Quentin Tarantino is a regular late nighter.

Palm trees in the moonlight. We have a long weekend in the UK this week, so I'm going to be crafting up a storm and plan to have lots of fun new projects for you to do soon. What is your favourite type of craft?

Macaroon Love

2009-05-21T17:01:00.000+01:00

I absolutely love macarons and I love how this picture turned out. Two macarons on honeymoon. In Cannes, I was staying near a little patisserie and it was heaven. Each morning, I would eatone almond croissant, one pain au chocolate, and one macaron (or maybe two) and once I even had another patastry that looked like a giant potato chip, but it was pastry and so light with almonds on top. Does anyone know what it is called? It was pure delightful. Someone should write a French pastry cookbook.

I was always intrigued by macarons - what do those little colorful cake/cookies taste like? Well, they're crunchy on the outside and moist on the outside and regardless of color, I think they taste like almond.

I've been trying to find the best macaron recipe for all of my Extremely Crafty Chums and found these. If anyone has another good macaron recipe, I would be really grateful if you could leave a link in the comments section. Merci beaucoup!

Strawberry (but recipe uses jam, so not sure about this one)

Gigantic macarons

Chocolate pistachio
Aha! read on the blog vine this is the best recipe at A La Cuisine. Two flavours are listed - Caramel-Fleur de Sel Macarons and Toasted Sesame Macarons. Don't they sound yummy?

If you try any of the recipes, let me know how they turn out. I'll be making some this weekend.

Cannes Craft

2009-05-20T17:12:00.000+01:00

While in Cannes, I discovered a brilliant Parisian menswear designer named [I can't find his bloody name! Ack! Will keep searching]. I’ve always thought men’s clothing could benefit from embroidery and the odd flower and this designer is making it.

I met a guy at the Majestic hotel and he was wearing this shirt so I had to speak to him. I eventually asked if I could take photographs of his shirt and whether his wife would mind. Luckily, he’d had a few mojitos, so didn’t mind.

The back of this shirt was decorated with red and orange thickly embroidered star like flowers. Chunky graffiti roses were also printed on with thick black lines. The man was also wearing a white linen jacket that had a subtle shimmer of silver running though it and it was lined with white on white paisley silk. It was wonderfully bold, but I wasn’t cheeky enough to ask for three photos.
On this shirt, he decorated the back, cuffs, and right front side.

The next day, I bumped into the French film agent and he was wearing another shirt by the same designer. This was had quilted cotton patchwork on the right front side of the shirt.
Other than making films, Cannes was void of any other type of craft. I lie - there was a giant dolls house outside the Carlton Hotel to celebrate the opening night movie, Up! the story of an old man who ties balloons to his house and goes on an adventure.

Tomorrow - Tons of photos of Cannes during the film festival.

Lemonade Stand Award - Hooray!

2009-05-19T19:08:00.001+01:00

How exciting! I just received this award from my friend, Karen Lee, at A Place to Share My Stuff. She has a really fun blog which I’m sure you’ll enjoy. Thank you! Thank you!

The rules of the Lemonade Stand Awards award are

*comment on this blog

*cut and paste the award logo and use it on your own blog

*nominate 5 to 10 blogs you feel show great attitude and gratitude

*link to your nominees within your blog post

*comment on their blogs to let them know they received the award

*link back to the person who gave you the award to show your appreciation

So now I need to pass it on and the award goes to these cool blogs…

RockerJewlz

Harbor Hon

Princess of Everything

Hippy Chick

Felt O'Rama

Hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Tomorrow - Cannes Craft!

Ne-Yo's Painting Passion

2009-05-18T14:23:00.000+01:00

So as I was writing the other day, I was at the Nikki Beach club in Cannes. Picture a giant white tent erected on the beach. One side of the tent was open with large beige wicker sofas with plump white cushions scattered beneath the stars. In the covered part of the tent, a floor had been erected, on which a dining room, bar, DJ turntables stood. The color palette was white and sand.

A girl perched herself on the back of our sofa and a bunch of people started asking to take pictures with a guy in a hat. I asked her who he was and she said “Ne-Yo”. I knew he was a singer, so I jumped into action with my camera. I knew this was the first celebrity sighting and I had promised my Extremely Crafty Chums to get the low down.

