Two Crafty Brownies

Jenny's Travel Essentials

Hello treasures! How are you doing? As I write this, I am in the Big Apple, New York City!! And when you read this, I will be on a train, somewhere between here and the other side of America......

This year our holiday destination was the choice of our second son, C. He has just finished exams, and has worked very hard, so he got to choose. We flew into New York, and are staying in Harlem, and seeing the sights for a few days before we catch the train to see our friends in California.

We are staying in one of the Brownestone houses, those archetypal red stone houses you'll see in many an American movie, with big steps up to the front door and fire escapes aplenty. They have high ceilings, ornate woodwork and brightly tiled fireplaces.
Travel is our biggest luxury. We live quite quietly, don't have a car or wear smart clothes, but we do love going away, and I have a few essentials that I never travel without.

Top of the list always is my first aid kit. I have a few staples that I keep in here. Of course it goes without saying that in any true emergency, we would immediately seek medical help, but for the minor ailments, I have to feel I am prepared!

I use this Muji bag. It has 4 compartments that are attached with Velcro so you can detach them for smaller trips.

In my first aid kit you will find:

1. Painkillers.......ibuprofen, paracetamol and something soluble for the hubby who can't swallow tablets.
2. Bite cream, antiseptic cream and bonjela for mouth ulcers.
3. A selection of plasters and wound closures.
4. Cold powders, anti sickness tablets and antihistamines in case of bites or allergies.

I also always have tweezers for splinters, a small pair of scissors and some latex gloves (I once had to dress a stranger's cuts so ever since I've carried gloves...)

I always make sure I have some crafting to do. I am making another granny triangle scarf, and I treated myself to this cross stitch leather cuff from Sew Crafty.

I take some handmade thank you cards, for friends we are staying with, or people who have gone out of their way to make our trip more enjoyable.....

And I always have a couple of pouches, for chargers, toiletries or stationery.

Do you have any essentials that you take with you every time?

Take care, lovelies!

Jenny xxxxxooooo 

We went to Blogtacular!

Hello lovelies!

How is June treating you? The sun has been shining here in London, which means lots more time outside, eating, playing, exploring and generally having fun! Last weekend, Jenny and I had lots of fun together! As I mentioned in my last post we were attending Blogtacular, an annual conference, for full time or part time bloggers, would be bloggers, small creative business owners or anyone with an interest in this area. Our last away day was far too long ago!

Our overriding emotion leading up to the event was definitely excitement. We knew from seeing so many colourful posts on instagram last year, that people looked like they were having so much fun and we wanted to join the party! We were really looking forward to meeting some of our ‘instafriends’ who we knew were going, connecting with new creatives, attending inspiring talks on varied topics and we’d heard that the food was good too!

Before the event, there was a lot of communication from the organisers about the speakers, the schedule, info for newbies and there were opportunities to introduce ourselves or share our latest blog posts on facebook if we wanted to. Encouraged by this, we posted this pic of ourselves with our handmade scrabble letter name tags on instagram a couple of days before using the hashtag #blogtacular, and a few people at the conference (including Cath Dean, the editor of Mollie Makes!) told us they recognised us!...

The day before the conference, I went on a photo walk. Jenny suggested I put my name down as she knows how much I love photography and she kindly offered to pick my babies up from school so I could go! So lovely! Every attendee of Blogtacular, as part of the price of the ticket, has a chance to attend either one of 2 photo walks or a video walk (new this year) and if there are too many applicants for the number of places, I believe names are chosen at random. I was both excited and nervous when I was told I had got a place on one of the photo walks. I was looking forward to it but didn’t really know what to expect and I didn’t know anyone else going.

Well, I loved it! We met near Victoria Station and our group leader, Kristabel Plummer (pictured below), whose brain I believe is also a sat nav, proceeded to lead us through the streets of South West London looking for beauty and colour……

 

 

Such a beautiful cake shop...

 

..with such a beautiful display!

 

I wanted to ride away on this bike!

 

Beautiful flowers outside a beautiful flower shop

 

Colour goals!

 

  

More colour!

The ladies I met on this walk were gorgeous! As we walked along, we introduced ourselves to each other, chatted, posed in our colourful footwear/hair/dresses/glittery skirts/macs etc! I was quite giddy at the end with how much I enjoyed it, how lovely everyone was and how many pics I had taken. Check out these lovely ladies.....

Jenny and I were reunited (phew!) in the evening for the Blogtacular party, hosted by West Elm, where we enjoyed beautifully chilled glasses of wine, a couple of delicious mini burgers each whilst chatting to familiar faces (from my photo walk) and lots of new faces too. The organisers of Blogtacular and West Elm had arranged little gathering areas, where as a group, we could talk about different topics. We talked about the success of various social media platforms, but we found it slightly hard to hear everyone because of the music that was playing in the background. The evening went by in a flash and before we knew it we were on the bus on our way home but very much looking forward to the next day!

The next morning started with a delicious breakfast (I’ll try not to go on about the food too much!), with time to organise ourselves, settle in and meet yet more lovely creatives, all buzzing with excitement about the day ahead.

