Wakefulness

I've been thinking about wakefulness a lot lately.  I sometimes feel like I go through life without being fully awake and attentive to things around me. It's easy to become preoccupied with other stuff a lot of the time.  So lately, each time I'm out and about, I try to practice being aware and attentive, and properly seeing. It's amazing how much stuff could go unnoticed.

A couple of days ago, on a walk with my daughter, I became aware of lots of green and grey combos, and the more I looked, the more I could see these combinations everywhere! Ok I suppose being in the city means that most things are kinda grey and add in a bit of grass or trees here and there, you do have lots of grey and green, but I honestly hadn't noticed before.

Anyway, here are some of the greens and greys I noticed on a walk this afternoon.

Even the maps have got green and grey!

Not especially beautiful, but green and grey all the same!

 

 

I thought I'd get my purple shiny shoes in too!

Much love.

xxx

Adventures in Felting.

I'm really loving working with wool and yarn. I've had adventures with knitting, crochet and weaving and now have recently discovered felting. I started a felting class a few weeks ago and I love it!

I had a go straight away with making a necklace, using the wet felting method.

When I got home I embellished my necklace with a button clasp and a crochet flower and chain.

I'm really happy with it, especially for a first attempt!

In the next class I made a bag. I made this as a present for a dear friend along with a sort of heart shaped little purse which I made when I got home. I was thrilled with these, as was my friend.

The front of the purse.

The back.

I then moved on to making a tea cosy! I love it!
It's far too big for my teapot but I love it's ginormousness and colour.

I might attach an equally ginormous flower I made this week to the top of it.
It's a tea cosy with attitude and it makes me very happy!

Since then I've been felting with abandon! The wonderful thing about it is that initially you don't need much equipment, especially with wet felting. you just need some merino wool tops, (which you can purchase online, or from a specialist wool shop), some soap and water and a bamboo place mat or bubble wrap.
 Of all the crafts I've tried recently, felting is by far my favourite.

Lastly here is another mini tea cosy I made to keep the other one company. I had intended to make one just a bit smaller but it shrunk a bit more than I was expecting, so it doesn't fit my teapot, but I'll find a use for it I'm sure.

 

A teapot hat perhaps?!

Much love.

xxx

Roses for Love.

Been enjoying the beauty of roses lately.

They sit on my desk and remind me that I am loved whilst I work. They've lasted since Valentine's though they are beginning to get a bit wrinkly, but I don't mind.

I have just learnt how to crochet roses, which I'm so happy about. 

(I simply followed a video on youtube, there are lots of them.)  

It's much quicker than the knitting pattern for roses that I'd tried.

And what better way to use one of the crochet roses than to make a card for a friend whose lunch and time in her home with her beautiful daughters so encouraged me and my girls and left us feeling refreshed and awakened.
 

I also beautified an old bottle with a crochet rose, a rose hair clip and some lace ribbon and it's now a lovely candle holder for our table.

Much love.

xxx

Valentine's bakes and cake love!

Valentine's day is just a couple of days away, so I thought it would provide an opportunity to try out some cake love.

Cake love must never be underestimated!

Cake is a powerful weapon when it comes to melting the heart of your loved one.

These are heart shaped chocolate cakes topped with chocolate fudge icing and a sugar rose.

Spread the love with cake I say, spread the love!

These are vanilla cupcakes covered in fondant (ready to roll) icing flowers and letters stamped from fondant too, with a sprinkle of edible glitter.

And whilst we're on the subject of cakes, there's always room for love cookies.

These ones are cinnamon shortbread. You can use whatever cookie recipe you like and use a heart shaped cutter. Very quick and easy!

 

Whatever you do, and however you do it, enjoy the luurve!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Much love.

xxx

Colour finds us.

It's funny how colour finds us.

I was watching a film a few days ago called 'Cloud Atlas', I still have no clue what on earth it was about but anyway, there's a scene where this futuristic girl is wearing the most beautiful purple shawl and she kneels next to a green wall. I can't remember why she did that but the point is that I so enjoyed seeing the purple next to that shade of green! .. I guess the film was worth it just for that.

So since then I've been obsessed with green and purple combinations. I walk past a shop everyday which for some reason has a big square lime green block as part of its window display, and each day after I've walked past it, I imagine what I'd do if I could paint on it.

So I decided to give it a go in real life, albeit on a much smaller scale.

Here are my adventures in green and purple!

I've taken up weaving! My dear friend Zoe organised a lesson for my birthday present. I tell you, it's very good for the soul. I don't mind the monotony of it, it's really very good for being grounded in the present.

And guess what colours I'm using for my project? I chose the purple and my teacher suggested the green purely by chance! So there we are. I've only just begun, but I'm super excited to share just how beautifully and lovingly the purple and the green are celebrating their love for each other, constantly intertwining.

To end, here are a couple of photos my daughter Kezia took last week on a rare sunny day with my camera. These beautiful flowers are already making an appearance in February!

Green and purple love is all around!

Much love.
xxx