I`m later than usual posting today -

but our weather is glorious and i had

to come inside out of the hot sun at nearly

4pm . After some local shopping , i have been out

in my garden , re potting plants and got a shot

of our rhododendron shoots .

I was going to go inside , then a bumble bee

came to a partially open bloom - so i managed

to capture him ! Going inside the flower head .

And i let my veggie plants that are inside , for

now , have a sun bathe . We`re both quite "chuffed "

how our first try at growing peppers is

progressing - first signs of the bell peppers

appearing !! ;o) Whoo Hoo !!

And last , but not least -

a quickly made , make up bag for myself .

Out of this cherry material i have had for a year

at least ! Kind of kitschy and a little different

but it makes me smile and reminds me of my

other half - his surname is Cherry !

I need to sew press studs on it still .

Lined inside ..

I hope everyone has a great weekend !!

We have some more predicted good weather

days ahead of us - so i will be out

enjoying it !!

I took a couple of short video clips ,

the cherry blossoms in our local park -

it was a canopy of fragrant blooms -

and covered the ground like snow .

Sadly it has gone now , and the planted

flowers have been recently pulled up too !! I

suppose ready for more to replace them - i am

so glad i filmed when i did do !!

And this is a page in my drawing book -

inspired by the video below ..

It`s only 9 seconds long , but if you listen

you can hear Mr robin singing right near the end

and fly off !! It`s a shame the video box is small ,

you cannot really make out the robin in this size .

I have since tried to get a photo

but i think he knows when i carry my camera !!

The one day i do forget it - who do i see there hopping

on the grass taunting me !! ??

We had a gorgeous weekend ,

the weather was perfect , sunny and hot.

So we were out visiting places amoungst

other things .

Nunnington Hall - a Yorkshire manor house

from the the 17th century

The bridge across the river ...

The back from the garden - it was originally

the front with a long drive up towards the house .

side garden where the tearoom served

food grown from the garden .

They had 4 resident young peacocks ,

meandering around and very tame.

Here i am sat on the grass - waiting to get a

close up shot ;o)

The young miss pea hen ..

and the shyer Mr peacock ...

Part of the grass had been cut - the rest was left ,

it looked like a wild garden .

And just a small selection of the blooming flowers ..

It is a place that we will revisit -

just to see how the seasons affects the

beautful garden !

As it was suggested by my friend Sherry

in a comment she left on my sleeping mouse

watercolour ..

" just do it " , and have a go at

illustrations for a children's book .. Please !!

I had already had that thought , and not done anything ,

but when someone else has the same idea , then it

confirms it even more to yourself .

So - i am starting , slowly , and in between

all my other projects i want to create ,

some characters for a story and write it !!

Here is Buttercup ... the fluffy chick ..

just a prototype drawing ,

as i may leave out the pen marks , change the

beak / legs .

What do you think ? ?

Any suggestions will be most welcomed .

This will be a huge challenge - as i have no children ,

and may seem strange to those who have them

that i am even attempting this !

I have more research to do , what age range i

wish it to be in etc ... etc ...

It`s our spring mayday bank holiday this

weekend , and we`re busy , visiting relatives

and our first outdoor BBQ this year !

I`ll be making my famous potato salad ,

and the weather is supposed to be good !

So i wish you all a great weekend -

and i`ll see you next week !

Using some of the material i made for

my eco bag on the post below ..

I came up with these ...

A set of scented sachets .

2 hanging and 1 drawer , poly fill and also

contains Yorkshire dried lavender .

Then i wanted to make myself a small

travel bag ..

This is the larger one - 9 x 10 "

Fully lined ...

leaving the raw selvedge that will not fray

and sewing a piece on for the twill tape

draw string .

I then made a smaller version ...

I`m keeping this one - but i am listing

the others in my SHOP

I`ve been busy the past few days

making the extra give away winner

prizes . A sneak peak of one completed below.

I`m not saying who`s it is * giggle *

But i will posting it tomorrow ;o)

And i finished my own large Eco friendly bag .

This turned out to take longer than i expected !

Just 2 rectangles sewn on 3 sides , one turned

right side out from having right sides facing each

other .Then place one inside the other - so it is

lined , and then sandwich the handles in between the

2 pieces and sew along on the top edge .

I bought this vintage looking material a while ago

and i wish now i had purchased more of it !

The finished bag ..

Inside - which can be turned inside out .

You could put a contrasting material - but i

wanted the same .

I re-enforced my handles with iron on interfacing

and i liked the selvedge edge of the material -

instead of having to turn it over to sew !