 Waiting for it to start....eek!

The opening keynote talk was wonderful as was the closing keynote. In the morning Natalie Lue, a relationship expert and blogger who specialises in helping people to transform their lives and break unhealthy patterns in their relationships, gave the first keynote speech of the day and it was the most amazing pep talk! My favourite nugget of wisdom that she gave us was, ‘There’s no gold stars or brownie points, so it’s best to rock on with your bad self!’ Yes!

During the day there was a diverse range of workshops to choose from. In fact we found it hard to choose, but knowing that all talks would be available on audio after the event definitely helped. We didn’t feel like we would be missing out on anything! Jenny and I attended talks on the foundations of marketing, working with brands, finding your niche and a creative business masterclass. We came away with key tips, tools, new ideas, concepts, connections and information that we know will help us to transform and focus our business going forward. I sound like I’ve been to a conference don’t I?  

There was lots of audience participation during the talks we attended and there was always time given to ask questions. During the creative business masterclass, we played business card bingo, where we were given a chance to swap business cards based on things we had in common, such as liking bullet journalling (Jenny!). We loved this game and we’d like to see more activities like this next year!

There were lots of breaks in between the talks, with refreshments available each time, spread out across a few stations to minimise queueing. We were very impressed by this! The lunch was scrumptious. Jenny and I (and a few others) were led into a separate area with more seating at lunchtime. It was lovely and calm but we wondered if it was in fact the naughty area!

During the breaks, there were opportunities to visit both the marketplace, where a few fab small creative businesses were selling their wares and the Creative Genius Bar, where attendees could meet with a few experienced bloggers, designers, photographers and authors to ask questions and pick up more tips and advice. Oh and there was a brilliant backdrop where you could take a colourful selfie!...any excuse...

Overall we really liked the venue. It was cool and comfortable and there was plenty of seating in the lecture theatres. The staff at the venue were friendly and efficient and the Blogtacular volunteers were helpful, fun and friendly too! Each year, applications are opened up to anyone wanting to volunteer to be part of the Blogtacular Team. It looks like fun and hard work, but it would be a great opportunity.

We would have loved a forum to give feedback after the event (such as a form via email) and apart from that, the only other ‘criticism’ we have is that we were having so much fun, it felt like it ended too soon! We really did want the good times and the learning to go on...Blogtacular, The Retreat perhaps? I am not sure Kat Molesworth would think that was a good idea! Kat is the inspiring and talented creator and organiser of Blogtacular. Jenny and I are fans of the Blogtacular podcast too. We think Kat is very hard working, pretty awesome and funny! Thanks Kat!......

And thanks for the goody bags! They were a wonderful design and the contents were great too!....

Blogtacular was very special and one of the most valuable things we are taking away with us is new friends. Not literally of course, although there were quite a few lovelies we met that we wanted to take home! For some reason, I believed that it might feel that there was some kind of hierarchy based on how many followers you have, or how well known you are, but it was not like that at all. It was honestly full of friendly, kind, fun, colourful, generous and inspirational people and we shared with and learnt so much from them!

This weekend is going to feel very uneventful in comparison but that’s fine, the sun is rumoured to be shining for the duration, which means fun and frolics with the family! What have you got planned?

Lots of love and hugs as always lovelies,

Lucy

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Creativity For The Soul...and Cake Stand How-To

Hello there lovelies

As I type this, news of the awful terror attack in Manchester on Monday evening is unfolding and I felt I couldn’t write my post without an acknowledgement or a mention of this tragic and senseless act that has and will change the lives of the victims and their families forever. Our thoughts are with all of them and we’re thinking of all of you too and sending so much love.

Each time these awful events happen at home here in the UK or anywhere else in the world, I feel so so sad and worried, but I also feel more determined than ever to spread kindness and love. I am bringing my kids up to do so to. To remember that even when someone is unkind to us, we have a choice. We can be unkind back, or we can show them a good example of a kind and loving person. This doesn’t mean we can’t be firm, have boundaries or feel anger. But breaking the cycle of meanness is more powerful than spreading hate. We choose kindness and love.

Did you see Jenny’s post last week? A whole year of making her own clothes! I am totally in awe of how much she has achieved. I am especially impressed with the ‘knicker count’!

This blog post was going to be a straightforward cake stand tutorial and you can still find a brief ‘how-to’ below, but it evolved into something else while I was decorating the plates because of the feelings the process evoked in me. And you know I am all about the process now don’t you? See this post for more on that!

My little girl (who is 6) was learning about Pointillism, a technique of neo-Impressionist painters, where the artist uses dots and dashes to create an image. For her homework, she was asked to create her own picture using this method, so I decided to support her by sitting alongside her and attempting my own at the same time. It had been such a long time since I painted or drew just for the sake of it. I started painting with no plan, just enjoying the process and I can report that I thoroughly enjoyed it! I decided to use this method to decorate the plates for the cake stands.

