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  I chose snowdrops last week for my project, as mine were just starting to come out down by the stream - see the photo below of them hiding in the leaves just before it snowed at the weekend. It was a lovely morning so I dug some up and had some long missed time in the garden all morning. I made the above little rustic display on my window cill. It looks so nice and its great to see the snowdrops all day long. Snowdrops are really very delicate and their flower heads are tiny and droop down so you don't get a really good view of how pretty they are close up. Mine have little heart shapes barely visible on the outside and when you turn them up a lovely lined green underneath. Its such a shame this is all hidden away. This is as close as I could get with a mobile phone camera I hope I managed to capture it! Folklore says snowdrops are both lucky and unlucky - so I will take them as lucky and the first sign that spring is on its way. (Although it did then snow on sunday!!  I hav...

There are so many many mole hills appearing on my walks across fields that I wanted to find out more - so week two has been mole week! Some of the things I have been finding out are very interesting not least that the mole is the original dirt thrower!! Project - wise I opted to go for something a little bit simpler so some of my other work in progresses have a chance and the 2021 project doesn't completely take over!  It's not that easy to find mole sewing patterns but after lots of searching out some pencil and digital drawings I drew my own based on the head of one and the paws of another and did a little sketch which I then traced through the light of my i-pad onto some linen weave material. I have sewn the mole in taupe - which apparently is the french word for mole - so it is the exact right colour! Just a little bit of back stitch and some french knots - which really need some improvement. The knot keeps getting stuck in my needle - I may need a smaller needle head to al...

With the new year and living in the countryside and also wanting to learn more about my surroundings I have given myself a weekly project. I don't actually know yet what each week will be in advance because I am going to choose a topic depending on what presents itself while I am out walking. I want to combine birds, trees, animals and flowers.  Last week - the first week in January I was learning about robins, their calls and what they eat as we had two - which I believe are a mating pair as they are not defending their territory - in our garden and on the bird feeder. The feeder is seeing some good action following a wee bit of snowfall and the low temperatures. Also cool news : the RSPB are running a birdwatch between the 29 and 31 January for which everyone can take part and the instructions are in this link. RSPC BIRD WATCH HERE. I cross stitched this robin, the pattern for which had two robins on it but I was not ever going to finish two in a week so I scaled it down. The pat...

  Sometimes it is not necessary to have stamps for scrapbooking but it is well-worth checking out the dies in the catalogue as often these stand alone and are fantastic for scrapbooking .  This article is about ALL of the dies in the Current 2020/21 main catalogue and the 2020 Holiday Winter Catalogue and later I will add other articles as new offering come along. Alphabets and Words Dies 1. Unfortunately Stampin' Up currently only have one alphabet die. Generally keep alphabet dies and don't sell them on (I have a stash of them for my scrapbooks going way back into past  catalogues. A good one to start your collection off is this one. Playful Alphabet - £32.00 Well Written - £37.00 2.  Word Wishes - £33.00 Pretty Background Die s These dies are sometimes quite intricate probably needing a lot of weeding but look amazing as background pieces tucked behind your photographs or cut them and use them as stencils to paint or use with embossing pastes. An extra bonus is yo...