It's a UK kind of day on etsy

Today, I have been out, out of my warm cosy studio in order to find important supplies which can't be delivered by the postman. I returned this evening to find a UK etsy invasion....and I seem to be somewhat at the forefront!


Firstly, a most wonderful article on UK sellers in the Storque written by the even more wonderful Eloise of HidenSeek.....not forgetting the, umm....help? offered by Mr. Bear. (pictured above) Go read it here. I am in there, hiding in the snow!


Secondly, a treasury I created featuring lots of fabulous UK sellers hit the front page. Which is still available for your viewing pleasure just here....although some things have been replaced as they sold.

when it rains it pours...

Well, actually it snows!.....but really everything seems to have gone wrong at the same time. I shall not go into details, but the past week has not been fun at all! Fingers crossed the rain will stop! I want sunshine and light please!


What with everything going on this week I've hardly got any of work done although I'd planned on doing loads. One thing that went wrong was my computer dying on me - I finally fixed it (it decided to behave after I threatened to throw it out of the window) but this somewhat hindered everything I usually do - I really wasn't aware how much I depend on my computer until it was gone! It's still not back to it's usual self, it's running very slowly, but for now it is OK. And since it has been fixed I've got none of 'my' work done because my parents B&B website needed an overhaul so I thought I'd get that done before my computer completely dies on me! It's pretty much finished now, although my mum now wants a fancy picture gallery too (I wish she'd have told me before I started as it'd have been much easier!) Anyway, if anybody fancies a break in Scotland visit the website ;)
I really do need to start getting myself organised! (do I say this every blog post??) It is finally decided that I will be moving to Edinburgh in a month!!! Argh! I'm moving in with my sister until I can get myself sorted out. In the mean time I'm applying for jobs there, so I will have something to start when I get there. It's pretty nerve racking. I haven't really had to do any moving on my own for a long time, apart from the move home...and then I was coming home, so it really doesn't count!

i need to wake up...

The past few days have been really great, and really awful all at the same time. My sister and her fiancé came to visit - I haven't seen them for nearly a year, so that was fabulous. It's a shame we don't see them very often.

On the bad side of things, we've had somebody staying here (my parents run a B&B) who I was not at all comfortable with. Neither was my mother - but we put up with it for the couple of very uncomfortable days he was here. Mainly because they are too nice to say anything and don't like to cause a scene. I've had very little sleep the past few days, I don't think they really realised how much it bothered me, but I obviously take after them, and not wanting to cause a scene have kept mostly quiet. The house is ours again for now, thankfully.

Anyway, with my sister here, and holidays, and snow, and my mums birthday (and lack of sleep) everything has got pushed to one side. Today is a day to organise, and sort myself out.

catch up

No update for 4 days....dear me! The past few days seem to have flown by, although now looking back, Thursday seems so long ago. I can't even remember Thursday...It's always the way I guess.

Friday I had an interview for a 'real' job. I knew that at some point I would be required to grow up for a while and behave like an adult, but I would really prefer not to! Anyway, I think it went OK, but we shall see. It's a permanent position, which isn't really ideal (i didn't tell them about my MFA application). If I don't get this job, I'm going to try an agency to see about some temporary work, at least then I don't have to lie, because after all I do need the money if I'm going to be going back to uni.
The rest of Friday was much more pleasant, shopping in Aberdeen. I found a wonderful charity shop, but unfortunately couldn't actually buy, or even get to the wonderful things inside as there was a gaggle of ancient ladies re-arranging the shop blocking me whichever way I tried to go! I know where it is at least, and can return at a later date when they've finally figured out where to put things! The rest of the day was spent buying ribbons, trims, fabric and canvas...a small selection (in a really bad photo)


I really do mean the rest of the day - the woman serving me was so slow!! I felt like grabbing the stuff she was cutting and doing it myself, although I know from my experience working in a fabric shop that would have been the most annoying thing I could have done! So I left her to it. I got out eventually, went and met my mother where we spent an age deciding which curtains she should buy. It turned out to be such a long day....

Yesterday I slept late, woke up with a migraine, did a small amount of brooch making, fell asleep for a few hours, woke up, ate, went to bed early and watched the entire 1st series of Black Books (although I actually fell asleep at the end of the third episode I think!).