For a few hours over a couple of days, I sat on my own, with no radio on, painting little dots onto plates into the shapes of flowers and a tree. I did first drill holes in the plates which was definitely not relaxing!!!!! Whilst I was sitting there dipping my paintbrush into the paint and dotting colour onto the plates, my mind, which is usually very active and often saturated, relaxed and meandered calmly from thought to thought. My breathing and heart rate reduced, I noticed the sounds of birds and I found myself staring out of the window at the lush green of my garden. A kind of meditative state if you will. I had a vague plan of the design for my plates. I had drawn a couple of sketches, but I had not prepared any templates. Jenny may fall off her chair at this declaration! I just let my creative juices flow. Oh how rewarding it was and I love what I have created!

There is often an element of stress involved when making things isn’t there? When for example there is a deadline, or the quality of what we are producing needs to be really good, or dare I say it, when we are hoping to post pictures of what we have created on instagram so it has to be ‘insta-worthy’! I suppose sometimes that might be called ‘work’ and of course, work can bring satisfaction and joy too. Although painting the plates was ‘work’ for our blog, I felt like I was actually ‘playing’ and playing felt good! Perhaps it was something about the painting too that felt relaxing and good for my soul.

Creativity is good for the soul. I’ve said it and been struck by it before - it should be prescribed on the NHS. Drawing is often a tool that therapists use, especially with kids. I know that when my son draws, and he draws a lot, so much of what goes on in his mind, comes out on paper and it helps him to process his thoughts and emotions. In fact, he is often eager to talk about his drawings which is fantastic. There is more information about art therapy here.

I am going to pretend to be a doctor just for a moment, because unlike my Jenny who is a real doctor, I can only pretend. I am declaring myself a ‘craft doctor’ and I am prescribing you arty crafty play time, where there is no aim other than to thoroughly enjoy yourself. What you produce does not have to be perfect or even something you want to keep. In fact, I had a conversation with a friend of mine who is an artist and I asked her what she does with the hundreds of pictures her kids bring home from school. She said that she only keeps a few. The rest are destined for the recycle bin (unbeknownst to them!) after they’ve had a chat about them. She says that creativity is all about the process!

With that in mind, I can definitely recommend buying a few, cheap white plates from your local supermarket, some ceramic paints such as these and having a go at painting them.

If you fancy turning said plates into little cake stands, you will need to drill holes in them first. For this, you will need a drill and ceramic drill bits or you will need somebody else who has these things and who is willing to do it for you - much more relaxing! I used a 7mm drill bit.

To find the centre of the plate, I drew around the plate onto a piece of paper, cut it out and folded the circle in half twice. I opened up the paper and pushed through the middle point with the drill bit. I then placed a piece of masking tape across the middle of the plate, then the circle of paper onto the plate and drew through the hole made onto the masking tape with a sharpie to mark the middle point…

I followed this tutorial for drilling the holes. I found it quite tough and did make a few cracks which is not desired! But it is now a skill I feel I have and of course I have been drilling other things, such as a drainage hole in this cup so that it can become a little plant pot…..

Once you have drilled the holes and painted the plates, you will need to place the plates in a hot oven to set the colours. Follow the manufacturer’s guidelines on the paints for this.

For the ‘stand’ bit of the cake stand, you will need the cake stand attachments. I bought these, which are for a 3 tier cake stand but I felt 2 tiers were enough when I tried stacking the plates. So I have one double stacked stand, 1 single and some spare cake stand fittings! To assemble, place a metal washer followed by a soft white washer onto the bottom screw fitting. Place this through the hole in the bottom plate. Onto this, place another soft white washer and then screw in the next cake stand fitting. Place a metal washer and then a soft white washer on top of this and then place the next plate on top. Place a white washer on top and then the final handle attachment. I am hoping this pic might help....

You’re done!

I feel I don’t want to cover up the design on my plates but think it might be fun for the design to be uncovered as the cakes get eaten!

My plates were all the same size, but you could buy different size plates so that the bottom tier is larger than the top and if you fancied a 3 tier stand, I have seen clever people putting teacups on the top which looks great. The good thing about this project is the flexibility because the attachments can be removed.

That's it from me this week. The bank holiday weekend is upon us and there are rumours that it is meant to be quite hot here in London. So perhaps we will be having our first bbq and maybe even our first paddling pool of the year! Have a wonderful weekend lovelies whatever you are up to.

Love and kindness always,

Lucy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxzzzzzzzzzzzzxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

A Year of Sewing Clothes

Photo by my Lucy

Hello treasures! How has your week been? Were you as shocked as I was by Lucy’s crochet confession? As someone who knows her pretty well, I can tell you ‘winging it’ is not her usual way of operating! Oh no, I am the Winging It Champion here in Two Crafty Brownieland…….. however, I'm delighted to now not be the only Winger round here!! Onward, Lucy!!

Batik Tunic, photo by Lucy Lu

I’m here today to tell you about my year of sewing clothes. I made this decision back in April last year, after watching some pattern drafting classes by the calm and wonderful Cal Patch on Creativebug. You can read that first post here, and my 6 month round up here.

