Falling Ill

Hi guys,

I've been away from Blogger for far too long now!  Christmas was a crazy busy time in my day job and I had to take some time to myself.  Christmas is always a hard time for me after the loss of my parents a within a year of each other a couple of years ago.  But as always I'm back now (fingers crossed this time), and hoping to at least get a Blog a week out!  Not too much to ask I think!

I'm currently in the process of making some cards to send back to people who sent me lovely creations over Christmas :-) It was so nice to receive those!  Everything seems to take me longer than it really should haha!  I'm also trying to come up with some new projects for my store!  I've been working on a jumper....my first full jumper!  It's going well and it actually fits!

I'm thinking of going back to uni to study part time but I'll go in to this more when it gets nearer the time ;-)  It's exciting and scary because I haven't been to Uni in 10 years but at least I will feel like I am using my brain properly again!

Most recently I have taken ill,  it came on by surprise and was quite scary at the time.  I have something called Bells Palsy were the left side of my face won't move properly resulting in an eye that won't close properly and a wonky smile.  I'm on medication though and I'm feeling much better.  Hopefully the nerves in my face will heal properly and there won't be too much if any permanent damage!

In my next post I will put some pictures of what I've been doing in the last few months!  Take care everyone :-)

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

It has most definitely been far too long since I lasted posted up a Blog.  Things have been crazy busy and I had to give something up for a short while.  I have lots of fun stuff to report on though so you can expect some Blog posts from now on :-)

Today I am going to talk about The Liebster Awards.  I was nominated by Naomi Loo to answer a few questions about myself.  Below are the rules as taken from her fab Blog :-)

When nominated, you answer 10 questions and nominate some other bloggers! There are also a few rules:

1. Nominated bloggers must have less than 200 followers

2. They must create a blog post with a link back the blogger who nominated you

3. Create your own set of questions for your nominated blogger or bloggers 

Questions:

1. What's made you really laugh recently?

I like to think I laugh a lot, laughing is something I enjoy doing!  I can't pick out one particular moment from recently, there are far too many but I guess that is a good thing :-)

2. If you had to choose one food to live on what would it be?

I'm not much of a foodie I'm afraid.  I'm going to go with something really basic and say bread as I love it, it comes in quite a few different styles so hopefully I wouldn't get too bored :-P

3. What did you want to be when you were little?

I wanted to be so many things, a nurse an architect, interior designer!  I settled on artist after a while and still love to be creative today!

3. If you could have one superpower what would it be?

Hmmm flying would be cool, I like to get places quickly :-P

4. What is the best thing you've ever done?

Oh this is a hard one,  there are many things I have enjoyed doing.  I don't think I can pinpoint just one.  I went to see The Harlem Globetrotters, that was pretty amazing as I'd always wanted to go and see them!

5. Three things you can't live without?

Photos, friends, knitting supplies

6. Name a destination that's on your list to visit and why

I want to see as much of the world as I can!  I'd really like to go to Disney World in Florida though!  It probably seems a bit odd, but ever since I was a little girl I've wanted to go.  I have an uncle who lives in Florida and my Dad used to tell me that he lived next door To Mickey Mouse.  They'd send me cards and presents from him! It used to make me so happy and still does when I think about it.

7. Who or what inspires you the most?

Any one who makes art that they love!  They inspire me greatly.  I love seeing the passion people bring to things. 

8. What is your favourite recipe? 

Home made roasties :-P

9. What keeps you blogging?

I love reading other people's Blog's, hearing about their lives, their loves and their interests.  I like to think that maybe people like to hear about that sort of stuff from me too.  It's a way to talk about what you love without the risk of boring people too as they can simply stop reading if that is the case.

10. If you could chose anywhere to live, where would it be?

Barcelona is my fave City although I've always liked the idea of living out my days in Italy, painting and relaxing.

So there you have my answers.  I'm supposed to nominate some Blog's myself now but I'm so late in doing this and so behind with my Blog reading that I'm just going to say that anyone who wants to answer these questions can do :-)

1) What is your favourite thing to do to relax?

2) What is the best place you have ever visited?

3) What crafts do you enjoy and why?

4) What crafts would you like to try?

5) What is your favourite season?

6) If you could have your dream job what would it be? (if you are doing your dream job what is it?)

7) What is your fave TV show?

8) What is your favourite colour?

9) If you could pick one language to learn what would it be?

10) What makes you happiest?

So now you're back from outer space.....

