{she's crafty}

Your Mountain is Waiting

2012-01-09T09:20:00.002Z

My cousin B and his wife J like to attend the Burning Man festival. This weekend, I saw excited posts on FB regarding upcoming ticket sales and in recent weeks J has found various interesting clothing items to add to her costumery. To me, attending a rave-ish party in a fiery hot, dusty, desert in the summer is a little bit like my personal hell. But for so many, that place is a special once-a-year or once-in-a-lifetime space where they can be free. Where they can be open and expressive and be who they want to be. Or be someone a little bit different for just a few days. I've known a number of people who have attended over the years. While it's not my personal cup of tea, I can fully understand the draw for others.

This past summer a group of Burners put together a great little film which was just released this weekend. It was shared with me by my friend Melanie (who often brings little bits of interestingness into my life). This fabulous film is a version of Dr. Suess' masterpiece Oh, The Places You'll Go. The wacky world of Burning Man is, to me, a very Seussian place. It is built on acceptance and community and creative endeavor. And the people who help to share the words in the film do a remarkeable job. (warning: contains a tiny bit of arty nekkidness)

(If you're unfamiliar with the original or don't have a library where you can look at one, you can see the Seuss artwork with reading by John Lithgow here).

I hope this brings a bit of sunshine to your Monday morning. It did to mine on another dreary, overcast, possibly rainy London day.

Today is your day!

A Toast to 2012

2012-01-01T21:19:00.002Z

Here's to a new year. A year which shall be, hopefully, full of more happiness than sadness, more joy than worry, and more prettiness than ugliness.

The fabulous Neil Gaiman posted the other day about some of his statements to the New Year made in previous years and included this one, which someone poster-fied. I love it:

Last night the boy and I joined some friends and some new acquaintances for New Year's Eve festivities. The company was light, my hair was big, and the drinks were tasty.

It was a good night.

For me, 2011 has been a bit of a rough year. I spent about half of it mostly unemployed. There has been stress about my visa situation. My health kept hitting roadblocks to "good." But it was also a year where good things happened. We had some lovely daytrips, I got to spend a few days with my bestie, the boy and I had an amazing US adventure in the summer, I planned and pulled off BlytheCon UK (and made/strengthened many friendships along the way) and everyday I keep falling more in love with my amazing boyfriend. So while 2011 won't be remembered as my favorite year, it's certainly not been the worst thing for me all-around. Character-building, if nothing else!

Here's to 2012!

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T15:47:00.002Z

The happiest of wishes from me to you and yours on Christmas. May you be filled with the spirit and joy of the season!

(And I hope you got something you wished for ;) ).

dark nights, bright days

2011-12-22T04:49:00.000Z

While it may seem that I've disappeared, I'm well and around. Just not in London.

Last week I hopped on a plane and flew for the best part of a day to end up (delays, drama, and a near-miss on the 2nd flight later) in New Orleans. Where I got to meet Miss Cecilia. I totally fell in love.

She is perfect. And so tiny. But with the most monkey-like little toes and the most Gerber Baby mouth I've ever seen.

I spent a couple days with my sister (and my mom, who spent a few weeks there helping out the new mother). We baked cookies and had fun decorating them:

We went to see beautiful Christmas lights:

Then Mom and I drove the long drive from New Orleans to Wisconsin. We were a bit silly and did a very short day followed by a verrrrry long day. (On the way I got my US crap food kicks with stops at Sonic and such). But it was worth it to be home. My flat in London with The Scot is *our* home, but it's still not the same as *coming home.*

My brother is home too. And that's always great as I see so very little of him. There has been shopping, tree-trimming, and movie-watching (go see The Muppets if you've not yet been. It's grand!). Cups of hot apple cider, fun with a nutcracker, popcorn and general relaxation have been had.

Tonight, some of my favorite family members joined us for dinner and my 2 little cousins, E and S, helped to build a gingerbread house and decorate gingerbread cookies. My mom's gingerbread is delicious, and her home baked houses are always a joy to put together. Having 2 little ones (7 and 3) around to help out made it all the more fun.

(really, when was the last time you were so excited about decorating a cookie that you began clapping?)

So even though these days are dark, and the light in the sky only gives us little peeks, my days feel absolutely bright with the spirit of the season. I can't wait to get a nice photo of the absolutely astonishing tree my dad picked out that I had the fun job of helping to decorate earlier in the week. Family, traditions, little festive joys - to me, they make everything a little better. I'll very likely be a bit quiet while I'm here in Wisconsin (I return to London in a week), but wherever you are, whoever you're spending your Christmas with, I hope it's a merry one.

How-to: Cloved Orange Pomander

2011-12-07T18:05:00.001Z

This week I've found myself stuck at home. Even though I'll be away from our flat for much of the Christmas season, I do like making it feel as festive as it can be. So yesterday I grabbed some oranges, some seasonal-ish yarn (I was lacking green or red ribbon), and a big pack of cloves and got to work on making some lovely cloved orange pomanders to hang in our doorways.

I haven't made one of these in a long time, but once I got going it was a cinch. If you've never made one, the steps are quite simple:

1 - Tie your ribbon (or, in my case, yarn) around your orange. Top to bottom, then bottom to top. Make sure to secure it at the top with a tight knot so that the orange doesn't slip out of the strings when you hang it later.

2 - With a sharp object (a darning needle or a pushpin would work), begin to poke some holes and push in your whole cloves. I chose to start with a small circle at top, securing around the yarn and then moved alongside each of the strings. This not only helps to give a design, but also secures things. Do be careful as the cloves can be quite sharp. (I've read some people like using thimbles, but I just took my time with the cloves).

3 - After you've pushed the cloves in around the 4 "straps" continue as you like with the cloves in between. I chose to go with simple stripes on this one but went for swirls on my 2nd pomander. Or, if you want a bit less scent and aren't planning on keeping your pomander very long, you could leave it at that.

4 - Hang it and love the smell!

The cloves help to dry cure the orange, so if done well your pomander will last far past the Christmas season and could stick around sharing its spicy scent for a year or more! (I plan to keep mine up til January or so - but we'll see if I change my mind). Hang your pomander where it will get a nice bit of air flow to help it spread its delicious scent throughout your home. You could also make more simple designs without any ribbons and fill a bowl on your coffee table, etc. These can also be made with apples or other fruit. The sky's the limit as to combinations and designs. Have fun with it!

Of Beer, Baking, and Beards

2011-12-04T23:09:00.000Z

Tonight I'm making beer cupcakes. I bought some of the super sexistly marketed Animée beer last week because it was on sale. And mild lemon beer seemed like it might be ok. It's that. Ok. Generally, I don't really like beer. So I adapted a beer cupcake recipe I'd been holding onto and used a bottle. They're good. More citrus-y than beer-y, but they smell quite like the pub. Still cooling and waiting for "froth" frosting. Pics later.

Before I made cupcakes with beer, I cooked a gammon ham in Coke and orange juice this evening. It was awesome. I recommend. I'll probably do it again, take photos, and share the recipe (as usual, it was a mish-mash of a few I'd found). We ate dinner while watching The Two Towers. We watched The Fellowship of the Ring last night. All of the boy's Skyrim playing made me yearn for some Middle Earth adventures.

In other news, The Scot had a beard for the latter bit of October through November. Just because he felt like trying it out. I liked the look. But when he decided to shave it off the other day, it had to be documented. So, as the debeardification progressed I took photos. And later we came up with titles. I hope you enjoy:

Oh, and we also put our tree up. I don't generally like fake trees. I'm all about real trees, with the real smell, the real sap, and the real needles. But it's not very feasible here. So our tree is about as fake as it gets. And I love it! (But it's needs a skirt).

The Christmas spirit is really starting to fill our little flat. Even though we'll be spending the holiday apart (me in Wisconsin and he in Scotland), we'll be back together for New Year's and that's just splendid.

Happy Sunday all!

A Gathering of (Dolly) Friends

2011-12-03T23:11:00.001Z

Today, I was lucky enough to attend another London Blythe meet. We met up at the Victoria and Albert museum and enjoyed tea and cakes and fun. We even had a visit from 2 people working on a new BJD prototype.

a ring of delightful dollies

georgia's girls

shelley's lovely

nettle!
(photo via danielle)

makie labs prototypes
(photo via claudia)

I always enjoy meeting up with doll friends old and new. Can't wait til the next one!

On being an aunt

2011-11-29T00:38:00.000Z

I cannot wait to meet this little bundle of joy. Christmas is soon and I have so many ideas of what to get for her that I'm frazzled (she'll be just 1 month old - it's not like she's toy age yet, so my frazzledness is silly). My mom drove from WI to New Orleans to help out while my sister is mostly on bedrest. And to be Grandma.

This child shall be a loved child.

I totally got her that star onesie (a whole pack in fact) right here in London and brought them to the US in the summer. She's chic and dressing in European fashion from the get-go! (Hah!)

It's times like this that I get bummed about living so far from my family. But near or far, I'll love her all the same.

Thankful (day 5)

2011-11-25T22:04:00.001Z

via: rifle paper co.

So it's the day after Thanksgiving. But I have one more bit of thankfullness to share. It's a simple one. But a great one.

I am so incredibly thankful for my wonderful boyfriend. He is my partner in crime. My shoulder to cry on. My rock. Here in London, I don't have much in the way of a social circle. But still I have The Scot to come home to. As I spent a good chunk of 2011 very underemployed (essentially unemployed), I have been more and more thankful that I have this marvelous person in my life who kept the roof over our head, food in our fridge and always offered his arms when I needed them. It really just gets better and better every day.

I love this one. And I am ever so thankful that he came into my life.

Thankful (day 4)

2011-11-25T00:41:00.001Z

via: rifle paper co.

Today is Thanksgiving. (Well, it's a bit past midnight here in London. But in the US it's still fully Thanksgiving day, so just go with it).

I am so very thankful for my small social group here in London. As a person, I don't make friends easily. Many acquaintances, few good friends. Many of the people I feel closest to in the UK are dolly friends. But I've come to be a part of the circle that's largely based on The Scot's friends from uni. Tonight, 8 of us gathered here in our flat and feasted.

I forgot to take photos during the festivities. :(

However, I snapped this one just before all arrived.

And this after:

I took the day off from working. And spent the day cooking instead. Our meal of thanks included:
- roast turkey with gravy
- mashed potatoes
- brioche stuffing
- cranberry sauce
- green beans
- sweet potatoes with marshmallows on top
- roast carrots
- dinner rolls with butter (from this recipe - so yummy and SIMPLE!)
- pumpkin pie
- blackberry pie
- (with whipped cream)

Lots of pie was made on purpose, as I love it (and the boy can take a spare pumpkin one to work to share). But I did really well as estimating portions and we finished nearly everything. Which is great, since last year I ended up throwing out uneaten leftovers the week after as we'd had as much as we could. I think it also helped that this year the Brits had a better idea of what to expect (it was mostly a repeat audience).

A lovely evening. Not the same as a loud house full of family and making the meal together, but still a good time. We ate, we drank, we laughed, we played games, and now we'll all sleep well. (Sadly we have to work tomorrow, but it's the boy's birthday weekend so fun times are ahead!).

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Thankful (day 3)

2011-11-23T22:06:00.000Z

via: rifle paper co.

Today I am thankful for my newfound aunthood. And my gorgeous new niece.

Lovely little Cecelia Ann was born today. Early this morning. 8lbs 15oz. 20.5 inches long. And her mother (my sister) was in labor for 43 hours. FORTY-THREE HOURS.

I cannot wait to meet the little sweetheart (probably at New Year's). And I fully plan to spoil her to the best of my ability. Largely with knitwear.

Thankful (day 2)

2011-11-22T23:19:00.000Z

via: rifle paper co.

Of all the things I am thankful for, I know that I so many of them would not be possible in my life without my education. My education is absolutely due to 2 amazing people: my parents. They gave me so much as I grew up and continue to support me in so many ways as an adult.

I am incredibly lucky for the parents I have. They're still together, which isn't something that a lot of my generation can say. As any couple who have been together for nearly 4 decades, they have their ups and downs. But they raised me to see what its like to have a partner in crime (in the best sense!). They don't always understand me, but they always are there for me. When I'm sad, when I'm happy, when my visa is up and I'll be heartbrokenly leaving my love on a different continent for a while, they'll be there. They've raised 3 fairly well-adjusted adults. As teachers they've influenced the lives of thousands of young people (both retired this year after teaching {Mom} and teaching/being a principal {Dad} since the mid-1960s). I love them. And I am so incredibly thankful to have them.

Thankful (day 1)

2011-11-22T06:50:00.003Z

via: rifle paper co.

(This was supposed to post Monday night. But it didn't go through. So we'll just have 2 for Tuesday!)

I am thankful for my health. While my health since moving to London hasn't been the best (with my asthma being the worst in nearly 20 years), I still give thanks for my overall well-being. I'm neither crippled nor troubled in any other major way. Currently, I live in a country with free basic health care. While many days I laugh at the NHS's general inability to deal with some things in a reasonable way (ie: "Hi, I think I broke my toe and want to make an appointment to have it examined." "We can fit you in one week from now.") I am still glad for it. It covers my basic needs.

So many in the world are suffering. Or can't afford access to simple, basic services. I am grateful that I am well and looked after.

Give Thanks

2011-11-20T19:57:00.001Z

It's been 2 weeks since I've posted here. While I hope you noticed my absence, I'm sure you've all gotten on just fine. The late stages of Autumn are upon us here in London and the lack of sun and the chill in the air seem to have sucked away my blogging mojo.

This week, though, I am hoping to be able to share news that I'll be an aunt. My sister's bebe is due any day now. I've been crafting lots of little things for the munchkin (photos when things are finished!). And, of course, Thursday is Thanksgiving.

via: rifle paper co.

As I did last year, I'm hosting a Thanksgiving dinner again. And this year I won't be the lone American (there will be one other). A small gathering (6-8), but one that will have our flat full-to-bursting. I'm really looking forward to it. AND I might just be able to find a source for buying lefse in London (because I don't have a griddle or a wood stove to make my own). Growing up in a family with Norwegian heritage, lefse is a must-have for holiday meals. And I haven't had it much in the past 3 1/2 years.

What are you thankful for? This week I'll be sharing a few things that make me grateful every day. Check back throughout the week and do share your own. :)

Autumnal Edinburgh

2011-11-06T19:50:00.001Z

While I keep promising to get a bit more up here on {she's crafty}, I've found that I'm rather busy and a bit tired these recent weeks. I am, quite thankfully, working more regularly again. (Hooray!) The work takes me quite a while to get to and from, however. So too many hours of the day are spent on trains and buses!

Last weekend, though, The Scot and I took a train up to Scotland for a long weekend visiting his family. On Saturday we took off to Edinburgh for the afternoon. Lovely wandering up an down the hills, visiting yarn shops and artist shops and generally having a good time.

I brought Minerva along. Since her eyeshadow mysteriously chipped a while back, I've been so hesitant to take her anywhere. But she needed an outing. And I'm so glad that I did. She glowed among the Fall leaves.

Scotland always makes me feel a little more at ease. Relaxed. Happy. Every time I leave I can't wait to go back. Hopefully it will be soon.

A New Adventure

2011-10-27T20:00:00.000+01:00

I've mentioned a little about this project here and there, so it may not be news to all my readers, but for those who didn't know, I've been working on opening a new Etsy shop. Not one to replace my mostly Blythe shop, but one with a different focus.

