Oriental ladies

As you know I am a keen cross-stitcher. I combined my love of all things oriental with my love of cross-stitch and this was the result:

From left to right: Beauty, Grace and Wisdom

Each took me between 6-8 months and it was a project that I thoroughly enjoyed, so much so that I actually made "Grace" a second time for my cousin's birthday.

More oriental designs to follow tomorrow.

The end of the week - back to normal at last.

I'm glad it is Friday. This week has been a difficult week. Not enough hours in the day, coupled with Monday's disasters has made for one big headache.

Tuesday was spent cleaning the black marks from the kitchen cupboards in readiness for the new light and electrical sockets to be installed. Tuesday evening was spent at the local DIY place buy said items.

Wednesday saw the installation of the light and sockets - DH and our very dear neighbour did a fantastic job, especially as it only took them 30 minutes! My heartfelt thanks to our neighbour (and of course DH!).

Thursday was a massive clean up job, blame it on the kitchen drama, but everything was cleaned to within an inch of its life!! Even the cat kept moving, an unusual occurance as she normally sleeps 21 hours out of 24! I think she was worried that if she stayed still too long that I might clean her too.

And so to Friday, time to blog - a whole week in one post, more paperwork, pay some bills and hopefully finish early.

The weekend is finally here and I am glad that it is!

Have a nice relaxing weeekend.

Yesterday - a day that should be forgotten!

As with every Monday, the intention is to get up, get DH & DS off to work and school and then attack the job list! This Monday started as every other but it was not to be a normal Monday.
Having blasted my way through the first lot of paperwork for the day, I decided to stop and have a coffee. This was a mistake. Having gone through the usual ritual of filling the kettle, putting coffee in the cup etc. I switched on the kettle. I was treated to the most spectacular light displays - orange & blue sparks, spewing from the socket. Before I could even take a breath, the light that was connected to the socket, burst into flames!!! At this point I should explain, the socket is situated underneath the cupboard and the electric supply feeds both the socket and the under cupboard lighting. Well, by the time I had reached for the fire extinguisher, the fuse blew in the meter cupboard and the fire was out and of course I had no electric in the house. I made a quick call to DH, explained the situation (thank God for mobiles as the landline was down too!), walked round and switched everything off, checked the fish (they now had no pump or heater) and waited once again for DH to come to the rescue.

It must be said, that I am pretty self sufficient in most things - I can fix the computer (was my job in my previous life) I can put up a shelf, wire a plug but I cannot "do" electric or water! Except I know how to turn the water and electric off until I can get help.

Within 30 minutes of getting home DH had made the dodgy electrics safe and restored the electric to the house. Now as if this wasn't bad enough . . . .

After DH had finished work we went trawling round all the DIY (DHZ in NL) shops to get replacement parts for the burnt ones. Having failed dismally in our mission, DH parked the car, managed to clip the kerb (which the council have just replaced) and punctured the front tyre!! But, as you can guess, it gets better (read that as worse) as DH has only just had the front tyres replaced!!

So as you can see - yesterday really was a day that should be forgotten!!

On a positive note: nobody was hurt, nothing was damaged that cannot be replaced and once again DH was the hero of the day.

Have a great & safe week!

A big project

This summer I decided to try my hand at something new - machine patchwork quilting. I had tried patchwork before, hand-sewing the pieces together but I never got around to making anything of worth from my efforts. I trawled the internet for inspiration, mapped out my design and then just went for it. This is my first attempt at machine patchwork and for a rare change, even I was impressed with my efforts (which although not perfect, the overall result is ok).

The finished size of the quilt is 200cm x 200 cm. My arms ached for a week after finishing it!!

Have a nice weekend everyone.

Something different.

I have always liked things that are unusual. I enjoy making cards that are different and individual and I hope that comes across in my designs. I have developed a range of wedding ring pillows, so far just six but it is something that I will to add to in the near future. Each pillow varies in style, ranging from simple, classic designs to lace & pearl combinations. The one shown here is a Celtic design, entwined hearts. The smaller picture shows the embroidery detail. Each pillow is handmade and therefore, completely unique - no two pillows are the same.

A perfect gift for any Bride & Groom. It also makes a nice keepsake - one of my satisfied customers has hers on display, next to her wedding photo.

Why not have a look in our shop

and another birthday!

Today we have another birthday - the birthday of my dear friend and neighbour. As it was DH's birthday yesterday and our friend's birthday today we all got together yesterday evening for coffee and "taart", as is the Dutch way. It was a lovely evening and a nice way to celebrate both birthdays.

Another birthday!

Today is DH's birthday. Last week DS asked me to make a card for his Dad. Of course I agreed but on the understanding that DS came up with an idea. DS said that as his Dad had looked so good at the 70's party, could I make something using the 70's theme - this is the result.

DS was pleased with his "groovy Dad" card and so was DH.

