Scrapbooking

I got some really lovely presents for my birthday at the weekend, but I was especially touched by the scrap book my Mum and sister Louise put together of my 40 years.

I have kept photo albums through out the years but they are the type that have sticky pages and scrawled notes on them. I had a real laugh recently looking through my angst-ridden ones from my teenage years complete with torn up photos and letters from boys who had dumped me!!

This one is just stunning and I wanted to share a few of the pages, though the pics aren't great.

This one is from my earliest childhood, complete with birth card and baby photos.



This page is one I'm most proud of. The 'N Ireland' and the Red Hand of Ulster are from when I represented Northern Ireland in a National Cross Country race. Also on this page is a couple of less than flattering newspaper photos documenting my race wins.



On this page there are pics of me and my hubbie Andy, from our earliest days to more recent ones. The one on the bottom left is taken from our first year formal at Uni when I was 19 and Andy 18. I even have a stunning curly perm!



And finally, one of my friends. My best friend Jane, my hen weekend and the Scottish gang.



I just wanted to say, Mum and Lou, I really appreciate the time, effort and energy you have both spent on making this for me.

New!

I don't normally show off my work on my blog until a Friday but I'm very excited by my latest bracelet! I realised that a few months ago I made a bracelet with czech flowers that has a huge number of views on my flickr account and in fact sold before I even got it listed in my shop.

So I've decided to do a few more similar to it - don't know why it's taken me so long to think of it! So here is the latest I made yesterday -



and a bit like the last one, it's sold even before it made the shop!

I've planning on different a few more in different colours, so I'd love some feedback.

Mondays Featured Seller

Todays featured seller is elgeecanknit from Folksy

What is your name/business name?
Business Name: Elgee,Fink & Ash - thats me, my hubby and my son


What is your craft?
Knitting, sewing, patchworking, sculpting (from recycled materials), making from recyled materials, cross-stitch, tapestry


How long have you been crafting for?
As long as I can remember my mum taught me to knit and the rest is self taught. My gran gave me a sewing machine years ago and I have never looked backed since. I have really taken it seriously since I was about 22.

What is your favourite thing about your craft?
My fav thing just now is knitting I love the fact that you can create anything its amazing the end result. Also I love patchworking old bits of material (cant throw anything out)


And your least fav?
Finishing a job off.

Where do you sell your work?
In our Local Museum (where I work) and on Folksy, craft fairs and parties at my house.


Thank you for answering my questions and I hope you'll all check out her shop.

40 today!

So today I turn 40. I'm relieved in a way it is finally here as I've been hearing about it for so long from friends and family. It doesn't bother me at all as it's not as if I'm friends with a bunch of 18 year olds now is it? All my friends have either already turned 40 or will be soon. I think I may stutter slightly though the first time I have to tick the box that reads 40-49 rather than 30-39!

So what have I achieved in these 40 years?

Well I am a daughter, sister, wife and mother. I am a physiotherapist, I've lived in Northern Ireland, England and Scotland. I've visited Jamaicia, Budapest, Spain, France, Italy, Belgium and Lanzarote. I've made great friends. I've started my own business. I've been married to Andy for 15 years and we've been together for nearly 21 years. I have 2 brilliant children that I love to distraction.

Not bad for an old doll :D

To celebrate my 40th birthday, I'm offering a massive 40% off in my shop today. Just put '40% discount' in the note to seller and I will refund via Paypal.

August Roundup

I decided today to do an August round up instead of a weekly round up.

Thanks to the Weekend Deals article it has been my best month by far on Etsy. I've had 44 sales and have found it's remarkably easy to get used to being busy!

I've decided to concentrate on more autumnal items and have been working on more memory wire bracelets again.

This Golden Brown Bracelet is made from a mix of golden brown, gold and ivory roughened glass pearls with gold bugle and seed beads.



This Blue and Grey Memory Wire bracelet is made from blue and grey roughened glass pearls with silvery grey bugle and seed beads.



And 2 of my favourite colours together, this Duck Egg Blue and Ivory Bubbles bracelet is not classically autumnal, but I just love them together!



Just to say, watch this space on Sunday as I am celebrating my birthday and will have a special deal going on in my shop!

Treasure Trails

Last week I met up with my old friends Gillian and Allan and their 2 youngest children Holly and Conor to do a Treasure Trail

Now I'd never heard of these, but there are over 320 trails throughout the UK.

So what are they?

Well here's the blurb - The Trails are a fun, healthy, and educational way to get you out and about exploring. Some Trails require you to solve a murder mystery whilst others require you to find the location of hidden treasure, or crack the code to save the world!

Basically you download the trail from the website and then follow the trail while solving the crime. We did our murder mystery around one of the most picturesque villages in Northern Ireland, Hillsborough. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland lives in Hillsborough Castle and the village is full of interesting facts and quaint pubs and shops.

Hillsborough Castle


We followed the clues around the village trying to find our murderer and weapon used. The kids loved the old courthouse, within the Tourist Information and had a ball running around the Fort.



I was amazed the trail kept the kids attention throughout and with the promise of a Curly Wurly for the winners, all 4 kids tried their best to solve the crime.

Definitely worth the £5 it cost to download the trail and a great way to explore somewhere I thought I knew quite well, but didn't really!

It's a Writing thing

I've been tagged by Anne from The Pineapple Tart Anne is a publisted author and I'm not so sure some of this may applies to me.

What word do you use too much in your writing?
My main writing is either descriptions of my bracelets so 'chic' is a bit overused, or emails to friends so 'me' is a bit too popular as well

Which words do you consider overused in stuff you read?
'mavarick', 'enigmatic' and 'compelling'. I usually can't stand characters that are described like that as it usually means they are prats

What's your favourite piece of writing (written by you)?
I wrote a short story for a competition in a magazine once which of course didn't win. But I still think it's a great story.

Regrets, do you have a few? Is there anything you wish you hadn't written?
My biggest regret is the essay I wrote for my A level English exam. It was called 'Was Gatsby Great?' Just before the A levels my teacher Mrs Donnelly had given us a sample essay of that very title and I never, ever read it. The essay I wrote on the day was total rubbish and earned me a D. My biggest regret without doubt.

How has your writing made a difference?
No unfortunately

Favourite words
"You have to leave feedback for 20 items" (In my dreams!)

Least favourite words
No feedback needed

Do you have a writing mentor, role model or inspiration?
My sister Anne. She got her first book published in her early 20's and keeps coming up with new ideas.

Writing Ambition?
I'd love to get a short story published

I'm going to tag 3 people -
nutmeg
Alyssa
JoliciousJewellery