April is the month I am flat out in the garden and rarely do much crafting and making. I do spend some time on the computer, bettering my Etsy shop, blogging, writing my new book and perusing Etsy forums and social media to catch up on the latest fads, changes and gripes! In the garden I have trays of seedlings to plant out, either in the garden itself or potted on into tubs and window boxes in the greenhouses, ready to go out after the last frosts!
Wednesday 3rd April
Juicy-licious!
Continuing my experiments in juicing, this morning we had watermelon, lime and mint from the garden. This one is going to be fabulous over crushed ice in the summer, very refreshing!
Wednesday 4th April
Toastie at last!
The log burner is in the kitchen, yay!
Although we live in an old cottage, the kitchen is a 1970s extension with two exposed walls and a flat roof meaning it is always very cold. fabulous in summer when it is hot, but baltic in the winter. The kitchen has an old chimney as there had been a smoking outhouse that the kitchen was built around, and we had considered a second log fire but there was a problem with chimney heights and the two open fires would have worked against
each other. Therefore we opted for a log burner, ridiculously cheap as we bought a Chinese import, professionally installed by a local chap who was absolutely brilliant. Definitely a great idea, all toasty now, we just have to paint behind the burner!
Monday 8th April
Colour studies continue!
I love this colour combination but it is only in a small patch of flower bed. The dark purple/black tulips make the dark blue hyacinths look even richer, with bluebells in the background. These apricot wallflowers are a rare seed I saved a few years ago, and I cannot get them anymore. I am trying to increase the number of plants each year, by saving seeds. Apricot wallflowers are quite rare but work brilliantly in many colour palettes so these little plant seeds are very special
Tuesday 9th April
Flaming flower bed!
This month's gardeners crafting diary during April is all about the garden, but that's not to say I'm not thinking about things! I prowl the garden and take photographs from unusual angles to capture as much colour as possible! These pots are brimming with orange and red wallflowers with yellow and orange tulips. In the background, it changes into cerise and pale yellow, with peach-centred daffodils. These colour studies could end up as pom pom draft excluders or lavender-filled hanging birds.
Monday 15th April
Poorly hen to happy hen!
This is Samantha Carter, our old ex-battery hen enjoying the sunshine, with bluebells and lavender. She had been off her food and water meaning she may have an illness. When chickens are under the weather they tend to huddle in a corner, head and tail down. Carter was alert and moving about, so we put her in the garden to enjoy dry ground and a full salad bar to encourage her to eat. The chicken pen is very soggy because of all the rain and we think the damp has got to
her. She is over 5 years old which is old for a chicken, but after two days of supervised free roam and lots of attention, she is back on the top perch and enjoying her morning hot mash!
Friday 19th April
Prettiest pretty things!
I wanted some little pictures for my bullet journal, which this year is going to be more of an illustrated art journal. These cute 2 x 4-inch boxes have 40 little cards and cost the same as 2 pints of milk. I got them from 'Wish', the Chinese selling platform which is my go-to for things like this. I got a few bits from different shops and they merged all the parcels together, so it was actually cheaper, and faster than eBay! They are fabulous and look great in my journal!
Saturday 20th April
Chocci eggs rock!
It's always a sad day when the last easter egg is gone! I prefer the Continental big bags of egg-sized hollow eggs, and yes, I hide them around the house in the hope I will come across one in June! Alas, this year I remembered where they all were! Just as I'd resided to the thought that that was it till next year, I looked up and saw the hollow chocolate Christmas decorations, of the same ilk, hanging from my birch hanging tree! They were so pretty I had left them as decoration, but their
time has come, yum yum!
Wednesday 20th April
William Morris match!
When I decorated our cottage I chose fabulous William Morris wallpapers but only papered one feature wall, left uncluttered by hung pictures. I don't plan to ever repaper, but I can paint the other walls in new colours if I fancy a change. This bedding was on offer from Asda, just £1.50 a set, but look how it matches! The print is woodland animals in terracotta and greens, while the reverse is this fabulous matching green. I had to share because it is so sweet!
Thursday 21st April
'About' story updated on Etsy!
Cat's Punky Stuff began in 2017 when I started to make quirky home decor for our old country cottage. In keeping with its rustic Victorian charm, I made lavender-filled hanging bird light pulls and luxurious pom pom draft excluders creating bespoke and individual pieces that quickly became popular.
Living in rural Lincolnshire, caring for my organic cottage garden for our honey bees, house rabbits and chickens, I do
everything myself. In busy times my husbunny helps with simple tasks and always goes to the post office. Cat's Punky Stuff offers so much more than just a place to purchase handmade goods. I work with an ideology created by the Arts and Crafts Movement, so expect customer service that never leaves you wondering and exquisitely packed parcels representative of the high-quality goods I make.
For the rest of this story, this will take you there!
Wednesday 24th April
Pom Pom Trimming blog!
I have been working on increasing the amount of views my website gets, and so I have started doing little crafty blogs, so sorry if you have subscribed to my blogs, a few may be a bit boring!
There are many videos on social media as to how to trim a pom pom, so I decided to do a storyboard of photographs. Such a shame my nails are gnarly from gardening!
Friday 26th April
Fresh lemon daily!
I drink a lot of fizzy water with lemon in it. It is a great appetite suppressant and I like the taste over shop-bought cordials. I do make my own blackcurrant and raspberry cordials, but I am running out of fruit, frozen from last year. I like my lemon freshly squeezed, and have come up with a great way to keep the lemon fresh, and no pips in the juice. I take a slither off the pointed end of the lemon, then use a sharp knife to cut a cross into the open end. Squeeze the lemon from
the cut end first, then the middle and lastly, the other end. Freshly squeezed lemon juice, no mess and always a fresh lemon!
Saturday 27th April
Star warren maker!
Stella has been very busy building a warren and spends hours digging, patting and pushing the bed sheets about. She gets very cross if we mess with her work, so we leave her to it.
After 10 minutes of vigorous digging, she then flops down and has a nap, all long and low with her legs stretched out!
Tuesday 30th April
Gift wrapping finishing touches!
So tomorrow is May, is there any chance of seeing any sun, and when will that wind let up?
I had a lovely pick-me-up the other day, a lady ordered a lavender wand and we got chatting. It was a lovely story, and the wand was to be a birthday gift. I have this fabulous wrapping paper to go with the wands, I got it from Primark for £1 a roll, bargain! It is sooo pretty and goes with all of the organza ribbons I have. I stuck with
the lavender theme, and went for a pastel ribbon, to blend with, not distract from, the paper!
EDIT: As April has been a total washout, it has been hard to get out in the garden. Therefore I have been listing items on eBay, in readiness for reducing my deflated Etsy. As Etsy now allows absolutely anything to be sold, it is no longer exclusively handmade, and there are no advantages over eBay to stay with them. I will still list about 50 things on Etsy, but many of the bespoke, one-off things are going on eBay!
You have just read 'A Gardeners Crafting Diary April 2024'
Thanks for the lemon tip, due to a vicious bout of flu, I am currently drinking loads of lemony flavoured water and tea and the pips are a real nuisance.