CCBox2: Tea,driftwood and starfish!

This months Crafty Creatives box was very inspiring, though some items presented quite a challenge, driftwood(!?) I'm looking at you!

Here are some ideas I came up with:

Just in case anyone is in doubt as to where the tea is in our house! 

I love these wooden pennants, they take paint very easily. I bought the wooden letters from this seller on eBay. The pots of paint are tester pots of emulsion from Homebase £1.59 each. I used black ribbon for the ties.

After much deliberation I used my pieces of driftwood to make a candle stand! I simply bound the ends together with the string from this months box and stood a tea light holder from Ikea on top. I think it looks really "beachy" and I would love to make a few more and have them all along the windowsill.

With some simple knotting and a few supplies from my jewellery making stash, I made myself a lovely charm bracelet using the cord, glass pearls and starfish charms. I plan on making more bracelets with the pearls (there are loads left!)  and stacking them all together for a boho look!

Please leave me links to your crafty makes, I'd love to see what you've been making! 

Currently.....

Listening..... To Morcheeba. The instrumental version of the 2002 album, "Charango." I listen to this a lot when I'm writing, so the lyrics don't distract me!

Eating..... Honey dew melon and proscuitto ham with some sliced Royal Gala apple and Feta cheese cubes. What can I say, I'm feeling all mediterranean?!

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Drinking..... Tea! "Honeycomb Camomile" to be precise! It's a really soothing drink with a lovely honey flavour. Twinings sent me this tea to try along with "Jasmine Pearls" green tea and they are both deicious.

This might just be the prettiest tea I've ever seen, little buds of camomile flowers make me think of sunshine.

Wearing..... H&M skinny jeans, H&M long white vest, Zara oversized tee shirt in black and white (10 years old!) Black and white pumps (converse style) Lots of bangles/bracelets! Hair in a top knot. Minimal make up. Nothing exciting, just casual!

Feeling..... Like I need to spend a few weeks here: Six senses resort, Maldives.

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Weather..... Nothing like the above picture that's for sure! 16 degrees. Cloudy with sunny intervals. 20% chance of rain. The usual.

Wanting..... To get healthier and fitter. I think the London Olympics have inspired many people to get out and do some exercise or try a new sport. Not sure what I'm going to do, to get fitter just yet. Quite fancy a bike with a basket on the front for Flossie!

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Needing..... Some new perfume! I found a great website recently called Fragrantica. It has lots of interesting reviews and is a good way to find a new scent. You can sort perfumes by "notes" such as floral or "oriental" and it will find perfumes within that group. Brilliant.

Thinking..... About autumn. It's my favourite time of year and I'm looking forward to the change of season.

Enjoying..... CCBox2. I'm still loving the Crafty Creatives concept and enjoying being crafty with all the goodies in this months box. Check out the CC blog where Claire and Isobel showcase ideas using some of the contents from the boxes.

Crafty Creatives Box #2

SPOILER ALERT! If you want your box to be a surprise, look away now!!!

No sooner have I delved into the goodies from Crafty Creatives Box1 the postie is knocking on my door and I've got my crafty little mitts on CCBox2! I have to say I love this months offerings. There are a few challenging pieces in there but I'm pretty sure I can rise to it, that's part of the fun.

Here are some highlights:

This months theme is Nautical and I love this bracelet kit, I'm looking forward to making this.

I use glass pearls in a lot of my handmade jewellery and these are the most beautiful colour. I love the contrast of textures from the cord, rope and beads.

Gorgeous little, boat wheel pendant and starfish charms!

Now here's a challenge! Not sure where to go with these.... maybe a hanging mobile, using some of my shell collection ...

Having spent last Friday on the beach in the glorious sunshine with my husband and Flossie this months theme is perfectly timed. It evokes everything that's wonderful about the coast... I can smell the sea air and feel the sand between my toes again!

CCBox1: Hair flowers and smiley faces!

