Please can I borrow a time machine?

I know no one actually has one, but seriously I could really do with one right now!!! The day job sent me out on a training day (I was the trainer) on Tuesday which scuppered all plans for actually getting anything done out of work hours.....sat in a car travelling back in clocked out hours is not fun!!! Amongst all the other non crafty things getting in my way it is proving quite stressful and not in the normal slightly fun crafty stress.

So as I grab a quick diet coke (Pepsi really) break these are another part of my order completed. (Falling leaves clutch -front is sold out this is the last, Chloe clutch -back I have 1 left) Still lots to come, some half made, 2 yet to start. Right so which one of you is going to lend me your time machine????????

Adorable

Isn't she.....how could you not love this face. Judging by the fact she jumped into this bin (from my studio) you can tell her leg is all better. At this present moment she is hiding in the bottom of the wardrobe, she is so funny. Nell has this hilarious and endearing personality, boy does she know just how to play me and Chris! To say she is a member of the family doesn't do her justice, she OWNS this house. We love you Nelly Belly (and Oli of course) :D

Wooooweeee!

Its been a hot one here in the UK this weekend and I've loved every minute of it. During last week I'd had it all planned out....to the hour. This needed do be done and that needed to be started but I just didn't get anything substantial done. It seemed such a shame to waste the sunshine. I'm a great lover of the sun and it being hot and since I haven't really been away this year on a 'hot holiday' I was trying to make the most of it.

My day job keeps me in doors all week without windows to the outside which at times, especially summer can get you down a little. So to have a whole weekend of sunshine was bliss. After a Swedish massage on Friday afternoon after work, I spread a blanket out on the grass and sat with a cool drink and my note book. Saturday I did manage some cutting out when the cloud came over, but then when it was sunny again out I went and sat in a deck chair listening to the radio.

This morning we went for a leisurely stroll to the supermarket and had croissants and fresh OJ when we got back. A lazy afternoon sat in the garden and the watched the England match :( and then back out to enjoy the last of the evening sun.

Sometimes its just nice when all your plans go out the window and you get to have a spontaneous relaxing weekend.

Shamless plugging Ahoy!!

But I just had to show you what I've just added to my website. This lady is called Tabitha and I had intended to show her along side all the other bags when they were made.

Unfortunately/Fortunately I sold her on the day of the trade fair and me being the total doofus that I am, did not photograph it before hand. After taking another order for it I photographed it and here she stands in all her glory! :D I only have one left now and I have to say this has been my favourite bag of all time, I love the print and the combination of colours is just so yummy.

So that's it she is out there waiting for a new home to go to......she's a pretty one, she wont stay on the shelf for long.

All the way to the U.S.A

I just had to show you this photo I received from Heidi of her two children with their new personalised cushions.

Heidi was kind enough to agree to me showing it on my blog (thank you). This is the best part of being a maker/seller being able to see big smiles when people receive something you've handmade :D Heidi lives in sunny California (I'm sooo envious) and commissioned the cushions for her two children and their two cousins. I'm so pleased they liked them.

Thank you for your encouragement on my last post, fingers crossed its good change.

Happiness is....

A big pile of ribbon from paper-and-string! Well I did warn you all that I would be replenishing my stocks. I'm really pleased with my selection :D

I have a little sewing planned and then I intend to enjoy the last of the days sunshine before relaxing with glass of wine and dinner. Lovely!

The winds of change are approaching and I'm feeling quite scared, there are lots of things going on at the moment....work and personal. I think its time to hold and tight and let be what will be :o/

Order part 1

Just popping by for a quick post today, its lovely and sunny outside with a typical English breeze (wind) :D lots of jobs to do today, the washing is in and the house has been cleaned (downstairs) and there are bags to be made....

Here is part of my order which will be travelling to Dorset in the next couple of weeks or so. Cosmetic pouches = done, rest of the order = wip. Hope you're all having a lovely relaxing weekend.