When I visited my family this summer, I brought my sister a few pairs of baby booties that I'd knit for her upcoming bambino. She took them to work. Work people loved them. There were requests for other sizes, colors, styles, etc. I didn't have the resources with me or the time during my trip, but in talking to my sister about it we both thought that it would be at least something to try.

And so I have. I opened up my little shop earlier this evening with 8 pairs of rather sweet little booties.

Some are knit in really luxurious merino wool (which I wish I could've purchased a bit more of at the Knitting and Stitching Show, but no such luck), some are made from wool/nylon blends, and I've done one pair from my favorite Noro Silk Garden.

Colors for all! And I didn't even hint at any sort of boy/girl-ness about any of them. Because gender-specific baby thing annoy the living hell out of me. Babies are babies are babies. Just put some clothes on them! Let them be cute.

Anyhow, I've really been enjoying knitting up booties over the past month-and-a-bit here and there. And I hope if you've got a little bunny in your life, you'll stop by BebeBunny on Etsy! I hope it'll be a fun outlet for small (but not dolly tiny) knitting.

Something to Crane About

2011-10-26T14:13:00.000+01:00

Yes, I know. It's "crow" not "crane." But lately it's all about the cranes.

You may recall that I wrote about my sister expecting a while ago. And I shared a little about the baby shower I co-hosted while in Wisconsin this summer. Well, here we are at the end of October and that baby will be arriving in just about a month (her due date is on Thanksgiving, but we all know due dates are generally a load of crap). In anticipation of the arrival of the little jelly bean, my sister and her husband have been doing some nesting of the bird nature. Cranes. So many cranes.

The nursery space in their house (which, in fact, is also the dining room), is slowly being decorated with cranes. Mostly paper. Some not.

photo taken by my sister

They've been collecting cranes from friends and family. A bit after the above photo was taken, they put some of the cranes in small shadowboxes and hung on that wall. They'll be hanging many from the ceiling. I think the whole idea is adorable and quite creative. I especially love how it brings the thoughts and handicraft of so many into the life of the baby before s/he is even here!

Of course, I wanted to contribute. My role as aunt means I should make sure the kid knows I'm the cool one from the start! So, instead of heading out and picking up some proper origami paper, I took a look in my scrapbooking stash, found some fun and quirky papers, and set about making some mammoth cranes.

Though I did take a course in origami when I was about 10, it had been a while since I'd done much paper folding. God bless the interwebs (although I suppose I could've referred to the baby's wall decals!). It all came back, though. And I think my 3rd crane was the prettiest of the lot.

I can't wait to see the room when it's finished. And I relish the opportunity to keep crafting up little projects for the bambino

Stack It Up Again

2011-10-24T14:25:00.001+01:00

This weekend we ended up with a houseguest. Again. Same surprise houseguest as last weekend. It was a nice thing, however. I remember when I moved to London and was having a hard time finding a place to live. I didn't know anyone. I didn't have any friends to couch surf with. I had a backpackers' hostel - which was interesting in and of itself. Still, friends are nice. And I'm happy to play hostess (also - it keeps the flat a bit cleaner!).

Anyhow. On Saturday we went out to a nearby cocktail bar. One that The Scot and I had been meaning to try, but just hadn't gotten around to visiting. It was nice. They had Jenga.

Life lately has been a bit like Jenga. I start feeling like things are going well and the tower tumbles. But life, like Jenga, is made up of so many pieces. And it can be put back together. It never goes back together the same way twice, but that might make the next attempt to win a little easier. Or more interesting.

This week the schools in London are on break. So I'm not working. I have grand plans of catching up on laundry, crafting, and baking. We're going up to Scotland on Friday. I have gushed about my love for Scotland here many times. I hope this trip is as lovely as all the others have been. I do love visiting my Scottish not-quite-family.

I am wishing we had pumpkin patches and corn mazes in these parts of the world. But baking with pumpkin (lovely pureed pumpkin from Libby's - which takes some searching to find and you pay the price) will have to suffice.

Knock it down. Stack it up again. Try something new.

A Dastardly Dolly Roundup

2011-10-16T23:01:00.000+01:00

Halloween is soon upon us. And any dolly worth her salt knows she has to be dressed to impress. So I've put together a fun little collection of Blythe pretties I've found on Etsy (though I might snatch a few of them up!)

Enjoy!

from littleonebao

from CHatcher3

from woollyrockers

from atomic blythe

from megipupu

from lara's fawn

from ciloon

from fern's closet

from pistachio libby

Will you and/or your Blythes be dressing up for Halloween? It's not as big here in the UK as it is back in the US. I'd love to have a costume party but it's more likely that I'll just enjoy some scary movies and seasonal treats on the night (along with my soon-to-arrive Bat Cavey!).

Happy Haunting!

BlytheCon UK 2011 wrap up

2011-10-09T18:36:00.001+01:00

I can't believe it's been a week since BlytheCon UK. The time leading up to it seemed like ages and then *BAM* it came and went in a blink.

It was a great weekend. And a lot of money was raised (the total is still waiting to be solidified {selling leftover goodie bags on BK} but I think it'll come to about £3,300). I saw far-flung dolly friends, made some new ones, and put faces to names I had not known!

Friday night many people came out to The Builders Arms in Kensington for drinks. Dollies sat on tables, people earned their first badges (featuring pints), new friendships were sparked and old friendships strengthened.

credit: Sam

Saturday morning was a bit frantic. A ton of sellers arrived way earlier than planned and so setup ended up being a lot trickier than anticipated. But in the end nearly all regular attendees resisted the urge to sneak in early (save for a few) and it was truly fun to see the doors open at 9:30 and the place start to buzz!

Some absolutely awesome raffle prizes were donated:

credit: Paulinou

Diana helped The Scot man the ticket table and sell lot of tickets to help out The Little Princess Trust (over £1600 was raised from the raffle alone).

credit: ¤morganours¤

In addition to the awesome raffle, there were 2 great contests organized by the lovely, amazing, and fabulous Shelley and Sam. Shelley put together the fashion contest and Sam took charge of the photography contest. Though I did most all the other organizing for the event single-handedly (save for the web stuff, done by the awesome Neil), these 2 were both fabulous contest organizers and also great sounding boards for ideas and generally excellent shoulders to lean on as I sometimes felt a bit overwhelmed by it all.

Shelley, me, & Sam
credit: Sam

the photography finalists

fashion design entrants

Suzy put together another Goldie raffle and gathering. We were all hoping to top last year's number of Goldies, but in the end we just tied it. Still, it's always fun to see so many Goldies together!

There were 3 hour-long demonstrations/workshops throughout the day which were graciously given by 3 experts in the fields of restoration, customization, and sewing.

Kenner restoration workshop with Leo (Poupée Mécanique)

Customization workshop with Olga (Vainilladolly)

Sewing workshop with Ruth (Eurotrash)

The workshops were really well-received and special badges were available to those who attended them.

The event seemed to be enjoyed by all. And there were so.many.dollies!

I think my favorite part of the whole weekend was seeing friends who I normally only get to talk to online. Even though I may have only met some of them once before (or some never before), it's great to hang out with people who I feel like I know a bit and also great to get to know them better.

In addition to the marvelous Sam and Shelley, there is the fabulous Lucy - who in addition to being just nifty ran the Stitch 'n' Bitch table with her mum and raised some more funds for our charity!

The delightful Alice and her Gavin. I've gotten to get to know Alice through the interwebs quite a bit since last year so it was great to hang out with her (and Gavin, who is obviously cool as well since he both a) hangs out with dolly people and b) is a teacher).

Marvelous Christin! I didn't know Christin much except for some talk on twitter and such. She's awesomesauce. And also a teacher. And generally just good fun. (Seen here again with Saxon Alice).

I also did a fair bit of hanging out with some others, but don't have any great pictures. Next year! (or sometime soon-ish if I'm not in the country for next year...)

After the event finished, I had a mad scramble home and then immediately back to Chelsea for the afterparty. Though the afterparty was a bit disappointing in that a TON of people had said they would come (hence it being booked in an exclusive venue and not just reserved space in a bar or restaurant) and far less than a ton coming, those of us who came had fun. The Spaniards stuck to one corner, but seemed to enjoy themselves. So I was content! We drank cocktails, took photos, and generally had a lovely time.

credit: Haunts Hold

(same moment, different view)

I slept well on Sunday. And then I took a look at my spoils.

I purchased a few lovely new dresses - all from sellers I hadn't purchased from before. Some new looks for the dolly wardrobe!

I also won a few things in the raffle and was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed all the items.

It was a great day. I'm a bit sad that's it's pretty likely that I'll not be in the UK for the 2012 event (being organized by a number of people including the aforementioned awesome Sam) in Manchester. But I do have a ticket for the US 2012 event in Texas in August. So all is not lost.

2 things as I wrap up this rather long wrap-up!

1 - All the photos with the BCUK logo mark are the "official" photos taken by the talented Stuart.

2 - If you haven't already, check out Alice's awesome short film about the event. It's pretty great.

Until next time!

The real stars of BlytheCon UK

2011-10-06T09:20:00.000+01:00

BlytheCon UK was amazing. I didn't do as much as I'd hoped participation-wise since I was running around being the organizer all day, but it was a fun day nonetheless.

Flickr is full of snaps from the day: dolly photos and people photos galore! But I couldn't help but notice the one thing that tons of people took the time to photograph.

"What's that?" you ask? I shall show you:

by dolly mixture

by pinkyjane

by pakitroki

by ღSamanthaღ (Sam)

by sozzielou

by ¤morganours¤

by PinkPrettiez aka *Eeffie*

by glitterbat

by miga☺angel

Yep, the hit of the day photography-wise was the refreshment table and the colorful treats it contained. Funky cake stands from Koziol holding delicious and delicate macarons from Paul. Full of prettiness.

I'll be back soon with proper dolly photo goodness. But this little discovery was too fun to not share!

Guest post at Rouge & Whimsy

2011-09-30T10:32:00.000+01:00

The past few days I have been busy, busy, busy with the final preparations for BlytheCon UK. I might go AWOL over the weekend after the event finishes as I a) sleep, b) relax, c) probably slightly mourn its loss (I've been working on it for a long time now).

Today, I have a guest post up over at Rouge & Whimsy. You can find it here.

I hope to see some of you at BlytheCon UK. I can't wait!

Brighton/Beach/Memories

2011-09-27T19:15:00.000+01:00

No, I didn't see a Neil Simon play recently. I went to Brighton. That gem of a south coast seaside resort town. It may be past its heyday, but that place is pretty awesome.

The Scot has a friend from uni who lives there these days, so we were graciously offered a place to stay should we ever want to have a weekend away. We'd wanted to go during the summer, but it just didn't happen. This weekend, however, couldn't have been better (well, except for me remembering sunscreen - that would've been better than the burn I got on Saturday).

We arrived just past lunchtime on Saturday and headed to the waterfront. We chose to walk West, which meant we actually spent the bulk of our wanders in Hove, and not Brighton proper. But this was no matter. Lovely smooth pebble beaches, a cool but sunny temperature, and a nice breeze made for fabulous wandering. We even happened upon a little food festival - so lunch was easily sorted. For dessert I had a Portuguese eclair, which had a really interesting cream filling. I wish I knew exactly what it was. It was delish.

way better than a carved tree
After we met up with our hosts, we headed out to Devil's Dyke. It wasn't a spot I was familiar with, but it's gorgeous.

At the suggestion of my much more athletic host, we walked down the outside of the big hill next to the dyke and then hiked up the inside of the dyke. While gorgeous, it was not the best thing for me + asthma + clogs. But I did have a fair sense of accomplishment when we finished (and a good appetite for the dinner at the adjacent pub!).

On Sunday, we headed to the Royal Pavilion. I'd been before, but The Scot hadn't. This visit was better than my first as they had much neater showcasing of the restoration works as well as having Regency fashion on display throughout. It's a garishly odd building, but I really quite like it.

We spent the rest of the day wandering around The Lanes and all the lovely shops (and a sadly disappointing cupcake shop) and spent lots of 2p coins in the machines on the Palace Pier.

Dinner was totally tasty (at FishyFishy) and we came home to London on a late train as a pair of tired puppies. Brighton is one of those places that is so close that we should visit often, and yet this is our first trip there together. Definitely on the list of places to return.

Fall Full of Friends

2011-09-26T12:50:00.003+01:00

Here in London, it definitely seems that Fall is upon us. (Though here in the UK they always say Autumn). September has seen me be ridiculously busy getting ready for BlytheCon UK (it's on Saturday!) and trying very hard to find a job. Clearly one has been more successful than the other. However, during the past month or 2, I've been so glad to be surrounded by friends, both next to me in the real world and in this lovely virtual land of blogs, tweets, and Flickrness. Erika over at Rouge and Whimsy had a lovely idea for September of having not-quite-sponsors. Free "ad" space and blog promos for anyone who wanted to take the time. I thought it was a lovely idea and so I'm snagging it and doing a bit of pay-it-forward action at the same time.

If you've never promoted your blog or shop or even if you're a seasoned pro, I would love to feature you here on {she's crafty} during October. I would prefer blogs and shops that are in keeping with the general themes and feelings of my blog (crafts, blythes, travel, food and fun) and do reserve the right to politely decline any blog or shop that I feel uncomfortable having on my sidebar (but I doubt very much that will be at all the case).

If you're game to try something new,

or just get some new promotion for your blog or shop, jump right in! Send your ad (no blinkies please) and blog or shop link to laurakateiscrafty(at)gmail(dot)com by Thursday 29 September. I'll send you a little bit more info then on what you can expect throughout the month.

I hope this is an idea that people are interested in, because I think it would be lovely to share the thoughts and creations of others here on {she's crafty} much more often than I currently do.

Return of the Mac ('n' cheese)

2011-09-23T23:40:00.002+01:00

Why, yes. I did just post that title.

I also made some amaaazing macaroni and cheese the other night. Using my general knowledge of making creamy/white sauces and love of all things pasta, I came up with a recipe that's pretty darn tasty. And there's no Velveeta for miles.

Laura Kate's Amazeballs Mostly Stovetop Mac 'n' Cheese
serves 2

Dry macaroni
Butter
Heavy cream
Nutmeg
Cheese of some sort (grated, preferably)

Preheat oven broiler/grill to 300F-ish
1 - In a medium saucepan boil up some salted water and toss in your dry macaroni (mine was the large kind and I put in 3 hearty handfuls).

2 - Cook to al dente and drain (always important when you'll be doing more cooking with pasta - don't overcook it).

3 - Return to the pan (heat on low) and plop in a good-sized nugget of butter (about 1 Tablespoon) and coat pasta well as it melts.

4 - To that add 2-3 Tablespoons heavy cream and sprinkle on 1/2 - 1 teaspoon nutmeg (to taste).

5 - Keep stirring that on low heat til the cream has thickened a bit.

6 - Increase heat slightly, stirring constantly so as not to burn the cream, and add in about a cup of cheese. This is a great opportunity to use up leftovers in your fridge. I used some grated cheddar and grated monterey jack and a touch of parmesan. Be sure to hold some back for later, however.

7 - Stir til it's a melty, gooey, mess of drool-worthiness.

8 - Take the whole lot off the heat and spoon into a small casserole dish or other ovenproof dish and sprinkle 1/4 - 1/2 cup of grated cheese over the top, aiming to not leave any pasta uncovered.

