"Little boxes...

...made of..."

The box that we made as the base for the parchment project was such a nice idea that I thought I would have another go at making one.

The box is constructed from 300gsm smooth white card and covered with PP from a paper stack that I bought in Poundland (the stack was one of several A5 sized pads that they had and the paper is actually very good quality).

Here is the resulting 'make'...

 ...I didn't have any very fine magnets that could be used as a closure and Velcro was also too thick so I raided my ribbon stash.

The inside of the box was covered in the same PP...

...although I did consider using a contrast.

A lovely sturdy little box - perfect to pop a gift or some fancy chocolates in and still have a cute storage box afterwards................................................................

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

...and double Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Windows 10 carried out some up-dates on Sunday & Monday and whatever was done means that Windows is no longer friends with Blogger.

Yesterday, I spent ages trying to get into Blogger only to be faced with a blank white screen.

Today, I have spent ages trying to get into Blogger and although I have finally succeeded, things are not running smoothly.

Windows 10 & Blogger - will you please 'kiss & make-up' so that I can get on with the things that I need to do...........................................................

The little hat collection...

...is growing.

I had a bit of a play over the weekend - after all, despite it being a Bank Holiday weekend there wasn't a great deal to watch on the TV of an evening.

So the knitting needles were busy and I made around 20 little hats...

 ...two of my 'plays' are shown in the photo on the bottles.
The yellow & green and the blue & white were a couple more...

...they were sewn up at this week's "Knit & Natter".

Some of the other folk in the group have been making hats too but they also need to get them sewn.

The knitting part seems to be quite quick & easy but we are all less than enthusiastic about the sewing LOL

Still, we seem to be doing well and hope to have a good collection completed and ready to send off by the middle of July.

I'm looking forward to seeing how much of the box we manage to fill.............................................

I told you...

...I had a busy weekend.

Despite parts of the UK having temps that were better than Jamaica, the weather over the Bank Holiday weekend wasn't that great - spells of heavy rain & thunder storms made it difficult to plan anything.

On Friday & Saturday the weather wasn't too much of an issue as I had craft classes. However, I really wanted to get my fence at the front of the house stained.

Due to the thunder storm Saturday evening, the fence wood was too wet to apply stain on Sunday so I concentrated on getting the washing & other household chores done. I was lucky, the rain held off until around 4pm so the washing dried and luckier still, the rain didn't last that long.

So Monday, bright & early, I was determined to get the fence done.

I had previously managed to get the front door painted as it is under the cover of the front porch area...

...and as you can see, it is now "Village Green". I used a satin exterior wood finish rather than a wet-look glossy finish.

Several hours later.

The front fence was changed from a tired "Red Cedar" colour to "Forest Green"...

 ...it looks a bit patchy here as it wasn't completely dry.
I'm very pleased with how it looks...

...and despite the initial doubts...

...I am loving the new colour.

The sky started to cloud over and rain had been forecast so I didn't get to do the front facing side of my back gate but I should get that done next weekend.

Now I just need the rain to hold off long enough so that the grass can get cut................................

The Late May Bank Holiday...

...was pretty busy.

On Friday afternoon I met up with my friend Hilary for lunch and then went to a parchment class at Pinnacle Crafts. Another page of my 'Twas the night before Christmas book was completed leaving me just four pages yet to be done.

The weekend before had been an "All day" class where we started on a pretty decorated box. I managed to complete the construction and make a start on the decorative panels.

Here is the box that Joanne produced as a sample...

 ...and as you can see, when the lid comes off...

 ...hidden inside are some little shelves (big enough to take a few choccies).
Joanne made two versions, the second being a more general use box...

 ...and folk were given the choice as to which one they made.

Because it was bank holiday weekend, Joanne had arranged another "All day" class so I was able to get stuck in on the panels.

Here is my letter "S"...

 ...lots of 'grid work' and embossing. Which was then followed by lots of snipping (my favourite bit - NOT!!!).
The other panels were then worked upon...

...by the end of the lessen I had completed all but the "W". This will take a while as the letter is 'stippled' and then the background pattern will need to be done.

I will take some more photos once I have finished and mounted all the outside panels. Then it will be a case of doing the panels for the inside of the box.

This has come together surprisingly quickly but will probably take another couple of lessons to complete. I loved the box construction and can't wait to see the finished item.

You never know, I might even have a go at the other version......................................

We're joining in with...

...the BIG knit.

Each year the company who make 'innocent smoothies' here in the UK have a drive to raise money for "Age Concern". This money helps to provide the elderly with the means to keep warm during the Winter months.

For those of you who live here in the UK you will be familiar with the sight of bottles of smoothies sitting on the shelves in the stores, wearing little knitted or crochet hats - and some of these can be quite ornate. The 'hatted' bottles usually hit the stores around Autumn and for every bottle with a hat sold, 'innocent' will donate 25p to Age Concern.

