I FELT the need to dabble!

Hey guys, did you miss me? :)
Sorry for being awol, but somehow, there didn't seem to be a lot to tell the world, so I decided to rather keep quiet than spam your overflowing reader with yet another negliblible post.

Not saying that this particular post is going to make your day, but I was told that a cute kitty enhances pretty much everything.

Convinced? :)

Now that I have your attention, I would like to show you what I have been up to recently- needle felting! I'd been intrigued for months, and getting a little bonus on pay day (100% attendance, can I please have a medal?) allowed me to purchase a few supplies. All the curious crafter really needs to start felting away is a felting needle (or two or three, but to test it out, one is enough!), wool rovings and a foam block. Google it if you are interested, there are tons of tutorials out there, and it really is simple, yet immensely rewarding.

My first shot at felting some embellishments onto what is hopefully going to be a bracelet:

Certainly no masterpiece, but I think it sort of illustrates how easy it is for a complete newbie to make something that does not look like Jackson Pollock on acid :)

And of course I had to have a go at 3D- felting as well. If everything turns out the way I want it to, the little gnomes will turn into a gift for someone special, but until I am sure, my lips are sealed.

The pictures leave a lot to be desired, but that's down to the flash. There's just not enough daylight to be had in England! And there's talk of snow again, maybe I better get some scarves done for the little guys.

So, if you are looking for a new, very old hobby that does not cost you an arm and a leg (just the odd occasional gallon of blood when the darn needle ends up in your finger), look into needle felting. In my sometimes relatively creative mind, the possibilities are endless, and failure comes at no great expense. Just think of what you could make! Felted beads, toys for the kids, brooches, sculptures of animals... I've only just started to dabble and love it already. You can even embellish clothes and bags! What's not to love?

I hope I could inspire you to try something new today.
 

As a little PS, my Random acts of Kindness are not forgotten! The other day, I had a wee chat with a lovely lass who runs a tiny beauty parlour next to my shop. She knows I am German, and she told me about her favourite ketchup, Hela Curry Gewuerzketchup.

It always has been my favourite as well, and since I have the best Mum in the world, there happen to be two large bottles of it in my fridge. So I went up the next day and gave her a little of the good stuff which I'd poured into an old coffee jar. It pays to squirrel away containers :)

Pay it forward, guys, and make somebodies' day. Often, it takes as little as a sweet from your private supply given to a customer or a cup of tea made for a colleague. Maybe even letting the busy fellow behind you in the queue pay for his two items first, so he can get on with his day, or buy a chewing bone for that shy new neighbours' awkward dog.
You'll feel at least as great as the recipient of your kindness, and the more happy folks there are around you, the better it will be to live in your little corner of the universe.

Love y'all, have a lovely day!

You're nicked!

At least cuffed, so consider yourself nicked.
I spent a few hours yesterday and today whipping up a little something for a girl that has put a smile on my face many times. If you would be so kind, go and check out her magic.

She lives in my town/ city/ village (it depends on my mood what I call Leeds, today it's positively a village!) and is one of the most generous, helpful, JOYful people I have encountered online. And, boy, is she talented! She makes the most gorgeous little art clay critters you could ever hope for, and if you manage NOT to fall in love with her wee beasties, please let me know how you did it.
She made a wee mouse for my Mum before Xmas and kitted her out with black forest gateau- just because she can. At no extra cost, and it was her idea entirely- can you believe that?

Anyway, I owe this lassie big time (for more than just black forest gateau, because it turns out she is also a wonderful friend far, far beyond mere customer service!), and I thought I'd make something for her.
Take felt in various colours, embroidery thread and a whole lot of patience, and you get this "you're nicked... well, cuffed, anyway" bracelet.

It's posted, so all my doubts about it come too late, right?

It's a test run, I've never tried to make a felt cuff bracelet before.
I hope the recipient will not dwell on the shortcomings (like uneven stitches... oh man, I am blushing even thinking about the stitches!)... if anybody wants a tutorial to outdo me (easy!!), I'll be more than happy to let you know what I did. It's not hard, just very time- consuming.
Anyway, I count this as my RAK for yesterday as I spent more hours on this yesterday than I did today.
Hope I'll have something to show you tomorrow; I started something RAK- wise today, but that was as bad a fail as ever you'd see.

Love y'all, don't forget to be kind to random folks as they come along!




Oh, I nearly forgot- proof I delivered my spider- eyed surprise:

We went past the house today and I couldn't see any police cars OR the bug- eyes. I hope my dahlias- to- be were received kindly!

Let there be darkness!