9 - Place in the hot oven, under the broiler/grill for 5-10 minutes, or until the top is nice and bubbly and just browned. OR you could leave it in a regular oven for longer and just brown the top prior to serving.

10 - ENJOY!

Nom nom nom nom nom

Mad About the Squares

2011-09-17T17:04:00.001+01:00

I had a neat little post planned for the past couple days, but then a much better-known blogger happened to do a super similar post. And as I don't relish sharing my thoughts and ideas on how to create something right after someone else has, I'll save that tutorial/pretty post for another time.

This week I've been keeping busy with planning and organizing for BlytheCon UK. And knitting. The knitting is for a semi-secret project which I hope to tell you about in the near future. I also got a fair bit of baking in. But didn't snap any good pics. Therefore, it's time for a little post o'favorites. What sort of favorites? Grannies.

Granny squares. The fun, fabulous, colorful little gems of the crochet world. One of the few things I enjoy crocheting.

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While back in Wisconsin this summer, I started a granny square afghan with some lovely shades of Cascade 220 I had stashed away there. But I didn't bring it back to London. I think it will be quite fun to see if I can finish it up at Christmastime. So much fun in such little squares. And so many options and varieties and final projects. A crafter's dream, really.

Wrapping it up

2011-09-09T12:35:00.001+01:00

Now that I've been back in London for 2 1/2 weeks and I've finished writing all about our trip around the US, I thought I'd just make a wee post with the wrap up. A nice reference to show all the bits of the Adventure in one place. And maybe for anyone who was interested to catch up on a part they missed!

And, if you hadn't noticed already, all these places (save for the train trip), plus home, are pointed out on this map :)

Part 1: Devil's Lake State Park, Baraboo, WI

Part 2: Washington Island, Door County, WI

Part 3: Adventures around Madison, WI

Part 4: The Wisconsin State Fair, West Allis, WI

Part 5: Chicago (Day One)and (Day Two)

Part 6: 19 hours by train on The City Of New Orleans

Part 7: New Orleans (Wed-Fri) and (Gator Day!)

This definitely will be a summer vacation that I'll never forget.

American Adventures: Part 7 (GATORS!)

2011-09-08T13:37:00.001+01:00

Part 7: In which we go on a swamp tour

Our Saturday in New Orleans was a hot one. And was largely spent outside of New Orleans. We took a swamp tour. A glorious, fabulous, quirky, silly, touristy, marvelous, cajun swamp tour. We visited the Honey Island Swamp near Slidell, Louisiana. And, apparently, we chose the same tour company as the Jolie-Pitts, Forrest Whitaker, Jason Lee and others. No celebrity spotting on our tour, though.

The tour was ridiculously overpriced as we got the ticket that included pick-off and drop-off in New Orleans. We took a mini bus, so I know the profit on the transport was huuuuge, but as my sister was working and it was convenient, we didn't care too much. Sometimes you spend too much on vacation fun.

For me, the tour was all about one thing: gators. Now, of course they don't guarantee that you'll see a gator. But we saw plenty. It was so fun!

Our tour guide was absolutely mental. But in a good way. I'm sure that all his stories have elements of truth, and some certainly were fact. But a lot seemed to be tall tales spun in the swamp. But he got a little alligator to chomp a marshmallow off a stick. So that dude is golden in my eyes.

It really was just so much fun!

I loved the colors of the swamp. Especially once we came off the rather calm, brown waters of the main bits of the Pearl River and into the narrower channels of the swamp. The deeper we got the greener the water became (covered in tiny plants) and the more golden the air became.

The wildlife was certainly something to admire. We saw alligators, raccoons (nothing special there, but Louisiana raccoons are smaller than their midwestern cousins), herons, giant spiders, beautiful dragonflies - so many lovely creatures!

It was an experience I'll never forget. I'm so glad we went!

That night,after a nice, cool, rest at my sister's house (and a change of clothes!) we dined out at Bistro Daisy. My brother-in-law is a chef and has been at Daisy since its beginning. But, taking a new position as a personal chef to a well-to-do family (in aid of the incoming bambino), it was his last night there. As the sous chef, there were a lot of things that were made by him exclusively. I had his ravioli. And it was amazing. I have since tried to duplicate it and not been terribly successful. But it was a great last meal out in New Orleans.

The next day we had ice cream for brunch (at Creole Creamery - land of quirky, local flavors) and soon after got our cab to the airport. Many hours (aka: the next morning) later (via Dallas), we touched down at Heathrow. Our American Adventures over. For this year. For this summer. Life may bring me back to the US to live for a while in the not-too-distant future. But it won't diminish the special place this trip has had in my heart: taking my main squeeze through my country, to my places, to see things that can only be found in that land. I'll keep this trip with me for a while, I think. It was a pretty special couple of weeks.

American Adventures: Part 7 (Wed-Fri)

2011-09-06T17:01:00.001+01:00

Part 7: The Big Easy (Wednesday to Friday)

We arrived to New Orleans on Wednesday afternoon. After a long train journey, we really weren't up to much that evening, but my sister took us out to dinner at Mulate's. It's rather touristy, but not in a bad way. Delicious cajun food. Nom nom nom.

Our first full day started off with us being knocked over by the heat. It was around 100°F (37°Cish). I'm from the upper Midwest. I get humidity. But not that sort of humidity. I was a sweaty beast. Additionally, we made the mistake of going out between about 10:30am - 2pm. Stupid.

We wandered around the French Quarter. Having been before, I didn't take many photos. And, being early-ish in the day during the mid-week, there were many places not yet open. But Jackson Square was, as always, lovely.

En route home (well, to my sister's house anyhow), we hopped on the St. Charles Avenue streetcar. The streetcars are so beautiful. They're vintage, with original features. Beautiful hardwood and open windows (no a/c here!) make for a lovely ride through the Garden District. The last 2 times I'd visited New Orleans, they weren't running again yet after Katrina. I'm glad that on this visit I finally got to experience them. (Plus, they're only $1.25!)

On Friday, we stayed in for the morning - a much wiser decision! Our afternoon wander took us to Magazine Street and involved delicious snowballs - better than any snow cone I've ever had - and super yummy po-boy's at Mahony's. Root beer glazed ham? Yes, please!

We stopped at the new Soda Shop at the National WW2 Museum. I visited the museum on my last trip, and the boy wasn't particularly interested. So we just stopped in for drinks and to take in the atmosphere.

Before we headed to the beautiful and unique theatre production,"Darwin the Dinosaur", we took some photos along the river.

After the show, we hopped over to Cafe du Monde. mmmm...beignets.

A great start to a great few days in such a beautiful city. The next day we visited some gators. I'll tell you all about it. :)

The Con is (nearly) On

2011-09-03T20:31:00.002+01:00

Most of you are aware that I'm organizing BlytheCon UK 2011. I've mentioned it a bit.

Well, this week has been superbusy in the ways of the BlytheCon. After a bit of shopping for gobs of envelopes, a ginormous stamp pad, and having many many copies run off I set off to get the tickets ready to mail out.

It was quite an undertaking.

I sillily thought I'd get it done in one night. It took about 2 1/2 days, really. My gorgeous boyfriend helped out by adding the return address to 150+ envelopes (I did the rest while he was at work making money such that we can eat and things). I tried to use my prettiest penmanship to write out all the addresses. There were cramped hands. There was a weirdly swollen thumb. I don't understand how professional calligraphers manage.

After all the envelopes were ready I sorted them into piles: UK and everywhere else. I stuffed! And then I stamped. Remember the awesome stamp I got a while back?

It has now been put to use. Well to use, at that!

Today I took them to the post office. I cost a lot more than I expected. I had not transferred enough from the BCUK account to my own. I owe myself a rather large chunk of change! (oops).

I also booked the after party. Details will be shared closer to the date, but I think it's gonna be faaaaabulous. Cocktails! Food! An exclusive, and so pretty, venue!

Next up: bonding with the stamp again and getting the goodie bags started.

4 weeks from today. I can't wait!

American Adventures: Part 6

2011-09-02T11:32:00.000+01:00

Part 6: Good morning America, how are you?

After a bustling Tuesday full of Chicago sightseeing, we walked back to Union Station and enjoyed a little break in the Metropolitan Lounge. I never fly first class, so being able to go to the fancy lounge at the train station was cool. We go to go to said fancy lounge (though, I am pretty sure no where near as fancy as an airport lounge) because we had a spot on the sleeper car. A tiny sleeper room for our 19 1/2 hour journey (which actually clocked in at just 19 hours).

Our little room was number 7. We were upstairs and the car was at the end of the train. It made for really cool views.

After we got going, we had dinner in the dining car (meals included with sleeper rooms = awesome), enjoyed some sights of Illinois as the darkness took over, and then morphed our seats into a bed and pulled the bunkbed from the ceiling and tried our best to sleep. Admittedly, they aren't the comfiest of beds. But they worked well enough. And our good pal Injection Molded Abe Lincoln kept watch through the night as we passed from North to South

Though I'd set the alarm to wake up at our long-ish stop in Memphis, it was rainy and grey and there wasn't much to see. So we ended up waking up somewhere in Mississippi. After putting the beds away and having seats again (and an amazing breakfast - who knew the Amtrak had good food?), we got back to the business of sightseeing. We still had something like 6 or 7 hours left to ride.

Passing in Louisiana, we saw lots of small towns. Sadly, that part of the country is rather impoverished. A lot of what I saw made me sad. Tiny houses nearly falling down. Towns that look like time forgot them. Factories and towns that seem there only to provide beds. But then we came upon this little town and it was quite charming, really.

The sights as we got closer to New Orleans became more and more watery.

We sat in the viewing car as we crossed the edges of Lake Ponchartrain - never my favorite experience by car, even. We watched for gators and saw all sorts of interesting birds and things.

And then...

we were there.

American Adventures: Part 5 (day 2)

2011-08-30T14:41:00.000+01:00

Part 5: The Windy City (day 2)

Our Tuesday was spent finding as many things to do before we had to catch our evening train. It was a full and fantastic day. We were blessed with beautiful sunshine from the get-go and it really made for a great day.

Stop one: The Skydeck. Regardless of "naming rights" and name changes, this building will always be The Sears Tower to me (even if it's officially The Willis Tower these days). I hadn't been up to the 103rd floor in a long time. I think since high school. So this was a fun trip. It is, of course, completely overpriced. But places like this know they have a captive audience and that we'll pay whatever they ask. And we did. Alas...

I enjoyed some more Ferris Bueller moments while checking out the city from on high.

The Scot was brave and stepped into the newish addition to the building: The Ledge. They have a few of these boxes that are completely glass and see-through and completely 103 stories up. Have I mentioned I'm afraid of heights?

While the views of the city and Lake Michigan were fabulous, my favorite part of the excursion took place just beyond the main gift shop. We rounded a corner and my nose perked up to a particular smell and my eyes lit up at a mid-century bit of styling. Is that? Could it be? Maybe? YES!

MOLD-A-RAMA!!!!!

Injection Molded Abe Lincoln and I enjoyed some time together. Though he later became a gift for my sister (and both she and her husband did the same thing I did upon touching him - sniffed. Because nothing says Mold-a-Rama quite as much as that perfect smell. It's the smell of childhood).

The other plan for the day was a boat tour. This trip really had a lot of boats involved (and there are more to come!). If you're ever in Chicago, I can't recommend this enough. Led by the Chicago Architecture Foundation, the boat tour is 90 minutes of cruising along the Chicago River (all branches) and learning about the city's buildings from a really unique perspective.

The views were amazing.

As far as tours go, this one was a bit pricey. And if I were to go again in a dead-of-summer heatwave, I would've brought a hat and perhaps a little fan. But it was totally worth it. I hope to do it again at some point in the future!

After an afternoon in direct sunshine on the water, we headed for shade. And found it in a sweet little riverside park. While we relaxed, the boy snapped what may be one of my favorite photos of the trip:

And we got in the obligatory self-portrait. (They always make me smile).

After a nice rest in the park, we ate dinner at the historic Berghoff Restaurant (Berghoff's beers have long since been brewed in Wisconsin - just in the back of my last American apartment, actually). I forgot to snap pics, though.

The adventures shall continue with tales of rails. Nearly a whole day on them...

American Adventures: Part 5 (day 1)

2011-08-29T21:13:00.000+01:00

Part 5: The Windy City (day 1)

The US isn't noted for its convenient rail travel. Not many lines and long ones at that. Our train from near home in Wisconsin to Chicago had a bit of a delay which started our trip to Chicago with some stress. And by a bit of a delay I mean that some construction detours on the rails left it more than 24 hours behind. Yep. You read that right. 24 hours. The Empire Builder normally takes about 46 hours to run its length. So since we were to be getting on toward the end of the line, a delay that started the previous afternoon wasn't helping. Thankfully they hopped us on a bus to Milwaukee and we caught a train there. Yay!

While in Chicago, we stayed with my cousin, her husband and their adorable 3 1/2 year old daughter. I got to read bedtime stories. It was pretty great (although I apparently forgot to get any photos of the family...oops). We played tourists to the max. I hadn't been to Chicago in a few years. And rarely as a tourist (past trips were for visiting college friends or as a teacher on a field trip). We arrived on Sunday night, but had all of Monday and most of Tuesday to play tourists.

First touristy stop: Millennium Park. And "the bean" (aka: Cloud Gate by Anish Kapoor). We had a lot of fun playing with reflections.

I really think Cloud Gate is a gorgeous piece of public art. It reflects the city and the sky and the people and the interactive nature of such a piece is, to me, part of what makes a piece of public art really work. The more people can connect with it, the more they'll enjoy it.

Next stop: The Art Institute of Chicago. Now, though we visited Chicago and its great museums about once a year or so while I was a kid, I somehow had never been to the Art Institute. And I minored in Art History - I love art museums! But it wasn't someplace I wanted to trek to Chicago on a day trip to see alone. So the post-college years in Wisconsin just never saw me get there. I was really glad to finally get to tick this one off my to-do list (and I hope to go back sooner than later and see the bits we didn't have time for!).

Seeing Un dimanche après-midi à l'Île de la Grande Jatte was such a treat. It's been a favorite piece of art for ages. I really wanted to find a field trip group of kids, grab The Scot, and run around a la Ferris Bueller (sadly, it wasn't really field trip season).

Chagall's America Windows were simply stunning.

Fortuna tried to make a new friend (*wink*wink*nudge*nudge*)

We ended our Monday with some classic Chicago deep dish pizza from Pizano's - which turns out to be a top pizza place which we happened to stumble across. What luck! (But we should've ordered a small pizza instead of a medium!)

After lots of museuming, and wandering, and general touristing, we slept quite well! I'll be back tomorrow with tales of our Tuesday in Chi Town.

American Adventures: Part 4

2011-08-27T14:25:00.001+01:00

Part 4: Our State Fair is a Great State Fair

You know what I'm talking about, right? Maybe not? Oh then, watch this and revel in the glory of Rodgers and Hammerstein:

Now then, back to my adventures. Friday, August 12th was spent at one of my favorite summer destinations: The Wisconsin State Fair. We never went every year when I was growing up, but when we did go it was special. Later, as a teenager, I participated in the WI FFA Honors Choir and we got to stay in the youth dorms and perform for the last few days of the fair (it's a multi-week event). Being as the idea of a state fair in general is a rather American convention, I was quite stoked to take The Scot. We had a blast.