Some things I learned to do on Creativebug

A little aside about Creativebug…… it is a company that deliver online classes on all things arty and crafty. They have a wide variety of lessons of different lengths, and once you join (it's $4.95 per month) you get access to all of them. I have learned so many techniques here……. pattern drafting, bookbinding, watercolour, image transfers, crochet……. I cannot recommend them enough. This is not a sponsored post, just my own humble opinion, though I would love love love to work with them one day!! They have a 14 day free trial which I tried first, do go have a look!!

Stretch top and matching knickers, photos by Lucy Brownie

So……. back to my clothes…… back in October I was just starting to tackle knits. I'm ashamed to say I had had my overlocker for over a year at this point - and had been too scared to use it!! Come and take me away, Sewing Police!! As with many challenges, once I ‘just started’ it was actually much easier than I had thought, and I can now even thread it from scratch.

Flared tunic, fabric from Guthrie and Ghani, photos by the Other Brownie

I was also realising that there were a lot of gaps in my wardrobe, and I had very little that was warm and cosy to get me through the winter. 

Sweatshirt, photos by Ms Lucy

Honestly, darlings, I just can't put into words how much I love this process. I have learnt so much, I have made mistakes along the way, but my wardrobe is now 97% handmade. I don't make bras, socks or jeans (yet) but apart from that it's all mine.

'Swing Cardigan'

In all I have made: 9 t-shirts, 15 dresses, 8 tunic tops, 7 fleeces, 1 cardigan, 14 pairs of knickers (yes, Kelly, really!!) 2 pyjama bottoms, 2 pairs of trousers and 4 pairs of leggings.

Linen tunic, spot the gorgeous photographer....

What I love most: shopping for fabric rather than clothes, knowing that no child in a sweatshop made what I wear, finishing the insides to look neat, choosing my own style and colours. Oh and that sometimes, my dress matches my pants!!

What I've learnt: to be careful and go slowly, that it's ok to ditch things if I don't like them, that each mistake is a lesson learned, so learn and move on........

I have mostly drafted my own patterns, which I can use again and again, and this makes me so happy........

I committed to doing this for a year...... so what now? Well, I'm going to carry on, as long as it delights me. This next year I want to embellish, add in some more complex design features and maybe crochet a garment......watch this space!!

Special thanks to my Lu, who patiently (and very professionally I might add) came and took pictures of me, and who is always there cheering on everything I do. Love you, Lu!!

And love to you too, our lovely readers. Have a fabulous weekend,

Jenny xxxxxooooo

 

Me and Crochet: Lucy's Confession!

Hello lovelies!

Gosh that other Brownie is a bit clever isn't she?  Did you see Jenny's fab tutorial on making bias binding and then using it to finish off her beautiful handsewn clothes? Such a great way to use up fabric and most of us have a stash of fabric don't we?

You may remember me being inspired by mini eggs and talking about my ‘speckled’ obsession? I had bought some speckled yarn or I should probably say that some speckled yarn found it’s way onto the counter of this shop and I found myself paying for it before I knew what was happening! Well, I finally got round to finishing the cushion cover I was crocheting with it and it was a journey let me tell you! In fact I had a bit of a revelation about my whole journey with crochet and where I had (or hadn't!) got to…..

When I decided I wanted to try and make it in the creative world, it was crochet that got me there so it holds a special place in my heart. I had seen my cousin make light work of crochet flowers and granny squares so I started there and bought a few books to help me along the way. I can tell you that I found it incredibly hard! Can you remember when you started crocheting, knitting or any other craft? New things are hard aren’t they? I am definitely of the ‘run before I can walk’ ilk, but some things I can safely say I have taken to like a duck to water, for example, cross stitch and playing with air drying clay, but crochet is not one of them!

I have now been crocheting for about 6 years and I still find it hard and contrary to what it might look like in photos that I take and post, here on the blog and on other social media platforms, I can kind of do the basics but as for the rest I am actually winging it! There I said it! I am not writing this post to ‘fish’ for compliments or as a ‘poor me, throw some sympathy my way’ exercise and I don’t feel frustrated and down on myself like I might have done in the past. You may have read this post all about me choosing kindness….looks like it’s working! I have actually had a good laugh about my realisation and it is important to keep it real, to talk about our processes, to log them, and learn from them. I also think this experience is a kind of metaphor for life! More on that later.

I hope you are with me so far! If there is one thing I can do, I can make stitches. I love stitching and crocheting in rows until the cows come home, although I was picking up only one strand of yarn not two for the first few years and wondered why mine looked different from the pictures!…...

However, even when crocheting in rows, I often can’t recognise the last stitch in the previous row, especially with more elaborate stitches, so my edges end up wonky.  I don’t post my wonky edges on instagram!!.........

Ahhh! my beautiful cosy stripe blanket, 2 years and 4 months old now. I am dreading the edging which is perhaps one of the reasons it is taking me so long to get on with it. I am completely lost when it comes to edging. Jenny bought me this fab project, from Little Box of Crochet, for Christmas and it had an edging. I did not do the number of stitches along the edge in the pattern because I just couldn’t figure out where to put the hook! I took a convincing pic of it though!