“So what sort of crafts or hobbies are you interested in?” I asked.

If you guessed, knitting or macramé, you’re wrong. If you guessed painting, you’re right.

Ne-Yo loves to paint and has been painting ever since he’s been singing. He is very passionate about it and likes to paint all subjects. No favourites here. He uses all colors and he’s painted pictures of all sizes – some really big canvases. He hasn’t had a show yet. He’s not sure if his work is really ready for that, but he would love to show his work one day.

I should have said that he could launch his creative pursuits with Extremely Crafty, but I only thought about that now. What a great exclusive. ACK! I missed out on that one. I shall remember that for next time.
About an hour later, my friends and I went to the Nikki Beach Night Club. This one was part of the Palais where they have the red carpet premieres and not on the beach. Here again was Ne-Yo and his group, including the girl who I spoke with. Turns out she’s the girlfriend. How embarrassing asking her who Ne-Yo was and it was her boyfriend. Ne-Yo performed his hit song and was about ten feet away from me. He really is a brilliant singer. He seemed like a totally cool, laid back guy who took the time to speak to myself and other fans. His girlfriend was also really cool and we waved like old friends of an hour previous. When he left the club, Ne-Yo said “Hey” and patted me on the back.

Have any of you had any experiences with either really friendly or really not so friendly celebrities?

Up tomorrow – Crafty in Cannes! I discovered a Parisian men’s clothes designer who embroiders and paints dress shirts. Pictures of his work.

Turkish Delight

2009-05-17T20:10:00.000+01:00

Better pics of original underwear set.

Back on Monday from Cannes - check back then!

Second Celebrity Sighting!

2009-05-17T12:49:00.000+01:00

Quentin Tarrantino. Said hello as he was running past. Didn't have a chance to ask him about crafts, btu I think we all know what his hobby is - film making! He has a film at the festival - Inglorious Baestards. My friend chased him down the street and learned Quentin is staying until Thursday. We have an actress we'd like him to meet who Quentin has apparently liked her previous work. Said actress was staying with us and gave me swuch a fright that night, I could barely sleep!!! Quentin would love her. She'd Kill Bill, Kill Bob, Kill Just about anyone if her showreel is anything to go by. Quentin was at the Soho House party where I was on Friday, but although I searched, I couldn't find him. I think he was hiding behind the lobsters.

More on that Monday.

My Little Pony

2009-05-15T20:11:00.000+01:00

I swear these Icelandic ponies were the inspiration for My Little Pony. They are absolutely adorable. More pictures of Fun in Iceland are finally available. To see some amazing shots, click here.

Back Monday from Cannes, so check back!

Post from Cannes

2009-05-15T11:17:00.000+01:00

Found an internet connection. The highlight of yesterday was interviewing singer Neo about his favourite hobby and seeing him perform live in a nightclub where he was partying. When I met him, it was rather embarassing because my friend and I were at the Nikki Beach "Beach" club as opposed to the Nikki Beach Nightclub. The beach beach club is a club that's been erected in a tent on the beach. My friends and I were sat having drinks on their luxiorious white sofas (a beach club has better furniture than I do) and suddenly a group of people passed and a few people started asking for questions. I asked the pretty girl who perched on our sofa who were they taking photos of and she said Neo. My first celebrity sighting. I got in there with my camera and asked "Do you do any sorts of crafts or hobbies?" I was surprized at his answer.

And the girl - it was his girlfriend. How embarassing. Anyway, bumped into her at the next party in the Palais at the Nikki Beach Nightclub and we waved at each other (she from VIP) and I got a pat on the back and a hey from Neo.

Come back on Monday to read what Neo's secret passion is.

RoaRRR!!! & off to Cannes

2009-05-13T20:07:00.000+01:00

This is the matching brazier I made. With help from my mother, we adapted the New Look pattern and just made the top half. The back is stretchy swimsuit fabric (multi colored polka dots no less) because we didn't happen to have any wide elastic in the house. Make use, my mother always says.