This year they want to put 2 million bottles out there with hats - so far they have received in excess of 1 million but the deadline is closing in (hats have to be with 'innocent by 31 July).

I received an email reminding me about the deadline so I asked the "Knit & Natter"/"Craft & Chatter" group if they wanted to make some hats that we could send off for the cause - they said yes.

Here are a few that I have made...

 ...nothing overly fancy but I'm going for numbers.
We have a collecting box so that others in the office can contribute...

...even if they don't attend the craft group.

If you knit/crochet, why not have a go too. There are lots of free patterns on the Internet - along with details of where to send the completed hats. These little makes are a great way of using up all those scraps of wool for a good cause.

Sitting here chatting isn't getting things done so I'd better get back to the needles.............................

HUGE Shock...

...Pinnacle Crafts has decided to close its physical shop.

Please see the following message: -

Hi everyone,

We hope you are well?

We would like to announce that we have taken the decision to close our shop here at Barleylands and concentrate on our on line offering and also our lessons and workshops.

So, we won’t be closing Pinnacles as a whole, just the physical shop... Therefore as a Pinnacle Crafts Club Member, you will still be able to use your discount on our website and also attend our Card Making and Parchment Craft lessons and workshops. In fact, we are looking to expand these.

So, if you are interested in any of our workshops then please let us know. And, if there is sufficient interest, we will open up additional dates, as the ones we currently teach are pretty much full on a weekly basis.

 

From Tuesday 23^rd May 2017, until a date to be announced we will be having a

Rummage Sale in the shop.

Everything is 50%

off the marked price to everyone..

(stock on our website has been “zeroed out” until after the event. The sale is just in store.)

We acknowledge and appreciate that Club Members Discount Weekend would have been this coming weekend. This sale is instead of this event.

We will not be taking any orders at this time, the sale is just off of the items we have in stock.

 

So, that’s half price off of all remaining Adhesives, Dies, Cutting Plates, Parchment and Groovi products, pre packed card and paper, Stamps, Inks, Punches, Embellishments, Paints, Wooden Shapes & MDF, Pinflair & Cross Stitch Kits, Pens & Pencils, Pan Pastels, Tools & Equipment, Books & CDs and already Reduced to Clear items.

In addition, the following products have been reduced in price;

All loose single sheets of card & paper – 20p each (yes, if it says £1.49 on it, its 20p!!)

All loose single sheets of Peel Offs – 20p each

All loose single sheets of Non Die Cut Decoupage Sheets – 20p each

Gift Vouchers

Gift Vouchers are still redeemable in the shop, or can be used for workshops or on our website after the event.

Fixtures & Fittings

We will be offering our card/paper stands and Billy Book Cases for sale. If you would like to lay claim to any of these please let us know.

The A4 and 12”x12” paper stands are £2.50 each, or 10 for £20.00. Sight as seen and can only be collected between 20^th – 24^th June 2017. Cash only...

The Billy Book Cases are £10.00 each or 2 for £15.00. Again, sight as seen and collection only between 20^th – 24^th June 2017. Cash only...

Outstanding Orders

We would encourage you to come and collect any outstanding orders you have been advised which are now in. Orders which have outstanding balances to pay will be honoured at the discount at time of ordering only.

Magazines

We will no longer be holding our range of magazines in stock. So, if you are on our list of recipients, please be advised of this.

Please feel free to share this message with any of your fellow crafters and/or Club Members who you know do not receive this newsletter, as this Rummage Sale is open to everyone.. If you have a blog or belong to any social media groups, crafting groups, School Clubs, Guides or Scout Groups, etc, please feel free to share this message with them too as there are some great bargains to be had which will help keep the costs of running such groups down.

We’re sure that this message will come as a bit of a shock to some of you. We have been here at Barleylands for almost 14 years and in that time we have seen crafting and retail in general change beyond recognition... We hope you understand why we feel the need to make this change to Pinnacles at this time..

N.B

We will be closed specifically on Sunday 18^th June 2017 (this is not our actual closing date though). This is so we can celebrate Fathers Day with our Dad, something we have not been able to do on this day in 14 years.

We look forward to seeing you soon.

Pinnacles....

This is such a shame as this has been my 'go to' place every weekend for as long as I can remember - and as the bank manager will confirm, this has been where a big chunk of my salary goes.

Classes will continue and the message says that their on-line service will also continue but such a shame not to have the physical shop once the sale is over...I am an impulse buyer and rarely come out with just what I went in for.

Anyhoo...

If you happen to be in the area, do take advantage of the sale. A great chance to stock up on a few bits & bobs...................................................................................