Project life - late starter...

Oh, hai bandwagon, mind if I hop on? No? Awesome thanks, budge up people!
I'm starting project life - and unlike all my failed attempts at other year long projects, I'm pretty convinced I can do this, and even it is the only scrapping I do this year (unlikely) i'll be happy. To me this is the true essence of scrapping, and I'm so keen to use up all the little scrappy pretty bits and pieces I've been hoarding!
So yeh.... I'll keep you posted!!

iPhone round up

Just.... Because

Friday Freebie - Carousel Horse Digital Stamp

Hey Friday Freebiers!

Nice to see you over here at Little Musings today, don't just collect and run, stick around, subscribe, say hi!

This week I have a freebie for you that I hope you will like, a carousel horse *Cue magic roundabout music*

 And - just because I couldn't help myself , here is a carousel Zebra just for Julie K :-)

Friday Musing - Digital stamp kit "Nestie"

First of all - I would like to say a warm hello to anyone who has found their way here from reading Paper Craft Inspirations. *Waves*

(Warm hello is an odd expression isn't it? When do you hear of someone giving you a cold hello.. or a wet hello? - anyway, I digress)

If you are new to the blog, Friday's is digital stamp release day over here at Little Musings.

This week I am releasing "Nestie"

It is uploaded and ready for you in the shop now for a teeny £1.50

HERE
___________________________________________




In other news
you can still win some pro-markers!
All you have to do is colour in this owl:

And upload it to the Letraset
Go check out some of the awesome entries so far  - think you can do better? - then try!
Free to download - free to enter - and a great chance of winning some pro-marker goodies!

Oooo - and don't forget

For a chance to win a prize from Letraset - download, print and colour the free owl design I gave away a couple of Friday's ago... more details and rules can be found

HERE

Ooooh la la! Friday Musing. "Love Lola" Burlesque Digital Stamp Kit

Hands up if you love burlesque?

YAY! 

If you didn't put your hands up..... then maybe the digital kit this week might change your mind?

Ooooh la la! We are going a little bit saucy this week, inspired by valentines day, I am happy to introduce to you "Love Lola" A kit totally devoted to the lush that is Burlesque. Corsets, heels and feathered girls designed to set your naughty side free!

You can find the kit for sale 

HERE

I actually did some colouring again this week - here are my examples.

x

 Here are two of the corsets sparkled up with some glitter glue and coloured with promarkers.

 This one has been designed with large scallops which you can punch and lace with ribbon or cotton.

If you purchase the kit and want to share your designs - please email me at sarahjanedowsett(at)gmail(dot)com

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

the journey of a thousand stitches starts with a single stitch... or single crochet...

So - a few posts ago I mentioned that I was learning to crochet.

Can I say - if you have toyed with the idea of learning but not, for any reason, please try! I am finding it such a rewarding hobby. At first, I tried for a week to get my tension right, and it was freakishly hard. I said to my friend Nat (who was my teacher) "I wonder if I am just unable to crochet" and she convinced me to keep trying, then one day, it just clicked! (That one day was the day I learnt double crochet - I LOVE double crochet.. it just flows so nicely) anyway - I wanted to show you my projects so far.

Here is one of my first attempts... (sorry about the quality of the iphone pics, most are instagrams)

 and once I was comfortable with my double crochet, I did a practice piece, just to see if I could keep the same number of stitches in each row.

 And then I made slipper socks!!!!!!!!

(I swear I have two.. but at the time of this picture I had just this one)

Ridiculously proud of these.

 Then I made Finlay a really quick and easy button up skinny scarf.  He loves it, but then, he loves whatever I make him, because I am his mamma. <3 Unless I make a shout, due to the mess he makes... or the fact that this week I discovered that he had thrown THREE LUSH BATHBOMBS down our toilet just to "see what would happen mummy" - THREE .... weep. I have zero Lush bath bombs now... and the toilet has had all three in one go, and two of them were my favourite Avocado ones. *cry cry cry*

 Anyway - I digress.

So - at this point I felt ready to google "How to do a granny stripe crochet stitch" And thus was the starting point of my epic blanket to be.

First if all, you have to chain 201 stitches (or a multiple of three)

201 exactly - no more - no less. And HAS to be a multiple of three.

You will, like me, not know if you have done this right till you get to the end of a chain, go back with a row of double crochet and back along with the first line of granny stitch. So - as you can imagine, mine was not correct. I was one chain stitch down, 200 not 201 - but I've managed to force it all in at the end.....eeep.

Here I am with the first few rows in my fetching pj's. (essential crochet attire!) This was Monday morning (Jan 31st)

and here is my wrist after those first few rows.

but as they say "Go hard or go home" or "No pain no gain"

Another tip at this point is to use Acrylic mix wool. And - buy cheap and chunky!

The wool I am using is Sidar Bonus Chunky in white and grey *shade lot 814* 

I think its going to take approx 20 balls (10 white 10 grey obvs)

Ben already loves it - as you can tell here - he was impatient for the blanket so here he is warming his lap.

Doesn't that picture just make you want to snuggle up!? Just me? ok........

And finally (for today) Here it is as of yesterday morning, it is almost the same length as our three seater sofa (and IS the same width as our kingsize bed) and it will be as long as a double bed.  Long enough for two people to lay under. And by two people, I mean me and Ben.. and then three seconds later Finlay who loves to get in on any snuggle time.