Well, folks, I'm off to Cannes in the morning. I'll try to post while at the film fest, but don't think I'll have access to the Internet and anyway, I'm hoping I may be on a yacht with load of celebrities drinking champagne. (Yeah, in my fantasies!) I will let you know how it goes and keep your crafty questions in mind.

I've scheduled to post some further pics twice while I'm away, but will be back Monday with loads of photos so check back then! xox

Wild Nights Start with Leopard...

2009-05-13T09:03:00.000+01:00

So back to the underwear. I made this set using a New Look pattern #6443. The only one I could find with French knickers. Actually it was almost the only one I could find period. I had made a lovely mess of my first attempt which I posted about here (scroll to bottom of page), so I thought I had to try set 2 to see if I had learned anything.

I am happy to report I didn't burn any holes through fabric. I didn't cut out three left sides for the knickers or two for the bodice. I tried to match all of the leopard print stripes. This was a heavier fabric with more polyester in it rather than working with pure silk which made it much easier. The instructions in this pattern were much clearer (except the back still gaped open so elastic was again a necessary last minute addition).

Extremely Crafty recommendation - You'll be happy with the pattern.

So what do you think of this knicker set?

Cannes Count Down

2009-05-12T17:27:00.000+01:00

Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia

I'm off to Cannes on Thursday. I'm going with a film producer friend and hope to make it to the red carpet.

Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia

I won't be doing any of the above, but I'm sure there will be lots of others to take my place. Well, of course unless I'm offered a million dollars and a film contract and yellow only M&M's. She doesn't look as if she eats many M&M's, does she? Hmm, must remember to take white bathing suit for lying around ont he streets. Just in case of course.

Photo courtesy of mundomiss.blogspot

My goal for the trip is if I meet any celebrities, I will ask them about what their favourite craft is. How cool would that be if I could get mini interviews with celebrities on the Croisette. In years past, I bumped into Michael Moore a few times, Eddie Murphy, and Bollywood star, Aishwarya Rai.

If I do bump into any stars, who do you hope I meet and what questions do you want me to ask?

Burlesque Life Drawing Sketch Night - I kid you not!

2009-05-11T15:00:00.000+01:00

(photo courtesy of Nomadic Academy of Fools)

Tonight, the Nomadic Academy of Fools is hosting a Burlesque Life Drawing Sketch Night in London. What a wickedly wonderful idea and a great way to meet other people. The Nomadic Fools are a wandering band of theatrical performers. The confirmed acts so far are the Bavarian Slappers, the Bearded Beauty and the Strong Ladies. I can hardly wait.

Knickers to this!

2009-05-10T11:53:00.001+01:00

I've been on a kick to make my own underwear since everything I want to buy is at least $50 or 50 pounds sterling. I bought McCall's M5651 underwear pattern. It is one of a small selection of underwear patterns on the market at the moment. There's more patterns available for dog clothes! Anyway, this was one of their diy style range and promises to help make it your own style. Almost every suggestion they have is - add rhinestones. Well, I think anyone of us could have told them that.

Rhinestones are not going to fix the fact that the pattern doesn't even tell you how to make a proper crotch. The instructions tell you to cut out a piece of jersey fabric against the template, lay it on the underwear and stitch in place. The result is that all of the hems and the raw edges show.

One of my other issues with this pattern is that one of the knicker patterns is shown with scallops. You are supposed to buy fabric with scallops that perfectly matches the pattern. I used lacy scallop fabric, but had to improvise on the pattern because theirs just didn't work.

The knickers ended up turning out nice as I took extra care to match the lace stripes in the behind view and carefully cut out the lacy scallops, but especially with the advised crotch construction, I can't see how these will last more than a few washes.

Extremely Crafty suggestion - Don't buy this pattern.

The 13 Yule Lads

2009-05-07T22:25:00.000+01:00

Yes, I did keep the boyfriend (he's not one of the guys pictured above) although I could have wrung his neck as the tires of the jeep crunched farther and father up the glacier. Also when the guide drover our jeep into a river and water submerged us half way up the doors. Other than times like these, he is pretty wonderful, so I must keep him and hopefully, he’ll keep me too!

