One of those weeks...

I'm having one of those weeks - rocking up to work at 8am, getting home at 8pm, eating crappy supermarket sandwiches for lunch in the 5 mins I get to grab lunch, and feeling sick and fat for it! I'm not going to complain because I love my job and getting in late doesn't bother me really. Also I'm lucky to have a job, but I'm still tired and I worry that I won't get everything I want to done. I've even taken on more work and working on different accounts in the hopes that I can prove my worth in case they do make any cuts.

Anyway, when I'm like this I sometimes need to have a winge and a moan - it's good for the soul. I'm a bit of a Victor Meldrew. I do like a good old fashioned moan! So, here are the top 5 things that are really getting my goat this week.

1. Two faced people: there's someone at the moment driving me potty. She is so unbelievably fake - I sussed it within about 1 minute of meeting her with my fake-da and slowly but surely other people are cottoning on. Sends a shiver down my spine, I just can't stomach it!

2. Girly cars: you know the 'I want the pink one' type cars. The ones that are all 'style' (albeit lack of) and no substance. Every time I see a new VW Beetle I get a little bit of sick in my throat....horrible, horrible, horrible!

3. Kids: it's not that I don't like them I just couldn't eat a whole one! ;-) No, seriously. I like kids, but by god I can't stand having to hear about them all day outside my office! Quite frankly I couldn't give a rat's butt hole if 'my Jonty got an A in his maths homework'. I like the cute stuff but leave the showing off for the school gate!

4. Moaning about the weather: next time I hear someone say 'ooh, it's going to rain tomorrow' or 'dreadful weather isn't it?' I fear I may well lose the will to live! Perhaps we should all try living in Alaska and see how we like that, or anyone for a trip to the Sahara? No, I didn't think so.

5. My blog being too sickly sweet 'I made this because I am super woman' because I'm not, I moan and swear too much! :-)

There we are, sorry to my one reader. Please don't leave!

TTFN,

Sian x

Wow!

My goodness, I knew I was in for a treat when I saw this parcel, but nothing could have prepared me for this beautiful painting of Rosie!


I'm so thrilled with it, thank you so much Sam! We are going our own little trade you see, I commissioned Sam to paint Rosie and she suggested that I make her something in exchange. I've bought all the bits Sam, I'll give you a clue I'm making a little something fit for any pampered shabby chic kitty. :-)

Thank you for the lovely old postcard, I love it!


Isn't this blogging lark wonderful? I mean, I wouldn't have anywhere near as much inspiration, and I also wouldn't have discovered all the wonderful crafts people. So, off I go to make some goodies that will be winging their way to various people.

TTFN,

Sian x

Crochet flowers and the brightest cushion in the world?

Yey, I've cracked crochet flowers thanks to the wonderful Lucy at Attic24!! After just one go I no longer need the pattern and have even starting adjusting the pattern myself. Honestly, if I can do it than anyone can! Go on, have a go! :-)

My bonkers (in a brilliant and fun way) work mate asked me to make some cushions for her. She gave me this oblong one and some bright yellow fabric and said 'do what you can with it'. So, with her wacky happy-go-lucky personality in mind, I set to work. I have tonnes of this bright yellow wool that I got from Lidl a few years ago and came up with the idea of crocheting one side. I used a 6mm hook for large gaps so the yellow fabric would show through and used some leftover bright pink yarn as a contrast. I love it, I certainly don't think she'll be able to get another one like this do you? It's taken me about 3 hours to do in total.

I've been sitting down relaxing and enjoying the peace of crocheting. It's also meant I haven't been online as much as normal, which is quite liberating. I usually spend my entire day on the computer (morning and night)!

Next stop, ripple pattern - my favourite. I can't wait to get started. :-)

Small projects

Just a quick post again - so tired this week and I've hardly been on the computer, which is very unlike me (usually spend my life on it!).

I wanted to quickly show you what I did with the green frames:

I'll probably put a crochet flower in the middle at some stage (when I've figured out how to do them!), but I think they look quite funky.

Here's my beloved crochet cushion:



I've made another crochet cushion cover today for a work mate - I've not stitched it all together yet though so I'll show you later in the week. So many things to make at the moment! :-) I hope you've all had a relaxing weekend!

