Making Plans: Looking Backwards and Forwards

Hello!

Hope you all had a magical Christmas! Mine was very quiet, but just what I needed after a very hectic run up to the big day.

The days between Christmas and New Year are always very precious to me, because I use the time to look back on the year, scribbling down the things I'm proud of and the lessons I've learned. Then I pull out a beautiful fresh new notebook and get to work making big plans for the year to come. I add motivational quotes and think about why I want to reach each goal, as well as how I'll feel when I do. This sort of ... closing ceremony to the year, if you like, always gets me really excited about starting a beautiful fresh new year (though of course it's something you can do any time, any day you like!)

Looking back on my 2012:

1. 2012 has been my most creative year to date. In previous years I used to get to every Christmas, look back, and regret not making more time for crafting and writing. It was a huge chunk of my life to disregard as unimportant each year, and I didn't fully understand how much I needed it to make me happy (and remotely sane!) until now. This year brought creativity by the bucketload, fuelled by this blog, permitted mainly by Creatives Unite, and resulting in my opening an Etsy shop! I still don't think I'm using even a tenth of my creative potential, so I can't wait to see what 2013 brings!

2. On a personal level, 2012 has been the most stressful year myself and my family have ever experienced. Inevitably, dealing with high levels of stress and worry over a long period of time can lead to all sorts of other problems. I'm so very proud to be a member of this family this year, because we've helped one another through, and despite the odds reached the end of the year feeling remarkably strong and full of fighting spirit. On the positive side, adversity really has taught me an enormous amount about myself, what really matters in my life, and my hopes for the future. I think it's made me lots more gutsy too!

3. I'm sure we'll be fed up with hearing the following sentiment by the time the clock ticks over into 2013, but  nationally 2012 really has been a classic year. A vintage year, you might say. Our little island has had a lot to celebrate, and I think we did it spectacularly. There's nothing like some national togetherness to make you feel part of a special year!

source

Looking forward to 2013:

I'm not one for making resolutions per sé, but I do like to put thought and planning into the year to come, to bring direction, purpose and motivation. Here are some of my plans for the creative sector of my life:

1. Crack crochet. Share my journey on my blog.

2. Continue to grow Creatives Unite and implement plans for real-life meetups. (If anyone wants to start a group in your hometown let me know!)

3. Continue to make buttons I'm excited to sell, and to keep growing the range.

4. Use my blog and journals to push my own creative boundaries, follow my creative passions without fear, and seek inspiration in new places.

5. Finish the projects in my WIP tray (I will, I will!)

If there's any sort of project or subject you'd like to see more of on this blog in 2013, just pop a comment below, or email me at: missbeatrixwrites[at]gmail[dot]com.

Like many others I've also decided to take on a daily photographic challenge in 2013. My own theme will be 'simple pleasures' and you can join in/follow my progress via Instagram #simplepleasures (you may have to expect a lot of photos of cups of tea!)

I have whopping big plans for this blog in 2013 - I've spent a lot of time on planning and dreaming up ideas over Christmas. So I just want to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has visited, followed (I can promise you I have danced a merry celebration dance for each and every new follower!) and commented on this blog in 2012. Thank you for the social media 'likes' and support, for joining in Creatives Unite, for the lovely snail mail, emails and Twitter chats. Each one registers as a little gift of happiness in my life, and I'm so pleased to have met a large number of truly amazing people through blogging this year.

Have you made plans and goals for 2013 yet?




  xx


PS: A buttony guest post for you over at Claireabellemakes ;)

Life Lately

Like many others, I've had a rather hectic few weeks and Bea and I are fair exhausted! Here are a few snaps of life in my world lately.

Walks with Bea always take priority, so we've been to visit Thomas the swan...

And took time to notice the small things...

I tried a Graze box and was really impressed! The entire service is friendly and well organised, and I've tried some yummy new foods in an attempt to boost my energy levels and stay well through the winter months...

...Erm, except then I remembered I hadn't had a mince pie in two years, so I made a little exception. (What? It has fruit in it!)

My legs turned yellow! I've been loving coloured tights with warn knits lately.

I've been very busy making custom button orders, special buttons for friends, and new designs ready for a new year. Very excited.

I've also been making Christmas presents (can't show you yet!) but have found a little time for some other quick projects too. A tree decoration for Beatrix...

And this... thing...

I got Trevor the horse ready for Christmas in my other job...

I found these flashbacks in a charity shop...

And THIS turned up in my life! Isn't it beautiful?! It's huge!

I'm very much looking forward to finishing work for Christmas and curling up with this...

And this...

Are you ready for Christmas yet?

A Few Vintage Acquisitions

A few little treasures to show you today! Firstly, thanks to a tip off from Miss Imogen Smith, I have completed my collection of Beatrix Potter 1980s biscuit tins, nabbing the three above from eBay and adding them to the original, my Peter Rabbit tin...

...And the Tom Kitten one I fought very hard for at a car boot sale a few months ago.

These will be handy for storing all sorts of small craft bits. I'm still trying to retrieve the Tom Kitten one from Bea who is storing her spare collars in it! 