So as we were being toured by our guide across the wilds of Iceland I asked the two questions that intrigue me the most about other countries – do the children here believe in Santa Claus and the tooth fairy? These are very important questions obviously.
At first, I think the guide and the other travelers thought I was mad, but then the guide composed himself and began to tell us about the gruesome Gryla and her thirteen Yule Lads. There’s no Santa story here. She is a hideous ogress who loves to eat stewed naughty or lazy children. She gets particularly hungry at Christmas time and sets off with a sack to find a bunch of naughty ones to gobble up.
Gryla was married to a couple of trolls and had 13 children to one of them. (Apparently trolls like hideous ogresses.) In Icelandic tradition, this family of trolls was used to scare cheeky children and motivate the lazy ones. Each Yule Lad has a very strong character – usually a rascal or a thief. Their names depict their character.

On the thirteen days leading up to Christmas, each Yule Lad has his day during which he sets off from the family home and travels over the mountains, glaciers, ravines, and caves, to visit each child across the country and deliver small gifts into their shoes. (Shoes are left by the windowsill here, no stockings over the fire.)
There’s the Sheep Worrier (I kid you not), the Gully Gawk, Stubby, the Spoon Licker, Pot Licker, Door Slammer, Bowl Licker, Skyr Glutton (delicious yoghurty treat), Sausage Stealer (pic above), Window Peeper, Door Sniffer, Mr. Meat Hook, and the Candle Beggar.

If the child has been naughty that day, the child receives a potato in his or her shoe. Kind of like our lump of coal, only worse. You do not want a potato in your shoe. Many adults boast they never had a potato in their shoe as a child.

While there, I bought the book The Yule Lads by Brian Pilkington. All photos are from this book. I always love to collect children’s books and this one is a delight.

As for the tooth fairy, some families tell their children about the fairy. Some don’t. Doesn’t seem to be as big a deal as the 13 Yule Lads.
Coming up – my underwear! Here’s a sneaky look at two sets of knickers I recently made. Check back tomorrow for adventures in knicker making!

Crafting & Cod in Iceland

2009-05-06T22:28:00.000+01:00

There were two crafty shops I fell in love with in Iceland. One was a knitting shop on the main shopping drag. They have knitting classes on Saturday mornings, so if you happen to be there on time, drop on in. The selection of yarns was absolutely amazing. The colors and textures and weight of the wool were divine. It was only the cost that kept me from going mad and spending all my money. If I lived in this country, I'd have to have my own sheep so I could make my own wool. The ladies ranged in age from 13 to about 76 and were knitting the usual socks, sweaters, etc. Didn't see any boobie warmers, but I did see these cool pouf ball hats. They remind me of something a Dr. Seuss creature would wear. The fashions in Iceland mainly included hats, scarves, jumpers, boots, anything to keep warm, but yet, there were these pouf ball dresses in the window. Where anyone would wear these, I have no idea. August is their hottest month, but I don't even think the temperature gets to 80F.

Below is the typical dress (notice the pointy elf like hat again) and this woman must be absolutely freezing because she is practically naked in comparison to all of the clothes I was trudging around in. (Photo compliments of The Viking shop)

There were numerous other craft shops selling bits of everything, but my favourite was what seemed to be the largest. Litir og Fondur had everything from black lava beads (which I bought) to pelts of fur in a multitude of colors (which I did not buy). If anyone happens to be going to Iceland and would like the address, do let me know.

As for food - whale kebabs were on the menu at my most favourite ever restaurant - Saegreifinn (The Sea Barron). I didn't try this however and opted for the lobster soup which was absolutely to die for. Huge chunks of lobster meat in a creamy, buttery sauce. I was a glutton and added a lobster kebab to this. The thick, juicy pieces of lobster fell off the skewer and actually did melt in my mouth. I was in heaven. I could eat there every day of my life...

Take a raw kebab from the counter - scallop, whale, cod, haddock, shrimp, salmon, lobster, pay for it at the register and they'll cook it for you. Oh yes, back to I was in love with this place...