Before i sewed the sides - i wanted a pocket

so i made a lined one . Which will be on the outside

or the inside if i turn it about .

This is going on holiday with me in a few weeks time-

although it did take me longer than anticipated -

it was well worth it ! I try and carry or reuse bags

all the time and i have an original created bag for myself !

I have some of the material left and have plans

for that - so stay tuned ;o)

We had real bad thunderstorms and

lightning late yesterday - so it was decided to

turn our computer off - and a good job that

my plant was inside safe and sound !

My Voodoo fuchsia has it`s first bloom !

After having my first one drop off - due to it

being too heavy for the fragile stem .

Isn`t the colour gorgeous ! ?

Underneath shot ...

And a full moon - a few nights ago -

I left it - so more light got in during the exposure

- and these are 2 of the best photos -

to see the cloud illumination .

Have a great weekend !!

A Sleeping Visitor ...

At the bottom of my garden ,

Under the old oak tree .

Snuggled up tightly ,

And as small as can be .

Just hidden from sight ,

Was a sleeping mouse .

Silently i gazed ,

Without making a sound .

Nested under a mushroom ,

As contented as can be .

I left him alone ,

I wonder if he knew me -

That i could see ?

Pen / water colour drawing - 5" square

and poem by myself .

The winners are ....

Thankyou to everyone who entered

my giveaway ! So here are the winners .

I decided to have 3 in response to the

leather wallet - so it gave you more of a

chance to win something ! And i am feeling generous ;o)

Below is 3 short videos done in succession ,

and on the 2nd video - you may notice that i had to

click twice - as the same person came up again ! !

The other 2 winners will receive something done

in leather and will be posted as soon as i create it .

Congratulations to the winners !!

And thank you to everyone else - new and

regular readers who popped by !

And if you have the sound up - you can hear

my budgies tweeting in the background !

They`re never quiet when you need them to be !

I will be in touch , unless you see this first -

as we are heading out for the day -

to get your address`s !

Golden Butterfly ..

I got some more leather pieces in other colours ,

and wanted to try something

different with it. I decided on the black

leather - as it did not look right on another

colour i tried - just something simple -

but it looks effective .

I call this the Golden silhouette butterfly .

Using acrylic titanium gold paint ,

using a stamp , then filling in by hand

and an antique copper chain .

The leather butterfly sits nicely on the collar

bone or can be extended a little either way .

With a coating of glossy accents -

to give it an "embossed " effect

I hope everyone had a good weekend -

especially those celebrating Mothers day !!

A tiny watercolour i did last night .

Just 10cm x 8 cm high .

Next time - i may try something larger,

as it was a little difficult to paint !

And a free image for those who want

to use it ... A Happy Mothers Day to

my international readers !!

I hope you spend an extra special day

with your loved ones ..

My 2 year Blogger-versary and giveaway ! ...

2 years ago today , i began this blog .

Quite by chance that i did start it ,

as i had just read about it in a magazine -

and i decided to create one that evening ,

just to see , and not really intending to stay

on here as long - truth be told ....

Two years on now , and so many things have

changed , my style of work , how i see things and

hopefully write a little better than i did at the

beginning ! Although i know i`m not one to go on

about things - all around the houses so to speak -

i can be abrupt in descriptions , but that`s my way ,

and what makes me unique ;o)

So - i have a give away to celebrate - in

true blogger fashion !!

I was up late last night creating this - as the date

dawned on me at 10pm ! So here is what i made

and i hope you like it ....

A soft leather deep red " wallet "

Size 8.25 x 4.75 "

That has a sewn thin strap to tie ,

with a handcut flower and vintage button trim .

It is a deeper red than the photo

Lovely red suede on the inside ..

And hand sewn edges ...





Perfect for keeping papers , cheque book
passport / holiday items in etc etc ....

To have a chance to win this ..
Please comment and say what you would use
it for - then i will use the random number
generator and announce the winner on
Wednesday 13th May .


Oh - and if you spread the word -
let me know and ..
you go in for 2 chances to win !

A huge thank you to all who visit me -
i have met and made many new friends -
and my life is richer with you all in it !

Sometimes you have to look down ...

Seeing the small things - consciously

recognising them ... the beauty around me ..

And not always looking up - sometimes

you have to look down ...

The changing dandelions in my garden ..

A starling egg caught on my garden wall ..





And i took it inside - a
gorgeous shade of blue and so delicate ..




Other times - you have to go through a door ..
not knowing what you may find ..

Old Parsonage hotel -Oxford .

A snail climbing a fence ..

Vegetables ..


Helmsley garden .

And a pin cushion Pro tea head .

What will make you stop and " look " ??