Secondly, I was lucky enough to be given some odds and ends of vintage crockery by my aunt, left over from my cousin's wedding in the summer. 

Hopefully I should be able to finish decorating my glass topped desk with these saucers, and will show you the results.

Finally, I added a few more Enid Blytons to my collection.

I'm hoping to get the chance to revisit my childhood and read one or two over the Christmas holidays! (I have so many plans for the Christmas holidays, I really must think I'm having about six months off. In my dreams, eh?)

Have a thrifty Wednesday (last Wednesday before Christmas, hurrah!),

5 Last Minute Handmade Christmas Present Ideas

If you're like me and are still feverishly working away at making your Christmas presents, you may be in need of a few last minute ideas. I've had a fish around in my blog archives and produced five, none of which should take you any more than an hour to make. Phew!

1. A Felt Owl Keyring/Trolley Buddy

2. A Fimo Clay Teapot Necklace

3. A Fabric Clutch Bag (How-to courtesy of The Making Spot)

4. Use fabric to make letter paper

5. ...And finally, why not gather washi tape, stickers and other embellishments together with a sketch book and give someone the gift of their own smash book? My mum has asked for this for Christmas as she keeps trying to steal my smashing supplies! You could even decorate the smash book to make it even more special. 

Lots of luck! I'm declaring this Thursday's Creatives Unite a two hour Christmas special to help with all the making, wrapping and decorating which may still need to be done!

Have a crafty Monday,

Razzle Dazzle 'Em With Art Deco

I've always been interested in the culture of the 1920s. I studied 1920s America as part of my A-level in History (albeit a fair few years ago now) and got caught up in learning about the glamour, liberation and razzle dazzle fashion of those interwar years, mixed in of course with prohibition, scandalous gangsters like Al Capone and the march toward the Great Depression.

2012 has been heavily influenced by the 1920s in many ways too, partly because Downton Abbey entered its 20s phase, but mostly because the new The Great Gatsby film was supposed to come out this month. Fashion designers have taken their inspiration from the much anticipated film... only for it to be announced that it will now be released next summer. Oops. Perhaps the catwalks should have featured hobbit feet and elf ears instead...

Anyway, I've certainly been taking more of an interest in Art Deco over the past few months. The sharp edges, angular shapes and black and white all make an interesting contrast to the pastels and ditsy prints I'm usually drawn to. 2012 has been an iconic year, so it seems rather magical to me that the dominating style influence of this year has been eighty years old, yet it still looks totally modern and cutting edge.

Hopefully I'll find the time to add some art deco influence to my craft projects over the next few months, perhaps with some fabulous new buttons? But in the meantime I've been browsing Etsy for some rather hotsy totsy art deco style finds. They're the real McCoy...

1. Plush Flapper Doll by Flapper Doodle 2. Chevron Art Deco Pendant Necklace 3. Up Art Deco-style film poster 4. Aphrodite Pill Box Case 5.  Verdigris Over Rose Gold Cuff 6. Art Prints 7. Perfume Bottles 8. Wallpaper 9. Aqua Blue Watch Pendant

1. Cocktail Shaker 2. Owl iPhone 5 Case 3. Dragonfly Bracelet 4. Rose Print Make Up Bag 5. Portrait of Inventor Nikola Tesla 6. Stained Glass Mirror 7. Theodora Bracelet 8. Diamante Hair Grips 9. Bauhaus Poster Print

I was soaking in the bath last night and imagining having a black and white art deco bathroom one day. I reckon a mirror and a few perfume bottles like the ones above would look marvellous! Perhaps I'll pass on the bath having clawed feet though.

Does art deco do it for you?

Have a swell Monday,






PS: Hello and thank you to all new readers and followers! x

Pink Pig Sketchbooks

Time for a quick stationery geek-out! Since opening an Etsy shop I've been forever sketching button designs, so I needed a new sketchbook. I've been really impressed by this one from Pink Pig. They come in all sorts of colours and sizes, contain lovely paper, and feel really good quality. I've been carrying this pink A4 one around with me everywhere I go!

Pink Pig is based in Huddersfield, so in buying one you'll be supporting a British business. They in turn support the RNLI. 

I must confess that I bought mine through work, as we sell them in a little stationery shop there, but if you want one yourself you can buy them from Amazon. The students where I work seem besotted with them!

Of course, I had to add a little crafty embellishment to mine...

Have an ideas-filled Wednesday,






P.S: This was not a sponsored post; I just like to praise companies I'm pleased with!

How to Be a Thrifty Crafter, Part 2

Hello my dear crafty chums! Today is the second in my thrifty crafting feature (part one here). 

I was in my early teens (stop me if you've heard this story before - this is going somewhere!) when I first stumbled across the idea of owning a doll's house as part of a hobby, rather than a child's toy. I had grown out of playing with my own beloved house years before, but as my grandad had made it for me and it was very special I didn't feel I could move it on to a new home, so it simply sat in the spare bedroom, ignored.