While I was pretty sad that the Biggest Boar competition was done and the mammoth daddy hogs had already gone home, I took solace in the beautiful cows, pretty horses, and adorable goats. Some of the goats were even pet-able. Which is always a good thing. I came home wanting not only tiny chickens, but also a pygmy goat. (No such luck, however).

My favorite thing to do - an absolute Wisconsin tradition - is to have a cream puff. We were at the fair the day after they set a world record for the largest one ever. But the regular sized puffs are still pretty massive.

Even though I'm afraid of heights, I always like to go on the Skyride and see the fair from on high. It's just a fun view. Plus, it's a good way to sit down for a while after walking around on pavement for a few hours on a hot day! There's always so much to see, and we even found one place that had eluded us on the ground!

It was a long day. And a hot one. So our last fair "to-do" list item came in the early evening: the pig races. These things are hilarious. The group that runs them actually comes from Missouri, but that's ok. We like them anyhow. The last time I went to the fair they had warm-up races with birds and goats. This year, however, it was strictly swine. And it was a hoot!

Before we headed home for the night, we stopped in to see the beginnings of the world's largest cheese sculpture. It was just getting started. But it was still pretty cool.

Oh, State Fair. How I love you. And what a great way to wrap up our time in Wisconsin. Maybe I'll see you again next year - who knows?

American Adventures: Part 3

2011-08-25T14:53:00.001+01:00

Part 3: Close to Home

I grew up near Madison, Wisconsin. A few miles outside of a small town (in American terms - in British terms it's most definitely a village) of less than 1000 people. But Madison has always been my playground. A mere 25 minute drive (to the edge nearest my parents' house, anyhow). My high school and college summer and winter break jobs were there. While I went to grad school in Milwaukee and moved back home I still found a great part-time gig to provide spending cash in Madison (albeit in the complete opposite end to the one I grew up near). It's one of the great Midwestern college towns and overall just has a great vibe. In December, I took The Scot for a wander around town and down State Street (one of the best quirky shopping streets in the world, in my opinion). Now that the summer was in full force, we went for other adventures. The type with lions and tigers and bears.

The Henry Vilas Zoo is a great little zoo. And it's free! It was nice when I was a kid and has moved from nice to nicer to "wow - they can do that at a free zoo??" The children's zoo area got a total re-do in the past 5 years or so, including an awesome carousel (which I wanted to visit, but kindly agreed not to as the hoardes of screaming kids didn't really endear my dear boy to the idea).

They've got a great rainforest house with birds and plants and even piranhas, an amazing little area featuring animals and wildlife (or lack thereof) from the great plains, and are currently working on creating a new area for arctic animals. This meant that my favorites, the mountain goats, weren't around. Vilas Zoo is celebrating its 100th birthday this year. I can't wait to see what else is new (and to see how the little lion cub {born in December} is doing!) the next time I have the chance to go. It'll be even shnazzier, I'm sure.

After the zoo, we had a little driving wander and ended up at Brittingham Park along Lake Monona. It's a lovely little park and as the sun was just starting to head toward the horizon, the light was gorgeous for picture taking.

Additionally, they have a great swingset...

Our last stop en route home was at Ella's Deli. Now, if you've never been to Ella's before, it's a bit hard to describe. The building is shaped like a carousel (they also have a carousel you can ride outside) and the inside is decorated with every kind of animatronic gadget and colorful bauble you can imagine. And even a few you can't.

The food is alright, but we just went for the ice cream. Our table had a model railroad inside. Electrified. This was the place of dreams when I was a little girl. And it's still pretty awesome these days.

American Adventures: Part 2

2011-08-24T14:04:00.001+01:00

Part 2: Washington Island, Door County, WI

I've been going to Washington Island since I was an infant. A visit by my parents when I was a few months old inspired them to buy some property. We camped for years and then, about 18 years ago or so, they had 2 former motel a-frames moved to the land. Slowly, slowly, the buildings have been remodeled. Joined, shag carpet ripped out, kitchen added (they were just bedrooms + bathrooms), etc. The cabin is definitely still a work-in-progress. And far less than perfect. But still one of my favorite places in the world. No tv. No internet. Cell service if your lucky. There's a little radio and a landline (installed only after my uncle fell off the roof and broke his leg about 15 years ago). While I was there with The Scot we played a lot of Scrabble.

To get to the island, you have to take a ferry. The ride takes about 30 minutes. We lucked out as it was a gorgeous, sunny day. Little wind. No big waves. It was a perfect ride. I hadn't been up in 2 years (since, sadly, I didn't get to visit the US last summer) and it was really like coming home. This is the place I spent much of my summertime growing up. Between trips in the family motorhome across the US and Canada, weeks spent at my grandparents', and the island, my childhood summers were always full and fun. It meant a lot to bring The Scot to this place. To me, it's a bit full of magic.

We visited Schoolhouse Beach, along the Northern shores, for a swim in the clear Lake Michigan waters. I don't think I've gone swimming there since high school! Such fun! It was a bit brisk, but still lovely. Iris came along, too. She looked every bit the beach babe! ;)

A climb up a tall staircase and another winding up a lookout tower, and we were treated to the beautiful "mountain tower" views of not only Washington Island, but looking further to Rock Island and beautiful Lake Michigan.

I had a great time taking photos, and the boy had fun taking photos of me taking photos!

Of the many beautiful places, we also visited the Norwegian stavkirke. This lovely little chapel was created by local craftspeople and is owned by the Lutheran church. I've seen it from it's beginnings and as it's developed into a finished building with gorgeous gardens. I always find a sense of calm there.

We only stayed a couple short days on Washington Island, but it meant so much to include this visit as a part of our larger vacation. It's as much home to me as my parents' house is. I already can't wait til my next chance to visit.

American Adventures: Part 1

2011-08-23T18:56:00.000+01:00

When I last left you, oh dear readers, I shared some sneak previews of the things I'd been getting up to in Wisconsin with The Scot in tow. Since then, we continued our journey South and got back to London yesterday afternoon. Over the next few days, I hope to share some of the fun we had over the 2 1/2 weeks we had together in the US.

*********

Part 1: A Devillish Picnic

After a restful day to let The Scot shake off his jetlag, we packed up the car, convinced my parents that it would be fun and they should join us, and headed West to Devil's Lake State Park. Devil's Lake is the most popular state park in Wisconsin. And with good reason. It's gorgeous.

We enjoyed wandering around the western shores (paths allow walking around the whole lake, but we didn't have a whole day or the energy for such true hiking!). Lots of people were out in boats. And lots of teenagers were meeting up halfway down the side path at a good place for sunning and showing off in the way that only hormonal teens can!

Iris joined us for our picnic and quite liked the view. Especially the swimming beach (sadly, we didn't bring our suits).

Mostly, I just enjoyed being reunited with my boy in such a pretty setting.

On the way home, we took a different route that allowed us to cross the Wisconsin River on the Merrimac Ferry, a seasonal, cable-drawn free ferry. During the non-frozen months it runs 24 hours a day, taking up to 15 cars back and forth across the river. It's pretty cool really.

And it's on the National Register!

Our little adventures on a Sunday were a great way to start our trip together. Soon, I'll share a bit more of our adventures in Wisconsin. (More ferries, too!).

Vacation (all I ever wanted)

2011-08-14T16:04:00.001+01:00

Hello, my crafty friends. I haven't much heard the call of blogland while enjoying my fabulous American getaway. Tomorrow hits the 3 week mark, and today I leave my beloved Wisconsin to begin a trek South (New Orleans via Chicago). Updates and photos will definitely follow, but perhaps not til I return (next week Monday).

For now, here's a little peek into some Wisconsin adventures had in the past 2 weeks!

We visited Devil's Lake and Iris enjoyed the sunshine and the beauty. (The boy and I took a wander along the glaciated shores).

A few days on Washington Island (where my family has a summer cabin) were blissful. No phones, no tv, no much of anything. Just sunshine, swimming in (brisk) Lake Michigan, and a lot of Scrabble.

Fortuna had been before. And I think she agrees with me that the island may be one of the world's perfect places.

Friday saw us take in a day at the Wisconsin State Fair. There were cows, horses, pigs, adorable tiny goats and teeny tiny rabbits. There were cream puffs. And, of course, cheese sculptures...

In a few hours we head south to Chicago. Sadly, our train is nearly half a day behind schedule due to trouble out West. So Amtrak are kindly busing us to Chicago (ironic as we opted to spend just a smidge more to take the train than the Chicago bus as it was closer and faster. Now it might just be closer). On Tuesday night, we hop on The City of New Orleans and head to its namesake. Time with my sister and gators and beignets to follow.

The summer heat and sunshine have been great here in the Midwest. I hope the last week of this getaway are as great as the first three!

Sunset on the Square

2011-08-05T01:11:00.000+01:00

One of my old Wisconsin summer rituals was attending as many of the 6 nights of Concerts on the Square as I could. They're a marvelous concert series put on by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra for 6 Wednesdays from the end of June to the beginning of August each summer. The Wisconsin capitol is a gorgeous building, and the capitol square in Madison during the gloaming hours is always a great setting.

click through and check it out bigger - it's pretty fun

Last week the weather was uncooperative and so I didn't get to sit on the lawn with my dinner and chamber music. This week was perfect (save for the 2 cicada nymphs that fell from the trees - 1 on my blanket and 1 on me....ewwwwww). Fortuna came along. She'd been before, years ago, but I think she liked sitting on the blankets with the music.

The music is great, and it's amazing to see that amount of people picnicing en masse. But I also just love seeing the Wisconsin capitol. It's a great building. Even with all the hoopla happening inside it these past months, it still feels like a pretty cool part of where I'm from and a bit of who I am.

Sadly, last night was the last of the series for the year. The chances are high I'll be around next summer. So, until then...

It's Raining Babies! (and cupcakes too)

2011-08-04T08:26:00.001+01:00

On Tuesday evening I co-hosted a baby shower for my sister. While I had grand Pinterest-inspired ideas for decorating, the venue (an old schoolhouse in the local town park that was long ago converted into a tiny cafeteria-type-hall) wasn't the easiest to really do much of anything with. In the end, I ended up just making a cute table for the presents and adding some crepe paper streamers. It wasn't fancy, but it worked.

sometimes, you just have to make do.

A Tuesday shower meant Monday was full of baking. And, oh, how I baked! 3 types of cupcakes and also Rice Krispies Treat cones! Those were a great big hit with the kids. (I got the idea from Cute As a Fox, but used colored, full-sized cones instead (and no frosting). I sillily forgot to get a picture of the finished product. But hopefully I'll find a snap of one of the kids munching on a cone when friends share photos (I was playing hostess and then secretary during gift opening, so I got barely any photos).

The cupcakes were definitely geared toward the adults and had yummy citrus flavors. And all had different frostings. The extras are in my parents' fridge at the moment, and I have to be good to not eat them all up! (Is anyone interested in the recipes? I'll happily share sources!).

It was quite the fun little evening. Hot and muggy and I nearly melted, but was quite glad to have a good excuse to wear one of my new(ish) sundresses. And I'm sure that someone there must've gotten photographic proof of it!

I'm not sure how the family feels about having their photos blogged, so I'm trying to stick to the eats and such. But before I wrap this up, I just had to share the sweetest photo of the day. It's my grandma and my little cousin (great grandma and great granddaughter to each other). They coordinate and everything!

Babies are kinda magic.

Country Roads, Take me Home

2011-07-30T16:06:00.000+01:00

Ah, Saturday morning (even if my Blogger time/date are still on London time!). It's my 5th morning waking up in Wisconsin. All glorious (even if one was pouring with rain all day and one was overcast). The sun in beating down in yellowy goodness again today. Wisconsin may have hot and muggy summer and cold, snowy winters but I do prefer its weather to the largely unpredictable, yet rather small range of weather options offered by London.

This is summer.

The view from my parents patio at the ungodly early hour I woke up on Tuesday

I've thus far not gotten up to terribly much. I saw the one high school friend I try to keep up with. We hadn't been able to actually see each other in 2 1/2 years and she's not the best at online stuff. She and her beau (of 10-ish years) got secretly married last September. They've never been big on the idea, but did it for various reasons. Neither choose to wear a ring. I find it odd, but really quite fitting for them. And I wasn't as shocked upon hearing the news as I would've been for any other couple!

Tuesday I mostly loafed around the house until spending a few hours in the late evening with aforementioned friend. Wednesday brought rain storms (awesome midwest summer storms - warm, humid air, and rain that's not too cold to walk in) and the outdoor chamber orchestra concert I'd been looking forward to for months got cancelled. Rather a bummer. It was re-scheduled for Thursday, but ended up not happening as planned due to fear of rain (though the sprinkles of the overcast day ended up moving off before the evening time for the performance).

I've really been enjoying my parents' house. Since they've been living abroad for the bulk of the past few years some of the plantings have gotten a bit overgrown. In my opinion, this is great. In theirs, not so much. But, for now anyway, it's really just beautiful. Probably one of the greenest summers I can remember, all-around. All the crops look amazing and everyone's yards look like some sort of catalogue. It's really pretty.

Friday brought marvelous sunshine again

My brother flew in from California last night. He's around just til Sunday afternoon before flying back West to work and life. No idea what we'll be getting up to today. But it's sunny. And I've mostly gotten through the sorting of boxes of college/early single life that are stored here the family home! Next weekend there will, hopefully, be a pretty epic yard sale. From crafty stuff to home stuff (lots of kitchen things from me) to furniture - it's clean-out time around here. And that's a good thing.

For now, we're just hanging around a bit. More travel-at-home adventures to come!

A short wander. Soon a very long one.

2011-07-24T22:54:00.001+01:00

Today the boy and I walked about 6 miles. (We'd estimated perhaps up to 7, but then actually put our walk into an online walking map thing. It was just about 6). What started out as a little wander to fill the afternoon turned into being on the other side of London and having a pub dinner.

We walked through busy bits and quiet bits and picked blackberries off wild bushes. It was quite fun. We're really lucky to live right along The Thames Path. If living along a river (albeit a gross one at times) wasn't lovely enough, the Thames has foot/bike paths on both shores from source to sea. It's pretty cool. If you ever get the chance, I highly recommend it. Even if you're just visiting London, have a bit of a walk. It's totally worth it.

Tomorrow, I jet off to my homeland.

I hope to post a bunch during my vacation. Lots of fun things planned: family time, a short visit from my brother, a baby shower for my sister, helping my parents sort through the masses of stuff left behind in their house by we adult children, a yard sale...and that's all just before The Scot flies over! (After that it's the State Fair and island getaways and Chicago and a train journey to New Orleans!). So much planned and so much left to chance, too. It should be a good one.

It's worth noting that those 2 photos of our walk today were taken by the boy. SIlly us both forgetting our cameras. He snapped a couple on his phone. He also told me he hopes to start blogging more.

Now I'm off to finish the last bits of packing (dolly-related, mostly) and get some well-earned sleep.

Potter Pinterest Pretties

2011-07-21T11:58:00.001+01:00

Last Thursday was a magical night for me. After over a decade of book reading and film watching, my love affair with the Harry Potter series met its last love. The final film came out and I was lucky enough to attend a midnight showing. I was also lucky enough to see Part 1 of the 2 part finale just before. So it was a double bill of awesome.

New HP-tastic 3D glasses in tow, I smiled in between films and cried throughout both.

I also ate a lot of popcorn.