Crochet cushion and cute kitty

Here it is, my first crochet project! :-) It's taken me a few hours, not long at all really.

OH got back from the US (works there a lot) - Rosie has been missing him terribly, she doesn't like me anywhere near as much as her beloved. Don't they look cute together?

Crochet and frames

I went to the crochet course yesterday, gosh I learnt quickly! I know all the basic stitches now and can hold the hook correctly, I seem to have got the tension sorted out too. If you fancy having a go, the course is held here in Chailey near Lewes. You could make a couple of days of it and go around Lewes (beautiful and very old town loaded with antique shops), then pop to Sheffield Park Gardens and perhaps take a trip on the Bluebell Railway.

I still haven't had the chance to properly concentrate on a pattern just yet, but I'm going to make a purse:



then I'm going to have a go at trimming the knitted baby blanket I made with a crochet edge.

I wanted to show you this:


It's the gorgeous picture that Sam painted - it fits perfectly in the pink frame! :-)

Pretty pics

Despite the cuffufle with my keys, I did manage to get a few bits of 'crafting' done. I'm really into bright colours at the moment so I painted a few things:

This antique frame, I love the bright pink!

I also painted this frame in the bright green:



I painted this clock too, although I wish I'd bothered to check if it worked first! I'll have to think of what else I can do with it. Any ideas?

My eiderdown turned up and looks even more stunning than in the ebay pics. It's lovely and in excellent condition.

50 questions

I saw this on another blog and it looked like fun. I need something to take my mind off what a terrible day I've had. I've gone and lost the keys to garage so can't do any of the jobs I had to do! God knows what I'm going to do! Anyway, now onto the fun!

1. Are you wearing a hat?

No.

2. Bottled water?

I buy them for the bottle and then refill.

3. Do you have a crush on someone right now?

Richard Armitage in North and South and Wentworth Miller. :-)

4. What kind of computer do you have?
Macbook

5. Do you prefer writing in pen or pencil?
Pen.

6. Who was the last message in your inbox from?

A blog friend.

7. What’s your favorite season?

Winter

8. Does your best friend have a boyfriend or girlfriend?

Yes

9. Do you like Tea?

Pretty much all I drink!

10. Favorite radio station?

Not keen on any, but Capital FM is OK.

11. Type your name into Google. What's the first site that appears?

Can't show this as my name is so rare - I'm the only 1 in the world! :-)

12. What’s your favorite song at the moment?

Pink's new song and quite like the new Lilly Allen song.

13. Coke or Pepsi?
Coke.

14. Favorite subject in school?
All of them, but particularly science, geography and English lit.

15. Last concert?

Incubus at the Brixton Academy 2007.

16. Next concert?

Not that much of a fan to be honest. I would like to go and see Darrin Brown, not really a concert though!

17. Last magazine you bought?

Prima

18. Last book you read?

Winter in Madrid by C.J Sansom

19. Do you prefer cats or dogs?

Like both, but cats mean that you can have a bit more of a life. I'm not keen on being too tied down!

20. Is there someone you want to punch right now?

Robert Peston

21. Favorite sports team/sports person?

Chelsea and Lewis Hamilton.

22. Country you most want to visit?

Japan

23. Are you a Blogger addict?

I reckon so!

24. When do you shower?

Mornings and evening.

25. What’s your dream job?

Doctor or vet.

26. What kind of car do you drive?

BMW

27. What word in the dictionary best describes you?

Relaxed or happy (well, apart from when I was frantically looking for my keys!).

28. What’s your blog address?

www.diaryofatinyholder.blogspot.com

29. Worst TV show at the moment?

Deal or No Deal - most quiz shows really. Also hate that new Chris Tarrant one and all the lottery ones.

30. Are you a better talker or better listener?

Talker.

31. What your favourite color?

Green

32. What is your favourite animal?

Cheetah and I love pigs and chooks!

33. Are you afraid of the dark?

No.

34. Is there something lacking in your life right now?

No.

35. What do you miss most about childhood?

Not having to pay bills and work!

36. How many times did it take you to pass your driving test?

Three times!

37. How many kids do you want?

None. I'd rather get a chicken!

38. Are you good painter?

Yes, much better at drawing though.

