Crochet creations and soaps

These days I am finding myself pondering life and the craziness that is happening in the world and how it affects my life and family. I find myself being thankful for my hobbies to keep me grounded. I love to crochet and currently I have 2 projects in the go. One is a cute little baby blanket for a work colleagues sister who’s expecting her first baby in September 💓 the colour theme is pink, grey and white. I am using a pattern for the granny squares out of a Patons pattern book Modern Crochet, polka dot rug. But I am making a pram size. And doing a completely different border which is in my head rather than on paper. Secondly I started a spike stitch blanket inspired by a good friend who follows a blog called Attic 24. This is the link and the colours and pictures are truly inspirational. I wasn’t in the position to indulge in some new yarns so I hunted thru my rather generous stash. Ta dah! I found 12 colours and away I started.

I’ve also been supporting my Mums new hobby which is making soaps... I absolutely adore homemade soaps and my Mum is an absolute champion at it. Her creations are truly inspirational and thankfully I have lovely work mates that appreciate her creations and have been helping support her also. 🥰 Mum taught me at the end of our Christmas holidays and I managed to make 2 batches but unfortunately haven’t had time to make anymore yet! Fingers crossed I’ll be able to find the time soon to make another batch to put away for a rainy day 😉

Just made 2 batches of biscuits to feed my troops, I’m sure they’ll last at least the day considering it’s just after 3pm 😂

Now I’m going to mow the front lawn before there’s too many clippings to put in my bin!
Have a great weekend...

New decade, New Year and Holidays!

I am firstly so grateful to work in the education industry which allows me to have lots of holiday breaks throughout the year! Especially the 6-7 weeks over Christmas. What better way to start my holidays than to quote to yarn bomb a bicycle for the local Bike shop as an attention grabber and say that I could have it ready over a weekend within a week of Christmas when I was going to have 14 people in our house!!?? All good one of those 14 was my Mum so she helped me crochet until our hands tired and the bike was bombed 😃 I was very pleased with the end result 🎉

Signed, sealed and delivered on time 😊
So after delivering the bike it was time to get organised for Christmas. Spending a few days with my family was really nice. Especially to spend time with my elderly grandmother ❤️ We really should make time for the elderly around us they have such amazing memories of days gone by.
In my family it is a tradition to head to the beach to make a sandman as we are in Australia there is no snow ⛄️

Then after the Christmas celebrations Mum and I had a chance to make some soap 🧼
My Mum has been creating breathtaking cold pressed soaps for the last few months to kill time whilst she is caring for her own Mum. She has managed to pass the bug on to me so I’ve made 2 batches in a week 😊 sleighride scented calendula soap. Smells divine and looks lovely.

I’ve also picked up my macrame rope and made 3 plant hangers for some plants that a friend let me take from her place. I used a really simple pattern which I can’t find right now but I’ll add in comments when I do.

A busy few weeks it has been with lots of other things to fill the days from yoga to sausage sizzles for fur babies, I’ve kept myself busy. Have to go to the big smoke for a fortnight while my youngest has her tonsils out and then home for a few days before the 2020 Work Year begins 🤩 

May 2020 be a great year for you with whatever your heart desires. Until next time...

It's the Little things...

So it's been a few months at least since I've posted, life just seems to get crazy busy but I thought I had better make the time and do a post.
Many things have happened over the past few months and it got me thinking that its the little things that make such a big difference to our day to day lives. Such as great coffee, great friends, new projects and stepping outside our comfort zones.
This last 2 months I have stepped out of my comfort zone in a few ways, firstly after 18 years I have gone back to doing Yoga. Here in the town where I live a new little studio opened up and something about resonated with me so I pulled up my big girl pants and showed up to the open day. The Owner Anna was so lovely and made that initial moment feel less scary. I was excited to start but had that small concern of how flexible will I be, will my shoulder (previous injury) play up? Anyways I showed up for a Monday 6 am class and I have not looked back 🤩 My balance is better than I had expected and my flexibility is growing each time but most of all I am feeling calm and able to concur my days 💓
Next was to enter some of my craft items in the local Agricultural show. A friends Mum had said to me a few months ago was I going to enter a blanket I had made into the show and I borked at the thought! But it got the old cogs turning and I thought what the heck. So I entered 2 blankets/rugs, a vase of Calendulas, some handmade cards and a crocheted headband. Well to my surprise but apparently not anyone else I got first prize for my cards, a rug and Vase of flowers as well as the Champion rosette for my Rug for that class 🥳 Hooray! Go me...