...until I found the Icelandic fish and chip restaurant and I was in love all over again only with a different fish. This time it was the huge chunks of haddock lightly battered in an almost tempura light batter topped with large crystals of sea salt and garlic rosemary chunky chips on the side, all slathered with lashings of a gloopy malt vinegar which was so delightful, I could have guzzled the entire bottle.

And of course, wash it all down with an ice cold Polar Beer (get it, polar bear?), that is if you like beer. I tried their endless assortment of mineral waters.
And here's a photo of breakfast in our guest house. This pig is everywhere in Iceland. It's the logo of the piggy back saver grocery store. I find it rather obscene and revolting, don't you? p.s. - we did manage to get off the glacier , but had to reverse out of the ditch we'd spun ourselves into and apparently everyone has GPS now, so if one system breaks, there's always a back up.

Tomorrow - Does Santa Claus exist in Iceland?

Iceland Adventure

2009-05-05T20:54:00.001+01:00

We had a bank holiday Monday this past weekend for May Day. Not 100% sure what the holiday was except that in some parts of the country, I think there is Morris dancing and cheese rolling. I however went for the long weekend to Iceland.

Seeing as it is summer and I had once read that Iceland was really nice and Greenland was really cold and the countries had been so named to keep the tourists away from Iceland, I packed a few sweaters and some socks. Oh. My. Gosh. Was I wrong! I should have packed a woolly mammoth to wear. I was absolutely freezing so for three days wore my all of my clothes, including my pajamas and my boyfriend’s swim trunks underneath my clothes.

The weather was very strange. On the first morning, it was bright and sunny, then within 15 minutes, it was hailing! I did not sign up for rain or HAIL on this trip. Absolutely not. I hadn’t been feeling well (this is a vast understatement), so when my boyfriend and I found our way to the tourist office, I was so happy to get out of the hail that I said yes far too quickly to the two tours he wanted to go on.
We found ourselves an hour later (first a stop for warmer socks and hat) on the first tour – 6 hours on a bus venturing in for 3 hours into the mainland of Iceland to see a natural geyser which shoots boiling hot water into the air every 5 minutes. (Some crazy lunatics actually stood underneath this – how they did not get scalded, I have absolutely no idea!) We stayed there for 45 minutes, then zoomed over to the cascading waterfall for another half hour, got absolutely soaking wet when the wind changed direction, and hopped back on the bus for the 3 hour journey home.
Day 2 – My boyfriend is actually lucky I am still dating him. Really lucky. I have a very overactive imagination and a number of my fears were realized – actually fears I never knew existed. In my antibiotic/aspirin fuelled high, I had agreed to a tour that let me experience TERROR - complete blackness to complete white.

In one, I was underground in a cave rock climbing and I do not do rock climbing. Think Sarah Jessica Parker in a cave. Completely inappropriate but cute shoes. We experienced pitch blackness. My head light was broke.
(this was before the top of the glacier while we could still see)

An hour earlier, I was in a jeep in a white out on a glacier. My fellow travelers were urging the guide on to the top of the glacier. The snow swirled around us, the jeep got stuck, GPS stopped working and I was the voice of reason pleading to go back down. Did we? Oh no, we were only at 1,200 meters of 1,400 total high. My eyes were playing tricks and I could see the horizon just in front of us, we were about to plunge to our deaths – PLEASE CAN WE GO HOME!!!??? No, we had to get out and make snow angels on the glacier.

I actually did get out of the jeep, but didn’t move much until the guide stomped on the snow and told me to move around. I couldn’t let everyone make snow angels without me, so finally I threw myself down and made my snow angel on the glacier. The snow was dense and hard so it was really difficult to do, but I dug my arms and legs in and darn it, made the best angel there. I showed the gal from South America who had never seen snow before how to do it. And you know what, it was absolutely beautiful. When I stopped panicking I realized that the snow had a blue tinge to it because it was reflecting the sky. It was white (with a bluish cast) as far as the eye could see. I didn’t know if I would ever get down that darn glacier, but darn it, my snow angel was the best one that glacier had seen.
Tomorrow – Would we escape the glacier in the jeep or did air rescue come to save us? Is the boyfriend history?

p.s. – this is a craft blog not rucksack adventures, so stay tuned and the crafts will be revealed...or will they?