He's A Lumberjack...

Simple and effective log cut coasters...

I've seen coasters like these in the shops and they are not cheap! So when my husband collected and cut up logs for our chimnea, it gave me an idea...

Of course, I needed his help to get this off the ground!

He cut me 4 'slices' from the log. They aren't quite the the same thickness, but we thought that made them more appealing.

I dusted them down with a brush and then I applied a layer of Mod Podge to seal them.

Finally, I cut out some felt circles and Mod Podge'd them to the underside of the coasters - something to project the furniture.

Really pleased with these, I love their rustic look.

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Putting Pen To Paper

Do you still write letters? In this technical age it seems sending emails is the preferred form of 'written' communication. But when you receive an email, do you get the same excitement you once had upon receiving a hand written letter?

It's easy to email... type your message and press SEND. But to write a letter, you need to get paper, a pen, an envelope. You have to sit down at a desk and write - being careful to be neat, so your words can be clearly read. You have to buy a stamp. You have to take the letter to a post box. It takes time. 

Last week I met a remarkable young lady. The beautiful Jodi Ann Bickley is a poet from my hometown of Birmingham. In 2011, whilst performing at a festival, Jodi was bitten by a tick. This resulted in a brain infection called mengo-encephalitis and whilst being treated in hospital, Jodi suffered a mini stroke. Since then, Jodi has remarkably learned to walk and write again.

Some days she is too exhausted to do anything, but on the days she feels she has strength, Jodi writes. She writes to strangers, all over the world. Sending them "a hug in an envelope". Telling them how lovely they are. Cheering them up, making them feel special.

IMAGE: onemillionlovelyletters

One Million Lovely Letters is an amazing and beautiful idea. Jodi invites people to email her their details, a little about themselves and then she sends them a letter. So far she has written over 600 letters - so proof right there that people still love to receive a letter!

IMAGE: onemillionlovelyletters

If you would like "a hug in an envelope" why not visit One Million Lovely Letters.

It's guaranteed to give you a warm fuzzy feeling!

I'm Away With The Fairies

It's March, it's officially Spring, yet it's snowing!

This time last year we were tidying up the garden ready for some chilled out evenings sat by the chimnea with fairy lights hung around the patio.

My heart fairy lights from Lights4fun have spent the winter hanging in the dining room, but hopefully they'll soon adorn the patio once again.

I've been looking for some more fairy lights for the garden and these have made it onto my wish list...

Sunflower led battery lights will give a warm glow along with the reds and oranges from the burning chimnea

Colour changing butterflies and multicoloured dragonfly lights will look great hooked up through the trees - and they're solar powered.

And my favourite ... well one of my favourites from my "heart" search ...

... Filigree Heart lights ... the way the light shines through is beautiful and would look great alongside my crocheted tealight holders

Jeanetics

Old jeans are often just thrown out without a second thought... until now...

This denim corsage was made very quickly from the leg of an old pair of jeans.

I marked out 8 circles plus one smaller circle. I crudely cut them out - it all adds to the shabbiness.

Fold the larger circles as below and sew them onto the smaller circle until all 8 are used.

A brassy button finished it off (plus it hides the stitching!)

I also made one from a piece of linen and a scrap of lace-like fabric

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Flower Power

A simple flower crochet pattern makes a cute hair accessory

Chain 4 then sl st to form a ring

Chain 3 then do 11dc into ring

Sl st into top of chain 3

**(1 ch, 1 hdc, 2 dc, 1 hdc, 1 ch) in to the same stitch as the sl st

Miss the next dc and then sl st into the next dc

Repeat from ** 5 more times, finishing off with the last sl st into original sl st

Using different yarns and hooks for different size flowers

Simple, pretty and sometimes silly

And a flower garland using gorgeous soft colourful wool

****Linking up at these sites

Logotastic

Last year I helped my friend by designing a logo for her new business as a Personal Trainer

It was great to receive a picture message showing the embroidered logo on her kit

This week, 'Frenchie' asked me to do the same again - a logo for her new fitness club for kids. 'Mash Up  Movers' aims to get kids moving, dancing and having fun, without them realising they're actually exercising.

I gave the logo an album sleeve design...

But it needed something extra ... a trainer sole print finished it off ... I hope she likes it

You can see the designs on Frenchie's new website www.frenchiesfitness.co.uk

Flash, Bang, Wallop, What a picture!

For Christmas, my husband bought me a course with Red Cloud Photography

I use my Nikon D3000 camera all the time, but like many digital SLR owners, I only really use the automatic settings. So I jumped at the chance to learn more.

The day was great. The beautiful, but freezing surroundings of the Birmingham Botanical Gardens and the warmth of the Study Centre.

We learnt all about aperture...

And we got to grips with shutter speed ... 

Heart shapes in the tree trunks... heart obsessed...

And when I say it was cold, it was cold! Look at the photo Simon Bolton, my tutor, tweeted...

The day? A fountain of knowledge...