Hickory Dickory Clock

I wasn't planning to show this just yet but after a hectic week at work followed by a weekend away in London I've suddenly realised its time for Handmade Monday and I have nothing finished to show! Whoops!
I don't know where the days disappear to.

So a few weeks ago I showed you a plaque I'd made with a little mouse on it:

Well I've fallen in love with little mice and i'm beginning to think they may become my 'thing'. I wanted to include them in something else so I created the Hickory Dickory Clock!

I'm thinking off adding a lump of cheese to the centre or giving it a darker background as I think it needs something extra. Any suggestions?
I've also discovered (finally) how to make a collage. Being the technical dunce that I am I have to say that is quite an achievement, so heres a 'collage of close-ups' of my mousey little friends

I have some other nursery rhyme theme clocks that are half finished (and some which are still at the paper design stage) so they will be making an appearance in time.
Make sure you go visit Wendy over at Handmade Monday to see what everyone else has been up to and if I remember correctly Bath Bomb Creations will be having a linky party from 1st February (Wednesday) with an animal theme. My mice may be small but I think they qualify so i'll be adding this post over there too.
Before I go I have noticed a few extra followers this week so hello to you and thank you so much for following, your support is really appreciated.
Until next time,
Jem
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Best laid plans (and my birthday!)

OK so this week I had a lot of things planned which I was hoping to show off this weekend... best laid plans anyone?
Well I started the week by sleeping through most of Monday after working the Sunday night shift, I slept surprisingly well on Monday night too although I woke at 2:30am on Tuesday and couldn't get back to sleep. Despite technically being an adult I still always wake early on my birthday, even though I wasn't particularly excited about it.

So did I do anything special to celebrate? Probably not by many peoples standards but for me I enjoyed it. I tidied the house in the early hours, watched a bit of TV, had a long hot bubble bath, made a homemade veggie bhuna, drank half a bottle of malibu and relaxed. Maybe its a sign of getting old but clubbing really isn't my thing anymore!
Wednesday I had a very good chat with a lady from HMRC, rather than attending one of their workshops they are now offering telephone workshops which are supposed to last about 20 minutes. Mine lasted a good hour and the amount of information I gained was fantastic. I'm no longer scared about the dreaded self assessment, in fact I'm quite looking forward to receiving it and getting stuck in (I will probably regret saying this in a few months time!) So the rest of Wednesday was spent sorting receipts and trying to get things into order.
Thursday I spent quite a bit of my day playing with my new birthday present, a Kindle. These things are absolutely fabulous, I'm quite addicted to it now. I did have a few technical issues with it first off trying to collect it to my wireless network however the ever reliable 'turn it off and on again' worked a treat and I was soon up and running. Now I just need to find a nice handmade case for it... or maybe a few nice cases!

Friday I was back into work. Where does the time go? Hopefully you can see why I didn't get much done.
I didn't completely forget about my paintbrush though, I did find time to paint a few photo frames, first up are these cute stars and hearts:

As Valentines day is fast approaching I also painted these two designs:

That's all I have to offer this weekend, note to self - must do more next week!

As usual I'm linking up with Wendy's Handmade Monday so please do go and have a look at what others have been up to.
Until next time
Jem
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Dragons

Its been a bit of a hectic weekend here and I'm running a bit late with my Handmade Monday post so i'm going to keep it short and sweet.
This week among other unfinished items I've been working on a mischievous trio of dragons, Boris, Glenn and Rudy:

Boris

Glenn

Rudy

I love the cheeky expression on these guys faces and really enjoyed painting them.
I've also been working on my website a bit which, despite a few setbacks, i'm still intending to get up and running before the end of January. Building a website, even a simple one, is a lot trickier than it appears especially if you are a bit technically-dumb like me. Bit by bit though it is slowly coming together but in the mean time if you want to buy anything you see on here just drop me a message either in the comments section on here or by email to jamdalory@hotmail.co.uk
Its just the dragons I have to show you this week however next week i'll be getting in the Valentines mood and showing you some lovey themed creations.
Until next time,
Jem
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2nd lot of Christmas presents revealed

If you missed the first lot of Christmas presents revealed you can see the post here.

Now I'd like to show you something that I made for my mum,

I had this idea in my head for months and it came out pretty much how I'd imagined. This personalised kitchen board with pretty mulberry flowers in mulberry paper plant pots hangs from a twine hanger. It has a small felt pouch hanging at the back which holds a piece of chalk and the whole board measures approx 45cm x 30cm.

