'twas the season!

Well? Did you survive?? Pleased to say I did :) It was a very quiet Christmas this year which gave me time to reflect and catch up on my reading - I got new crafty books as gifts so my nose was buried for the last 2 days coming up only for the turkey and sprout fest lol.  Ok, if you're on my Facebook/Twitter list you'll know that I also had a rant or two about sales adverts on Christmas morning (keep Christmas in December and keep the sales in January!) and the obligatory holiday/diet adverts - but lets not get into that again or I'll be up on my soapbox all day! 

So today is back to 'normality' whatever that may be.  I've got a list of tutorials planned for the next few months to keep both me and you amused plus I'm going to be launching my Adorable Little Extras label (really excited!!) I've also been (still) trying to work out the decor for my living/dining room - the Mr has agreed this needs to start looking more like a home now and I've got my eye on the back wall/window for my new craft space.  I've really GOT to do some crafting today - you know when you wake up at stupid o'clock and try to get back of to sleep and you end up remembering your dream, I was dreaming about soap making!! Go figure!

Anyway, I've got pork to be roasting and Warhammer to be assembling with the kiddies so I shall leave you for now - don't forget my open invite on my last blog post to join my ATC swap, I'd love to have you on board!  

Happy crafting 

xx

Hic! Cranberry Vodka Tutorial

Well I wasn't expecting to be doing a tutorial post yet but this one's coming off the cuff due to me remembering one of my favourite things to make this time of year - Cranberry Vodka!! I made this last year and gave some to my local pub landlord and he swears he's never had a hangover til he had this - enjoy!

You will need:

• 1ltr Vodka (as its being flavoured you can use cheap stuff)
• 300g Fresh Cranberries
• 150g Caster Sugar
• 1 large or 2 smaller kilner jars
• bottles (for bottling lol)

Weigh your sugar and put into your kilner jar (I used two and split the amount between them as I'll leave one to flavour for longer)

Add the vodka to the jar/jars

Prick the cranberries a few times (this is where I get a bit stabby stabby! teehee!) 

Put the cranberries in the jar/jars with the vodka

Look how pretty this looks already! At this point the berries had only been in this jar around 10 minutes

Shake the jars to get the cranberries agitated in the vodka and to start dissolving the caster sugar.  For the next 2 weeks you will need to shake them daily.  Personally I'll be doing one for 2 weeks and the other for about 3 or 4 to see which had the best flavour.

This makes an awesome present if you start it at the beginning of December - you can decant them in to pretty bottles and tie them up with ribbon and tags :)  Alternatively you can just keep it for yourself! 

I hope you enjoy this, I do enjoy making random things - let me know what you'd like to see more of on this blog, if there's something you'd like me to test out I'd love to hear it :)

Happy crafting

xx

Out with the old...time to renew

Morning :D If you can't tell I'm trying to keep on top of this blog thing now lol!  I know, I know this should have been the promised tutorial post but that can wait til later today (maybe tomorrow? teehee!) 


So, I've got a few 'personal issues' to work through, not this side of the holidays though - its not the done thing really is it?  Instead I decided to sort myself out - I was getting up in the mornings and getting more fed up with what I was seeing, I needed to become more 'me'.  Recently this has involved ditching the crazy hair colours and the black hair and going back to a lovely red colour (it suits my skin tone more) and as of Monday this also  involved me going for the chop!  Now, this time last year I had shoulder-ish length hair, ideal for rocking the pin up styles I loved and throughout 2011 its gradually gotten shorter (complete with undercut either side back in January) and as much as I liked the idea and had been talked into growing it again by the other half - I couldn't cope with the messiness! Well, that and the fact that, at one point my other half told me I looked like Hayley from Corrie (did wonders for the self esteem I tell you!).  I know my style, and heck, I can still pull off pin up with short hair - so I went from short bob shape to messy crop! 

I love it! I can dress it up or I can go for my slouchy style - but more importantly I feel happier in myself as I don't have to faff!!  I'm even tempted to make myself a Christmas dress now :D

Yesterday bought some much needed fun and crafty shopping with my friend Ceri.  She is ever so slightly mental in a fabulous way and we had a scream!  We hit all the fabric shops on City Rd in Cardiff and I think I managed to buy something in each one of them! Ceri is also a veeeery bad influence and I ended up buying one fabric which cost me £25 for a metre! She was right, I would have kicked myself if I'd gone back for it next week and it had gone - and on the upside it is over 2 metres wide so I'll get a few projects out of that one!! Problem was, I'd already picked out 3 fabrics that were £10 - £14 a metre each - agh! I really should use my mountain first but hey ho! I WILL use these before the new year!  Ceri was also slightly shocked and delighted that I'd never visited Inkspot and couldn't wait to take me there - and *poof* there goes more monies! Although, in all fairness, it did remind me how much I love Tim Holtz stuff! After stopping for a much needed sammich (just one sammich!) which was both filling and gorgeous we ventured forth in the hail/rain/lightning/thunder headed for 'Big Knitters' - Ceri determined to fill at least her mums part of the shopping list.  Much ooohing and aaaahing over Llama wool and other softness occurred while I was busy raiding the ribbons (yup, more spending!) and a quick detour into Shaws for some circular knitting needles and we were done and homeward bound!  I do love meeting up with Ceri, our randomness works so well, even to the point of me having tea come out of my nose (don't ask!).  Wanna peek at my purchases?  Lol thought you might! Apparently some of my taste in fabric is a little 'Juicy Couture' but its all good to me!

25p a metre? rude not to!

so much fabric!

a bit 'Juicy'?

That's enough from me for now, I guess I better go and actually *make* something!  Might see you later, but for now - happy crafting! xx