In preparation for when I upgrade my website I will be posting a monthly diary blog, compiled of a short note and a photograph. At the end of the blog there will be details of the new things in the making and details of developing new ideas. These diary blogs will ensure I am using the website regularly, keeping it very active without bothering subscribers every five minutes!
Friday 2nd February
Can you believe it is March already, it'll soon be time to start sowing seeds!
I had to order extra supplies for my tote bags as the first ones sold out straight away. I ordered from Wish in China and a UK eBay seller. Guess which order arrived first? Just 7 days from China, brilliant! Once the totes were made I pre-wrapped them so they were ready to go out, and as they are to be gifts, I wrapped them in hand-stamped paper with matching tags!
If you're ordering a gift from me, send me a message and I will gifty it up for you!
Tuesday 6th February
Remember when it was warm, sunny and full of colour! Looking out of the window it is hard to imagine how pretty it will be in just a few months. This colour scheme is one of my favourites: apricot, lilac and white with short, dark accents in the depths. It is so refreshing with all the different colours and the variety of leaf shapes.
C'mon summer, let's hope it's full of birdsong, blue skies and sunshine!
Thursday 8th February
My craft and my garden go hand in hand, so 7 years ago I started keeping a bullet journal. As my Etsy got busier my journal started to suffer, with less time to illustrate, draw and record thoughts and ideas. This year I have pledged to go back to ensuring my journal better represents an artist rather than being just a means to record stuff. This photo shows my mood tracker, where I record my time crafting, in the garden, days off (I had 4 days off last year!) and exciting days, where either we have visitors or go out somewhere. I
like to look back to see how much time I have spent gardening and crafting. It helps me to have a good balance and not to focus on one over the other.
Friday 8th February
Do you ever do much writing by hand? I know it is becoming a rare thing, but I do still write a lot. There is my bullet journal, sketchbooks and notebook, which is a mess of doodles, ideas and random things that days later sometimes mean nothing! I had doodled the words 'Norse horse' on one page, what does that mean? Anyway, my fabulous aunty in Canada, (hello Aunty Christine!) has always supported my art and my earliest memory is of her teaching me to use an old typewriter when I was maybe 7-10 years old. I don't have
many life regrets but one of them is that my aunty was miles away in Canada. I believe if I had spent more time around her, my crafty path might have been quite spectacular. My biggest regret in life is not learning Latin at school. I am totally crap at languages but now my world is full of Latin plant names and Italian Renaissance references so I could have done with paying more attention!
The photo shows the fabulous fountain pen by Lamy and a writing pen by Caron D'ache that my aunty has sent me as gifts, furthering my love of the written word!
Monday 12th February
I am busy writing another book at the moment but it is nothing like the fictional novel I wrote in 2011. I cannot divulge the idea for the book as it is quite unique and having spent a year thinking about how to write it, I have also been researching and nobody yet has had the idea. Here is a line or two:
A walk around this Pottage, with its secret hide-aways, curving narrow paths between a tended, rambling landscape. A surprise around every corner, a flower, fruit or tree, or maybe a salad patch with herbs and leaves for tea! Camomile and Lavender, parsley and sage, with snapdragons roaming freely when they should be in a cage!
I really want to make this book at home so I can use the big A2 printer and using my heavy watercolour paper I can then hand paint little illustrations. It is only going to have about 50 pages and although I can do book binding, I need to research and practise how to make a professional cover. If I can come up with a great cover idea, I will be able to make the book at home.
Wednesday 14th February
We finally have total harmony in our house! It may have taken four months, but here is our little Stella finally buddies with Sun Tzu and Tsuki. If you've been following me recently, you'll already know Stella is our new addiction and we have been living in chaos as she befriends the other two. But now they play together, share treats and will nap together and when they chase each other along the upstairs hall you'd think 20 Labradors were on the move! For little things that weigh not much more than a packet of
crisps, it's a good job we're not in a flat with neighbours underneath!
Sunday 18th February
We have recently started juicing again. It stems from my wanting to support local farmers in their current plight. With being busy, stopping to cook veg is a time suck, and so we have stocked up on carrots, red cabbage, apples, pears, pineapple, radishes, oranges and ginger to make juices. (I know local farmers don't grow pineapples and oranges but until they do...)
One juice was amazing, pear, apple and rosemary from the garden, which had a
great, long-lasting aftertaste. The photo shows a red cabbage and iceberg lettuce juice which looked far better than the experience of drinking it. It smelt like freshly podded peas and drank like a business, really heavy and filling. You could feel the goodness in it all day long, but this one wasn't for me. I preferred the orange and radish.
Tuesday 20th February
As there will no doubt be further cold snaps on the horizon, I have been making some new Drafties, with new design ideas. I have introduced chunky wool which not only makes the Drafty really luxurious and heavy, increasing its efficiency, it also allows me to create some alternative interest. I have just retaken all the main photos of my Drafties and I noticed a lack of neutral and brown colour palettes. I am really going to experiment with unusual colour this year, I am very interested in shades that are undeniable, e.g. a grey
that may be green or blue, or a pink that may be brown or orange.
Sunday 25th February
I went to a little craft fayre in the village today. As a rule craft fayres are a waste of time for me, as I don't really fit in anywhere. However, I do like meeting up with the village regulars for idle chit-chat and a slice of homemade cake. I had a premium spot and the stand looked great as I found my handmade tablecloth, with leaf bunting. With all the calico cards and lavender bags mixed with bright wools and seagrass baskets, the overall look was sweetly rustic!
Tuesday 27th February
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