I spent a bit of time last Thursday creating an end-of-an-era Harry Potter gallery on Pinterest. Here are some favorites:

(via ThePhantomMoon)

(via Caroline Hadilaksolo)

And, after all these pretty thoughts, here's one last one. Who knew Matt Lewis (in all his buck-toothed glory) would turn out so yummy?

The next morning, I boarded a train from Kings Cross station and reflected that Harry's vision was indeed far, far, cleaner.

I didn't take a ride to Hogwarts. But I would've liked to.

Maybe next time ;)

A Weekend Away

2011-07-18T13:56:00.001+01:00

On Friday morning, after a late night of Harry Potter love, I hopped on a train from King's Cross (still feeling very wizard-like) and headed to Scotland. The boy and I were off to a short break with his family.

We stayed at his dad's house, which has the sweetest little flowers throughout the grass in the little back yard. On Friday it was a little sunny.

Saturday was a bit of an adventure. The rain came and went and turned between sprinkles to crazy downpours on twisty country roads! We took a drive to the Scottish Borders to Kailzie Gardens (that's with a silent z). They have a wildlife area, an osprey watching place, fishing ponds and classic walled gardens. Beautiful.

Also - a Chicken Village!!!! Chicken. Village. Who thinks of these things?

The duck pond had no ducks on this particular day, but the lily pads were beautiful.

Sunday was more family time. And rain. No chance to get a shot of Luna in my favorite tartan dress. Next time! It was a great little trip and a nice run up to my American adventure which begins next week. Family time (even if not exactly my family) is pretty great.

Looking for Love

2011-07-13T22:39:00.000+01:00

If you know me well, you know I am an animal lover. When I started my first full-time teaching job a few years ago, I was feeling a bit lame in a huuuuge 2 bedroom apartment. I had a fishtank with 2 black moor goldfish (Laverne and Shirley, RIP), but it wasn't the same. In the same town there was a no-kill Human Society shelter. I couldn't help but look at the beautiful cats looking for homes. So many non-kittens that needed love! There, I found Presto (one-eyed wondercat) and Morgan (sassy calico love).

When I had the opportunity to move abroad, I didn't anticipate being gone long. For one year, the cats stayed at my parents' house and then moved on to a foster-y home with cousins. Rather unexpectedly, they've decided that they can't keep my fluffballs. My parents are beginning retirement and will be traveling a lot. So they can't take them. And bringing cats to the UK is both a nightmare with quarantine and also not a possibility with our building's rule and The Scot's allergy.

I will be visiting the US in a week and a half for a few weeks. It's a trip I'm really looking forward to. Hopefully while there I can bring Presto and Morgan to a new home. Do you live in the Midwest? Love cats? Have a welcoming home for 2 sweet kitties who are good with kids? Please be in touch!

Thanks, dear readers. It would break my heart to not find a place for the kitcats.

Flying off...

2011-07-11T19:05:00.000+01:00

My dear, darling readers - you have heard mention of my upcoming trip stateside. I am absolutely elated to have nearly a whole month in the US and really glad to get to spend much of it with my family and introducing my love to so many important places that are a part of me. The catch? Underemployed teachers aren't so thick with the cash. I've had a bunch of cute Blythe things sitting in my Etsy shop since the Springtime and I'm very much hoping that a little promo will help a few of them leave the nest (and help me be able to do more than hang out in my parents' yard while in the States!)

Do please stop by and see if there's something that tickles your fancy. And, if things stay slow teaching-wise, I might just get some new sewing added into the shop before my trip! (2 weeks away! Eeeps!)

Thanks, oh lovely readers!

Tale of a Tasty Tart

2011-07-10T21:16:00.000+01:00

The last few weeks have definitely been quite good for baking at Chez Crafty. A couple weeks back I spotted raspberries at the store and, feeling a bit lazy, picked up some refrigerated shortcrust dough (which is super uncommon for me as I'm a bit of a crust snob - but the less flaky nature of the fridge dough actually works well for a tart, I found). Then I came home and thought a bit. Some sleuthing, and some assessing what I had on hand, led to a little adaptation of a few tart recipes I found. In the end, I'm so glad I made my changes and adjustments. Because, yum yum yum, it makes a great dessert! I liked it so much, I made it again! (And the 2nd time was even better than the first!).

Laura Kate's Lemon Custard and Raspberry Tart
Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C
*1 shortcrust
*3 eggs
*2/3 cup sugar (caster sugar for the non-Americans)
*grated rind of 1 lemon
*juice of 1/2 - 1 lemon (to taste)
*1/2 cup heavy or double cream (and more for whipping, if desired)
*2 cups(ish) raspberries

1 - Either make your favorite shortcrust pastry or use a refrigerated type.
2 - Roll it out and place it in a 9" pie tin or, if you have one, a fluted tart/flan tin.
3 - Fill with rice or baking beans and blind bake for 15-20 minutes, removing the filler for the last 5.

Now time to mix up the custard!
3 - Whisk the eggs and the sugar together til nice and fluffy then add in the lemon rind and juice and whisk again
4 - In another bowl (a big one is best), whip the cream to soft peaks and then fold in the eggy mixture.

Berry fun!
5 - Place about 2/3 of your raspberries into the blindbaked crust. I like to put them down in pretty circles.
6 - Pour the custard mixture over the berries gently. Try to make sure they're all covered with the liquid.

Baking time!
7 - Put it all back into the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the custard is just set (wobbly but not hard).
8 - Let the tart cool at room temperature.

9 - Now take the rest of the raspberries and place them over the top of the tart. Make sure the tart has cooled all the way through before cutting or it'll be a bit too gooey inside to plate up! If you like, you can whip up your remaining cream for a lovely topping (I like adding a touch of vanilla or almond extract for extra tastiness). Dusting with powdered or confectioners sugar is another nice option.

Mmmmm....tastes like summer!

A Little News

2011-07-08T22:17:00.000+01:00

I wrote this post in late May. It's been sitting in my drafts waiting to go out to the world. A little FB announcement by the subject of this post means I can finally stop keeping *ahem* mum.

Family is super important to me. Especially my mom's side. This photo lives on the shelf in my living room (and has for years). 3 generations: my great grandma (who died just before I was born), my mom, aunt, and grandmother. The print is dated March 1970, so I presume it was taken within the previous few months of that . That would make my mom in her mid 20s at the time. Nearly my age.

My mom is pretty awesome. Together with my dad, she raised 3 kids who all have quite different lives. She's been quite excited by the idea of being a grandmother for years. We were pretty sure I was her only hope on this front. Sometime in late Autumn/early Winter one more generation will be added to the lineup. (But it's not my turn just yet).

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
This means that the summer will involve some crafty auntie knitting time!

On and On About the 'Con

2011-07-07T23:30:00.000+01:00

It's been quite a week so far for my adventures in planning BlytheCon UK 2011. We launched the fashion and photography contests (well, put out details for them though their respective organizers, anyhow), and all sorts of things have been arriving at my house.

On Saturday, just as I was heading off to join up with friend for our London Blythe meet, I got a little package from Moo. It should be noted that I *love* Moo products. Especially minicards. I got some of my own ages ago, but hadn't gotten any in a few years. And since I think the size is far cuter than business card size. So that's what I went with. The front side of each has the logo, etc and the backs are customized to ticket types: attendee, stallholder, and guest. I'll be writing on the ticket numbers by hand before they go out. But I think they're a really cute way to manage the ticketing.

The second arrival at Chez Crafty came on Monday. I had been hoping and hoping it would arrive before Saturday's meet so I could show the gals there. But that just didn't happen. Anyhow, it was fabric samples!!! I'd talked to a few people about designing an exclusive fabric for BlytheCon UK 2011 (after seeing the adorable designs/success of this for the Portland BlytheCon) but those never panned out. So, what's a creative girl to do? Design it herself, of course! I wanted something unique and something that fit our event well. What's both rather outdoorsy (going with our theme "Let's Have an Adventure") and British? TARTAN! Admittedly, I have a particular affinity for Scotland, so this was a fun one. I designed 5 tartans and ordered sample fabric swatches of 4. 3 of them were great and 1, well, let's just say I was glad I got a test swatch! (the tartan was too wide in its stripes, etc to work at the small scale).

The samples were also in various types of fabric. While the sateen cotton was absolutely the loveliest, the cost was a bit prohibitive. And the plain cotton was nearly as nice. So, for BlytheCon UK 2011 fans that's what's on offer (in our spankin' new Artfire shop). In 4 colorways named for the event!

After working on pre-orders of fabric cuts for a couple days, today's arrival was also super excited. The lovely Ruth (of Eurotrash) had gotten a great stamp made for her wares from English Stamp Co. and I can't say enough for them. I'm so glad I took her Flickr tip! Ordered, created, and delivered within a week! And in the merit badge style we've been going with for other event elements! ♥♥♥loves♥♥♥

It's been a very BlytheCon UK centric week here at my place. I'm getting more and more excited about the event. So many more little details and surprises to come. I can't wait to share (some of them anyhow. Some will just have to wait until the day!).

A Meeting of Minds

2011-07-03T21:37:00.001+01:00

(or, at the very least, dolly people).

Yesterday afternoon I met up with the lovely Shelley and Laura for a little Blythe fun. We were hoping to be joined by a few other friendly faces, but circumstances left just us 3. Which was still pretty lovely. Shelley brought along her adorable little daughter (who I'd only heard tales of previously) and we all took a wander to the British Museum to fun with dollies.

Pretty ladies having a lounge.

We were in the Egyptian section on the main floor. Sarcophagi, sculptures, and scrolls and such surrounded us. Were we taking much notice? No. We were snapping pics of dollies...

Shelley got a good shot of Laura and me "in action":

source

It was a fun little afternoon out. I followed it up with a backyard barbecue at the home of one of The Scot's workmates and then birthday drinks for another of his friends. It was a long but really lovely Saturday.

And I am left wanting a mohair girl.

Isn't Ada gorgeous?

All week I've been hoping to snap pics of a fun tutorial for you lovely readers, but sadly my materials aren't quite cooperating. I hope soon! Because it'll be great fun!

Now it's time to bake a tart. Nom nom nom. Happy July, folks!

Spin It to Win It

2011-06-26T19:37:00.000+01:00

New discoveries. Always a fun thing. Sometimes it's a place. Sometimes a food (I learned to steam artichokes last night - didn't snap pics, but I might soon!). A song, a style, or a thing. Today I want to share a bit about a thing - a product, actually. I'd seen these "Spin Pins" from Goody advertised. And the ads made them seem like they were some magical updo contraptions. Being a bit of a sceptic (as I have long long hair that's rather thick), I thought I'd at least give them a try. Because anyone who knows me is aware that when the weather gets hot, my hair gets swooped up off my neck ASAP.

Usually I use 2 or 3 elastic hairbands to try to keep a little bun in check. Back in my dancer days, it was a few bands and whole handful of bobby pins to keep things sleek and secure. These days, I embrace the style of a messy bun. Because it's easier. And it looks a bit more relaxed.

So. About those pins.

They're a weird little pair. Spiral, firm, sturdy pins. It's like the big, foreign cousin of the bobby pin and the hair pin. Used together, however, they are simply magic!

Here's how I roll with them (I've been living with these lovely little buns for 3 days now - I see many summer days bonding with my spin pins).

1 - pop it up into a ponytail. NO HAIRBANDS NEEDED! I start to twist straight away.

2 - twist it into a bun shape. My hair is looong. And I don't worry about it being particularly tight. I just make sure the ends are tucked under and aim my first pin at those ends to keep them in check.

3 - spin those pins! I like going front and back, but I suppose you could go side and side if you liked. Spin them in clockwise and try to not lock the ends of the spirals together. It's amazing how secure the bun feels as you put the first pin in. Why didn't someone invent this years ago??

4 - that's it. Really. It's finished. You can spritz a little hairspray to tame the flyaways if you like. But it stays so beautifully as it is.

Normally, with a messy bun put up using a few hairbands, I fix it every couple hours and re-make it. Yesterday I wore a bun made with the spin pins for about 16 hours. 16 HOURS. For a long-haired girl like me, it's a summertime hairstyle miracle.

YAY!!!

To Be Beside the Seaside

2011-06-21T21:58:00.000+01:00

Today marks the official start of summer on the calendar. Sadly, it's another 4 1/2 weeks til I'm out of work mode (silly English schools going til late July!). The boy has gone off to enjoy a week of music, mud, and fun at Glastonbury and I'm sitting here thinking how I'd love to hear some water, smell the salty air, and enjoy a bit of time by the sea. Or, at the very least, a nice pool.

One of my favorite summertime photos ever is this one of Clem in Florida 2 years ago.

So I thought I'd let some dollies help share the feeling. (Click through to the sources).

Hello Summer!

For my Dad

2011-06-19T20:53:00.000+01:00

Friday was my dad's last day working. In fact, he did retire once before. But it didn't stick. 2 years later and the call of the principal's office was too strong. He was back (for 3 more years). My mom too. They've retired together after spending the last 3 years working in the same school. She teaching 1st grade and he principalling (I'm sure that's not really a word, but I'm making it work) the kids from pre-K up through high school. It's a little school abroad. I got to teach with them both for the 1st year there. It was pretty great. They're both pretty great.

But today is about dads. Fathers. Papas. And I go on and on about my mother a lot. She's one of my best friends. But Dad doesn't get to have a fanfare that often. So here's to my dad: a marvelous principal (I should know - he was in charge of my MS/HS years), a great teacher, a pretty decent racecar driver (back in the day), a farmer (now more of a gardener, but he had champion livestock in his time), a voracious reader, a general fix-it man, and - best of all - a supportive father. This day is for you.

Happy Father's Day! I hope his retirement is as great as his career has been. He deserves it.

To my fine, Freckled friends

2011-06-14T22:25:00.000+01:00

Due to the fab generosity of Leigh-Ann over at Freckled Nest I've got a little promo button there this month. This means {she's crafty} is being seen by lots of new faces for the next couple weeks. (Hello!). So, I thought I'd toss a summertime Etsy promo out there.

During June, visit my Etsy shop and receive free shipping! Just use the code.

Do please add me on Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin' if you like reading {she's crafty}

And you can become a fan on Facebook as well!

Thanks for being lovely readers, both new followers and old! Are you a new reader via Freckled Nest? Say hi! I always read every comment and try to reply to them all. :)

Taking Cues from Bob?

2011-06-14T19:00:00.002+01:00

It's past 6pm and I've just put a bra on. True fact. Overshare? Hopefully not. It's just been one of those days. Those days where I don't have a class to teach or even a classroom to be in. Which, generally, would be a rather large downer. But in the past week or so I've really been trying to look on the positive side of things. So today, I hope you don't find it too trite that I'll share some Thoughts in text form in the vein of positive thinking.

I'd like to point out that I hate motivational posters and such. HATE. I used to have a co-worker who had plastered his classroom (which I had to use for one class period per day) in framed posters from Successories. While I, on the other hand, had some small framed "demotivators" on the shelf above my desk (such as this one). Said co-worker thought it wrong that I have things in a place where kids often came (the piano for voice lessons and such was in the office room). My general thought was that if they didn't understand sarcasm by the time they were 13, there was little hope for them in the real world.

Anyhow. Back to today. Not working. And yet, not sad. I slept in a bit after realizing I was not getting a call to go anywhere to work and then decided to tackle a few things for BlytheCon UK. (Evidence by a sneaky peek here). It's been a pretty productive day. I got done some things I wanted to do.