Another post using the Crafty Creatives materials! In this box was a cute little kit to make a flower brooch. I thought it might look pretty as a hair flower, so I simply stitched a hair grip to the back of the completed rose instead of attaching the brooch fastener. Easy!

The instructions were easy to follow but it was also useful that the Crafty Creatives sisters uploaded a video showing exactly how it was done.

The little wooden flower beads were too cute to leave in my bead collection so I strung them onto some coloured thread and wore them as little summery bracelets. They bring a smile to my face!

CCBox2 is on it's way and I'm very excited to receive that pink parcel in the post. I wonder what goodies await us this month!

CCBox1: Fancy pants!

An accomplished seamstress I am not. I don't own a sewing machine. I can sew on buttons or hem a trouser seam in an emergency, but that's where my talent with needle and cotton begins and ends. I'm hoping then, that you won't judge my latest "project" too harshly! It was something I did for fun using some of the fabulous materials from Crafty Creatives Box 1.

I collected some materials together along with the beautiful William Morris fabric and floral wooden buttons from CCBox1.

Ready to cut out the fabric from my very professional(!) template.

Using the buttons for eyes and red embroidery thread also from CCBox1 to create a nose! As you can see my hand stitching isn't the best, but it doesn't matter for this project because it won't be seen.
Stuffing! Making him nice and plump!!

Ta daaaaa! The finished article. Forget Disco Pants. These are proper groovy!

Let me sum up this project with a conversation:

Me: Look what I made today!
Husband: Oh.
Me: Don't you like it?!
Husband: Er.. yeah. It's nice. (pause) What is it?!
Me: I don't know. It's just a "thing" wearing fancy pants.

Recent purchases: Going for Gold!

The Olympics are well under way, and I don't think we're doing too bad for medals. Personally I'd like to see a few more gold, so rather than wait for Team GB to get theirs I decided to indulge in some bling of my own with some gold fashion!

I fell in love with this gold sparkly, lightweight knit with long sleeves from Forever 21. Subtle glitter yarn allows for just the right amount of glow, without being too much.

These gold pumps from Matalan are super soft and are a bargain price too. They also come in silver.

This Essie nail polish is called Penny Talk and it has the most beautiful sheen. This was the last one on the shelf in Boots, but you can buy it on line too.

Bargain priced jewellery from Forever 21. I really like simple stud earrings for daytime and you can't really beat six pairs for this price. Great wearable colours too.

Well, hopefully by the time you read this Team GB have stacked up a few more medals and I can wear my gold items with pride!

Recent purchases: Make up and metal

Wandering around Cheshire Oaks designer outlet village recently, I found myself in Pilgrim which is a Danish jewellery store. The designs are quite unusual, mainly silver with a quirky edge. I struggled to find something I really liked and left empty handed. However, before we left for home my husband said he was just nipping to get a drink and when he returned he handed me a Pilgrim bag. He'd spotted a beautifully simple necklace that I somehow had missed! What a star. He knows my style well!

The design is simplicity itself. A flattened, roughly shaped, large silver horseshoe hung on a fine chain.

Pilgrim packaging is very elegant, a white bag with a black ribbon handle and your item is wrapped in black and white tissue (very Chanelesque)

On the same trip I bought a couple of items from the Cosmetics Company Outlet. Mac, Estee Lauder, Bobbi Brown, Origins and a few other brands are greatly discounted, often from the previous season collections. It's a great place to go to stock up on beauty bargains!

I like Ojon hair products, and thought the hairspray (£2.99) above would be handy for my bag, unfortunately the smell is VILE! I'm not usually affected by smells that much, but this is so overpowering. The only thing I can think to compare it to, is cream soda, sickly sweet!

The purchase of a mac eyeshadow quad (£22) was a bit more successful and the colours are very pretty.

There are lots of coffee shops and restaurants at Cheshire Oaks and we took full advantage of the dry and sunny (yes, really!) and sat outside sipping our lattes eating cake and watching the world go by.

There's nothing like a little day trip to lift the soul and if you throw shopping and cake into the mix I'm very happy indeed!