Jolicious is Forty-licious

This week has been a bit strange. I turned 40! I don't know why but that number seems to be such a milestone. I'm not sure how I feel about it - it's a mixture of good and bad. Unfortunately I have no means of stopping the wheels of time - it waits for no one! I guess I'll just have to accept it!

Anyone who knows me will know I am not a party animal or even that sociable! There was no big party just a quiet Dinner with my hubby who constantly reminds me that he is still in his 30's! We went to Claridges and had some great food at Gordon Ramsay's restaurant. I was even presented with a teeny weeny cake with a candle!

I received a fabulous gift from my friend Anne. It is a Pastel portrait of my three boys done by mutual friend and Artist Sarah James. I took it to the picture framing shop to be framed yesterday and can't wait to get it back to be hung in pride of place!

Sarah has recently set up her own Blog and Facebook Fan Page so please pop over and take a look at her pages - she is very talented.

My birthday celebrations aren't over yet! Next week I am having a long weekend in Florence with Hubby!

Before that I will try and get on top of listing new items in my shop. Here is a sneak peak of some of my new creations

I still have a tiny piece of the birthday cake the boys picked for me, so I might just go and finish it off before the return from school!

Hot Head Adventure!

I thought that some of you would like to see the results of my Lampwork Bead session with Beverley Hicklin at the London Jewellery School recently. So here goes!!

I really enjoyed the day and I am now the proud owner of a brand new Hot Head Torch! All I need is some time and space when the kids start school on Wednesday to get stuck into my latest venture!

Here of my personal favourites

I will be having a clearout in my Misi Shop soon and restocking with some new creations for the Autumn so I will keep everyone updated with that. It'll soon be Christmas!

All the nice shop Sellers at Misi have clubbed together to create an amazing Autumn Giveaway. If you'd like to enter please visit the Misi Blog and you might be the lucky winner of all the goodies below! There is also a second prize on offer.

Busy Summer

Highland Adventures!

I've had a long busy summer trying to entertain the kids and not getting much else done in the process - it's good to have a break from the normal routine though! We started off our Summer break on the Isle of Mull in Uncle Jim's Cottage which is converted from an old water mill. It was the perfect place to get away from the hectic routine of Urbanish life!

An old Mill Stone

Scottish Thistle

Beautiful deserted beach!

Let's not forget the lovely Tobermory (but let's keep quiet about the childrens' tv programme filmed here!)

I did take a little project with me! I couldn't go all that time without being creative so I decided to revisit Viking Weave. The process is to weave the wire onto a dowel as shown in the picture (left). Next you remove the wire from the dowel and pull it with all your might through a drawplate and you end up with something quite pretty and pleasing!

The one I did first was a single weave and the result is shown in the picture on the right. I eventually turned this into a bracelet with Silver end cones (below)

En route home from Scotland we made a pit stop at my parents' in Cheshire. We always make a point of visiting an ice cream farm (Cheshire is big on Dairy!). This time we went to Snugbury's where they have the added attraction of a Straw Sculpture - each year they have a different one. Check out pictures of previous years on their website! This year it was Big Ben - London's famous clock. The clock on the straw version really works too!

Today was a bank holiday in the UK. We took the kids for a ride on The London Eye where we had a great view of the real Big Ben!

Giveaway Winner Announced

I went all high tech to draw the winner of this giveaway and used Random.Org - The number it threw up was number one :

KNITWITS

So congratulations Elaine, the Flip Flop Charm and Beads are yours!

Yet again I feel bad that you can't all be winners. Keep coming back - I'll be having more competitions!

I've had a busy week with my MISI Shop - all those last minute Teacher gifts people have been buying! There is so much great talent on Misi and the community on there is like one big family always there to help each other. The sellers on there are always happy to take on a challenge.

My boys, who will be starting school full-time in September, went to visit their new class yesterday and I had the chance to see how their new chair bags looked. They were Custom made for me by Carolyn of Carolyn's Creations who did a fantastic job. She made exactly what the boys wanted with their names embroidered and pictures of their choice.

We will soon be going on our summer break - first to the Isle of Mull and then Aviemore in Scotland, finishing in Cheshire to see the family. If anyone knows of any great Crafty places or Bead Shops I can visit on my travels please let me know. Keep it quiet though - it's just between us - don't want hubby thinking I've got alterior motives!

July Competition Time and Thank you!

I won these lovely earrings in Blue Box Studios' first ever blog giveaway! They're lovely thank you!

Thank you also to Hats and More for my Lovely Blog Award! I am honoured that you consider me to be a top blogger! I still haven't passed on my previous blog award from By Your Side so will store this one up too and one day I will return the compliment!

Giveaway!

I am having a final giveaway before I step off the treadmill for a summer break. All you have to do is stop by and say 'Hi' below and I'll pop your name in the"hat" on Saturday 18th July and pull out a lucky winner.

The prizes are this little Flip Flop Charm and a small bag of Semi-Precious Beads for you to use in one of your creations should you so wish!!

This competition is open to everyone including my international followers! So don't be shy!

I'll leave you with a vision of prettiness from my garden. A lovely splash of colour and so in season!

More competitions!

What a lucky girl I am! I won Dinky Daisy's Competition! It's quite apt that I've been getting my hands on a bit of Crochet of late as all my Prizes are Crochet items - Dinky's Speciality. Look at this lovely little stash -

There is a great tutorial on Dinky Daisy's Blog teaching you how to make a Crochet flower. I can't wait to have a go - having accomplished Circles with my wire Crochet I now need to have a go at 'shape'.

Thank you for my lovely prizes - I love them!

As if that wasn't enough I've also won a pair of earrings from Blue Box Studio! Sue from Blue Box Studio was the winner of my last giveaway - I promise this isn't a fix - I think she used the high-tech Random generator thingy! I'll write more about my prize when I receive it! Thanks Sue!

If you fancy winning something then hop across to The Crystal Lady where you have three chances to win! She is giving away three lovely gemstone rings.

The boys enjoyed the last of the 'heatwave' yesterday playing in the garden. Forget about high tech toys - they had loads of fun with a playful Butterfly who kept landing on them!

It looks like we're back to the normal dreary British weather - it's raining again! It is good for the garden though!

More Crochet with Wire and PMC!

I had another great Class with Teri Howes at Cockpit Arts who took the group to the next level in Wire Crochet! Now I can do Circles - not as neat as Teri's but she is an expert!!

It's quite difficult to recognise what is a stitch and what is not! I guess it all takes practice and lots of it. Still - I managed to finish the piece before the day ended!

I also had a PMC (Precious Metal Clay) session at the London Jewellery School. I learnt a lot on the day about adding texture, setting stones and how to make a ring. My favourite pieces I produced on the day are a couple of Pendants.

I reserve the right not to show you the ring!!!!

Finally, there is a really exciting thing happening in the world of MISI (Make It Sell It). Emma Hogg the brains behind Misi has organised the first ever Misi Craft Event, MISI MAKERS, to take place in Bristol this November. It is open exclusively to Misi sellers and will be a great showcase for all Misi Talent!