A while back I saw a scan of a page from Self magazine (not one in my reading list) that I really liked. So I snagged it and I cropped it and I saved it.

And here I am. Trying to keep moving forward regardless of the pitfalls. Because I know it's quite worth it in the end. Here are some thoughts in text form that I either fully agree with or am just trying to fully embrace.

So. True. (Plus now you've got the song in your head, don't you?).

Make beautiful things. Help create beautiful minds. All that.

Ah, Conan. He's probably quite right. My expectation of "amazing" may not be what I encounter, but that won't make it any less true.

Back to the title of this post. "What about Bob?" you may ask. And it is this: last Friday I spent the day back with the class I taught during the 2nd term (here in England they have 3 terms). It was pretty blissful. I love those kids. One of the highlights was listening to them sing, as a group, along to "3 Little Birds." 4 Year Olds singing = pretty awesome in and of itself. 4 Year Olds singing Bob Marley = fabulous. It was in my head all weekend. Then I found this lovely lovely animated version. And I knew it was what I needed to hear of late.

And, in the end:

Sweet Strawberry Shortcakes

2011-06-13T00:27:00.000+01:00

To me, nothing says SUMMER! quite as much as strawberry shortcakes. Fresh strawberries (preferably from a roadside stand) and yummy sweet whipped cream. Mmmmm.

While picking up a few odds and ends for dinner the other day, I saw the grocery store had seasonal strawberries on half price. So I grabbed a couple boxes and knew exactly what would be for dessert (and 2 days of breakfasts, as it turned out!).

Such a simple thing to make. I always sweeten the berries a little to bring out the juice. I suppose you don't *have* to, but I've never known anyone who didn't add a little. And then comes my secret weapon. (Well, perhaps not so secret). I'm normally a die-hard advocate of from-scratch baking. But there are a small handful of things for which I'm a-ok with helpers. Shortcake is one of them. Because Bisquick really makes the best little shortcakes. It's not always easy to find in the UK. And here it comes in tiny, tiny boxes (as opposed to the 40+oz boxes in the US!). But it's worth the little extra price for the ease and the tastiness in shortcake form.

I made 9. Because I wanted extras. But the classic recipe (usually on the US boxes, but the UK boxes have silly things like crepe-y pancakes and scones instead of buttermilk biscuits and such) really indicates 6.

Whipping cream was, as a little girl, my favorite kitchen thing to do "all by myself." I still think it's quite fun. As a fan of sweet things, a little sugar gets tossed in and sometimes (and on this occasion) a touch of vanilla too.

Mmmm...Summer has definitely arrived.

Summer Adventures: Zoo Fun!

2011-06-11T18:47:00.003+01:00

It's summertime. Yay! In celebration of this, I thought I'd have a little mini-series of fun summer-type-things. Adventures, experiences, fun and the like. And here's the first - an evening at the London Zoo.

The Scot and I went to Zoo Lates last week. We were pretty excited as an adults-only evening at the zoo featuring lots of tasty food stands and no screaming kids sounded ace (and we got the tickets for a song). Sadly, it didn't really live up to expectations as they closed off access to all the animals an hour before the event was to finish (the literature said only the animals in houses/buildings would be closed at 9pm) and then there wasn't much to do. So instead of a whole evening full of animal-tastic fun, we left a bit disappointed. BUT, during the earlier bit of the evening we had a good bit of fun.

In the butterfly house, The Scot made a new friend. This rather worn and worn-out little flutterby wanted to hang on for a ride. Eventually we coaxed him off.

Penguins! Meercats! Dollies! (Ok, Maia wasn't on display with the animals, but she did think the teepee they have for daytime kids' presentations was pretty cool).

We had Pimm's. I had an awesome roast pork sandwich. It was a nice night, even if we ended up a bit underwhelmed. I want to go back to the zoo on a sunny afternoon and have a proper wander and see all the animals. Such a summertime classic.

Let's Have an Adventure!

2011-06-06T00:05:00.002+01:00

By now, I think most of my blog readers are aware that I'm coordinating BlytheCon UK 2011. Pre-registration (aka: fundraising for venue rental) was back in February and, shockingly, we sold out! Today the emails went out to all those who pre-registered to complete their final registrations. For months now I've had people emailing week after week for spare tickets which, sadly, don't exist. Some people will probably not complete their final registration, though. So we'll see.

In the meantime, I created a little flickr tag thing for those coming. A first (I hope) of a handful of BlytheCon UK "merit badges" to go along with our theme: Let's Have An Adventure! (which, you may have noticed is a bit Scout-y).

So much inspiration out there for Scout/Guide/adventure/campfire-type stuff. Here are some that I've found (and I started an inspiration board on Pinterest):

Debbie Reynolds!!

As the event gets closer (it's on 1 October), I'll probably be posting more about it. I have lots of ideas for fun in-theme activities and such for the day and can't wait til the list of workshops/presentations is complete and can be shared. I think it's gonna be a great day! And all for charity, too!

A bit of a Lush life

2011-06-03T14:53:00.000+01:00

Being an underemployed teacher is not always the best thing. It does, however, give one time to enjoy a good soak in the bathtub without worry of whether or not it's time to start dinner or whether I should be enjoying the non-working hours I get to spend with the man I love. This week, school's out no matter, but I still enjoyed a nice late afternoon soak in the tub on Wednesday. And I decided to share a little bit about my favorite bathtime (and general toilette) indulgences: products from Lush.

I was first introduced to Lush goodies back in 2002. My friend Erin had spent her summer studying Shakespeare at Cambridge and her souvenirs for us all as we returned to campus that August were not trinkets or postcards, but bath ballistics. I remember the first one I tried (she got us each a 3-pack): Sex Bomb. I thought it was brilliant! I had to wait until the Fall Break when I had access to a tub (no such luxuries living in the Stephens College dorms), but it was worth it. The fun! The smell! The sheer delight!

I raved about this awesome brand. But, alas, Lush didn't exist in the US at that point. A while later, in Spring of 2004, a friend travelled to Ireland and, recalling my love of nice smelling things, brought me back a massage bar (Absolution - now discontinued, sadly) from this neat little place he found in Dublin (LUSH!). When I made my short-lived move to Switzerland that summer, I was sure to seek out the Zurich Lush while I was in the city (and made the mistake of trying to bring home the frozen shower gel in my luggage...this resulted in being met at the airport by my then-boyfriend with comments on the nice, but odd, smell of my suitcase. Oops.

Over the years, I've become a die-hard fan. They're in the US now (though the prices there are quite a lot higher than on this side of the pond and the selection is usually less). But I'm glad to be living in London where I have visited 9 of the 11 locations in the greater metro area!

Anyhow. About that bath. It started with a ballistic: Keep It Fluffy (the orange version). Pop, pop, fizz, fizz, and the like. I love watching them bob in the water. This one was a bit less-than-fresh (I tend to overbuy and then not buy any for ages). They fizz better (and smell better) when they're newer rather than older. Has to do with the baking soda, I think. But, oh well. It wasn't the fizziest of bath bombs, but it was nice. I like Keep it Fluffy as a bath bomb. I had a couple things in that scent from Lush's now-defunct sister store B Never Too Busy 2 B Beautiful and never really took to it. But I thought I'd give it a go in bath ballistic form. And I like it! It's a bit mellow and just sweet (and comes in orange or purple - but the only difference is color, not scent).

Moving on. This wasn't just a little soak in the tub with nothing else special. I pulled out all the stops on indulgence and pampering for myself. Skin, hair, face - everything! My face got the ever-special treatment of a mask. Lush's mask's are all fresh. In that they need to be refrigerated and have a proper use-by date (though I've used them a bit past and they just aren't quite as moist/colorful). Although sometimes when my skin goes summer crazy, I use the stinky-but-amazing Cosmetic Warrior, my go-to face mask these days (which The Scot even uses too sometimes!) is the blueberrylicious
Catastrophe Cosmetic. Sometimes I slather it all over, but on this occasion I concentrated on my t-zone which, lately, has been all annoyed with the world. It was lovely in the end. My face is happy again! Tra la!

I don't want to drone on. But I did employ a handful of other products on this occasion (and regularly do). Other faves: American Cream conditioner (pictured way up top) - for swooshy, delicious-smelling hair; Buffy(formerly "Buffy the Backside Slayer") - an amazingly moisturizing exfoliate-y bar of goodness; the *sniff* just discontinued Ultralight moisturizer (with natural SPF12); Tea Tree Water toner; H'Suan Wen Hua hair treatment (a super duper intense conditioner). And, of course, when in season the candy pink and sweet and sparkly Snow Fairy (slightly hiding up in that top photo - my stash to last til November!).

So there you have it: a little report from the beauty front. My favorite, favorite, favorite store for bathtime goodies. I could blab on about it for days. But I'll stop here. Happy bathtimes!

Collecting Cavey

2011-06-02T13:09:00.001+01:00

If you're into Blythes, then you likely are aware of the little phenomenon that is Cavey. Cute little plush creatures based on guinea pigs as created by Holly Stanway of A Little Stranger. Recently, Cavey celebrated birthday number 1! For just being around a year, these pocket-sizes little creatures have certainly gained quite the following.

I attended the birthday party last week and had a nice little time. I didn't know a soul, but I enjoyed the cupcakes and was super excited to score an "I'm 1!" purple birthday Cavey!
There were a bunch of cute one-off designs on display that were auctioned off on ebay. I, however, being of sound mind and body, didn't spend upwards of £100 on any of them. The cutest one, anyhow, was the carrot Cavey. And he wasn't for sale (as he was designed by a 7 year old girl who was to get him after the night - cute!).

And now, birthday specials aside, here's my collection of little cuddly Caveys. I spent last summer thinking "Oh, those are cute. But I don't need another thing to collect!" And then, at BlytheCon UK 2010 I met pink panda Cavey. And I was a goner!

Pink Panda and Green Apple

Red Apple and Snowman

Christmas Cake-vy and Reindeer

Blue Valentine and Zingy Green

Easter Bunny (aka: Ninja Bunny!) and Birthday Cavey
I love my little collection. They live around the TV and speakers. My favorite bit is that The Scot's mum loves them. And I think that's pretty fab. Cavey will be at BlytheCon UK 2011 and I can't wait to see what super design Holly comes up with for the event (maybe keeping with the theme??). Until then, I'll save my pennies and get a new one every few months. Because they're nearly too cute to say no. :)

I'm a Cuckoo

2011-06-01T23:53:00.001+01:00

Back in February, The Scot got me an absolutely fabulous Valentine's Day present: tickets to see Belle & Sebastian. They're one of my favorite bands and I hadn't seen them since 2006. Last Summer/Fall they did a short tour, but didn't come to London. (I know - rather bizarre). So 3 dates at The Roundhouse at the end of May sold out pretty quickly all the way back in February!

Anyhow, last night was the night. And it was fabulous. A few snaps of the evening. Not my favorite show of theirs to date, but still wonderful nonetheless.

(I want to show this to any student I've ever had who didn't see the value of learning to play the recorder).

(happy fans brought onstage to clap along and dance!)

Enjoy! If you're not familiar with Belle and Sebastian, do check them out. To me, they are the sound of my youth. College years and such. Happiness in sound.

Now I'm off to bake some banana bread. Noms.

p.s. - here are some tunes to get you started :)

9 by 9 for 29

2011-05-30T16:29:00.001+01:00

In a bit more than 9 months, I hit the start of another decade of life. I'll become a thirtysomething. While I'm not entirely sure what happened to my twenties and I'm not afraid of thirty, I do look back at various to-do lists and wish lists and long-term goals and think "hmm…maybe not." A PhD I do not have (and currently don't really have the desire to seek). I'm not married (but I have found the most amazing man who I am lucky to share my life with). And I'm not a mother (a goal/plan long-since off the oft-revised list {but not the life list}).

So now, with 9ish months to go, I thought I'd set out 9 goals for myself. Some I can achieve on my own. Some aren't all up to me. But I'm going to try to make the most of this list.

1. Get back on the full-time career bandwagon
I've fallen off. London shoved me off. Schools here love Aussies and Kiwis and Canucks and can't say no (quite literally/legally) to EU folks. But Americans are persona non grata for permanent teaching positions as far as most schools are concerned. I'd like to try to do whatever I can to change that. I miss having my own class and not just feeling like a fill-in person (even if for a few months at a time). I am a teacher. And I have been told and experienced that I'm a pretty good teacher. So I hope I can find the school I'm meant to be with.

2 - Have a cross-country American adventure
This is planned for August, but not yet fully fleshed out or booked. Trains, planes and automobiles. Dairyland, the Big Easy, and maybe some Windy City too! I want to make it happen. The Scot needs to see Wisconsin not covered in snow, and I want to take a 19 hour train trip!

3 - Make 2 new friends
A silly goal for some, but I'm rather crap at meeting new people in the real world. I'd like to make some new girlfriends here in London for hanging out with and doing friend-y things. (This is hard when all your besties live in other countries).

4 - Visit a new country
Not a super hard one, but I want to fit it in!

5 - Make BlytheCon UK 2011 a success!
Most of you know that I'm heading up the organization for BlytheCon UK 2011. It's just over 4 months away. Final registrations are happening in the next weeks. I have big plans, some public, some secret. I really want it to be epic. (Are you going to be there?)

6 - Decorate the bedroom
Seriously. It's been a year and other than some photos in frames, the room is boring. And pretty disorganized. I'd like it to mesh up with the beauty of the living room and the bright airiness of the "winter garden"/sunroom.

7 - Etsy success!
This has been something I've been hoping for/working toward for a bit over 3 years. Lots of "hearts" for my shop and my items, but sales are slow. I'm hoping to come up with some ways to publicize better/more and add some new designs.

8 - Grow {she's crafty}
I'm loving this blog more and more as a creative and social outlet. I want to share it with more people and get more people involved with it as well. (Pssst - I'd LOVE if you followed me via Bloglovin'.)

9 - Stay in the UK
This one's not entirely in my hands, but I'm hoping that various combinations of the above 8 goals and some other things in life will help me to have a renewed or new visa by my birthday time. Tough as it can be, and stressful as it often is, I enjoy London and the home I've got here.

source

I haven't decided yet if I'll check back in on these goals occasionally or maybe just around my birthday. But there they are: 9 goals for 9 months of 29. Is anyone else working on goals right now? Short- or long-term?

Pinterest Pretties

2011-05-30T00:33:00.004+01:00

This weekend I was away in Somerset seeing gorgeous countryside, meeting some cows, and joining my boyfriend and his family as he became a godfather to his cousin's son. So, tonight, a quick little post of prettiness that I've found and/or shared on Pinterest.

If you're not yet using Pinterest, it's such fun! Try it out. If you're anything like me, you'll love it! Here are some lovelies for a late late Sunday night.

I hope those brought a little smile to your face or maybe even some inspiration! (Click through for sources, more details, etc). Have a super Memorial Day (US folks), Bank Holiday (English folks), or just a great Monday!

Hello (again)

2011-05-22T23:38:00.004+01:00

With a re-vamp of the look and feel of {she's crafty}, I thought it would be a great chance to share a bit more about me with you. While this blog never gets super personal, it's still a place where I get to share some bits of my life with those of you who choose to read. And connecting is always a good thing!

I come from the great, grand expanse of the United States. And within those 50bits, from the (in my opinion) finest one of the lot: Wisconsin.

Land of cheese, beer, Friday night fish fries,

marvelous summer concert seasons, and good schools.