Then I saw an advertisement on Facebook for a local Bike shop, asking for any local artists or crafters to make Crocheted Bicycle seat covers, so I decided Why not? that would be fun. So I contacted the Business and produced 6 over a few weeks and they have been in their shop ever since. I'm not sure that any have sold but it was the thought that counts and on the plus side they paid me up front so nothing lost, nothing gained 😬I'm hoping that the Christmas shopping will start and that they will sell them and get their money back and I've made an extra 4 just in case they do sell... I thought during the process that I would be reasonably anonymous but alas the business posted them on Facebook tagging me into it 😳

After the initial fright I have warmed to the idea of people knowing I am creative and a tad crafty.

Today I finished off a pop up card that I had started last weekend and crocheted a pair of newborn baby bootees for a work colleagues unborn Grand baby. I followed a pattern on YouTube
They are super cute and were quick to make, I think it took me an hour or just over.

I couldn't upload the little video of the pop up card but I've used a friends Die cut set from KarenBurniston.com

So I hope this post finds you trying the little things in life and if not maybe gives you the inspiration to start 😻 Take care and until next time be kind to yourself 💛💛💛

Project finished and the next one started!

So today I am blocking my latest finished project. Blocking is very new to me it’s not something I’ve been ever really contemplated before. But after completing 2 projects now using Polly Plum patterns I have stepped out of my comfort zone and blocked my finished projects and I have to say it certainly finishes them off beautifully!
Time consuming and a little stressful but worth it. And I figure the more I do the better I’ll get at Blocking.
I bought specific blocking pins that are like a little T and then used the alphabet foam mats you can pick up from Red Dot etc. I’ve placed it on my kitchen table as a firm place so that it sits flat.
Hopefully the photos give you a better understanding of what I’m talking about.

My next project is a simple poncho using Caron Cakes. I’m using a pattern from Hobbii.comhttps://hobbii.com/classical-attitude-poncho-adult?utm_medium=pdf&utm_source=opskrift&utm_campaign=hobbii+design&utm_content=classical+attitude+voksenponcho&utm_term=tine+hobbii and the pattern is called Classical Attitude Poncho.

Rainy days and forced sick days...produce lots of crocheting

So after a week off work nursing myself and family back to health from all having Influenza B virus I get to return to work with 1 out of 3 children returning to school after 2 weeks off. Such a horrible virus with high fevers and aching bodies and a cough that would clear IKEA during a sale!
So anyway what did I do during that time off? I did of course lots of washing, lots of cooking and waiting on my sick kids but I did a lot of Crocheting. I am currently working on a blanket designed by Polly Plum from Every Trick on the Hook. I love the colours that I chose. Nice and rich.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my preview of my Work in progress and that your keeping well. Have a great week and wish me luck in returning to work, fingers crossed my family continues to get better ☺️

Simple Baby cards...

I cannot believe that it has been over 14 months since I posted last!! Of course my last computer died and I couldn't face blogging from my iPhone...But alas I have another working computer thanks to my big brother updating his.
So today I quickly tidied up my craft desk and created 6 simple baby cards. Mainly because I need one for this week and to add the rest to my collection.
My eldest daughter is off to uni this year and as we live 7-8 hours from Perth she will be relocating. Not cheap but super excited for her so the sales of my cards will keep my coffee habit alive, which will in turn save my sanity :)

 Sorry the photo quality isn't that great. But you can see that they are very simple. Love heart from my Something Sweet stamp set and the Sweet sentiment was from my Bravo stamp set. Thought I would add a recent shot of my famalam! The two youngest are catching up to me in height..Argh! Thankfully I'll always be the Mum no matter how short I am...

Well that's all for now, I hope you get time to create or do something you love.

Until next time... x Kia

Spare time for Creating, the cleaning can wait!

Finally I have a working computer again to log into my Blog and update my posts. I have been very busy over the past 12 months creating whatever my heart desires. Still using lots of Stampin Up products as I attend a monthly Stamp Club and still find lovely things to purchase and add to my craft collection bimonthly. But I have also been doing a lot of crocheting of late. Elsa and Anna beanies as well as the animal beanies too. A few custom cards here and there with my usual creations added to my ever evolving stash. I've been selling a lot of my creations at work to my colleagues as my eldest daughter is going to Canberra in January for the National Youth Science Forum and the sales from my creations will help towards our contribution.