 (By the way - that mosaic floor is not my actual carpet - its a rug, and Ben chose it, and yes, it hasn't seen the dyson in two days.... please excuse my housewife failings)

So what else is new? Not much really - apart from the snow... and the small fact that I went from being a faux red head back to my usual dark hair.... Red was fun, but was hard work keeping red... and it was starting to lack lustre and shine.

Plus - if I am to ever embrace the fact that I am "pale" beyond belief, then I may as well embrace it! *starts to sing "back to black" by Amy Winehouse*

 Happy Sunday everyone - and if you are snowed in, keep warm!

xxxxxxxxxxxx

My little happy - is a photobooth

I am such a fan of photobooths - who isn't to be fair? So when I downloaded incredibooth for the iphone I knew at that moment - that I would use the app forever more.

And ever so often I take a strip - and then forget it :-(

So - this morning, I went through the previously taken strips and sent some to photobox to be printed. (The way I do that is to upload them, choose 7x5 matt paper option, and then click the "shrink to fit" option) the photo strip is then printed in the middle of the photo paper - and comes out a great size (8x6 would be good too) And - it is a easy way of getting all those iphone photo booth pictures printed up! huzzah..

So - I thought I would share some.... despite the reoccurring faces, oh, and, please don't judge my vanity... I know already... and yes, I am ashamed.

Some are with friends...

Some are shameless vanity...

Finlay LOVES incredibooth - more than me perhaps! I have a million random strips that he has taken of himself - all a bit out of focus - but all special.

Me, my beautiful sister and niece <3

One of Finlay's random ones...

And some spell out the word LOVE.

which of course, I send to you all xxxxx

ps: What are you doing this fine Saturday? Skylarking around or spending time with family? whatever it is enjoy!

Hello Sailor - digital tattoo stamp kit.

What's that you say?

An actual digi stamp release for the shop?!

*faints*

It has been AGES since I released a stamp download for the shop! I think, November perhaps? 

Anyway - please welcome *small drum roll*  "Hello Sailor"

Available in the shop now for £1.50

HERE

 A digi kit of tattoo doodles, mainly Americana with a Mexican sugar skull thrown in, just because I think they are beautiful. 

Why not create some cards for the big burly tattooed men in your world! Or women of course.. who doesn't love a swallow bird after all?

Here are some of the outlines printed and coloured in with pro-markers

Heheh  - makes me wish I new a tattooist with a birthday next week!

Friday Freebie - Ditgital stamp - "Colour me in Owl"

Well.. technically it is still Friday (just) = heh!

I have a new freebie for you this week - it is a "colour me in owl"

I hope you like her / he?

I have designed this for all those who love the theraputic act of colouring!

And this one is for those who don't...

Let me know what you think!

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lino printing and messing about with the wool stuff!

I know, blogger fail, sorry. Hello if you are still reading my blog!

I have made a decision, that this year, I will be brave and "try crafts"

I call myself a crafter, but really there are only a couple of things I actually do, I want to rectify that.. a bit anyway. (I'm not talking about basket weaving - not that there is anything wrong with basket weaving.. digs self out of hole) SO - to start with, I have been learning to crochet!

ME

CROCHET!!

I am officially the girl who said she would NEVER pick up a ball of wool and think "I must make with this!!" BUT - my friend Rach has been making some beautiful ripple blankets, and granny stripe blankets which has prompted me to retract my previous sweeping statements and actually convince my friend Nathalie to teach me.  One night armed with Haribo, wine and her patience (of a saint) she showed me how to do a chain, and then turn, and single crochet...

I was hoping that I would walk away from my lesson with something like this:

instead... obviously I walked away with something resembling this:

BUT I also walked away with the determination to master my found skill... I say skill very loosely by the way- as it took A MILLION attempts till I learned how to turn my work ..  but I have happily started to find my rhythm with it - and I am working on my first proper project as we speak... a very simple blanket for a very small person, a gnome perhaps, or for Finlay's favourite bear.... who knows.  Here is a quick instagram photo of it as it stood last night.... Soz for lighting  - it was like 11pm. aka dark.

It is not just crochet I am doing though, I have rekindled my love of printing - and I wandered to my local curiosity art store and asked non-expectantly if they had lino cutting supplies - and to my glee he said yes. Admittedly the lino appears to be from 1981 and cracks like you would not believe - but - that said, I still managed to carve a couple of designs out of the three pieces I bought. I happen to know that they have easy carve stuff in there too now, so I will be trotting off there at some point to stock up, as I have had lots of fun with these. (Also - lots of nearly cutting my fingers off, and some properly painful injuries, but they were worth it .. kinda..)

Here are three of my little attempts....

After I took this picture, I also took a chunk out the top of my ring fingers.. sob. Oh how we suffer for our 'art' - pretty though - birds in a birch tree! <3

and you know me, I couldn't "not" do a jar!

a herringbone style one for creating backgrounds.

And then I got a bit ambitious...

which provoked me to actually utter a profanity. Or twelve.

and then simplify a huge amount till I was left with this:

 which I know is much less grand.. but.. if you will, imagine it with gold ink on a black or purple textured card with some added bling - and you have yourself a little fancy!

So what have you been doing that is new?

Do you fancy trying a new craft this year?