Weight Loss Wednesday

So how has everyone done this week then?  I'll be popping by to have a peek later but first my update.  Hmmm don't really want to type this but I have to afterall, in for a penny in for a pound so to speak :o)  I am officially 1.5lbs heavier than I was last week, oh dear that's not going to get me into my spring frocks, LOL!

I know exactly why this has happened, lost focus on the types of foods I was stuffing down my throat, which basically means I ate a lot of chocolate and one too many pizzas, oops.  Oh and not much exercise either, what am I like!

So to rectify all this excessiveness I need to exercise like mad with my personal trainer for 10 hours a day and eat only the freshest of lettuce leafs ................... yeah right!  Back in the real world I will try and not have too many Easter Eggs (always difficult that one) and maybe walk to my car more often, tee hee.

Off to do some exercise now, the curtains all need opening LOL. x

PS - click here to see the other participants

Knitting on Gas!

Evening everyone, did you all enjoy the spring sunshine at the weekend?  It was just lovely to see and I wish it had hung around for a while longer but hey ho, this is Blighty afterall :o)

Mooching around good old YouTube today I came across this video for British Gas.  If you are a knitter it will make you want to pick up your needles and start clicking, well it did me anyway!



It's rather cute isn't it!

Ikea Rosali in a charity shop

I couldn't believe my eyes when I popped into one of my local CS today. At the back where their linens are kept was what looked like Ikea Cath Kidston Rosali bedding. Almost ran over there, think the lady thought I was slightly mad:o)

On checking the label yes it was Ikea and it was the Super King size comforter.  Gingerly turned over the price tag expecting it to be quite high but to my surprise it was only £25!  Yep that beauty was off the rail in a flash and taken to the till!

Once paid for I hot footed it back to my car and stowed it away in the boot then went back to continue my thrifty outing.

Can you see a theme building here by any chance.  This is a brand new with tags on gorgeous little girls dress with lining as well, just so pretty and also very Cath K!

The velvet on this dress is so nice, again fully lined with lovely buttons at the back. The ribbon roses and beading scattered over the dress are just exquisite!

The last bit of cash in my purse just had to go on this great chunky wooden heart tealight holder.  I love the quirky shape of the heart don't you.

The comforter is huge, it completely covers my kingsize bed right down to the floor!

A successful thrifting trip and lots of pretties, just what a girl needs to cheer her up after no boiler for a week :o) x

Weight Loss Wednesday

So last Thursday the boiler flatlined on me!  Lots of flashing red lights and a leak meaning no hot water or heating for me, I have a combi system so no water tank.  Fast forward to today and I've just got hot water back but no heat.  Why you may ask am I telling you all this?  Because what do us humans do when we are cold, we eat lots of comfort food.  And although moving around a lot keeps you warm I actually do not feel like moving around when I'm sooo cold so didnt burn any of it off.

Luckily for me my family are real close by so I was able to at least take a shower or two, don't mind boiling kettles to wash up but I draw the line at filling the bath up with one LOL! 

My plumber is hoping to have normal service resumed by end of the week.  Makes you realise all the comforts we take for granted in the western world. x

Fancy a cupcake?

Hi everyone, remember me? I used to blog here on a regular basis but for no reason other than 'where did the day go' I've been a bit laxidaisical (is that a real word?) on the old blog posts lately :o)  So today I thought I must edit my photos and post about my new favourite card, well it has cupcakes on it what's not to love!

Unusually for me there was no involvement of my trusty printer whatsoever on this card. Regular followers will know I'm a great fan of knocking out sentiments using MS Word but this time I took the stamping approach and have to say am loving it. What I do need to do is build up a better collection of quality sentiments, I have nowhere near enough, cue shopping spree!

The cupcake stamp is from an Inkadinkdoo stamp set from America. The set is really good with sentiments and lots of different size/style of cupcakes. Stamped them onto some lovely K&Company papers and cut them out.

For the sprinkles I just used a quickie glue pen and some co-ordinating fine glitter from my stash.

 I think the stark contrast of the black numbers and rikrak ribbon work really well and sort of made the card pop.

The paper flowers are by Prima with pearl and black glossy cabouchons in the middle which I also used to top the cupcakes with .  I even cupcaked the envelope!

Hope you like it and promise not to leave it so long in between posts :o)

Weight Loss Wednesday

Gosh I haven't been around much lately have I.  And I'm not exactly sure what has been taking all my time up!  Do you have weeks like that?

Well I have to say the recent sunny days and above freezing temperatures have been a welcome change from our never ending ice age!  Unfortunately they are now showing me just how much spring cleaning I need to do on my house LOL!  A job for my mum's steamer I think.

Am hoping this brighter weather is going to kick start my weight loss again, as yes you've guessed it, I didn't lose anything this week, but then again I didn't gain either so not too terrible I suppose.  Hope the other WLW members having been more successful than me.