Twist panel Card

I've been cooking with my Thermomix I bought nearly 12 months ago and I am loving that journey and I am even thinking that I am starting to enjoy cooking!!
I had hoped I would get the chance to update my blog as I have sold more cards I knew that my blog would possibly get more attention and that is something I have lacked in giving it of late.
I got to use a great die cut set form a work colleague last month and I really enjoyed it. She has purchased the Karen Burniston die Set #1010 and Twist panel die set #1009. The photo of the card uses the Twist panel die and I used the High Tide Stamp Set with some scrap DSP and Midnight Muse Cardstock from SU.
I found the flower pot card a bit fiddly for me but I love the twist panel die set. It was really quick to assemble and so I was able to crank a heap of dies out ready to create at a moments notice. It's great in the sense that you can use any themed stamp set to create male or female cards in a hurry. And they look awesome once you pop it all together. Don't get me wrong the flower pot cards look great too but I'm not very good at little bits and pieces to create the flower scene.
I've also started knitting some socks for my Mum as she's off on a holiday to Canada in February next year, I thought it would be nice for her to wear some socks made by her talented daughter (>.<) I am using yarn from Patons and a cable knit sock pattern of theirs also. Fingers crossed that they turn out to be a good matching pair.

Thanks for popping in and have a great week! Until next time... Hopefully not 12 months away!!

Far and few between....

Far and few between are my posts but I am still crafting which is the main thing. Last week I managed to be able to produce a few cards and actually used my newly bought slider stamp set and diecuts within 24 hours of purchasing them!!! A new record for sure.

I have also been crocheting and I'm really itching to knit another pair of socks again. I have a beautiful ball of wool my Mum bought for me in England last year so I aim to get started on them very soon....

Wow almost 4 years since my last post!!! Still Kreating!!

So I'm not sure who might be reading this after all these years but I thought I had better update my blog as I dusted off my old signature stamp to stamp some cards that I will be selling at our local markets and thought Wow! What if somebody actually looks up my Blog address on this stamp!? So there you have it, my motivation.
Still crafting in my spare time and often when I should be cleaning :)
I have taught myself to crochet over the past couple of years and have been enjoying that journey. I went back to knitting in the winter and knitted 2 pairs of socks following a Craftsy course, I loved that and they are warm and cosy.
We moved 1600kms from our previous home this time last year and the move has been great, we miss our old friends and my Mum and Dad being down the road but we are making the most of this thing called life and embracing each obstacle and opportunity with love and positive thoughts.

So that is just a little taste of some of my doings over the past few months inbetween washing, working, cleaning, fostering cats and loving my family. I hope you enjoyed the little snippet of my creative life and stay tuned.... Kia x

Finally a bit of craft and some reflection time...

Well I can not believe that it is nearly June we are over half way thru May??? My big brother is about to turn 40 and my eldest girl is about to turn 11...where has the time gone, it seems only yesterday my brother was chasing me around the yard with the chainsaw in tow scaring the begeesus out of me...I have always loved my brother but as you get older and you become parents you begin to understand the depths of Love. Anyways I made him a card to celebrate this milestone in his life. I bought a digital image called Starfish from The Wax Fruit Company which are illustrated by the very lovely Arielle. I love her images they are simple but exquisite. I think they are very versatile in that you don't need to colour them if you don't want to they are gorgeous just black and white but look amazing coloured too! I kept with the theme of Arielle and jumped on over to ColorQ for a their weekly colour challenge, I ommitted the purple for my brothers card but got to include it in the freebie I recieved called Lily (this is a work in progress!). I really enjoyed colouring these images, I absolutely adore Lilies and whilst on a recent trip with our eldest to Borneo on a scholarship tour we encountered some beautiful water lilies and knowing how much I love them my daughter took about 30 images LOL!! But I love every one of them :) Until next time take care and keep on Kreating :) xxx

Baby Boy cards....finally!

I have finally managed to make some cards for some gorgeous little baby boys that have come in to the world....so sweet :)

Anyway I used an uber sweet digi image from Lori Boyd, I love Lori's images they are so easy to colour and I think they really make a card {heart} Of course I coloured the images in shades of Blue with my copics as they were for boys but you can easily change the colour to suit the card, girl, unisex the possibilities are endless :) I hope to sit down and pump out a few more. I chose to stitch with my sewing machine around the edge, it adds abit of dimension :)

I am entering these in to MIM's challenge of anything goes... Have a great down hill run of the week ...see ya at my next kreation xxx