OK so I haven't been to space but I have been gone waaaaaay longer than I had planned!  I've been so ill over my Birthday and Christmas! I've only left the house once since 15th December! It started as a cold, then I had terrible sinus pain.  I couldn't sleep because the pain was so bad.  My head was stuffy and I felt quite nauseous! Then I developed a chesty cough which I still have now! Despite all that I actually had a very nice Christmas and Birthday!

My Birthday was spent mostly on the couch, I fell asleep a couple of times but we did get Pizza and watch Hercules with The Rock in (I adore The Rock :-P) and I got some lovely presents.

A DIY vinyl Turret from the game Portal, I can't wait to paint this! Also a creeper hair bow and super cute cat mug!

My adopted Donkey Toby :-D

Thank you Carmen! I can't wait to colour this in!

This is an amazing Unicorn necklace.  I have no idea why the photo has turned itself back round the wrong way after I edited it!!

The Lion King is my fave Disney film! Also going to be knitting some cats!!

Guardians of the Galaxy Groot figure and soundtrack.

Such a pretty photo album.

Eduardo the Llama and cute stationary.

More Vinyl toys.

CSI box set, I am SO pleased with these.

Pretty Swatch watch.

Crochet book and nano blocks.

Pretty Unicorn dress.

I'm so lucky to have such lovely friends who know me so well.  I've already started playing with the doodle colouring book and the nano blocks!  Next on my list is the Zoo animals crochet book.  I am determined that this year will be the year I learn to crochet properly!!  I am also determined i WILL blog more! I keep saying this and it never happens!!

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas, I am going to try and catch up with my Blog reading now! Ah wish me luck as I'm pretty far behind :-P 

Knitting, cross stitching, knitting, cycling, knitting..........

Ha so my plan to even post once a week has gone right out of the window!! I received a request for my biggest commission to date.  Hats, scarves, gloves x2.  I wanted to make it super cute so i decided to add bows....little did I know those bows would become the bane of my life for the next few weeks!! I'm happy to say I'm almost done now (will post pictures once they have been received) and can move on to the next couple of commissions I have!!

I have done some nice things since you last saw me! I went to the Museum in Manchester to see some Mummies.  I love anything to do with Ancient Egypt.  I watch every documentary that comes on TV and Netflix! The exhibition there didn't have much but it was a nice trip anyway! We went to pizza express (mmmm) then did a bit of shopping.

I'm pretty sure I look demented on these photos! Especially the second one :-P My ultimate dream is to go on a Nile Cruise then I can be like Poirot which would incorporate a second of my loves! They are so expensive though that I may never make it.  I guess I'll just have to visit all the museums to see all the Mummies!!

Oh I also got a new bike.  It is my new pride and joy.  It's a mountain bike but its the most girlie mountain bike you can imagine :-p It's been fun cycling around the local parks and waterfront.  It's a good few km if you go there an back.  Hopefully we can fit some more in before the ice appears! I suppose autumn is not the best time to buy a bike!!

The bike is a little sparkly if you look closely! I had to try and find a helmet that didn't make my head look massive, this was the best one I could find although not as cute as my bike haha!

I haven't had a chance to work on my mermaid for ages :-( I've been waiting for my dylusions inks to arrive (which they finally have) then I had to get some flesh coloured paint which I finally got yesterday! Hopefully this weekend will be a weekend of painting!! I need to make more time to do arty things but I always end up knitting until 10/11 in the night!! Must knit faster!!

And finally here is a picture of my precious cross stitch that I have been working on since August.  It's taking me a looonngggg time to do but I'm looking forward to seeing what it looks like in the end.  I am determined to actually finish a cross stitch before I start a new one!

Well that's all for now folks :-) I'm off to get my breakfast and start my knitting jobs for today!!

Tangle Time

I haven't written a post in a little too long! I wanted to try and post at least once a week but time seems to be passing by at breakneck speed these days! Anywho I've been a busy little bee preparing to reopen my Etsy shop....which never actually closed but didn't have any stock in for a while!

I opened it back in 2010 and I did manage to make a few sales through it! I also sold some things in person but then my Dad died and my partner left me then my Mum died and I just didn't have the heart to even think about it! But now it's back and I've had much more time to work on it now!