... so I can sneak out and deliver a little parcel to an unsuspecting neighbour!

You are looking into the surprisingly beautiful eyes of a jumping spider, would you have guessed? Inside, there's a plastic flower pot spiked with dahlia seeds; the leftover seeds are attached to where the spider ear would be if spiders had ears, together with a little note thanking the "gardener" for brightening my day, signed "a smiling neighbour".
Well, the recipient will either happy or call the coppers because he or she thinks they're being stalked by a freak!

My second card for Aunt Peaches'  challenge is done; another acrylic paint- job with a little felt owl keyring attached.

I'll show you the third and last tomorrow, hopefully together with the story of another RAK- do you have any ideas for me?

Love y'all, happy St Val's!

Random acts of kindness

Guys, please don't think that St Val gets me all soft- hearted. Far from it.
It's people like Aunt Peaches and Lori that do. Let me tell you how those ladies inspire me, will you?

Lori recently received a lovely gift from somebody who would not disclose their name, so she can't thank the person properly.
Instead, she decided to do some sort of informal giveaway to everybody who wants to participate in what she calls Pay It Forward. She agreed to send everybody who commented on her post a little gift, but in return, everybody has to do random acts of kindness to random people in random situations.
Leaves a lot of room for inspiration, doesn't it?
I have vowed to dedicate all next week, beginning with St Val's day, to random acts of kindness and tell the world about it in the hope that it might spark something. You know, that little extra bit of patience in the queue at the supermarket till, hittig the brake rather than the gas pedal when you see somebody who wants to cross the street, putting out bird food when it's darn cold rather than just think "yeah, I really should..." but never actually get 'round to doing it. 
My first RAK will be something quite odd, and I'll do it tomorrow. First day of  my proclaimed week of kindness!
My neighbourhood is very small. Lots of tiny streets with semi- detached red- brick houses, many of them inhabited by students and some of them freshly bought by what you might call young professionals.
Some houses are more looked- after than others, and only few are lucky enough to have a garden. Bless our house, it HAS a garden, and I often think that the garden would deserve people who would put a lot more care into it.
I know just the right set of people, even though I don't think I have ever seen them in person.
They live only a stone- throw away, in a house that looks a lot like ours. What makes it stand out is the grand display of countless flower pots arranged at both sides of the door. It's like whoever lives in that house gives a big "so what!" to us ignorant folks with gardens that are ill- cared for.
I walk past that house every day on my (short) way to work, and it always makes me feel good to see those tons of flower pots and the care somebody has put into them.
So, to cut this short, I will tomorrow go and purchase a little bag of flower seeds. I have ceramic pots and soil knocking about, and I shall make a little, oh, I don't know, pansie pot? and secretly park it among the dozens of pots around that particular door. I'll leave a little note just thanking the "gardener" for always putting a smile on my face, maybe on the back of the seed pack or so. And with a bit of luck, that person will also smile and have a really good day, who knows. Or maybe they'll never know there's an extra pot, but I will, and it'll be my secret :)
Right, that's one RAK sorted, only 6 to go. Any ideas?

Another thing that makes me go all fuzzy is an idea Aunt Peaches came up with.

Aunt Peaches had a little last- minute challenge up the other day. Send a Valentine to three people also participating in the challenge. No later than Feb 10, so I have already screwed up, but I was really busy!!
I don't think I've ever sent a Valentine in my entire life, so this was a chance for me to experience something new. 
I've been busy today whipping up something half- decent, and here's one of the results, the rest is yet to be finished. The first card I ever made, with acrylic paint, glitter and beads strung on wire.
Don't let the pictures fool you, once the glue is dry, there won't be white splodges, and without the flash, the whole thing doesn't look like a slice of bacon, either.

I just hope my Valentine has some use for those little earrings!

So go on, folks, be kind. Maybe thank the postie for doing such a good job delivering your mail in every weather, or feed some stray cats in your area. You could give some stuff to your local charity shop or hop over to your granny and listen to all those old stories all over again.
Maybe you could drop into your local newsagent/ corner shop with a cuppa coffee and thank the staff for infallably opening the shop at stupid o'clock in the morning so you can read the paper over your breakfast. Or tell your wee ones' teacher how much of an impact their work leaves on your little treasures' mind. Heck, you could even leave a beautiful card in the book you bring back to the library with a nice little message to the stranger that reads it after you. The possibilities are endless.
Be creative, and be sure you tell the world about it. Not to make yourself look better but to inspire somebody else to be just that little bit more kind. 
If I can do it... it'll be a walk in the park for everybody else.

Love y'all, peeps!