39. Can you cook?

Yes, although Tim is much better than I am.

40. Are you a cheapskate?

No, I wish. The I would actually have some money!

41. What would you do with a million pounds?

Pay off my mortgage and travel.

42. Have you been to Disney World?

No - not remotely interested!

43. How many days a month are you online?

Everyday

44. Last time you went bowling?

Years ago! Maybe 4 years?

45. Hot or cold weather?

Cold.

46. How many pairs of shoes do you have?
Too many!

47. Are you a shop-a-holic?
Yes

48. Where were you yesterday morning at 10:30?

In bed!

49. Are you afraid of the dentist?

Not remotely.

50. Were you bored or entertained by this survey?
Entertained.

New developments

Lots of you have been posting about some of the lovely items in the shops at the moment as alternatives for CK. I don't really see what the big deal is with CK, it's nice stuff but I'm not fussed if I buy something cheap - as long as it looks nice and I like it, I'm happy! :-) One such shop is Tescos - they have some wonderful things in there. I've been after a cheap, pretty, everyday dinner set for a while now, but they all seem to be too wacky or modern for my taste. So I was thrilled to bits when I found this hand painted set in Tesco.

Isn't it cute? :-) I was also lucky enough to get this eiderdown on ebay for a mere £30 including delivery. It's not your usual pink paisley but I like the ones that are a bit brighter and different - you know me, I ALWAYS (just to be annoying sometimes!) have to break from the norm!

The other thing I did today was buy some gorgeously rich and vibrant gloss paint colours to paint those picture frames. I'm also thinking of painting the fireplace in one of them. I had another brain wave that I could paint an ornate french clock in bright bright pink or green. I've seen it done with other items like cuckoo clocks and it looks fab.

[Flamingo fun]

[Grecian spa]

[Venetian crystal]

These pics don't really do the colours justice - they are sooo bright but I love them! :-)

Keep Calm and Have a Cuppa

That's a message to all the people, like me, who have to go back to the daily grind tomorrow!

Today has been beautiful - we've been out in the garden doing a bit of weeding and just generally having a look around to see what's been popping up. We've also been practicing our putting. Tim and I will be having golf lessons in May! I think he'll be much better than I will be, but it should be fun!

[View of the cherry blossom from the landing]

[A spot of golf]

I then realised that I haven't shown you my wonderful £15 bargain mirror?! :-) Tim spotted this for me on this deals site that he's always looking at!

Anyway, must go and make a tea. Those of you returning to work, good luck for tomorrow!!

P.s I'll be taking Part in 'Pay it forward'.
The first 3 people who leave a comment on this post will receive a handmade gift from me. The only requirement is you must participate as well. After you leave a comment, do a Pay it Forward on your blog to keep the giving going.


TTFN

Sian x

'Seven Pounds' - tragically beautiful

I've just watched the gorgeous film Seven Pounds staring Will Smith. If you get the chance to watch it do. It's such a lovely thought provoking film, tragic in a similar way to American Beauty. I thought Will Smith was fabulous in it!

Blurb from Imdb:

Haunted by a secret, Ben Thomas looks for redemption by radically transforming the lives of seven people he doesn't know. Once his plan is set, nothing will be able to stop him. At least that's what he thinks. But Ben hadn't planned on falling in love with one of these people and she's the one who will end up transforming him.

I hope you all had a lovely day!

TTFN

Sian x

Things I've been doing today - EDIT

I ordered these letters from ebay for £1.50 each after seeing that they are about £10 per letter in the shops! It also means I can paint them in exactly the colour I want. For the 'home' I used a tester pot of Laura Ashley paint in 'Willow'. For the 'S&T' I used the transfers that the lovely Kelly sent me, they have come in so handy I've used them for loads of projects!

I've edited this post because I forgot to show you what I did. I've been wanting to make a lampshade cover for this lamp for ages and I suddenly had a brain wave - why don't I just use this cafe curtain that I made for here (I made a new one earlier in the year). It already has the curtain tape so it's easy to gather at the top and fits perfectly. :-)

And the winner is and Easter swap goodies...