Snow Bunny's Knits

That's a little sample of one of my scarves! I'm adding a scarf a day at the moment.  I'm also going to (hopefully) be making hats and hand warmers and things too! I might be able to take a couple of commissions to so if you see a pattern you like but want a different colour just drop me an email (snowbunnysknits@gmail.com) I'm always willing to have a look and see if I can accommodate you lovely people :-)

I've also been working on some zentangles.  I was using quite small paper and a quite think nibbled pen and I've discovered this doesn't work well for me.  I've now bought bigger paper and a Sakura Micron pen (best thing EVER) and I'm pleased with the results! I've bought some online classes too but I never seem to have time to sit down and do them! I'm in the process of making a Rainbow Mermaid and I just signed up for a Book worm girl...I like her because she is wearing glasses :-P 

I think I'm getting better but i find them quite relaxing to do which is always a good thing! One last thing before i go, it would have been my Mum's Birthday today.  I don't find these days any more difficult than every other day but it is a day that i remember specific times we had together.  It's only been a year or so since she was taken from me and sometimes I still go to txt her something I know she would be interested in or find funny. Here is a picture of us from when i was about 6 :-P

Until next time take care everyone :-)

Happy Mail

I do love my computer and I do love the Internet (the funny and good bits not the mean and nasty bits) but what I really REALLY love is getting things in the post! Not bills and junk mail but parcels and letters and cards! I love it even more when I'm not expecting it......

Meet Wonky Cat!! He looks a little like my Mums cat Loki! He arrived this morning completely unexpectedly from the lovely  Carmen over at Whoopidoo...ings.  She is a fabulous artist, an inspiration to me and my friend! WE have never met and more than likely never will.....this isn't me being negative, we met online we chat online and we live fairly far apart.....but she has helped me a lot over the last couple of years! THANK YOU CARMEN YOU WONDERFUL PERSON!

A few weeks a go I also received some happy mail from Yvonne at Do more with less! It was a little card just to say hello but it warmed my heart so much! And its such a cute little card!

I love Yvonne's Blog too, its so inspirational, she has some serious skills with a scrapbook layout! I tried scrap booking a while back but i couldn't find my flow :-P So thank you Yvonne for cheering me up and making me smile!!

Not much news to report on the art front! I've been super busy and never seem to have time to sit down and put much effort in...this makes me sad! I did buy a book on zen-tangles (I have to write it like that because auto correct insists its not a word grrrr) which I am planning to use when I only have a few mins to sit and breathe!

Anywho, take care and have a lovely week!

Cross stitch crazy

Last weekend I went to Wales for a little break, typically it rained for 1.5 of the days, it wasn't just showers either it was massive downpours! My original plan had been to draw but i discovered that I don't like drawing in front of people and in a caravan you can't really get away from them!! On the first day we did manage a trip to a Garden Centre which had a craft section! That's when I saw the lovely Geisha cross stitch and i thought "Yes i want to do this".

I love cross stitch, I always have done but I never seem to manage to finish one.  Not a proper detailed one like this! My first cross stitch was in junior school and was a Christmas pudding place mat.  I've also completed a couple of children's ones including a dog like Lady from lady and the Tramp and various other animals.  This time I am determined i will finish this cross stitch!!

This is what I have so far! Not a lot to show for about 8 hours work but I'm very pleased with it! The day i finish this will be a good day! I haven't made many mistakes either, just the occasional stitch out of place when my eyes were going funny from looking at the chart all day! But I don't think you can tell!

I've almost finished Zooey the Zebra too! I have embroider a face on, which I'm honestly not sure about but I'm hoping it will look better when i put the mane on today! I'm very critical of my stuff though so maybe it actually does look OK :-P

She has a pink felt patch on each of her hooves and in her ears! I really like how this looks.  You'll be able to pick whatever colour you like if you buy one and I'm even hoping to start using pretty fabrics too!  If you are interested in anything I have knit then please don't hesitate to email (snowbunnysknits@gmail.com) or comment and we can try and work something out! Eventually these will all go in to my Etsy shop :-)

I've also started an online art class with Willowing at ning (I can't actually ring the address at the moment which is terrible but when i do i will add it!).  It is to draw a rainbow mermaid which is as delightful as it sounds.  I'm pretty rusty at sketching and stuff so i decided to just practise with the face for now!

This is what I have so far.  It's only in a little sketchbook at the moment because I'm just practising.  Whimsies are really cute with big head and exaggerated features which is why her eyes are so far apart and low down.  I will keep you up to date on my progress!!

That's it for today, I'm off to meet my auntie for a nice catch up, see you all soon!

Blank Canvas

So I'm still coming down from the Summer of Colour Fun, I had a really great time and I really wish it was the year of colour or something like that :-P Although I actually think it would send me insane in the nicest way possible!!

So today I am off to a caravan in Wales! The weather is forecast to rain pretty much the whole weekend so I am taking my knitting and my art stuff so i can pass the time and hopefully get my creative juices flowing! At the moment I have this......

Literally a blank canvas!! I have ideas though, BIG ideas...well big for me and I'm hoping I can get it started whilst I'm away! There won't be any wifi (sobs) and I don't get much of a phone signal so I won't be able to check in with everyone when I'm away.....I do not like feeling cut off but maybe it will do me good!!