I find pattern reading hard and often get completely lost. I bought this book and attempted a couple of snowflakes. I wasn’t successful and I know I possibly should have spent a little more time trying and trying….but hey, that lead up to Christmas is busy enough without hours spent wasting time on one tiny, (insert swear word here) crochet snowflake! When crocheting in rounds, or squares for that matter, I get very confused about where the joining stitch should go even when I use a stitch marker. It may be those slip stitches - they out-fox me, so I guess a lot of the time and seem to get by!.....

Although I find it hard, I have decided I should always follow a pattern and definitely not try and make it up as I go along. When I made these cowls without a pattern or advice on the type of yarn or sizing, they didn’t quite fall right and they weren’t the right length to wrap around my neck…..and they made me itch! But my little girl loves them so they’re hers now! …..

Finally back to my cushion. This really sums it up. I had a vague idea of what I wanted to achieve, I just started double crocheting in rows, loosely measuring the first chain against the width of the cushion pad. When I thought I had stitched enough rows, changing colour along the way, I fastened off and hid my ends. Oh and I am also confessing to sometimes knotting ends together and cutting them rather than sewing them in when I know they won’t be seen! Gasp! You might want to call the crochet police now!

Anyway, I realised my cushion cover was a rectangle and my cushion pad was a square. Hhmm….but surely I can just stretch it into place? And by the way, right side, wrong side? Eh? I had to cut open the cushion pad, resize it and restuff it. You see? Winging it! I crocheted some flowers to pop on top too which I love, but they are slightly curling up now - could this have been sorted by blocking? Well if so, I didn't do it, because I couldn't be bothered/I am scared of it! But I love my cushion and it looks like it did in my mind when I imagined it, apart from it is rectangular not square! Tee hee!. .....

Possibly, this is just me learning but I am not really getting any better at it. You know what though?? That’s fine! As you can see, I am quite cheerful about it all! I do so love the process, I love making crochet stitches, I love trying and I love yarn and even though I get a tad upset only at points when I just don’t get it, I am usually almost happy when I have something to show for all the squinting, ‘umming’ and ‘ahhhing’, swearing, re-reading of patterns and feelings of being a fraud! Contrary to what it sounds like, crochet does relax me and I am most happy when crocheting endless rows of the same stitch which is why I love my cosy stripe!

What I really need is a crochet superhero squad made up of Nancy from Avocado Fairy, Ashley from Lazy Daisy Jones, Lucy from Attic 24, Amanda and Emma from Little Box of Crochet, Emma again from Moomaloom and Anna from Annaboos House, swooping in with their crochet masks and capes (someone make a pattern now!), emergency crochet hooks and genius crochet brains to sort me out. If any of you inspirational ladies are reading this, the kettle is on!.......

Ha! Phew! And breathe……..This is life isn’t it? Some things we can do, some we can’t, some we can do well, some just mediocre and some things we get better at. We all have feelings of self doubt, we can be utterly convinced we are on the right path one day and the next our hearts are not in it and we want to give up. For me, it is about the process. It is important to enjoy it, to do what makes me happy, to work hard, to try hard, to slightly ‘wing’ it if necessary, adapting along the way and if the outcome isn’t what I expected, if it isn’t a ‘success’? Pah! I’ll just learn from that and move on. I can see a new slogan catching on: 'Keep Winging it and Carry On!'....

I’d love to hear about your experiences. How do you learn? What do you do when you can’t quite get your head around something?

I’m off to do some gardening this weekend, a pastime where I don’t quite know what I am doing, but oh how I adore it and gosh how it makes my heart sing! Have a good one lovely people!

All the love,

Lucy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxzzzzzzzxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenny's Craft Room

Hello lovelies!! How have you been? Did you miss us? Lu and I decided to have a little holiday from writing blogs, as our families were off over Easter, but we are back!!

I have had a lovely couple of weeks off. This week my hubby was off too, and because of GCSEs on the horizon, we decided not to go away. We have done a lot of lazing around, pottering, eating and drinking too much. We also had a little todo list of things to achieve, one of which was to tidy up my sewing room.

We live in a little house in London. We have what are called 4 bedrooms, one of which is tiny. When our youngest was little, this was his room, and he was very happy here. As he grew, it became tighter and tighter, and a few years ago we rearranged the rooms, losing our family study, moving the oldest in there and the youngest into his room. And I acquired this little room as my sewing room.

Darlings, in all the 20 odd years we have been a family, I have never had my own space until now. Like many people, I have sewn on the kitchen table, had my craft supplies stashed around the place in various hiding places, and had to tidy everything away every time there was a meal. So it was hugely exciting to have my own little room, and I got to work painting and sorting. It had a built in bed which my boy helped me take apart..... which made me realise a paint job was needed.

I was on a strict budget, so we headed off to IKEA for a couple of cheap pieces of furniture, and I managed to persuade the manager of my local Leyland paint store to give me a piece of pegboard (once I had bought some paint!)

May I show you around? 

As you come in, on your right are my little Ikea desk and table. My sewing machine and overlocker sit on here. Sometimes I work on my laptop here too. See that box in between the machines? I have altered this little gift box to hold all the cords which go down through the desk to plug in. I can just pull the appropriate plug out of the box and plug the appliance in.