I opted for a more stylish card - a high heeled shoe formed the centre piece (as I am assured every man has a passion for high heeled shoes!!), matted on purple and silver which was then attatched to a purple and white DL card.

DH is having a lovely birthday so far and still has a nice evening in front of the fire to look forward to.

paul said...

I promise to remember everyones birthday for next year, if I had any brain cells I could rely on.HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK

Hazel & Paul xxx

29 September 2008 20:31

Thank You and an update.

Thank you to all of you that have sent good wishes. It is nice to know that I have been thought of.

An update to the finger performance - the swelling is going down (with the assistance of antihistamine tablets). The problem was caused by a reaction to a mosquito bite. Hopefully I will be back to my crafting tomorrow (given myself a little time off this weekend).

Thank you once again for all your kind thoughts.

My husband - my hero!

What a morning! DH is working from home today - something that orignally caused me concern - how were we going to manage sharing the same workspace?

However, I am so glad that he was around today. For some unknown reason my finger began to swell, I wasn't unduly concerned. Within an hour, things became worse as my ring was so tight on my finger that it was causing immense pain. We tried all the usual things to remove the ring but the swelling was too much. Keeping calm and with a very, very steady hand DH proceeded to cut the ring with a hacksaw. Much to my relief, within 5 minutes the ring was off and my finger still where it should be.

The swelling is still bad and causing pain but at least the ring is off!!

My heartfelt thanks to a very patient DH - the sort of guy you want around in a crisis.

Have a good weekend.



paul said...

Lesley, is the digit still in one piece, your very brave and trusting to let DH loose with a hacksaw on your finger. What on earth caused it to swell ???? ... have you been poking around in some strange places ??? Hope all is well now.

28 September 2008 08:35

My anniversary creation - as promised.

As promised, a picture of DH's anniversary card.
The corset is from a cuttlebug die, the background is made using the cuttlebug heart embossing folder. DH loved his card, which of course, is the main thing.

We had a lovely meal to celebrate and DH bought me a bottle of my favourite perfume - how lucky am I?

Today I am making the next batch of family birthday cards and hopefully some Christmas cards too.

Good news - an excuse to make a card!

This weekend we heard that a good friend of ours had got a new job. Well, as you would expect, I just had to make a card!

I aimed to use the colours of the card to make an impact rather than any sort of complicated design (especially as I was making it late at night!). I also wanted to try my Dutch language skills as normally my cards are in English, if they have text at all.

It made a nice change to design a card using "words" as the focal point.

On to another card making matter - today is our 19th Wedding Anniversary and I was hoping to show the card that I made for DH - unfortunatley we were all running late this morning so he hasn't opened it yet. I will try and upload my anniversary creation tomorrow!

Have a nice day!

paul said...

Congratulation on making 19 years, your slowly catching us up. Hope you had something special planed for tonight nice meal etc ? Time just fly's by when you enjoying yourself.H & P Kent xxxxx

23 September 2008 21:03

Thank You's

As DS received some lovely presents for his birthday, I made some "Thank You" cards for him to send. He isn't a great one for writing, prefering to do everything, where possible, on the computer. We have tried to bring him up, as we were, to always thank people for their gifts - if people were kind enough to think of you then you should be kind enough to say thank you.

The added bonus is - I get to make more cards!!

I kept the design simple - using two different coloured ink pads to stamp the background, my Sizzix to cut the flower and the word "thanks". I finished off by hand drawing some tiny flowers, to compliment (hopefully) the bigger paper flower. DS thought they were good and he soon got on with the job of writing them. . . . . now where did I put those stamps so that I can post them - oh well, they must be here somewhere!!

Birthday Boy!

Yesterday, my DS turned 15! In typical teenage fashion he is "addicted" to brands - anything that has a brand name/logo on it and according to my darling teenager, it must be ok. He had a great birthday, despite still having to go to school (shame) and a great birthday meal - a traditional roast with all the trimmings - his favourite. It would have been nice to go out for a meal but DS has a severe nut allergy so we played it safe and stayed at home.



As was expected, I made two cards for the birthday boy:-



The one on the left is a swing card, complete with the logo of current favourite shoes (for now!)




This afternoon has been spent making thank you cards for DS to send - photo to follow.

Have a nice weekend!

A week before the party

A week before the party I received a phone call from one the girls DH works with, asking if I could make 40 cards for the party. "Great" I thought. Then reality kicked in - to be able to do this I would have to design at least two samples and quote for them, get the customer to make a final choice and decide on the words inside, all by Friday and it was Thursday evening!! I was given a pretty free reign on the design and by the end of Thursday I had two samples, a quote and a selection of words for the inside. DH duly delivered everthing Friday morning and by 9 am I had a call to confirm the order and instructions to begin making "design 1", but could I make it 45!!