I've also been working on a special commission for a friend, it's almost done and I'll post better pics when it is but here is what i have at the moment!!

You might be able to tell what it is from this, it seems kind of obvious to me but then i did knit it :-P I'm also working on a knitted panda that I'm hoping to put into my shop as soon as possible! I've had my shop for a while but due to circumstances beyond my control I've had to abandon it for a bit but I'm working on getting it back up and running so next time there should be something for you to have a nose at!!

And finally, today it is 3 years since my lovely, amazing Dad passed away.  This is a pretty terrible photo of me but it shows my Dad with his trademark mega grin, this is how I'd like to remember him.  I miss him every day, the day he left me my heart broke in to a million pieces.  But life goes on and I finally feel like I am moving forward a bit.  I've signed up to some free on line art classes and I'm starting up my little business (again) but this time I'm going to power though and hopefully make it happen! As The Rock would say 'BOOTS TO ASSES, TEAM BRING IT' :-)

Things I have learnt this week.....

Hello everyone!

This week I learnt that it's better not to mess with things when they are kind of OK to begin with because you end up falling down the rabbit hole of trying to "fix" it and get it just right! I did this with my Blog.  It was perfectly acceptable, looked fine but I HAD to go and try and make it better!

I can't leave things alone, I'm always worried I've made the wrong choice and that a different choice will be better!  If you give me more than a couple elf things to choose from my head starts to spin and I may very well spontaneously combust! I went to a lampshade making class the other day....which was pretty amazing but I spent 10 mins standing outside trying to get myself to go in because I was worried they wouldn't be there, I didn't know what they looked like, people might look at me.... Eventually I managed to get in, by now I was pretty stressed out (I think I hid it OK) then we start on the lamp shades.....there must have been 10+ fabrics to choose from! I managed to narrow it down to about 3 I liked but then the familiar voice appeared...."but this one is red you like red" "oh but red is so obvious go with the green" "but that flower pattern is lovely, people will like that"..... and so it went on.  I had to make a decision in the end and for those of you interested I went with the lime green which is lovely and amazing and I'm very happy with!

My beautiful lamp shade!

So at the beginning of the week I decide to change my Blog....I really have no idea why! The same reason that I always ALWAYS upgrade my phone even if I love the phone I have and it's the best phone ever! The same reason that I can't decide which bike to get because there are so many..... the same reason I can;t decide if I should make a new Blog for my knitting or keep the old one I have......I just want it to be perfect and above all I don't want to make the wrong decision......except I'm not sure what perfect is!

What I have ended up with is a slightly different layout (happy with this) but the same banner only bigger and more central....I'm happy that it's more central but the thing is giant and for some reason it now looks dull and dark and the font doesn't work on it now......disaster!

So now I can't decide if i should leave it alone or make a completely new banner.....I wouldn't even know where to begin with that! I tried using another digital piece I had done but although I loved the colours it just didn't seem right :-( I feel a little deflated now, I just wanted my lovely Blog to look amazing! But this is typical of me, I should be used to it but I'm still annoyed.  Annoyed at myself really!

Oh well, I will have to keep it as it is for now and try very hard to decide what is best to do......I have a slight feeling of Deja-vu here......

Summer of Colour 4 (Week 2)

Hello everyone! Week 2 of Summer of Colour is upon us and this weeks colours were coral, teal and a splash of white! I must admit coral is not one of my fave colours.  I don't mind it on my nails, although it just highlights how pale I am haha.  But in every day life, not so much! Now teal I can deal with.  I love the colour teal, I'd quite like to do my bathroom in teal :-P

So this week I was determined to finish a little earlier as I get very stressed if I leave things until the last minute.  This goes for pretty much every aspect of my life not just the summer of colour!  I wasn't too sure what medium to use this time.  There was no way I could do knitting or crochet as I have NONE of the colours needed...not even the white haha! At first I thought paint, i'd mix my own colours....honestly though I didn't feel I had the time this week.  Then wax crayons came to mind but I couldn't find the right colours.  This left me with pencils.  I was quite happy to work with pencils but as I was looking for my pencil sharpener I came upon my sharpies.......SHARPIES!

I adore sharpies! They come in so may lovely colours and are so bright and just generally make me happy.  So sharpies it is then.

Ta-Da.....looking at it now my coral is a bit orangey and my teal a bit greeny and the white is more than a splash.....ok ok I shall stop focussing on the negatives!! This bad boy comes from a really cool colouring book (yes I did say colouring book and yes I am 30!) I got from Barcelona.  It's full of mandalas designed using the work of Gaudi.  Now I LOVE Gaudi and I LOVE colouring, perfect match!