On your left is this tall Ikea drawer unit, with the Bluetooth music player our friend makes. In the basket are my patterns and papers. I have two Ikea Billy's, this one here........

And another behind you here with doors in this little alcove.....

It's not too messy inside, is it?

I like everything to be organised, though in my head I am much tidier than in real life!! I keep packaging to use as storage, like this Molton Brown box that has all my cards in, and these little crates that held strawberries.......and of course the Ikea trolley everyone has!

Over the years Lu has made me some lovely things, including our very first blog challenge...... this Just Start bunting. In the frame is a pretty piece of wallpaper.

Recently my little room has become more and more messy and cluttered. I have been clearing stuff out, and rearranging.......and what better way than a planned blog post to get something done! I feel this room is too small, but I know I am so lucky to have this little space of my own. My boy calls it 'the room where dreams come true.....'  little does he know I have my eye on his current bedroom as my next craft room someday!!

Sending you loads and loads of love, darlings!!

Jenny xxxxxooooo

Creative Happenings

Hello loves!

This week has been half term, so we have been doing what we usually do in these short breaks from work and school, pottering, playing and finding beauty in the city and slightly beyond if possible. Of course at the beginning of the week it was Valentine’s Day and as Jenny mentioned in her last post (did you see Jenny’s iced heart biscuits? - delish!) we are not really into it, but we are huge fans of love and we enjoy giving it and receiving it all year round! This tulip petal heart is for you, lovely readers.......

At the beginning of the year, I wrote a wish list of all the things I wanted to do or start to do. It is different from my to-do list, which details all the nitty gritty stuff that I need to get done. For example one of the items on my wish list is ‘to write more’, whether that is poetry, a children’s book and so on. One of the items on my to-do list is ‘to update a document listing all my writing ideas’, which is more specific and leads on from the ‘wish’. Another example is that I wish to have more colour in my life and so I have been buying weekly flowers which give me a well needed colour boost, especially during these dark Winter days. I really am starting to struggle with the lack of sunshine.

I love having these two lists that relate to each other in this way. It is really working for me. I have been reviewing my wish list and thinking about my year thus far and I realise firstly that almost everything on that list is a creative ‘wish’, and secondly that I am doing very well in making those wishes a reality! So far, this year has been a whirlwind of creativity and I love it! I love that crafting, sewing, baking, photographing, writing, designing, dreaming up schemes and projects have become the things that makes me happy. I know now that if I am not doing one of these activities regularly, I will not have that wonderful sense of fulfilment and joy. That is a good place to be in life I think.

 Let’s start with that colour! Flowers, how I love thee…..

 

Sigh........

I’ve been doing a spot of baking too. I discovered this gorgeous book through instagram and ordered it straight away….

You can read all about the story behind this beautiful recipe book here but briefly, proceeds from its sale go to Unicef’s Syria Relief Fund  which helps the children of Syria, too many of whom have lost so much.

So far, I have made the Barazek shortbreads, which are made with wholemeal flour and topped with crushed pistachios, but there are so many more delicious sounding recipes I’d love to try! Yummy in our tummies!.....

My boy turned 9 in January, so I made him a chocolate cake decorated with buttercream and shards of marbled chocolate…….

I have also done a little bit of baking for our local WI meetings. Beetroot brownies (recipe from Waitrose Food).......

.....and vanilla cupcakes (Victoria sponge recipe) with raspberry ripple frosting…….

A few weeks ago, the Winter light was beautiful, so I got my camera out and snapped away. These pics were all taken on Hampstead Heath, North London which is just 20 minutes away from us. We are very lucky to be city dwellers who live so close to such a wide expanse of green…….

We noticed small signs of Spring..........(yay!)

I hear you cry, “What about crafting Lu? What have you been up to? Tell us, tell us, we’re dying to know!” Of course, last but by no means least, I have been getting busy with needle, with crochet hook and with self-adhesive glitter foam sheets too (oooooo, love this stuff!). It is great to have little projects on the go, things you can complete in an evening or two as well as the lengthier tasks. So as well as learning to cross stitch and writing my first cross stitch tutorial.......

I have done a little bit of crochet….

Some macramé….a Mollie Makes Mag free project, as is the little pin cushion above…..

A spot of embroidery…….another Mollie Makes Mag free kit…...

A tiny bit of sewing (my machine was dusty! tut tut!) with leatherette...............

And a little bit of prop making for the selfie booth at the kids’ school Valentine’s disco.…..

I had to take a pic of this sweet little lad who was transfixed by the light from the lightbox!......

In case you were wondering, yes I was in charge of the selfie booth (which was bonkers!) and yes I did embarrass my kids by wearing said props and dancing about! Job done!

Silliness makes the world go round don’t you think? Kindness and love too of course! Oh and cross stitch might play a part…..and embroidery….and crochet, paper cutting, decoupage, embossing, spray painting, pouch making, clay rolling, jewellery making, upcycling, quilting………… tee hee!

All the love poppets!

Lucy xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxzzzzzzzxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kindness: Lucy's Word For 2017

Hello! I’m feeling ever so positive about 2017 lovelies!

