Friday 24 December 2010

Merry Christmas

Tree up and lit.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I hope you have a special day tomorrow where ever you are. Friends old and new, real, and the magical pretend friends that live in my computer. It's been a long year and I think I'm ready to raid the chocolate box before Santa visits our house.

Best Wishes,

Apryl (Meri)

Monday 20 December 2010

a little window

On my trudge to the post office today I saw a little window sitting in a skip. I coveted it immediately and with a little encouragement from twitter I decided that if it was still there when I walk back home that it was meant to be mine. I braved the hostile queue at the post office, ran around getting chocolate, oats and milk (cold weather essentials) then flounced back in a huff, slipping and sliding on the icy pavement while my ipod blared in my ears.

Low and behold there was the little window still in the skip with a layer of ice and snow on it. I fished it out and trudged the rest of the way home. I narrowly avoided falling on my ass in the street and dropping my new prize possession. I unpacked my shopping, had a warm by the fire then wiped down the window and found a spot for it on my dresser. I love that it is battered by the weather and a bit junky (aka Flea Market Style) it suits me and my mood and when there is some sort of decent light I think it will photograph beautifully in the background of blog pictures.


I think I may pin some fairy lights on it tomorrow if the fancy takes me. For now I have used it as a pin board and stuck two little cards on it for inspiration from the very talented Deborah of Champignons . She says one day she will conquer the world, and I believe she will do just that. And speaking of pin boards have you found pinterest yet? Its my latest obsession when I have my coffee breaks, its very inspirational. My pins are here



Friday 17 December 2010

I may have overdone it with the edible glitter

One of Harrison's teachers is leaving the school for greener pastures so we needed a present sharp. The last few weeks have been manic and I was in a panic because I didn't think anything that I crafted would be suitable. How can a doll compare with bottles of expensive bubble bath and the like. So I decided to do something quick and edible (in the zero amount of spare time I have with sorting out the book and toy sale at school, wrapping presents and maintaining my grinch-ly demeanor.


I got a Christmas themed Wilton cookie mold from Jo-ann Fabrics store while in the states and had been waiting for Christmas baking to begin. The molds are cheap and fun for kids to help make them (H helped with a Halloween themed mold I was sent in a swap) but had no interest in helping me make a gift for his teacher. Possibly because they weren't for him to eat. The first batch I made last night was a horrific mess the bag I melted the chocolate in popped and dark chocolate went pretty much everywhere. Only two of the 8 cookies were decent enough for a gift, the other six were a disgrace and had to be eaten right away.

This morning after coffee (and everything happens after coffee0 I made this batch of white chocolate covered oreos with edible blue glitter. I may have over done the glitter a wee bit but they looked ace in the jar I put them in. I know they did because Matt was worried it would be too *nice* for a gift. I growled and said it was simple and nice and is only a jar, they are cheap enough at Ikea and something that is useful when empty of the cookies that is. Harrison thought the jar looked great and said his teacher will love it I suppose I will find out after lunch while I set up the tables for the book and toy sale to raise funds for new school equipment. Wish me luck.

Thursday 16 December 2010

sugar and spite

sweetness and light

I finished two dolls today... and by today I mean last night and just now. Today is a relative term, I'm not entirely sure what it is relative to but anyway I finished them. One I love and one is an evil spiteful creature that hates me. This isn't a story (at least not yet), both dolls have sat unfinished on my desk since mid October. I kept picking them up and putting them down. The flowery one (who is still nameless but needs a vintage-y sort of name to go with her Cath Kidston sample fabric self) turned out great, after I swapped her eyes around 3 or 4 times, and now I think she has a personality and I love how she turned out.

spiteful...don't let the matroyska fool you

The other doll however did not want to go the way I thought she should, no matter what I did nothing worked and I was ready to scrap her all together, rip out her guts and salvage her buttons. In the end I thought it best to finish her so she wasn't in UFO* purgatory. I still think she is a spiteful cow but something of her reminds me of Hyperbole and a Half (which you should totally read because it is a fantastically awesome blog) so she is finished and I have no idea what I will do at her. She still needs a name like Veronica or Agatha or something slightly more malicious... Marigold maybe...