A huge thank you :D

To a lovely lady called Karen who has kindly sent me all these pieces of leather as a gift!!! I know I can hardly believe it myself......

So many wonderful colours....I already know what I am going to make with it all :D thank you Karen x

Gok, where are you???

Now, who wouldn't want a wardrobe overhaul by the ever so fabulous Gok Wan? I wouldn't say that I don't know how to dress my self or for my shape.....but there is always room for improvement! Bagladee is all about looking glam and unique, but I just cant help slobbing out in my holey socks and out of shape t-shirts.

Tonight I decided it was time for another clear out in the mess I call my wardrobe. And although it resulted in 3 very large bags to take to the RSPCA Charity shop, I didn't feel the same satisfaction of the last 'big clear out'??? I have no idea why? Maybe its because what I have left in my wardrobe is not that exciting. I also had to try quite a few things on to see if they still fit as some of the items I'd kept from last time still had not been worn. Most of these items went in the bags but I did keep 3 pairs of trouser. These are disappointingly nipping (muffin top, you get the picture) at the waist. But I fully intend to minimise this over the next month or so. On that treadmill!!

I'm half thinking of revisiting said wardrobe and culling a few more items now I'm sitting thinking about them. I also found myself 2 projects to revamp which I will post about in the near future.

So if you're out there Gok and you have a few spare minutes, please pop by and whip my wardrobe into shape, and I'd promise to not slob around in 'past their best' items of clothing (which I still haven't thrown out) :D

Work in progress

Work on my huge order is well under way and here is what I was up to last night. Felt and ribbon corsages to go on cosmetic pouches. And since my ribbon was all lovely and tidy I had no trouble picking out the right colours.

Tonight is not so crafty, there are lots of emails to read through and replies to be sent, photos to be tweaked and lists to write. But a fully packed crafty weekend is almost here.

Space (not the intergalactic kind)

Lately things have been getting a little bit messy in my studio. Its all creative messiness though...well that's my excuse. I always struggle to be productive in a messy environment even though its me that makes the mess. So at the end of every project or order I finish I have a ruddy good tidy up. To make room in some of my cupboards I tried to maximise the space in my boxes.

I started off with my very "free and flowing" ribbon box and some scraps of cardboard.

And with a few spare pins ended up with this lovely organised box of ribbon! The only thing now is that I look like I hardly have any ribbon supplies at all :( but then that does mean I can make ANOTHER visit to here to replenish my stocks :D Yey!!!

P.S. If you were wondering how the soup turned out, it was delicious and I've posted the recipe here enjoy!

Oh weekend where did you go?

One minute it was Friday and before you know it its Sunday and almost time to go back to the day job :( I felt rather exhausted this weekend, most likely the last few weeks catching up on me some and there wasn't much planned in for bagladee. I had a couple of visits from friends and managed to get 4 items under way for an up and coming order.

We had planned to get some practical things done, like go looking for a new washer and dryer, go to look at a car, tidy the garden, tidy the house. Well the last one got done but as for the others they will have to wait.

As I'm writing this post I am actually making some dinner and some soup for work tomorrow!! Yes shock horror I am attempting to make my own soup. A master with a sewing machine I am, one with the cooker I am not ;) its celery and onion and I found the recipe on the Internet. So far it smells good, that has to be a good sign right?

Must go and set the table.....I'll be back tomorrow with some photos of my sewing achievements this weekend. x

Green swap goodies sent

Now that Jane has received her swap, I thought it only fair that I showed you what I made.

If you were wondering what all the little felt leaves were for, well now you know. Each little leaf was sewn on one by one and is hopefully in the shape of the recycle symbol. I find hand sewing very therapeutic so even though it looks like a lot of sewing, I really enjoyed it. I used felt scraps out of my scrap box....I always keep all my scraps, although I never make anything out of them because they are a little small. Since my tub was over flowing I thought I'd better get my thinking cap on as to how I could use them.

