New addiction...

I've been having enormous fun over the last few days! For some reason I thought I needed something to occupy my mind in the first part of my maternity (apart from the two year old I have at home...) and as I'd bought a couple of Scrabble tile pendants recently they seemed like a fun thing to do....and they've turned out to be addictive. The ladybird tile above is a donation to the Help A Hedgehog Hospital charity auction, and the ones below are available (apart from the Japanese Daisy print).

I've spent every odd moment since Saturday cutting out little bits of paper and sticking them to bits of wood and then c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y glazing them so they're all shiny and (mostly) bubble free. The quantity of amazing pictures you can buy for these little projects is addictive in itself - my favourites so far have been TrueBlood inspired ones and images from The Princess Bride. As a completely useless artist I'm very glad there are clever people out there who can feed my addiction...

I've also been experimenting with using some photos we've taken of the kids and other things to see if they work. Some have been more successful than others, but I think more practice with Photoshop will help....have a look at these and tell me what you think! The one above is unglazed but has good definition, the one below is completed. The seagulls were taken in moody black and white from the Prom at Clacton-on-Sea and I love the expression of the one at the far end...

Happy 2011!

Well, my last post asked where 2010 had gone, and now I seem to have lost another 6 weeks or so...December was quite busy with Christmas markets and that whole festive thing, and now I seem to be spending all my time up to my ears in tiny sleepsuits and vests, waiting for the new arrival. The latest addition is due in 3 weeks' time and I think we're almost ready now! I had a moment of panic just after Christmas when I realised I had nothing ready at all, not even a buggy or car seat as we'd got rid of everything after Tove grew out of them. I'm now at the REALLY uncomfortable stage and every time the baby wriggles it feels as if I'm going to pop, but if it could hang on till I finish work this week I'd be quite pleased.

In crafty matters I've been having a bit of a clear-out - part of the nesting process, maybe! I've sorted out a job lot of beads and findings that will never get used, and also a stack of cross stitch kits that are currently listed here on my Facebook page and I'll be putting them up on Ebay next week.

I've also been making new jewellery from sea glass, which I've been collecting for years and have recently taken to scouring Ebay for as well. I love the way it takes on a pretty sheen when you've been wearing it, and that every piece is different so no two pieces of jewellery are ever the same. There are new pendants and keyrings listed here and I have also made pendants and keyrings to be taken to South Africa as unique host gifts for the SHOUT (Sheppey Outreach) project. The organising teacher, Michael Thomas, is the brother-in-law of one of my colleagues and he collected some unusual pieces for me to use. You can read more about the project here.