My word for 2016 was ‘Clarity’. You can read my blog post all about it here. I wanted to spend the year trying not to feel so overwhelmed, being able to put things into perspective, to see through the fog of that to-do list and to have clearer boundaries.....

To some extent I achieved this and I feel really good about that. At points I did see that there was just too much going on, I was saying yes far too often. So I said ‘no’ to some things that were taking up a lot of my time and preventing me from working towards my goals. After I got over feeling a little bit guilty, it felt great! Prioritising space and time to build our business was fantastic. I am looking back on a year where Jenny and I have made many significant steps forward and now we can review what we have done, how it went, where we are at now, what we want for Two Crafty Brownies going forward and importantly too, what we want for ourselves.

2016 was interesting wasn’t it? Like Jenny, in her lovely post last week , I have heard many people expressing that they want to see the back of 2016 and that 2017 has to be a better year. So much happened in our world didn’t it? We were often shaken by political and world events. So much loss, tragedy and conflict……..

Personally, 2016 was at points happy, fulfilling and sometimes even ‘jump up and down’ exciting. But it was also difficult and so so tiring. I suppose that is life isn’t it? Ups and downs…..Although I managed to say ‘no’ a great deal more, I did end the year absolutely exhausted and this exhaustion slowly gave way to illness over the Christmas break. I’ve thought a lot about this and I’ve realised that I still have a tendency to say ‘yes’, but to myself. Yes, you should be cooking more interesting meals, reading more to the kids or doing more at home to top up their learning at school, yes you should be seeing your friends more, reading more novels, learning more skills for the business, earning more, eating more healthily, exercising more, helping the world more…….Oh My Goodness! This list could and does go on and on…...I should be doing more, I should be achieving more, I am not doing enough. I am not enough. This is a message I have been telling myself for years. I hide it well, but to those who know me well, they see it and they tell me, “Be Kind To Yourself Lu”.

So friends, my word for 2017 is KINDNESS. I CHOOSE KINDNESS. Excuse the capitals, but I am shouting this from the rooftops! I am singing it from the branches!

KINDNESS and LOVE are the answers. Not just towards myself, although this is where I need to start. Kindness and love are what YOU need too and I am sending so much your way right now. Thanks for reading, thanks for listening - big love to YOU!

Kindness and love are what the world needs. Just imagine where we would be if people could just stop and see that? I know there are so so many kind, loving people out there - hundreds, thousands, maybe even millions and I am lucky enough to have some of those in my life - both real and those I have never met! I understand too that this is not simple. We live in a very complicated world. But if we did simplify issues sometimes, if we did look at things in terms of kindness and love, wouldn’t we be able to prevent conflict? I for one would love to see more empathy and humanity, especially in those who hold responsible, powerful and influential positions. We have had a few role models who have achieved this recently but a few is not enough! I am not going to get on this soap box I see before me, because this will not be a blog post but a rant and perhaps a book too, with lots of volumes!

I am choosing kindness. For me, this means that…

I am going to do the things I love to do and I am going to believe that I can do them! This point encompasses so much. This is the root of everything. This is about my wish list - all those things I would love to do for me and for or with others. This is about believing in myself. I have so many dreams and ideas and I am going to start to work towards some of them. I don’t want to be the one who stands in the way of my dreams. If I have a go, some of them might come to fruition. If something doesn’t work out (I do not like the word ‘failure’!), I will give myself a pat on the back for trying, work out why and move on to the next thing.

I am going to try and get ahead of myself, to tick things off the list ahead of schedule wherever possible, so that I do not do things with a sense of panic. I like to do things thoroughly and that means giving myself enough time to do them.

I am going to play, have fun and lark about - even if I have to schedule it in! Tee hee!

I am going to stop at points during the day, week, month and throughout the year to really SEE what I have done and take moments to be proud and grateful.

And the message that I am going to give myself? You have done enough. YOU ARE ENOUGH.

Well lovelies, I started by saying how positive I feel and I am going to end by reiterating that. I am really really looking forward to 2017! Have a fabulous weekend. I am going off to have some organised fun!

All the love and kindness, Lu xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jenny's 2016 round up, and a new word!

Hello to you, all of our lovely readers! I hope 2017 has started well for you……… I was certainly glad to see the back of 2016. What a turbulent year it was! Big shocking things happened in the world, and at times it felt all turned upside down.

I have to confess, I'm not big on new year resolutions. I do like to reflect back on the past year…..and think about what could be better next time. I try to choose a guiding word for the year ahead, and I like to set some intentions.

So what of 2016? At the start of the year, we had just been writing this blog for a couple of months. We were new on social media, and were just finding our feet as a new venture. Fitting in our weekly meetings, writing the blog, posting regularly on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at times felt overwhelming. We achieved a lot in this year, and it was wonderful. I am so proud of what Lu and I have built. To some extent, though, Two Crafty Brownies took over my life, and I maybe lost sight of who I was a little. So this post is about the things that stood out for me personally…….

I started sewing my own clothes

some from self drafted patterns.....

I took up crochet

and managed to make some christmas presents......