The book is cool because it has little snippets of information about lots of the buildings Gaudi designed.  Thinking about it I should have taken a photo of what the Mandala looked like before I coloured it in! Ooopps!

I added some highlights and little bits here and there with my Gelly Roll pens.  I've not really had a chance to use them before so this seemed like as good a time as any.

So there you have it! My week 2 colour of summer effort, I hope you like it and come back to see more :-)

My Dad

This is my lovely Dad.  I don't think there is a photo of him where he doesn't have that lovely grin on his face.  He was kind hearted and fun.  He'd do anything he could for anyone and he'd never complain about it.  He loved to laugh and did so often! He was clever and knew exactly what to do in any situation, he was a good artist too.

My childhood is filled with memories of having fun, and laughing and of Dad doing whatever he could to make me smile.  He'd sing silly songs in silly voices and gave my teddies names and personalities! We'd have picnics in our living room when the weather was too bad to go outside and he made THE best dens in the world!

Whatever it was I wanted to do with life he was OK with and tried to help me as much as he could.  When I wanted to be an artists he bought me art supplies, when I wanted to be an architect he bought me squared paper so it was easier to plan out rooms! 

He was a good cook too.  He was the main cook in our house and would come up with his own recipes! He spent hours every day making his own pies and pasties after he retired! He took great care in everything he did so that it would be perfect!

I was a daddies girl, we did everything together and I loved him so much.  The day he was taken away from me was the hardest of my life, my heart broke in to a million little pieces and I thought it would never go back together again.  He was a wonderful man and I miss him more and more every day.

If I am half the person he was then I will be doing OK.  I wish I could wish him a Happy Fathers Day and give him a hug instead I just have to remember the good times we had together and try and smile and be happy :-)

About meeeeeeee!

My friend Carmen from Crafty whoopidooings was tagged in a MEME thingy a while a go and invited her followers to answer the questions so i thought why not!! So here we go........

 1.If you could describe your life in colour, what would it be and why?Red......I love the colour red! It makes me happy and is nice and warm. I like to think that my personality suits the colour red :-)

2. Do you have any pets? If so, what are they/their names and why do they fit your personality?I have a black cat named Lupin after Professor Lupin in Harry Potter......and no I'm not a Harry Potter fan AT ALL but professor Lupin was my fave character!! She is slightly OCD (actually ocd...she grooms too much and gives herself bald patches!!), but the friendliest cat you will ever meet!!

3. Where did you fit in in high school...jock, band geek, popular crowd...etc?
I was shy and quiet and hated being he centre of attention.  I made it my mission in life not to draw attention to myself.  I spent quite a lot of time on my own, no one wanted to sit next to me unless they wanted to copy my work! I was pushed over, had things thrown at me, drawn on.....I could go on! I am not one of those people who would go back and live there high school lives again......i was happy to be gone and still am :-P

4.How do you react in an emergency...fight or flight, go get help, the calm one???
I don't think I've ever been in a proper emergency but I'd like to think I would do my best to help!! In my head id be panicking like mad but sometimes you just have to do something you don't want to!!

5. If they were making a movie of your life, who would you chose to play you... why?
I literally have no idea at all......maybe you should ask my friends and family?? ;-P


6. Why is your best friend your best friend, what makes them so special?
My best friends are my best friends because they like me for who I am :-P I don't have to pretend with them!


7. If money was no object, and you were going to buy yourself something completely frivolous, what would it be, and why?
Oh don't ask me that, I am a total shopaholic!! I have a list as long as my arm of things I would like to buy!! haha!!

7. Three words that describe your personality?
shy, fun, creative

8. Who was your favourite teacher and how did they influence you?
I didn't really have any teachers that influenced me! I had teachers that I liked but they were just nice and kind to me! I did have an art teacher who was fresh out of uni and she was so cool! She made me see that art didn't mean I had to draw like the masters.....sadly I'd already applied to uni to do Psychology!!

9. What do you consider true strength?
To carry on through the tough times in life even though you just want to curl up and cry!

10. What is your favourite game? (video, board, card...any kind)
My fave board game is Disney Trivia because I nearly always win! My fave computer game is too hard! I love the Sims, but I also love Final Fantasy, Mass effect, Dragon age, Disgea.  My all time fave computer game is probably Fallout 3!

11.What season do you love the most, why?
Spring or autumn, when its warm and sunny but not so hot that my skin frazzles and I feel like I'm melting haha!!

So there you go! Feel free to answer the questions yourself :-)