This tiny little pin cushion is what I came up with, obviously using some more of the leaves. Oh and a cute little button on the top for the centre of the flower.

Keeping with the Eco/green theme, I made these 3 veg sacks.....Potatoes, onions and carrots. Made from hessian sack I had left over and had no idea what I could make with it and some more felt scraps.

And for some little extras I included: re-usable cloths by Sally Smith (I use them and they're great, you can wash them over and over), Eco-friendly deodorant, organic face scrub, fair trade cotton wool, fair trade chocolate and some fabric squares that I had from an old Sanderson swatch book.

I really enjoyed this swap, it was definitely a brain teaser. It really made me think about what I could send and was quite difficult at first but lots of fun. If you want to see what everyone else made pop over to TLBG where we will be posting all the links.

Green Swap Goodies arrived

Its quite some time since I participated in a swap through blogland. I made this promise to myself late last year, things were incredibly hectic (still are) and I have a habit of being distracted from the up keep of bagladee by joining swaps. This however was a totally different kettle of fish as Rachel and I from our TLBG blog decided to host our very own "green" swap. Guide lines were, recycled, re-purposed, Eco friendly, up-cycled....green things basically.

I was very lucky to be partnered with the lovely Jane over at Hooked Yarn and she was extremely organised (which put me to shame) as always I was lagging behind and was late to post!! Tut tut!!

I was bursting to see what was inside and it was wrapped in giant sized poppy paper (bubble wrap to normal people).....had great fun popping a couple of circles, not too many as I like to reuse any wrapping.

Two lovely handmade boxes, a sewn packet, some gorgeous braided, mirrored ribbon, a scrummy bar of fair trade chocolate (and I can def vouch for it being yummy as I scoffed it last night all by myself!) and a lovely handmade card.

I really loved the way Jane had packaged her goodies, we had to be green and Eco friendly. What better way than making your own colourful boxes and using some fabric strips as pretty ribbon.

Wrapped up in one of the boxes was a little trinket box and some very gorgeous buttons **sigh** Oh how I love buttons.

In her card Jane explained that the trinket box was crocheted from a cassette tape (an old Prodigy tape if you're interested what cassette it was), yes that's right crocheted from Cassette tape!!! Genius or what! It is standing proud on my desk in the studio with some pretty crystal beads kept safe in side.

And lastly in the other box was this totally fantastic scarf made from a fair trade t-shirt, so not only is it fair trade its been up-cycled. And I love the colour, I cant wait to wear it.

A huge thank you to Jane for being such a fab swap partner I was truly spoiled and I cant thank her enough. It was so much fun hosting our first swap, if you're not a follower you should pop over and check TLBG out. We don't preach or claim to be Eco warriors.....just a bunch of crafty people trying to be that little bit greener :D

Thank you

....for your lovely comments and well wishing for Nelly. I'm pleased to say that after a long anxious wait we collected her from the vets yesterday evening. She's OK, looks like she managed to pop it back in herself as her x-rays didn't bring up anything bad. She now has 2 bald legs (where they shaved them) and plenty of pain killers/anti inflammatory.

Today she has been lying in the shade while I cut the lawn. After a manic couple of weeks there wasn't a lot of crafting to be done this weekend, so I took a little time to chill out this afternoon. The photos are something I'm making for my green swap, I always wondered what I could do with all the little bits of felt that were too small to actually make something????

I'll be back with some more photos tomorrow, enjoy the sun. x

My dear sweet Nelly

Nell, my little sweetie pie has to go to the vets early in the morning for an xray as she has a suspected dislocated hip. I had to rush her there tonight to have it checked out after she jumped down from the kitchen bench and landed very awkwardly on her right leg. She was not a happy bunny. But after a painful examination she was given a pain killer which has helped immensely.

There have been lots of cuddles tonight and no doubt I will anxiously await her return tomorrow. I'll keep you posted.

Cumbria Tragedy

My thoughts are with all those in Cumbria at such a sad time.