One day I was on a visit to Rochester with my family when I spotted a shop selling doll's house miniatures. I was instantly captivated by the idea of grown ups having doll's houses, and collecting furniture for them. I could create my dream house, or even my dream world, from any era - and I already had the house! 

There was just one problem. I could see from a quick glance in the shop's window and then a Dolls House Emporium catalogue that I had fallen in love with a hobby which cost a lot of money. I'm talking hundreds. Thousands. It's a popular hobby for the middle and upper class retired, and no wonder. I was a teenager with a minuscule income. I quickly realised I was going to have to use my imagination and a lot of creativity to turn my doll's house into the vision I held in my head. 

That Christmas, I received just the help I was looking for, in the form of these two books:

Andrea Barham and Patricia King opened my eyes to the world of making your own doll's house miniatures out of things you have hanging around your house. Perfect! Since then I have made all sort of craft projects - not just miniatures - simply by looking at household objects from a different perspective. I have added many items to my 'must have' crafting list, and I'm going to share this list with you... (yes, we finally made it to the end of my little story!)

The contents of my dressing table are made from household finds. Bits of lace, an old keychain, a candle made from a birthday cake candle and a button, and a perfume bottle made from beads. 

1. Head for your jewellery box. We all have old costume jewellery which is now out of date or broken. Grab these items like Gollum and clutch them close to your chest. They are incredibly useful for all sort of crafting projects. Next, any old Primark handbags, embellished shoes or belts. Cut the shiny bits and buckles off and add those to your pile. Old costume watch? Keep that too. Hurrah!

Just look what clever Patricia King made with an old pair of sunglasses. I'm tempted to wrap some old frames with washi tape and wear them when thinking up crafty plans...

2. We're on a roll! Head out to the garage or shed. Take a note of any semi-used pots of paint or cans of spray paint. Look out for wire, garden twine, lovely pebbles (perfect for painting!), varnish, metal washers, plywood and balsa wood. 

3. Think like a child. Remember junk modelling? Very handy when it comes to thinking about packaging. Never throw anything out without checking to see if there's anything useable on it. Cereal boxes provide useful cardboard, lipstick cylinders, toothpaste lids, metal wine bottle tops... the list goes on!

An old disposable razor and a toothpaste tube. 

Another of Patricia King's creations.

4. Now you've gone shopping in your home, it's time to shop from other people's! Once or twice a year I email friends and family, and ask them ever so nicely to have a clear out. I make it easy for them by giving them a list of things I'm looking for. The first time I did this I was in the sixth form, and hadn't told more than one or two close friends about my crafting hobby. They found my requests a little odd at first, understandably, but then they really got into the spirit of it and produced some brilliant finds, including a guitar plectrum (perfect for a spot of Tatty Devine-style jewellery making!), an old locket - which I made into a double photo frame for my doll's house, and some handy bits of driftwood! Since then I've handed this list out to work colleagues and family alike, and always find they're genuinely interested in hearing what I'm planning to make with it all. And as you never know what you're going to get your little gifts can inspire all sorts of new ideas. 

I have popped my full list of the items I ask/look for here, but first, a little word about storage. You'll need it. I only store small and medium items. There is no need to keep every cereal box that passes through your home - if you need cardboard for a project, you know it's in the cupboard. I am making my own Christmas crackers this year so have kept (and microwaved to get rid of germs) twelve loo role centres, but I don't keep the centre of every loo roll used in my house! You don't want to become like one of those poor hoarder folk off the telly... 

If you're collecting small items such as jewellery findings, I learnt early on that they need to be carefully stored and easily accessible. There's nothing more annoying than losing a precious hour of your Sunday afternoon to hunting for that teeny tiny cabochon. I use a box with lots of compartments, so I keep earrings, beads, brooches, chains, etc, in separate sections. 

I like this way of storing because I can easily take a look inside to remind myself of what I have in stock. 

I mentioned in my last post useful shops for art and craft materials. If you're struggling to find handy items for free, of course there's always car boot sales and charity shops. I've found loads of handy bits of bobs from those. It's also been known for me to buy cheap jewellery from Primark, only to dismantle it an hour later. They often have sale racks full of costume jewellery - score! 

The jewel on my mini Jubilee hat was a Primark pendant, bought for £1.50. It's supposed to look like Kate's engagement ring. 

Some handy books and blogs if you fancy having a bash at crafting with household items:

How to Make Jewellery With Tatty Devine

Dolls House Accessories, Fixtures and Fittings

Making Miniatures

Making Victorian Dolls House Furniture

Earth-Friendly Crafts: Clever Ways to Reuse Everyday Items

Junk Genius: Stylish Ways to Repurpose Everyday Objects 

Pretty Nostalgic Magazine

Inspiring blogs:

Junkaholique

Lulastic and the Hippyshake

Do you make things out of household finds? I'd love to hear about your projects!

Have a collectible Monday,

P.S: If you have borrowers residing in your home, please treat them kindly and at least leave some useful items for them to borrow. Bea seems to think we have some here, as she thoroughly sniffs around all the skirting boards every morning.
PPS: New buttons will be in the Etsy shop before the end of the week :)