My formative years were spent in SouthCentral Wisconsin and summers largely spent on Washington Island (a marvelous oasis of forests and quiet living surrounded by Lake Michigan) where my family have a holiday cabin. My college years were then spent in Missouri (I attended Stephens College and loved every minute).

After college, it was back to Wisconsin, then Switzerland, then Wisconsin, then Armenia and now...London! I arrived in London in the summer of 2009 and have really loved living here.

While most of my time is spent here in The Big Smoke, I also really love to get up to Scotland to visit the family of my beau (aka The Scot) and see the gorgeous country. We've been living together for a year now and setting up our little home, decorating it, having my own kitchen, etc. are all things I really enjoy. (If only I had room in our mini kitchen for a KitchenAid mixer!)

Things I love:

Popcorn. Nom nom nom nom. With BUTTER! (Seriously, get with the program Europe. It's best with BUTTER).

Bubble baths. Or any lovely smelling, preferrably sparkly, bath product. (Especially from Lush. Ah, Lush....).

Knitting! I don't knit as often as a should. It comes and goes in a little bi-polar wave of crafty goodness. I love Noro yarn best of all. And KA Switch interchangeable needles. Most of my knitting is either for little people belonging to friends/family or dolls.

Speaking of dolls - my Blythes! Here's my current collection of dollies. I love them. And I love the great community of people I've met through collecting them. Such a great group of gals (and a few guys too!).

Movies. I try to get to see a movie a week, but sometimes that doesn't happen. Last year I hopped on board to the unlimited movies scheme at the nearby cinema. (These are some favorites).

So that's a bit about me. And a bit of what I hope {she's crafty} will be featuring in the future: crafts, dolls, travels, and a bit of food and fun!

A Night With Pete

2011-05-21T17:57:00.000+01:00

You may already know of my love for Pete Yorn. It started many years ago in college. I heard his music and liked it. I saw him play in a radio station tent at an art fair in Madison, WI in July 2001 and thought he was fab. I bought his first album. Then I saw him again in Columbia, MO in April 2002, spent a few years getting more into his stuff (the live double disc is awesome) and saw him in Madison again in March 2007 and Milwaukee in August of 2007. Then I moved abroad in 2008 and Pete's stayed stateside.

Until now. 2 lovely weeks in Europe. And I got my little taste of New Jersey rocker awesomeness on Thursday at the King's College London Student Union - the tiniest venue I've even seen his Peteness in. AND I used the night (and dead camera battery) to try out my new phone's camera. I hope you enjoy!

It was a great night. Not so many people on this side of the pond seem to be keyed in to Pete's particular brand of rock. I love it. Here's a little playlist of the night's setlist (encores included) for your listening pleasure. Have a listen. Maybe you'll like it :)

At the end of the night I snagged myself a new t-shirt (one that I'll actually wear as it's more a neat print than emblazoned with large words on my chest). And an autograph. I'm a happy monkey. It was a happy early start to what looks to be a lovely weekend (as the world clearly has not ended). Enjoy yours too!

It's Live!

2011-05-19T00:59:00.002+01:00

Hello friends and welcome to a whole new look for {she's crafty}. I've been scheming since the winter and spent a good part of April and May learning a lot more web design and loving that the The Scot is a developer (he was super helpful).

Links to the left! Things I love to the right! And all the other stuff in between!
**If I read your blog a lot and you don't yet have a share widget, do get one and I'll add it :). Please grab one of my new buttons if you like - I'd love to get the word out about {she's crafty}.

Do tell me what you think. It's been a lot of nail-biting fun to create!

Behind the Scenes

2011-05-18T15:42:00.001+01:00

It is a rather well-known fact that I like to take dolly photos. They're fun! They're cute! And they make far more interesting shots than regular old tourist photos when I'm out in the world having adventures.

The Scot finds my love of dolly photos amusing. And he has developed a little side-project to my own: behind-the-scenes/making of photos. Photos like this:

It's actually pretty fun. I like seeing how a gorgeous shot like this:
came about by my heart pounding in fear and my hand pulling away as fast as possible a la:

Some others in the series:

Do check out his flickr stream. It's full of pretties (as well as some rather ridiculous shots of me!).

Processes. Making. It's ongoing. I'm sure we've all got some fun behind-the-scenes views in our lives. What are yours?

Before and After: Photowall the second

2011-05-14T00:14:00.001+01:00

Some of you may recall that a few months after The Scot and I moved into our present home, we embarked on the creation of a photowall. I wrote a little bit about it back in August and it's probably one of the favorite features in our home for each of us. (And my photo of that wall is a fave decorating shot of mine as well).

A little while back we decided to expand the concept. We decided to remove the 2 "people" photos we had and add them to the collection that we plan to create in our entry hallway (which is a bit sad and unloved-looking) and focus our living room walls on photos of our adventures. Because, for The Scot and I, our relationship enjoys many adventures both near and far. And we like taking photos of them all! So, in keeping with our aesthetic, off we went to Ikea to purchase some more Ribba frames to add a 2nd, smaller, wall to the collection. I think they're really great frames for a photowall since there are a lot of shapes, sizes, and colors in the line, but they all have the same overall look. On our walls, we've chosen to go with a mix of the wood effects (birch, oak, and walnut). I like how they're a bit different from, but also complement, our black-brown furniture.

A few days after we got our new frames - including a goooorgeous 20x20in number (to hold a 12x12in print) - I managed to trip and fall on the "safe" place we'd set them. So our plans for a new wall were halted for about 6 weeks til the next opportunity for an Ikea adventure! Being underemployed of late, I had the chance to go on Tuesday and we picked out our photos and ordered them straight away (I use Photobox, for what it's worth - not the best interface, but excellent print options and quality). Thursday afternoon I had prints in hand. And a wall to create!

I like using a mix of sizes. For this wall I had 5 frames: 2 4x6, 1 5x7, 1 double 4x6, 1 12x12. For me, it's about similar margins, but not straight lines. Creating a sense of movement across the wall makes the room feel a bit more alive. So that's what I went with.

In the end, our little home is looking more and more like "us." Soon: couch pillow facelifts, a "people" photo wall (with a very different look) for the entryway, and maybe even a little something special for the bedroom. For now, we've got 2 walls of loveliness in our living room.

Welcome home.

Treasuring loveliness

2011-05-11T12:53:00.001+01:00

Lately, I've become a big fan of Etsy treasuries. I've always loved them, but since they made them readily available to create (rather than a mystical, magical, be-online-at-the-right-time-for-the-privelige-of-a-spot), I think they're an even better tool for Etsy love and sharing. I've made a handful in the last week. So I thought I'd share under the oft-neglected occasional series of Things and Stuff! (Click through the photos to see the full treasuries on Etsy).

The first I titled "Ascot Gavotte" (some of you might get the theatre reference, but I also thought it was just a fun title for a collection of larger-than-life hats)

I do wonder if Princess Beatrice ever does her millinery shopping on Etsy...

The second treasury I'd like to share is Where the Wild Things Are-inspired. Sadly, between the time I created it and 12 hours later, one of the items seems to have disappeared and Etsy wouldn't let me re-add it. Very odd. Oh, well. "And now," Max cried, "let the wild rumpus start!"

Lastly, a little collection of sweet stuff - Honey, be good:

I have, thus far, created one treasury for Blythe, but for regular readers here that's a bit more of the usual. And I wanted to share some new things. Enjoy!

Do you use Etsy to create treasuries? Do share!

Sparkly

2011-05-07T01:04:00.001+01:00

Throughout March and April was feeling uber crafty. Here we arrive in May and my "let's get a big Etsy update done by late March! I mean April! I mean, mid-April!" got pushed into earlier this week. But I finally finished sequinning up the last 2 of my hats sitting around and got some nice pics taken (I'm really loving my choice of backdrop for this update).

It took me long enough, but I'm happy with the results. I changed the yarn I use to knit my sparkly hats last summer and it's really made them a bit more special (to me anyhow). Thicker,less flimsy, definitely a bit easier to work with than the less spun stuff I used before.

Since it's Springtime (and flowing soon into Summer), I made a few with my favorite favorite favorite butterfly sequins. They were probably the best selection I made in my massive sequin acquisition of 2010 (there will be a massive sequin acquisition of 2011 soon - I just need to make choices). Also a couple "firework" style decorations. I like how they sparkle.

My Etsy shop has been going for 3 years now (I do love how they've updated from "joined" date to "first listing" date - my first listings were for kiddy hats and sweaters just as I was getting my first Blythe and hadn't started creating for the little plastic pretties yet). And, thus far, I have learned a few things. 1 - some people will like what you make, some won't; 2 - sewing tiny jeans makes my head explode; 3 - somewhere along the way, you get a few solid customers. and even though, 3 years on, I've yet to crack even 100 sales there are a small few people who come back and back. And that's pretty great.

So, if you so fancy, check out my Etsy shop. Right now I'm hoping to use the funds to help pay for my trip to the US to see my family and friends in the summer (or rent, if the underemployment continues). I'm hoping the little skirts that have been hanging out since post-BlytheConUK will prove a bit more popular for the summer months. I like the bunnies, myself.

in which we receive a new dolly

2011-05-04T20:35:00.006+01:00

Today, a new Blythe came to the Crafty household. She was a spur-of-the-moment adoption on Monday. A release I'd long been admiring, but hadn't found the right chance (aka: price and timing). I may be underemployed at the moment, but this little darling was too good to pass up.

So without further ado, meet Iris:

Iris is a Simply Vanilla. I had been told she was just RFB, but it seems she's had her pink chips swapped for a golden yellow and one earring post has gone missing. Oh well. Her pullstring click is crazy loud. But all is well. Because, you see, I have plans for her.

Most of you know that my dolls are, for the most part, 100% stock (save for the occasional chip change). It's not that I'm against customizing, it's that I don't do it particularly well (see the example of poor Pomona who rarely sees the outside world) and rarely have the extra funds to let someone else work on my girls. When I got Maia last year, I decided that I really like the look of certain dollies changed up. My Edesia (PD London) begs to have some work done (I think those lips just don't do a thing on the matte FBL dollies) and now too, Iris is wanting.

Part of the allure of Vanilla was her custom potential. I was a bit intrigued and then I saw Finja, the German travelling Blythe. *drool*

Is she not the most precious thing ever? Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. Sai did a brilliant job.

So now I've got a small bank of custom Vanillas I'm looking to for inspiration.

I think they're all just beautiful. I might try my hand at sandmatting (eeeeeps!) but we'll see how much I do on my own. I just don't want to ruin the little lovely.

For now - welcome home, Iris!

A Little Gathering in London

2011-05-02T23:17:00.000+01:00

You may have heard about a little gathering we had here in London on Friday.

Maybe. It didn't get too much publicity. Just a few people getting together for a small family wedding. It was a nice day. ;)

I was proud to pretend to be British for the day. And so was Nox.

We watched patiently.

And we watched the cars stream in. Then we listened as best we could over the speakers to what was going on in the church (even with a pair of obnoxious Italian people standing behind us doing their very best to ruin the loveliness of the day).

And then we saw the bride and groom. Or, more accurately, a new duke and duchess.

Also: the Queen

After it all, we wandered to the palace to get a view of some smooching, but a lamppost was in the way. Oh well. It was fun to see all the others who came out for the little to-do.

A beautiful day. A beautiful bride (who clearly knows that lace and sleeves are where it's at). And a lovely couple. Congrats, Will and Kate!

(p.s. - more photos here).

Getting Scrappy

2011-04-26T18:35:00.003+01:00

Over the break, I spent a good deal of time updating my scrapbooks. In past homes, I've had lots of space for my papercrafting. I had storage crates which turned into drawers which turned into an old banquet table with loads of scrapbook-specific organizational items. And then it turned back into one small crate. And now a few storage cubes in the Expedit shelves! (How the mighty have fallen? Or "welcome to living in London!"?).

So I don't have all my stuff here in the UK. But I've got the basics. And my style has gotten simpler as I've gotten older. And so it works. And I finished up what was left of 2009, and got about 1/3 through 2010's events. Basically, I'm about a year behind in my photo keeping to real life. Which isn't a bad thing.

I did a lot with my photos of our trip to Prague last year February.

It was a pretty great trip and I quite enjoyed reliving the memories as I put photos and paper together to tell the story of our trip to that beautiful and ancient (if cold and snowy!) city. It was, among other things, our first Valentine's Day (and I very much hope it was the first of so many).

Adventures in and around London are also quite fun to document. We don't always get out of this city as much as we'd like to, but try to make the most of living in a place with so many opportunities for getting up to this, that, and the other. Museums and parks and just taking walks along the Thames are definitely amongst our favorite things. And I'm glad my scrapbooks get to show those things too.

Getting back into things after some time away always makes me feel really glad about it. I've so enjoyed sinking my teeth back into my scrapbook albums. I hope to get through all of 2010 before the summer of 2011! And I might just even share some more bits with you. :)

What I did over my Spring Break

2011-04-25T13:36:00.000+01:00

Today is the last day of Spring Break here in London. I don't exactly have a job to return to tomorrow, but I'm going back to doing daily supply/substitute teaching and am hoping something longer-term comes along soon. But, if not, I'll plod on til the summer break. Which, it should be noted, is lame and short - 6 weeks only! - and doesn't start til late July. I think I will never get used to this aspect of British education. School from September - mid/late-July with tons of weeks off here and there is not as nice as school September to May/early June with a proper summer vacation! Family time! Trip time! Enjoying the beautiful weather and not having to worry about heat stroke in an overpacked classroom time!

But I digress.

The past 2 weeks have been spent in fun ways. The first week, I mostly enjoyed some "me" time. Resting, working on things for my Etsy shop (which I plan to update before next weekend), and scrapbooking (the successes of which will be shared in a later-today or later-this-week post). But the 2nd week was all about a staycation. The Scot and I aren't rolling in the cash these days, so our original thought of 3 days in Paris was out. But the beauty of living in London is that you're never too far from some place interesting.

Monday was spent wandering from Waterloo to Tower Bridge, after a smashing lunch of Central/South American food. We popped into the Tate Modern (briefly, as the boy detests the place as much as I love it) and mostly enjoyed the sunshine.

Tuesday found us hopping on a train towards into leafiest, greeniest, sunniest Kent. Just past Maidstone, we ventured to the lovely Leeds Castle. It's a castle that became more of a manor house in later days set in a big moat. So many moats these days are drained and turned into gardens. Not this one. The place looks a bit like it's floating. Which is pretty great.

We even had a go at the hedge maze and, after many wrong turns, made it to the center and the stony lookout therein!

Wednesday's adventures weren't by train, but rather by bus. Departing closer from our side of the city and cheaper in cost, we took the Oxford Tube which, of course, isn't a tube at all. But it was a coach that offered me new views of the countryside (albeit largely from motorways) en route to Oxford! Neither The Scot nor I had ever been apart from our trip for BlytheCon UK 2010. So we wanted to go putz around for a day and just have a nice wander. And we did! Most of the colleges were closed or cost more than we wanted to spend for a little walk across a lawn. So we stuck to peeking into churchyards through locked gates, wandering through lovely parklands, and popping into cute shops and markets. My favorite part of the day was living it up in high tourist style and hiring a chauffered punting boat ride along the River Cherwell.

The views were really beautiful.

On Thursday, my best pal in the world, Megan, arrived. She's currently living in Dublin, so was just over for the weekend. (You may recall my writing about visiting her/Dublin last Autumn). We forwent a day out for a day of cleaning the flat! Lots of paper scraps from a week of scrapbooking whenever I was home. Oops! But a day out of the sun was a good rest up for Friday's adventures.

