Giving up Coffee!

Earlier this year I decided to stop drinking coffee.  Now I know there have been numerous debates as to whether caffeine is either good or bad for you.  New research from an Oslo University concluded that reducing your intake can lower the risk of heart disease and strokes.  I guess most of us find comfort in a cup of coffee, especially as the winter months creep in.  It's also an everyday social activity ... meeting for a coffee, inviting neighbours / friends round for a cup.  My reasoning was that the dark circles under my eyes weren't going away, and my energy levels, if I'm honest weren't great either.  Okay hands up here though... I have to admit I do burn the candle at both ends though not through partying, those days are well past me, it's from taking on too much and not saying 'No'.  I'm betting the majority of you can recognise yourself there too.  

Turquoise Coasters

As I got busier and busier, I'd drink more coffee.  My thinking was I'll stop for a coffee break, breaks are good for you, recharge the batteries etc etc although I never did stop, I just kept sipping on the go.  Lunch times wouldn't happen, because now I really was too busy to stop, in a few hours the kids would be home from school, I'd want to spend a little time with them, whilst having yet another cuppa,  before going into the kitchen to prepare dinner, and my 'things to do list' just seems to grow out of nowhere.

Something had to change, I'm creature of habit and although I am aware of the health benefits of drinking more water, especially as an asthmatic needing to keep hydrated,  it really didn't appeal to me.  I went for it, drank more water but I felt there was something missing.  I missed the comfort of holding a hot mug, so I turned to herbal teas.  Having tried lots of different flavours, it came as no surprise to me that I like the berry flavours the best.  At this time of year I'm drinking herbal tea with Echinacea, to decrease the odds of developing a cold this winter.  Having made the switch from coffee to decaf, and finally to herbal teas and water I felt my energy levels increase, and really quickly.  I didn't have to wait weeks for a result, thank goodness, or I would probably have given up!   Have the dark circles disappeared?  Well not completely but there's definitely a vast improvement, it can only keep getting better.

In the summer I made a little wallet to carry my teabags in, as most of the varieties I was buying weren't packaged in their own little envelope, like the posh ones do.  A few of my lovely friends were intrigued with my little tea wallet and yes, I made them some too.

The worst part about getting bags under your eyes is finding the shoes to match

- Adrienne E. Gusoff

Return of the ... Pouch !

What I've been up to this week... making more DS Pouches.  The Pouches I create have never ever made it to my folksy shop.  They have been selling as soon as they've had their final stitch.

Over the past few months I've had custom orders for them, my favourite were the denim pouches made for twin boys.

If you would like to have one of these for yourself, then you can follow my tutorial or you can buy one from Marices World.

What have you been making this week?  

Something new...

Having lost my motivation, for what seems like an eternity, and with Life getting in the way of Art, I really longed to crawl my way out of reality and take a leap back head first into crafting.

Dichroic Glass Pendant

Desperate to get back into the flow of creativity I was very fortunate to find Speedcrafting.  The exquisite Joni and Kev from Hung, put together an exciting collection of crafts to experiment with.  I've dabbled in dichroic glass, lino printing, braiding, appliqué and fantasy film, to name a few.  Having never worked with glass before I have to say it was my favourite.

Braided Cufflet

Since the beginning of the year I've been saving up for a kiln, just a small one, for pure curiosity and to broaden my creative horizons.  However, since joining in the Speedcrafting fun, Joni has introduced me to an alternative option.  It's called the HotPot, it's for fusing glass and you put in the microwave!! 

  Knitted Art

Picking up a set of knitting needles brought back memories from school.  I surprised myself that I was able to cast on without knowing what i was doing, it just happened without me thinking and before I knew it I was clicking away with the needles.  It was really interesting trying different sized needles and wool, even managed a bit of Purl too.

 Recycled Plastic Bracelet

My bracelet was made out of an old milk bottle, and despite what you may think, the edge of the discs are not at all sharp, a great idea for kids to make.

