Solving little problems every day...

So - it's been a while!

A lot has been happening in 2012 so far. I've been pretty exhausted and burnt out at times - and that doesn't make for great blog reading. So now I'm back on my feet (literally) I can fill you in on what's been happening.

Most notable being that I have been into hospital to have keyhole surgery on my hip. It wasn't as bad as it sounds - and it's feeling a lot better already, but I've got to be on crutches for 4 more weeks (10 in all) and it is still pretty sore. I've got two little scars on my right hip. Lucky to have such a great team locally who operated on me so professionally.

As you may realise I'm not the kind of person who would want to spend 10 weeks on a pair of uncomfortable dull grey crutches, so I managed to buy some comfy ergonomic ones on-line that are shaped to your hand - much much more comfy. And they come in this great teal colour so much less boring!

One thing I figured out quite quickly was that carrying a shoulder bag doesn't work with crutches - it kept falling off my shoulder every time I took a few steps. A messenger style satchel was OK but got in the way as I was walking. I've got a little backpack for going out and about - but when you just want to take your purse, some lip balm and your phone it was too big.

So I came up with this little bag that hangs from the handle of the crutch. It's made from oilcloth so it is pretty water resistant (which is great in the wet spring weather we have been having) and fastens to the crutch with Velcro and to the handles via some cotton loops. The flap closes with a pop fastener. There is a little pocket inside for my phone so it doesn't get lost at the bottom of the bag.

Its first big test was when we went to Plymouth on the south west coast on holiday this Bank holiday weekend. It's our second wedding anniversary (seems like yesterday I was having my handmade wedding!) and we like to take a little holiday to celebrate. As you can see it was pretty chilly for May but the little crutch-bag held up really well. 

I love being by the seaside - the South West coast is stunning. Plymouth is right on the border between Devon and Cornwall. We went to see the Eden Project - it has an indoor Rainforest biome with lots of tropical plants (very hot though!), a land train, stunning plants and lots of info on climate and environment. 

We also enjoyed a trip to the River Cottage Restaurant, Plymouth Hoe and a boat trip around the docks. Very glad I brought my knitted hat - beautiful but pretty cold!

I'm counting down until I'm able to get off these crutches - 4(ish) more weeks to go then I am free! 

Debs

A Crafty (and Thrifty) Welsh Wedding

After 5 years together, I finally got married to my long suffering partner (and now long suffering husband) Stew in May 2010. We booked it a year ago, and I'd been collecting pieces for the big day all year since - I really wanted to have a hand made feel to the items on the big day... but we were on a very tight budget after I lost my job in June 2009 - BAD timing...

I bought my stunning dress for £40 all in off eBay - bargain yes... but it took me 10 months of evenings and weekends to finally get it in a state where I could walk down the aisle with pride - it was a MESS. The hem had been lopped off by what looked like a blindfolded man with garden shears, the whole top of the dress needed re-sculpting, the Princess Di in the 80's sleeves had to go.... It was a real labour of love. The shoes were priced at £104, I got them for £15 on eBay unworn with the receipt in the box - they were gorgeous!

The Petticoat was hand made by Violavintage - an Etsy seller who also lived in the UK. It was just right - not massively puffy, and with a satin top half it was really comfy to wear throughout the day too - nice and lightweight.


I really wanted a vintage hat to match the dress, but couldn't find one that was just right. So I turned to Alchemy and hoped a fellow Etsy seller could help me out. And along came Mytreehousestudio, and a few months and approx £50 later came a stunning creation, using fabric left over from my dress to create flowers on the side, and french netting to wear over the face at the ceremony. Paired with the stunning up-do from my local hairdresser Gemma, it looked just right!


Accessories did not take too long to find - I had some stunning jewellery commissioned by the supremely talented Shacara consisting of a pearl and ceramic flower asymmetric necklace and matching bracelet (Shacara is currently closed whilst she undergoes chemo so best wishes), and got a total bargain with a stunning bracelet handled beaded bag by whatthefunk - both looked great with the vintage theme of the wedding. I have to have a watch on....but my duckie themed swatch watch, though epically cool, wasn't going to cut it, so a visit to Jewelrybyroseanna for a very reasonably and beautiful beaded watch! One of myhand knitted shrugs kept me warm in the wind on the day - something I was very glad of!


Not to leave out my bridesmaids, I got their dresses 9 months to go knocked down in a catalogue sale for the supremely cheap price of £20 each - bargain of the whole event! With shoes and bags from New Look for £14 and £5 respectively, I was doing pretty well. I knitted their shrugs from some lovely deep purple yarn I had, and I commissioned some stunning jewellery from Baubleworks comprising of a matching drop necklace and earrings set, and some stunning beaded flowers from Beadsinbloom on Etsy - perfect for placing in their up-do's.


Stew has bad hay fever, and has never reacted well to being around flowers; it usually involves puffy swollen eyes and a runny nose, so I had to think outside the box for bouquets and decorations. MissJenniferRae came to my rescue for the boutonnieres and bouquets, doing me a fantastic early bird deal (I ordered months and months in advance) for a stunning set of felt and button items, including loose flowers which I turned into pins for the mums. They are beautifully made, and were the talk of the reception!

Stew's first present he ever got me was a very large and round stuffed giraffe called Eion (said Ian - it's Welsh...) - he is the 3rd member of our little family and knew we had to find a way of getting him in to our special day!


After thinking about it long and hard and not really coming up with an answer, I stumbled across Fliepsiebieps and her stunning range of polymer clay toppers - they are so cute! After a bit of discussion, and a lot of prototypes and pictures passed between us, I got the most stunning little giraffes to sit on top of my big fruit cake made by our friend Lynn (It's a stunning cake too!) that I can keep forever - they now sit on top of my TV :-)

I then turned my attention to table decorations and favours - there was a lot to think about. I got a fantastic deal from ParDay for some stunning favour boxes in the themed colours of pinks and purples - I then filled them with sweets and little charms from the lovely Steph on keyrings in the shape of cakes - so pretty! To decorate the signing table, I went to Folksy (UK craft site similar to Etsy) and commissioned Nichola of Beads in Bloom to make some stunning beaded stems which I displayed in bud vases, and a gorgeous beaded cake topper to adorn my gluten free sponge cake - so pretty!
I had loads of comments all day about my quirky and beautiful items - I was so pleased to be able to have a crafty wedding, and I hope I can shop you CAN do it without breaking the bank!

*** UPDATE - you have until THIS Satuday (3rd July) at 3pm GMT (actually BST as it's summer!) to enter my SUPER knitted blog giveaway! - See the Blog Post ***