Not everything I touch turns to gold or silver or even tarnished copper... sometimes what I touch turns to crap, and sometimes that crap has a mind of it's own. I have no idea what I'm writing any more. I am now going to put the kettle on because its snowing out I'm cold and I have been a busy bee all day... and now I'm a grumpy bear or something.


*UFO =unfinished object

Saturday 11 December 2010

brown paper parcels

The first few presents are wrapped up neatly in brown paper and stamped with fat snowflakes... er well its a doily stamp but it looks suitably snowflake-y. I'm happy with them anyway and though I don't feel all that Christmas-y yet I did string up the lights outside and put the tree up (with much internal swearing). As a family we all put the ornaments on (which I rearranged quite a few because I'm ever so slightly crazy). So far only two have leapt to the floor in a bid to escape. I love the lights but I have never been much of a fan of Christmas music (Matt says its because I'm a grinch) so we listened to Planet Rock while decorating and hoovering pine needles.

and this is a picture of my craft space, tidy isn't it? With two mostly made dolls (one in need of eyes and one I don't really like as she didn't go the way I wanted and I keep abandoning her various places around the house). Last night Matt hung the two frames above my desk, the smaller of the two is a button art piece by Megan (Vintage Violet), it has a Halloween theme but I loved it so much that I had to have it framed and finally up on the wall.

The larger frame makes me both happy and very sad as it is a tatted doily that Matthew's grandmother gave me for my birthday. She passed on a few months ago and she was a very special lady. This is the first I have blogged about it as we have all be very upset and its been a very stressful and upsetting time for all the family. She was lovely and always made me feel like I belonged in the family and always thought about my mother and loved the See's candy we would bring bake from the states though she wasn't supposed to eat it.

It will be a sad christmas this year. But we will try to make it special for Harrison who in typical child fashion takes things better than we grown up do.

I am crying now and I meant this post to be light and airy and I fear that won't happen now. And my laptop battery is nearly gone. So I'm going to watch something silly while curled up in bed and tomorrow I am making pancakes for breakfast.

Monday 6 December 2010

the one where I swear via a typewriter and badges

I am bad... also I hate dishes

I don't as a rule swear a lot... I try not to.. to be a good influence... and seeing as my parents are umbeatable in the game of creative swearing I am mostly an angel.. *shines halo*

You all totally believe that right? I am totally sweet and innocent and kind and...er whatever. Anyway I had a commission for some geeky badges (aka TGI Friday's flair) from the awesomely talented Amanda of Kitschycoo... she told me I could do whatever I wanted *paraphrasing* and so I did... if you don't get the TrueBlood and Big Bang Theory geekery than there is no helping you.

The dishes badge? well this is the second I have made as the first one sold before I had a chance to actually blog about it.

time to trudge out to the garage to sort out the laundry and recycling while freezing my buttocks off.

Sunday 5 December 2010

pie chips and a mind lost

pie chips in paper cone

I saw a recipe on a blog somewhere weeks ago and I have no idea where it was and I didn't think to keep it but the idea stuck in my head that I could make my own.... especially as there was a lump of pie crust sitting forlornly in the fridge being ignored day after day. So I rolled out the crust sliced it and arranged it on a non-stick baking sheet, dabbed a bit of melted butter, sprinkled some sugar and popped them in the oven for....er 10 min on a moderate heat. I then put some strawberry jam in pots for dipping.

Matt thoughts it was awesome, I thought it was fun, the Boy was not impressed in the slightest but that's ok, after a week of being stuck in the house with me due to snow I'm pretty sure I can't do anything right by him. Luckily school is open tomorrow.. otherwise I would have to spend the day rocking in the corner... I'm not entirely sure he would notice that anyway.


New badges have been flying out of my etsy shop as fast as I can list them. So have a look at my shop via the side bar and see what I've been up to with a little help from Harrison. Right now I'm tired, my mind is lost, I will finish listing these few badges I made today, and then I'm making a pot of tea and turning into a couch potato. *cough* *cough* oh and the boy saw fit to give me his cold...so very generous don't you think?