Recycled scarf / necklace

Last but certainly not least is the necklace made from an old t-shirt.  Although I learnt lots of new techniques on the day, I had no idea that when you cut a t-shirt into strips and stretch them, the t-shirt becomes tubular - if that's the right way to describe it?  I was amazed at how effective it is.

So having tried some new crafts, did I get my crafting mojo back? ... I certainly did ... back to sewing and making, aah now that feels better.  Onwards and upwards!

I feel the need for tweed

I've found it very difficult squeezing in any crafting lately, you see I'm one of those people who can't say no, which inevitably means I have neglected my poor blog whilst suffering terribly from 'crafting' withdrawals.  And so to correct this I managed to throw caution to the wind yesterday and made my 2nd tweed bag. 

I'm rather chuffed with how it turned out.  Due to time constraints I find myself sticking to the same old pattern, as I know it like the back of my hand, however I did make a couple of subtle changes.   

I used two different colours of material, making panels for the front and back of the bag before I could begin sewing it together, which I find the most exciting part.  the other alteration was to the pleats, which are inwards instead of out.

The brooch is removable, and I couldn't decide where on the handbag it looks best ... top left  or bottom middle ... oh decisions, decisions. :0)

Totally shocked and delighted ...

Remember I entered a competition at Ragamuffin?  Well I didn't win but (drum roll) ...  I did get a runners up position - woo hoo !!!  This is the lovely prize I received.

Gorgeous wool from Wales

Tweed rosette brooch

Mustard Shetland Tweed

and last but not least some VERY funky buttons

Oh I am one very lucky girl ;0)

Scraps of fabric

What do you do with your fabric scraps?  I hate throwing things out, so I have a drawer with every - and I mean every scrap I've been left with.  Each bit loved SO much I can't bare to throw it out.  Needless to say the drawer is full, no that's an understatement, it's bulging to the point of being crushed within an inch of it's life.

Most recent I have been left with grey fleece scraps from making the new hot water bottle covers.  So after some careful cutting I made this...

A cosy fleece flower for my hair.  Okay, so it doesn't exactly keep my head warm but it sure looks like it does.  It's time for me to pack away all the flimsy, floaty summer accessories and get out the winter woolies - yeah! As some of you will know I'm a hat person so it's my favorite time of year. 

The true fleece colour is closest to the above flower.  Not quite sure what has happened to the two photos below, they've gone a shade of blue? 

I'm really pleased with how the clip has turned out.  I've had a few lovely comments from people too - which is always nice.  As I've dark brown hair, the grey stands out well, also it's my 'colour of the moment'.  I go through phases of favourite colours.  Last time it was turquoise, which goes rather well when teamed with grey, so I'm not completely colourless ha ha.

Tooth Fairy Pocket

After lots and lots of nagging from my lovely 'little worlds', I have finally made both of them a little felt tooth pocket.  The Tooth Fairy has already visited Miss World 8 times now. 

On one occasion Miss World had cared for her pearly white all day and had placed it under her pillow, with great excitement, however her little brother was extremely curious and took the tooth to play with, managing to loose it - much distress followed as you can imagine, however the clever fairy used her magic to find the missing tooth, well at least we think she must have, as a shiny coin was left that night.

Another time the Tooth Fairy was SO busy she didn't manage to collect Miss World's tooth but did leave a coin and a lovely teeny, tiny, hand written note of explanation and apologies the following night.  Mr World is yet to embark on his relationship with the Tooth Fairy, so fingers crossed his one won't be so absent minded ;0)

As you can see I made the pockets from felt, 14cm long by 5.5cm wide.  Stitched together using embroidery thread and a little ribbon and button attached.

The pink pocket looks squint but I assure you it's just the photo - honest!.  Needless to say I've been asked to make a few more.  Why not have a go yourself, would make a great present - especially with Christmas coming up.  I'd love to see what designs you come up with.