Even though I long for the countryside, I looked for beauty in my city...

I designed some images for our biz......

and then we got side tracked into tie dye....

After growing my hair for two years, I cut it off and felt so happy.....

I baked

and baked

My oldest went off to university

I signed up for an online painting course and in the process realised I had become stuck in a silly place.

I made presents for friends....

and some things for myself

My intentions for this year are simple........plan ahead, be better organised, keep making! Writing this post the day before it's due, I realise - there's still work to do!

My word for last year was 'grow'. I wrote about it here. I have been waiting for this year's word to come to me, and over the past couple of weeks, it has.

My word for this year is 'dare'. Dare to ask for help when I need to. Dare to believe I can do things I've only dreamed of. Dare to live my best life. Push myself a bit further than I usually would.

Let's see how it goes!

Are you doing anything differently this year, darlings? Do tell in the comments below.

Much love,

Jenny xxxxx

 

Let 'Perfect' Go.....

Hello lovelies! How are you doing this week? Round here, as usual, things are busy, busy, busy. The last few weeks included a flying visit to Scotland to pick up a very special birthday gift for hubby......his new kilt! It's his very first one, and with all the regalia on, he cuts a very dashing figure. We had a lovely couple of days away with his dad, including a delicious meal at La Potiniere, a fab little restaurant in Gullane, in the Scottish borders. It was wonderful to be out of the city for a bit, walk by the sea and breathe in the country air.

Back in London, I've been drooling over Lucy’s Chocolate Stout Cake. Didn't it look absolutely delicious?

In my house we have a traditional Christmas cake. I love fruit cake. My men are not huge cake eaters, so I just have to please myself, right? And my parents, who come every Christmas love it too, in fact my mum takes whatever is left back to Malawi with her. I love the idea of them sitting on their veranda, with exotic birds flying through the garden, eating my cake! So this post was meant to be all about my Christmas cake, (that's last years cake, below)

However disaster has struck. Having carefully got my old, stained recipe book out to make a shopping list on Monday, I cannot now find it. I have looked high and low, in likely and unlikely places, and it has just vanished. I have had this recipe for years. I can't remember where it came from, but I do know I have modified it. I am not so keen on mixed peel, so I replaced it with stem ginger, and tweaked various other things. So there is no way I will be able to replicate it…….

After much internal debate, more searching, googling other recipes to see if I can find a similar one, I have decided to let it go for now. I'm sure it'll turn up, but for now, I am going to bake a different cake and hope for the best. I used this recipe as it seemed closest to mine, and lets you choose what fruit to put in.

This little episode matches what is happening on a larger scale in my life at the moment. I have been feeling increasingly unsettled and anxious, especially with Christmas approaching. The thing is, darlings, I love Christmas. But every year as it approaches, I find myself getting more and more stressed, rushed and further away from the calm, uncluttered, peaceful holiday that I crave.

To be sure, there has been a lot going on. This is only the second Christmas with the blog, and Lucy and I have had two markets to prepare for as well as opening our shop.

The first market was last Sunday. It was run by Bust Craftacular UK, and we have been as visitors a few times. It is a busy, bustling craft market in a hall in Bethnal Green, and we were thrilled to be accepted. Here are some pictures of setting up, (doesn't Lu look cute?) and our stall.

In the days before we had been madly making new products to sell, like these Christmas decorations and bookmarks. It was crazy and wonderful all at once. We loved being out there, and meeting friends from social media, and other crafters and makers.

But all of these things, the blog, the markets, Christmas have left me feeling increasingly unsettled. I feel like I am trying hard, but it's just not good enough.

By a funny coincidence, this week, when I am finding it all so hard, an artist that I have long admired, Kelly Rae Roberts, had a huge sale of her online courses. She is a mixed media artist, who fell into painting without any prior experience, left her job as a medical social worker to follow her dream. I have been reading her blog, and following her story for years, and have always really admired her for taking that big step. Her courses have always been financially out of my reach, until last tuesday when she offerd 90% off her courses, and I decided to sign up for her mixed media painting course.

This course is about learning to do collage with mantras, and there are various exercises you go through to figure out what mantras you are going to paint. Goodness, it has been hard and emotional work. These exercises have made me realise that I have been struggling for a while. Feeling I am letting people down by not being on top of things. And the crazy thing is that the only person who is pointing the finger is me! I have realised that in my quest for things to be perfect (as decided by me), I am constantly failing to meet the standards I have set for myself. And in that struggle to meet unrealistic goals, I am neglecting my own health and well being.So it's time to stop setting myself up for failure. Time to let go of the idea of the perfect Christmas, the perfect house, the perfect gifts for everyone. I am doing my best, and actually? That is enough. Below are my first two mantras. I have a feeling I'll be saying them to myself a lot over the next few weeks.........

Well, that's all from me today, lovelies. I really hope you are coping better than me in the run up to Christmas. If you have any advice or comments, please do leave them below, I would love to hear from you. In any case, I am quite sure that, like me, you are doing your best too. After all, we all have our own battles to fight, don't we?

Take care darlings, 

Jenny xxxxx