This morning I woke up feeling much, much better. I'd just sat down to plan my day, when my dad appeared in the door way saying I should add finding snow to my list! So off we went, in search of snow! 2 hours later we were at the Lecht ski centre, where we were quite disappointed at the small amount of snow that was there! We went into the cafe, had a disgusting sandwich, and equally disgusting coffee. Then drove home, along the mountain tops, seeing all manner of nature - 2 golden eagles, and a few mountain hares, although the hares were all squished in the middle of the road! then via Balmoral Castle, where we completely disregarded the No Entry signs and went in search of red squirrels up the drive way - we didn't find any, but nearly ran one over once we had got out! We missed and he ran up a tree and posed for a photo. Unfortunately, my camera refused to turn on in a timely manner (as usual) and so I got him just as he was running away.


4 hours later we arrived home! A fun day out, although I'm still a bit disappointed we didn't go back the way we came so I could stop off at the most wonderful antiques shop I saw - complete with fibreglass fair ground giraffe in the window - and the wool shop at Alford. But if we had, I wouldn't have seen Mr. Squirly squirrel, or the eagles, or the numerous other things I saw...and the antiques shop and wool shop will be there another time. Maybe not the fair ground giraffe tho.

Tomorrow I must make new things. Do some art. Not get distracted by offers of trips out. Although that won't be hard, as I'm sure the only place anybody will visit tomorrow is the Post Office and the supermarket - not quite as exciting as mountains, snow and squirrels!

the weathermen finally got it right

Happy New Year!

It's a cold start to the new year, and it is said, by the clever weather type people, that it will be getting colder with snow tomorrow and Thursday. I do hope it does. The last few times it has been promised it just hasn't materialised. Last time I saw snow I was living in Birmingham and was on the bus from hell, stuck in the snow with no heat and freezing cold wet feet for 2 and a half hours. Not nice. And it was last February!! This time I will be in a warm house, with a beautiful view. Or in big green wellington boots, a warm coat and woolen scarf running around the garden like a child who's eaten too many E numbers! Either one is fine with me.

I've had a nice cosy day today, infront of the computer for most of it. Researching and shopping. To be honest, I've done a lot more browsing than shopping. And a lot more shopping than researching!...a nice lazy day.

I was looking for new sketchbooks, spiral bound ones which I used to use hundreds of in a matter of months whilst at college. Then I thought about it and realised I only used hundreds of them as they were cheap and didn't have many pages in. So I've treated myself to a few different sized Moleskines, from Amazon. Although I wasn't planning to buy books, one or two, or possibly more ended up in my shopping cart....

How to Make Books which I was actually hoping to receive for Christmas, but didn't, so we shall say it's a late Christmas gift for myself.

Ways of Seeing - John Berger which I've bought once before, but I have no idea where it is and haven't seen it in a long time, even when moving house so I presume it has gone to booky heaven, which is probably located down the back of a radiator in a house I once lived in.

Yes Man - Danny Wallace, because I fancied something funny to read along with the more serious, yet still fairly amusing My Mother, Myself which I'm currently half way through.

I was also looking at purchasing new tights. This is one problem with moving from Birmingham, where everything was so easily accessible, a consumerists dream, to where I am now, miles away from any form of shop, let alone one that sells beautiful tights, shoes, clothes....So now internet shopping is my friend. Atleast it would be if I could find what I wanted - preferably in the UK so the shipping doesn't cost a fortune! And if it is in the UK, somewhere that doesn't think that NE Scotland is the Highlands and charges me an extra £8 for additional courier services!! (I shouldn't really complain. I get to stomp around the countryside in the snow, instead of being stuck on a bus in the snow and that is much better than easily accessible hoisery!)

My posts should be getting a lot more attractive very soon. My digital camera, which was left in Birmingham is currently somewhere between there and here in the post. I can't wait for it to arrive. I'll be able to take photographs of the work I've done, things to put on Etsy, skirts I've made, snow!! Hoorah!

I shall now retire, back to my search for perfect tights. Wish me luck.

And Happy New Year to whoever happens to read this!
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