Before she saw this my mum asked me to make a present for her sister so I got to thinking. I decided to use the same idea but tweak it to match her personality. I know she likes cats and I know her kitchen is blue so the obvious answer was this

again it has a small felt pouch with chalk at the back for writing on the blackboard part.

I'm really pleased with these, they can be designed to match pretty much any personality and are a great addition to the kitchen. They will be on the website when it is up and running, along with some other designs.

I'm pleased that Handmade Monday is back up and running after the busy Christmas period, I have missed it these past weeks. Go and have a look at what everyone's got to show, I'm sure there'll be a lot to catch up on!
Until next time,
Jem
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1st lot of Christmas presents revealed...

I was going to do just one post of the items I made for Christmas presents but I've decided to split them up a bit so today I will be showing you two gifts that I made, one for my sister and one for my mum.

The idea started when I discovered Bath Bomb Creations, their stuff looked so good I had to order.
I ordered a mixture of different scented bath bombs, some for my mum, some for my sister and some for me! When they arrived they were well packed in a shed-load of bubble wrap that will definitely be recycled on my orders,

The question that came next was how to display them? I bought some of these boxes a while ago and forgot all about them,

I decided to paint them, pink for my sister who is a girly girl and blue for my mum who loves it. I tried to make it look like bubbles on the lid but it didn't work so they just became pretty colourful circles.

I didn't want to just put the bath bombs inside, it needed something more so I got some little organza bags. I ordered some from eBay but they didn't arrive so I had a last minute panic to find someone nearby who could sell me some, luckily I got these pretty lilac bags.

I then separated them into each bag and added a little tag to each to say what scent they were,

Then the moment of truth, I hadn't actually measured the inside of the box so had no idea if they would even fit! Luckily they did. Just.

Yes I was very pleased with myself! I also used some of the mountain of bubble wrap to make sure they were safe before I wrapped them with Christmas paper.

They went down really well as gifts, throughout Christmas day both my mum and sister kept opening the box and lifting a bag out for a sniff! I think I might even make a box for myself, it's nice to have a bathroom treat box for when you just want to relax and feel pampered and the boxes and bags can be reused.

As well as providing me with these lovely smelling bath bombs, the team over at Bath Bomb Creations are hosting their second linky party which I'm going to join in with now, pop over and have a look.
I'm also joining in with Lisa's Linky Party on a blog I've recently found. It's a brand new linky party so I hope they do well.
I'll be revealing the other handmade Christmas presents in a few days.
Until next time,
Jem
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New Year, New Aims

How to start a new year?
I decided that as yesterday was a bank holiday it didn't really count so I spent the day continuing to relax and eat far too much. I do realise that today is also a bank holiday but it's also a Monday so that to me signifies a new start to a new year.

Over the last 12 months I have put on weight, lost it, then gained some more. This year I'm determined to lose it for good. A typical New Years resolution? Yes. This year though will be different for the following reason:
My day job requires a certain amount of fitness, although this is not tested regularly, it is when you want to change departments or areas. This year I want to change both so I really need to shift some weight and get running on the treadmill thats currently pretending to be a clothes horse in my living room. I wont post my current weight for fear of embarrassment but I will post my progress, that way it will feel like I have to justify myself to someone and lets face it, blogging is much cheaper than Weight Watchers or Slimming World, only time will tell if it's as successful.
My second aim is to make a success of my new business, I am currently spending a lot of my spare time designing my website which will be up and running this month as well as painting items and adding more ideas to my already bulging sketchbook!
I also intend to do several craft fairs this year, I havent decided which ones yet but I hope this will be a boost not only to my sales but also to my confidence, either that or it'll go horribly wrong, no-one will buy and I'll feel a massive failure! fingers crossed it's the first option!

Away from anything work related I have a couple of other aims for 2012

• Visit Disneyland Paris, I went about 10 years ago with my younger brother and sister but now I have another brother who'll be 10 this year I'd like to take him before he's too old to appreciate the magic of the place.

• Run a marathon, or maybe a half marathon. I used to do fun runs when I was younger but the last one was over 4 years ago. The feeling of crossing the finish line of a 5k run is brilliant so I can only imagine the sense of achievement I'll get if I can do a marathon.

• Sell my house and buy a new one. I'd love to own a farm and spend most of my time out in the fields but as there's little chance of that happening unless I win the Lottery I will settle for an old cottage that needs a lot of work. I love having a project to focus on.

These are just a couple of things off the top of my head, I for one, am very excited about what the new year has in store. What are your ambitions and resolutions?

Jem

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