Thank you all for entering the competition I hope you enjoyed looking for Cecil! :-) I used the random number generator and the winner is....Mary Poppins!!! If you could send me an email with you address I will pop a selection of goodies, made with my own fair hands, in the post for you! :-)

Look at what Sue sent me for the Easter swap. The little bag is lined and so beautifully made, and I adore the cute little egg cosie! :-) Thank you Sue!

Happy Easter and my makes

Boy am I glad to have these days off. I must learn to take time off work, I haven't booked any for this year and I'm in danger of doing what I've done over the last couple of years - either not taking all of it or having to take in all in November when the weather is rubbish! My appologies for not visiting all of you, I hardly have the time these days. Rest assured I am reading and enjoying all the blogs I follow! :-)


Anyway, all we have done today is lounge around on the sofa (tucked up in my eiderdown) catching up with all the shows we have recorded from the last few weeks. I popped up to my sewing room this afternoon and made this play mat for my friend who has just had a baby boy. She's called him Jack - I knew she'd pick a nice name and not one of these horrid modern names!

I thought she could have it on the floor for when he's a baby and a toddler, and then it can go on the end of the bed when he gets a bit older. Don't look too closely at my awful embroidery though! :-)

Now that I know Sue has received this, I can show you what I made for the Easter swap organised by this lovely lady. It's probably not as 'Easter' as some of the swaps I've seen, but I think when you don't have kids Easter is no big deal really. I mean, I didn't even know it was Easter until the end of last week!



I've got a few bits and pieces planned for this long weekend (yay!). I need to fix up that chair that I've had for ages, paint the corner of the wall by the dresser in Tim's office and probably do a bit of shopping tomorrow.

Hope you all have a lovely Easter whatever you are doing.

TTFN

Sian x

Vintage indie

My home is now featured on Vintage Indie! :-)

I will be drawing a winner for my 'Where's cecil?' competition on Friday so don't forget to enter. :-)

Ideas...

Sometimes I have these light bulb moments. They usually come when I see a couple of things I like and then I combine the thoughts and BING - out comes the next craft project.

Today's hair-brained scheme (as my dad always says) is to make 2 small fire screens for the bedrooms that actually have fireplaces - my work room and our bedroom. I stumbled upon the idea while I was reading Hen's lovely blog and I saw that gorgeous frame makeover. I love the way she's not afraid to use colour. Anyway, I want to do a similar thing but have a pretty wallpaper in the middle and then paint the frame a gorgeous rich vibrant colour and that will be the screen.

I bought these beauties from Debbie today.

I'll be making one for our bedroom, which I will paint in very BRIGHT blue. I'll probably put summer palace wallpaper in the middle, the other one I will paint in a bright green and put CK wallpaper in.

This (above) is our room in its current state, I don't like these wardrobes - they are so enormous inside, you could probably visit narnia. We don't really make full use of them and want to create more space so they will be going in favour of some antique Victorian wardrobes, which I'm hoping I can get quite cheaply at auction - like this maybe?


We'll also install this fireplace (below; the one I got on ebay for £50) and paint this side of the room in Duck Egg. I can't wait to get this done, we'll probably start next month! yippeee!


We've just been out in the veg patch and planted some onions, garlic and broad beans. :-)

Tim ordered a worm composter from the council, they usually cost £80 but the council subsidise the cost so you can get them for £40. It's well worth doing as they can consume anything organic (by organic, I mean carbon based not the toffee word they use to mean over priced veg imported from Africa!) - so that includes paper, pet poop, tea bags, veg, meat, dairy, cut flowers - you name it! I'd love to have a compost bin, but I'm fed up with the rats so we've opted for this instead.

Busy, busy, busy

I have been unbelievably busy lately, I've not blogged, checked blogs, emailed or phoned anyone.
A friend of mine just had a baby and I've not even had time to call her! Today was a lovely day, but I've been sat in resting. I did find time to make this small quilt this afternoon.

I love vibrant colours at the moment. I've rather gone off the muted florals in favour of brighter colours - they put a smile on my face and are so spring like!

The rug arrived yesterday, I think it matches in perfectly the next addition to Tim's room is going to be one of these gorgeous Captain's office chairs in Ox-blood to match the sofa. It really will look like a gentlemen's room then! :-)




Hope you're all having a lovely weekend! :-)

P.s Don't forget to enter the giveaway!