Well, I worked on them on and off for most of the weekend, finishing off on Monday.

45 cards finished and waiting to be packed!

This was my first big order, only ever having made one or two of the same design before. A big THANK YOU to Sarah, for giving me this opportunity.

Sarah said...

Once again Thank you BIG time Lesley!!!!The cards look great and everyone was impressed and asking where we got it.A custom-made handcrafted card really makes a difference! Most of all I really appreciate you doing this on such short notice.Next time I will try to place orders well in advance ;-)You are our Hero!xoxo

15 September 2008 13:06

Party Time - oh what a night!!

Here goes for the first of today's posts.

Party nite - what a night! It was great fun. Everybody dressed up and it became a challenge to try and work out who was who - everybody looked so different in their 70's gear!


DH looked great in his costume - a homemade effort with a bought wig but the overall effect was pretty good huh?

The shirt is one of mine, the bling a cd, the trousers are a modified pair of jeans, the shoes borrowed from DS and the glasses are the models own!

I couldn't find any material to mod the trouses with, so we bought some material and I printed it with fabric paint and a potato - remember potato printing from school?

The bling is a cd, covered in silver, self adhesive film, complete with peace symbol, the words "love child" and a few gemstones added to give that in your face bling style!

DH is always game for a laugh and on Friday night, along with 3 of his colleagues he became part of ABBA. The girls organised this tribute to the 70's, arranged the costumes, wigs and ABBA music and their "gig" went down a storm.

Well done to them all for a fantastic performance!!

This is DH as one of the ABBA guys - scary thing is, he looks exactly the same as when he was younger (or did I mean when he had hair?)

A fantastic night, with a fantastic group of people and the party to end all parties!!

A busy day

Tonight we are going to a 70's party. The Company that DH works for is 35 years old and they want to celebrate in style. Over the past few weeks we have been considering (and quickly discarding) costume ideas and eventually we came up with a plan.

It was then a case of putting the plan into action, purchasing/sourcing necessary accessories and finding shoes in keeping with the 70's theme. Not a problem for me, I might add, as I am like any other woman - I have an outstanding shoe collection!

The best bit so far has been with DH, who will be wearing a wig tonight. Having been follicly challenged (that's bald to the rest of us!) since before I met him, to see him with hair, even an overstated, 70's style, big wig was enough to send the house into peals of laughter. Even the neighbours took some time to recognize him!

The cat, Winnie, loves the wig too - she thinks its a great place to sleep!

On that note, it is almost time to go and begin the transformation and hopefully, if DH is agreeable, I shall add some pics of him over the weekend.

Until the next time and in true 70's fashion, peace & love to you all!




paul said...

Oh boy wigs ABBA I just can't wait for the pictures ...lol

12 September 2008 23:30

New cards

Having made this one for a new baby boy a while ago, I thought I ought to get on and make one for a baby girl too.





Both are available from my shop

How Krafted Keepsakes began.

I had a successful afternoon card making on Tuesday but as they are for birthdays this month I can’t show any pictures as it will spoil it for the recipients!

I have been making cards for many years now. I started with cross stitch cards and went on from there. I enjoy making cards, the buzz you get from giving a card that you have made along with the reaction you get when it’s opened. I’d never really thought about selling my cards until one day, whilst at my mother-in-laws, she said to me that she had kept all the cards that I had ever made for her. She then proceeded to produce a handbag where they were all kept. It was quite strange seeing all my efforts together and how my style had changed over time. It was then just a short step, an injection of confidence and a lot of encouragement from my family to start selling my cards and Krafted Keepsakes came to be. Now I daren’t send “shop” bought cards to my family & friends as they’ve come to expect a “handcrafted” creation!



paul said...

Dear reader of Lesley's Blog and posted comments as a recipient of some of Lesley's hand made cards. I really can't put into the appropriate words how pleased I am to receive them and how cherished they are,treat your loved ones to Lesley hand crafted cards for those special occasions.

05 September 2008 20:45

It’s raining - again!

Well, the kids went back to school today – another summer survived. In typical Dutch fashion it’s raining again. So, all the jobs that I wanted to do will have to wait.
I have returned the house to its normal pre-summer holiday state and my reward is to spend the afternoon crafting.




In the meantime, here is a card that I made for my SIL birthday back in April.




(Similar available from my shop)



And another made for my friend's son’s 21st.










Time for some crafting, so see you soon!

Good Friends

The BTB Annual event for 2006 was held at the West Midland Safari Park. Unfortunately, we were unable to go, so our kind friend Paul offered to get any goodies he could for our collection.



A few days after the event this parcel arrived.












And this is what was inside . . . . .













We were absolutely thrilled with our goodies and Leo has "pride" of place in our collection.
Thanks to Bad Taste Bears, we also "collected" two new friends - Paul & his wife Hazel.

That's all for today,