News, Reviews and winter blues...

Hello crafty peeps and welcome to my crafty nook! I hope you are all having a good week, it's very dull and gloomy here on the Yorkshire Coast and as so often happens it's having a detrimental effect on my mood. I'm feeling very 'meh' at the moment and as a result I'm not done a great deal of crafting (in fact I've not finished a single card/project). I have pretty much got everything back in my crudy though it was a bit of a tight squeeze as the new radiators are further out then the original ones and I've not been able to put things back as they originally were. I'm actually quite pleased about that though because I prefer the way I have it now as it's a little more streamlined. Lol - if anyone apart from me went in there I doubt they'd notice the 'streamlined' areas because it's still very cluttered and unless I have a major personal paradigm shift, it's always going to be that way. The fact of the matter is I like clutter, I find it very comforting to have a lot of stuff around me whether it be books, cushions or craft stuff. It's true I'm not the best housewife (is there anything more tedious or repetitive than cleaning??) and perhaps if I had less stuff it would be easier to keep clean (I really hate dusting which is strange because pre marriage I loved it!) but the thought of going down the KonMari route (do I love my iron - no but that doesn't mean I don't need it ffs!!) or even worse the 'Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning' (have you heard about that?? Decluttering your stuff, leaving the bare minimum so your loved ones don't have to deal with your 'mess' once your dead. Okay so I'm supposed to not be surrounded by things that make me happy just so someone else doesn't have to deal?? *rolls eyes* honestly has no one heard of house clearance firms??) I'm not saying don't declutter is that's what you want to do but I'm getting a bit fed up of having minimalism shoved down my throat, if you have lots of spare cash (and does anyone these days??) then maybe getting rid of things you've not used in a year or that 'fills you with joy when you see/touch/think about it' is workable but sometimes it's better to have something and not need it then to need something and not have it - plus my personal motto is probably 'Be Prepared'  (Thank you Brown Owl. And Lord Baden Powell of course!). For example I might not use my electric drill from one year to the next but that doesn't mean I should get rid of it - if I need a drill the last thing I'd want to do is go to the expense of buying another one or try to borrow one (what if there were a Zombie Apocalypse or alien invasion and I needed to seal off the windows and doors with planks of wood - good luck doing that without a drill! - hmm unlikely it's true but it's better to be prepared just in case *winks* - I may read too many trashy novels and/or watch too much trashy TV!). Oddments of paint - that's another thing I wouldn't want to get rid off and it's a good job I haven't! I'm not sure if it was deliberate but the plumber fitting the radiators managed to get every single one only nearly but not quite in the exact spot as the original and because they are all further out then the first ones, it's left an unpainted area around most of radiators that is very noticeable especially in the bathroom and lounge. Now at some point we'll have to strip the wallpaper off in the bathroom and redecorate because it's just bare wall around the radiator now but because I saved the paint from the lounge when it was decorated (assuming it hasn't dried out, it has been quite a while!) I'll be able to repaint around the radiator once I've got my motivation back (just can't be bothered right now tbh!) - if I hadn't kept the paint or if I decided to follow the KonMari method I would have to redecorate the entire room a huge undertaking, instead of painting a small area - so in your face KonMari!! (No offense meant to either Marie Kondo or her many followers, if that's the path that sparks you with joy then good for you but it's probably always going to leave me cold - minimalism seems a bit soulless and not very welcoming to me but that could be because I've felt as though my very presence clutters up the 'perfection' and I personally like my home to feel welcoming and that it's okay to relax on the sofas, not be afraid to ruffle up the cushions if you rest against them!) Well that's been cathartic - thank you for reading so far *winks*.

My title said 'Reviews' but really it's news about reviews rather than actual reviews! I was asked to review some craft magazines recently for Practical Publishing which I thoroughly enjoyed even though I actually subscribe to all three publications I was sent so I shall be doing a bit of a giveaway in the near future (certainly before the beginning of the new year) because obviously I don't need two sets of free gifts though I will be total honest and say that I am keeping the set of Kaisercraft papers that came free with one of them because I really like them and they are double sided so having two sets means I can use both sides *big grin*. One of the magazines also had a 'free' copy of Cards & Crafts For Christmas magazine but the majority of the projects featured the free gifts that weren't included with the 'free' copy so I wasn't planning on including it with the giveaway because I'm not sure how much use you'd get out of it sans the freebies but I'll keep it and allow the winner to decide. I'm also not going to include the magazines themselves as I've already put them into recycling and they're emptying that bin today. so that's a bit of a heads up for anyone interested - keep reading this blog for more details. I'm also planning a review on a recent addition to my crudy - a Nellie's Stamping Buddy Pro Magnetic Platform for Rubber and Clear Stamps which my husband very kindly bought me as an early Christmas present. I really wanted a Tim Holtz stamping Platform which is about twice the price of the one I've got instead and also huge beyond use in all honesty especially as I work in a space roughly the size of a sheet of A4 paper - huh I always assumed the Tim Holtz platform was 12" x 12" because it seems really large on YouTube videos but I've just gone on eBay to check and it's only 8" x 8", that's not much bigger then the one I've got! I am so glad Chris got me this one instead of paying £30 (with change) for the one I really thought I wanted - what a rip off!! (The stamping area of the Nellie's one is 7.5" x 9") A proper review will follow once I've had a good chance to use it.

We are now well on our way to Christmas and as always I'm not as far along with my Christmas card/gift making as I should be so I might not be updating as often as I would like. I will try to post more updates once I've got myself more organised and hopefully I'll have a card to share in the next couple of days because I have a few birthdays coming up next week. Michele and I have decided to have a break from challenges for a while but we hope to resume them in the New Year (I sense a resolution!) but don't let that stop anyone from sharing a link to cards and projects you've made in the meantime. You can leave a link in the comment section to your blog or if you don't have one feel free to get in contact with me using the form in the sidebar and we can find a way to add your photos to the blog or just share them with me if you are shy - I love seeing what people are making.

Until next time - keep crafting!

Love and crafty hugs,

Sarah xxx