Good Friday and a good day out again. This time a little train to suburban London(ish) to visit Hampton Court Palace. I'd visited once before. But it was winter and not a particularly joyous day or with particularly joyous company. And it was a few years back.

This visit was great! They'd made a lot of improvements to the exhibit-type-things the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII's accession to the throne. Costumed actors wandered around here and there and there were informative cooks in the kitchens making real food. I found that bit pretty great.

The last time I visited, I was still in the infancy of my Blythe collecting/early days of Flickr-sharing. I'd just gotten Clem, my Goldie, and she joined me. I took what has been a favorite dolly photo of mine that day. So, on this visit, I re-created it with my Kenner, Diana. I like this version even more!

Saturday was spent relaxing in London. We visited the Tate Britain, as Megan is a Turner fan. It was St. George's Day. And there were Morris Dancers outside. MORRIS DANCERS!!!! I love them. They're folk-tastic gems, if you ask me.

We might have been very excited.

It was a great end to a great Spring Break.

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come back soon

2011-04-16T23:58:00.000+01:00

many bloggers maintain that one should blog unapologetically. be positive always! stride on! embrace change!

well, i got sick. very sick. shortly after my last post. and it took me out of commission for nearly 2 weeks. and then i was finishing up my most recent job (and will very much miss the students i had!). and, well, i just felt down. so i backed off from blog world. my once-a-week goal of the new year may yet happen. i need good topical things to share with the world. i don't like talking just to hear myself speak (or writing just to read my own words).

i'm half finished with a 2 week break from work (and possibly longer if i don't end up with a position after easter). and i've been crafting a ton. scrapbook-y goodness. and blythe accessories for my just-a-bit overdue 3rd anniversary shop update. but i seem to have lost my camera (well, misplaced). the flat's a bit, how you might say, topsy-turvy!

but, in anticipation of my shop update (which i hope to do within the next week), i want to clear out the few bits hanging around in my etsy shop. visit! shop! save 10%! (i feel like an ad for target).

nearly easter now!

hop. hop, hop.

what i've been up to

2011-03-20T22:56:00.001Z

Last Sunday was my birthday. I had a marvelous time. The boy bought me the fab sloth necklace from MaryMaryHandmade that I've shared previously. LOVE! The night before the day, I went out with some friends for a fun pub meal and Cranium + drinks back at our place. On the day, the boy and I rocked out on MarioKart (also gifted to me by the boy) and had food delivered. It was a pretty great birthday weekend.

One year closer to old. ;)

And, all the while, I've been trying my best to keep up with A Doll A Day. A few catch-up shots have been needed, but for the most part I've been doing pretty well. I thought I'd share some recent favorites.

In the meantime, I've been gearing up for a 3rd anniversary shop update for LauraKateIsCrafty on Etsy. Some new spins on old favorites plus a brand-spanking-new, right on-trend idea has been being prototyped around our flat recently. Quite exciting! I can't wait to share them with you. Soon, I hope!

wishes

2011-03-09T18:29:00.000Z

It will be my birthday on Sunday. It's not a landmark one, but close. I have been making little lists of wishes.

This one has pictures:

A couple items on that list are much higher in wish priority than others. I'm hoping that I can blow all my candles out and get my heart's desire!

What are you wishing for these days?

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poke, poke, poke

2011-02-22T22:43:00.006Z

Today I'm in love with Pinterest. It's a bit like Polyvore, but not about fashion. Virtual bulletin boards. Little collections of goodness. (Props to Vicky for getting me in on the fun after I'd been window gazing for a bit).

So far I've been working on a birthday wishlist, and some lists of general likes, and prettiness. I've revisted some favorite images and happened upon some new ones. It can pull a picture from anywhere. So while I was able to add a gorgeous shot from flickr, I could also pull a silly MarioKart pic from google randomness.

At this point, my favorite little sloth necklace from MaryMaryHandmade (featured here once before) has been quite the popular pin. It's been "re-pinned" a bunch. Whee!

And with that happy little creature, dear readers, I shall wrap up this evening. It's my week off. I've been cleaning and cooking and laundering and baking and my eyes are a bit tired.

Are you on Pinterest? Add me! :) Do you want to be? Let me know. I have some invites.

Have you met my baby?

2011-02-12T23:18:00.001Z

No, no, I'm not preggers. I mean my special project of late, BlytheCon UK 2011! It's not happening til the 1st of October, but we opened up pre-registration to raise funds for the booking of the venue and the organizing of the event and goodies and such. That was 2 weeks ago. And we're nearly 90% sold out! EEEEEPS!!!!

I know some people won't complete the final registration (pre-registration is basically a downpayment) in June and their tickets will get cancelled. But I have a feeling others will be waiting to grab them up. I am amazed at the response. And I've really had to practice using British English as I type up things on the events Twitter/Flickr/website!

My favorite part so far? The logo. My dear, darling friend Erin/Pumpkin is a fabulous artist (she did the LauraKateIsCrafty portrait logo a few years back) and kindly created a BlytheCon UK logo for 2011. It's got a scout-y feel since the venue is the former HQ of UK scouting. I added our colors and text and it's pretty darn perfect:

I couldn't love it more! Her details were just perfect! The flag badge, the lips, the scarf! I hope our little logo girl will look great on all the places she'll end up (tickets, posters, bags, shirts, goodies, etc!).

230 days until this baby is here. And I cannot wait!

etsy {valentine's} love

2011-02-02T20:13:00.001Z

Today is Groundhog Day, a fact that went completely unnoticed here in the UK. Back home, they're dealing with a blizzard. Methinks Spring will not come early. But, cold, wet, snowy, or sunny, we're less than 2 weeks away from Valentine's Day. I've found a great little handful of delightful Etsy goodies to get you all in the mood for shmoopiness.

fabulous pillow from shopdirtsa.

the kind of nerdy stuff I'd say to my boy from bombastitch.

pretty letterpress (love the sentiment on this one) from DingbatPress

supersweet mini embroidery from MiniatureRhino.

Keeping on the spirit of Valentine's fun on Etsy, I've got a coupon promo going on in my Etsy now through February 14!

do stop in! :)

and that's right woodchuck-chuckers, it's GROUNDHOG DAY!!!

a month in photos

2011-01-31T23:00:00.000Z

I set off on an adventure at the beginning of the month - to take a photo a day of a doll every day this year. So far I've done pretty well. There were a few catch-up days, and I'm starting to wonder how tough 11 more months will be! But it's been lots of fun thus far and I'm really pleased with how things have gone.

Roll on February!

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In other news, plans for BlytheCon UK are really coming along with ticket pre-registrations flying and the stalls nearly all booked up. Exciting!!

playing sherlock

2011-01-22T23:20:00.000Z

As many of you know, i'm taking the helm to put together the 2nd annual BlytheConUK. I started working on things a little bit in November and found a great venue. But, with not funds and nothing else organized, I put it on hold. Now, with emails and web things all in the works, ticket pre-sales will be starting by mid-week (if all goes according to plan) and then those funds will help us book the most faaaaabulously fab location.

A location that is, thus far, a secret. Because I'm having fun interacting with Facebook, Flickr, and Twitter followers of the event by running a little photo clue hunt. So far 2 clues have been posted and I've got one more lined up for tonight. I've never done something like this (interacting with a group of people through multiple media, etc.) and it's a blast!

i wonder who will crack the clues and guess the venue? SUCH FUN!

If you want to play along, follow BCUK 2011 on Twitter (or on Flickr or Facebook).

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5 little models

2011-01-15T22:18:00.004Z

i started a new job this week (i'll have it til easter break). which means i've been aboutthisbusy. plus jetlagged for a few days. and the scot has been getting ill (today he's got a fever of a couple degrees. not good). so i haven't been doing a whole lot crafty-wise.

i have, however, been pretty good about keeping up with my 365 photo project. since the weather's been crap (aka: icky light) + i've been at work overly late every night (me playing super nice the first week!), i've started a little series of "getting to know you" photos of my blythe family. they remind me a bit of model's polaroids (think the cover of vampire weekend's contra album). so far i've snapped 5 of the girls. 9 more to go. i'm going to try to get them all featured this way in the next couple weeks, with more "scenery"-type shots in the 365 mix as well.

edesia

fauna

luna

maia

nox

more to come, i promise!

darling dolly dailies

2011-01-06T16:45:00.005Z

as mentioned last week, my one small goal for 2011 is to keep up with a doll photo a day (and later turn said photos into fun monthly scrapbook layouts). the "a doll a day" group on flickr has been great fun to participate in for these first 5 days already and seeing what others come up with for daily snaps is proving to be a great motivator.

today, i thought i'd share some faves thus far from the 1st week(ish) of the project (from some of my favorite dolly people, too):

from jo

from suzy

from hayley

from beth

from rebecca (who is the hostess/mod of the great ADAD group!)

and, lastly, my favorite of mine so far:

i'm feeling pretty jazzed about my little project for 2011. how about the rest of you? how goes it with your goals/resolutions on the 6th of january?

of kings and things

2011-01-04T00:52:00.007Z

NPR. god love 'em. even when i don't live in the US they bring me delightful bits of awesome. (though, as it happens, i'm in NYC this week).most recently, and the point of today's ramble is the new album from the decemberists, the king is dead. it's out (in the US, anyhow) on the 18th. but NPR is streaming it in it's totalityuntil then. i didn't ever really get ahold of the last album from colin and crew but i did have a bit of an obsession with large parts of the crane wife. as far as the king is dead is concerned, my favorites thus far (on half a dozen listens or so) are "this is why we fight" and "january hymn." and did i mention that most of the album features backing vocals from gillian welch? indeed. indeed.

and then, in other king-themed thoughts, is the most fabulous film i've seen in a bit (and, if you know me, you know i see a lot of movies): the king's speech. colin firth + helena bonham carter + geoffrey rush = amazing. truly a remarkable film about a part of british history i knew nothing of. it's a really beautiful story with so many great actors and actresses peppered throughout in all size roles. it's opening soon in the UK - opened in the US first for some reason - and when i get back to london, i'm planning on seeing it again. it's gorgeous. do go see it if you can.

beauty for your ears and for your eyes. lots of kingly things. i highly recommend them both.

on a new year

2011-01-03T20:17:00.006Z

happy new year! i hope it finds you all well.

welcome to 2011. the past few years have been interesting in many ways, but they mostly involved great deals of change. i started "she's crafty" in 2007 as i was finishing my teaching license and getting back out on my own. then i moved to armenia in 2008 and to london in 2009! 2010 was a year of settling in: settling in to london, settling in to the most wonderful relationship, and settling in to our new place together (last june). my work life is still in a bit of upheaval with having short- and medium-term gigs over and over, but i hope 2011 will see that calm down into something solid. either way, 2011 is a year where i'd like to make some fresh starts, some changes, some improvements to the way i do things and the way i share things. and hopefully that will show in blogland.

photo by the scot, edited by me (i totally should've bought that hat)

you few loyal readers may have noticed that i'm blathering a lot more about me and life and love in addition to paper, yarn, needles, and dollies. i'm embracing it. the more i get to know people worldwide through my hobbies, interests, and other blogs, the more i don't want to keep "she's crafty" merely about things i make and do. that change has been coming progressively, but i'm liking the direction this blog is taking.

back in september, i joined in the 4 simple goals challenge. while i didn't do particularly well on reporting about the outcome of said goals in the blog, my personal feeling about working with them before 2011 was pretty positive. 1 - blog more regularly: i'm getting there! my aim, in the long run, is 3+ entries per week. right now it's more/less weekly. i would love to build up a strong blog readership and really make this a fun place for people to visit, to read, and to be inspired to create and do interesting things, etc. when i first started blogging here i blathered about anything i was doing craft-wise. but it wasn't interesting. and no one was reading. i think "blog with a purpose" may be my mantra going forward (but, always always, always, having fun :) ). 2 - see the country: (get out more) this was a goal about seeing more of the UK. well, as it happened, our plans for the holiday ended up sending us to the US for a month. and the grand holiday plans rather sucked funding out of autumnal travel. so seeing more of the UK is still (and probably always will be) on the docket. 3 - do more sewing: yep! i've definitely been on that. took a break after blytheconUK, but my sewing mojo is definitely back in swing. 4 - keep cooking: and how! did you see my one woman thanksgiving dinner? it was fabulous. and everyone enjoyed the meal a lot. my soups and breads during the cold weather have been a great hit as well.

for 2011, i'm not making any little goals this far other than what i blogged about in my last post. and i'm already loving the fun that i've captured in my first 2 dolly 365 photos. (hopefully today i get one in good lighting!).

in the coming weeks i'm really hoping to get my long-since-planned blog makeover for "she's crafty" rolling. i start a new mid-length (12 school weeks) job on the 10th, so that will be a new professional challenge, but i hope my free time finds time to make this little corner of the web the place i would love for it to be.

what are your goals for 2011? big? small? fun? serious? i'd love to read them in the comments section!

resolute

2010-12-31T08:06:00.012Z

i'm not a big fan of new year's resolutions. i like setting goals here and there, but me + resolutions = not the most successful. this year, though, i'm making one. and it's a fun one, albeit a bit challenging: i'll be joining in to the a doll a day challenge on flickr. i've watched people do 365 projects for years. in my early 20s i tried a self-portrait 365 and made it about 2 months. it wasn't particularly fun. i didn't want to do something that felt like work.

while home for the holidays (i'm now in NYC for a week after a marvelous 2+ weeks in WI) i met up with my friend meg. meg is a queen of clean, linear scrapbooking. she likes simple, but beautiful. she's an egyptologist. she doesn't have gobs of time to craft, but she tends to have lots of photos. this past summer she participated in an archeological dig in egypt and had a ton of photos to deal with. her solution? a 1 1/4 inch square punch and some great calendar paper.

i nicked her idea. she happily let me. she even led me to the

display of ki sew cute calendar papers at our favorite LSS (where, coincidentally, we met while working as students).

my plan for is to use the adorable paper (i'm using the color pictured above, lagoon) and a punch from ek's paper shapers line to showcase my dolly snaps month by month. i think it'll be fun. printing the photos at wallet size (4 up on a 4x6 print) makes for easy use of the punch to grab a little square image. as i get going with this, i hope to share some progress.

there are various options out there for calendar page scrapbook papers, but i'm really digging the ki sew cute line. i chose to go with one color and style for all 12 months, but they have 12 to choose from!

the best thing i like about these is that nearly all of them work with a 1 1/4" punch (the circular styles require just a 1"). i had a few punches, but of course not the size i needed for this project. oh well. my lovely enabling pal pointed out that i'll use it *at least* 365 times, so it will be well worth the investment. here's hoping that a year from now i'll have a great pile of pages full of tiny snaps of the hobby i love. i think it'll be a fun, and likely sometimes challenging, project to take on. but i'm really looking forward to it. (edit: check out my pal jo's awesome flickr mosaic of her dolly 365 here. a calendar page will be a little something like each of those!).

i know that some people who read this blog are dolly folks, some knitters, and some scrapbookers. but i'd love to see people join in with this project in their own ways. maybe a knit pic of the day or joining the flickr dolly group or snagging some cute paper and a punch and doing a photo a day challenge! or any combination thereof. i have some fun ideas for good blogging times in 2011 and i hope this can be a great start!