So my plans for this week are:

1. Get out in the garden, boy does it need attention
2. Eat more fruit and salads
3. Sort through my summer clothes, do I really need to hang on to a strappy top I have not worn in like 3 years!
4. Go for more walks, I have the most beautiful park across the road that I really should make more use of.

What do you all have planned in this spring like weather?

Mother's Day

Spent a lovely day with this very special lady, my beautiful mum.  She made sure I was safe back then and she still does now, she is the best!  We are lucky to all be close by as a family and I wouldn't have it any other way.   Besides where would I go everytime I discover late in the evening that I have run out of this and that, or whose tools would I borrow and not return for ages, and most of all who else would happily follow me around bootsales at silly o'clock on sunday mornings. LOL.  See you gotta love your mums! xx

I'm Crafty!

Saw this posted over at ILWS forum and it made me chuckle!  Thought we could all do with a laugh on a Monday morning!  I'm guilty of quite a few of the things in this vid, LOL. xx

Cath Kidston look alikes

I like lots of other bloggers out there adore Cath Kidston products but don't adore the prices!  So when I come across what I call Cath Kidstonesque items for a fraction of her prices I tend to go all weak and snap them up.

 

 These bags are going like hot cakes in Primark!

  

 A really lovely summery print canvas holdall and only £6.  Will love using this to chuck all my junk in that I carry around with me in the spring, like extra cardigan and scarf as you never know what the weather is going to do.

  

 Another £6 bag and this time polka dot oil cloth.

  

 Like the idea of this for carrying my paperwork around in as it is a lot sturdier than the canvas one.

  

 This little single quilted bed throw was spied in my local charity shop.

  

 Red gingham gets me everytime, especially at £3!

  

  Cute storage

 

Found this in Dunelms reduced to a couple of quid.  It's going to hang in my craftroom on the wall and will house things I use on a daily basis.  It is such a lovely bright pink and will really cheer me up when looking at it.

Looking back at all the pictures this could have been called the Pink Post!  Hope you are having a lovely sunny weekend! x

Old Woolly Jumpers

Old woolly jumpers, no longer loved and destined for the recycling/charity shop have become my obsession recently.  They are quite hard to come by though, most knitwear seems to be acrylic these days. 

This is how they started, slightly musty and a bit worn.  Bunged them in the washing machine on a 90oC wash with some lovely smelling washing liquid and conditioner, and now they look like this!

I'd say they shrunk by about 40-50%, seems to depend on the type of wool.

The bluey coloured one was a wrapover style and had two long knitted straps so I cut these off to test if the stitching would come undone.  It didn't, hoorah!  The straps were the perfect size to experiment with my first felted corsage.

Have to say I really like working with felted wool.  Due to it's denser nature it lends itself really well to flower making.  I want to try something else with it now, maybe some applique, not sure yet.

  

 Here it is on my Dennis Basso wool scarf, rather fetching don't you think.

  

From the side you can see the thickness of the felted wool and how it ruffles so nicely.

 

Ooh  I've just noticed I've passed the 100 followers mark!  Always amazes me that you lovely people take the time to pop by so look out for some sewing based freebies over the next few days :o) xx

Dear Sister

Recognise the papers?  Yep made good use of the leftover bits from the anniversary card I did last week which you can see here and it lists all the supplies.

Kept the layers simple and didn't use any 3D foam as it was going in the post.  Finding matching ribbon was a breeze now my ribbon stash is all organised.

Thanks for popping by.

Weight Loss Wednesday

I've enjoyed using the calorie tracker over at About Calorie, it's also helping me to eat healthier as it rates your days food intake by letters.  A being great and C being bad, bit like the energy rating system for appliances.  Hmmm now what appliance would I be :o)

So with this new dieting aid added to my arsenal did it have any effect?  Well the straight answer is YES!  I dropped a whole two pounds this week, woohoo, am on a roll! 

Gorgeous Papermania Rose Garden Papers

I've been waiting for these to come into my local craft stockist since I saw them in a craft magazine a while ago and I am not disappointed!

I went for the 8x8 pad at a cost of £4.99 as the designs are scaled down from the traditional 12x12 size and better for my cards.  I'm not a great scrapbooker at the moment.  There are 2 each of 12 designs, I've shown my favourites on here.

Some of the prints are really reminiscent of Cath Kidston patterns.  Colours are much nicer than my piccies, they seem to be a bit dark, don't know why, but trust me they are absolutely lovely.

And at the back of the pad you even get 3 cardstock sheets of diecuts!  Tags, letters and sentiments.  The papers themselves are heavyweight too at 160gsm.  You can also get the pad in 6x6 and 12x12 for £3.99 and £7.99 respectively.

Can't wait to start playing with them!